Donald Trump hits the panic button as UK makes moves against Putin
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and former FBI Director James Comey now have something in common. Both found out that they had been fired by Donald Trump through the media. As has been observed for quite some time, Trump does not possess the intestinal fortitude to fire someone face to face, unless it’s scripted for him on a reality television show. The ousting of Tillerson comes at a time shortly after he publicly stated the recent killing of a former Russian spy in southern England was “a really egregious act” that “clearly” came from Russia.
British Prime Minister Theresa May also said it was “highly likely” Russia is to blame for the military grade nerve agent that also injured nearly two dozen British citizens. An obscure law passed by Russian parliament in 2006 has received scrutiny lately. The legislation permits extrajudicial killings abroad of individuals that Moscow believes to be guilty of extremism and terrorism. This allows Russian President Vladamir Putin lethal power to direct Russia’s armed forces or other special services to murder anyone they accuse.
The sudden firing of Tillerson comes conspicuously close to May’s announcement that Britain believes Putin is behind the nerve agent attack. It is believed that May might decide to invoke NATO’s Article 5 which states: “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.” If this happened, the United States would be required to assist.
Throughout the presidential campaign and well into the administration, Trump has spoken out negatively against NATO, even calling it “obsolete” in the past. Could this all have been another ploy by Putin to preemptively push Trump against NATO in the chance Article 5 was ever triggered against Russia? The timing of the Tillerson firing, announced the exact same day of May’s statements giving the Kremlin a midnight Tuesday deadline to explain how and why a Russian developed nerve agent was used in England, certainly does not seem to be a coincidence. We have yet to hear a peep from Trump about the poisoning, much less a condemnation of it. If Article 5 is utilized we may get our first real proof that Trump is putting Russia above America that nobody can refute.
I’m a ceramic engineer living in Central New York, avid sports fan but find myself more interested in politics lately.