Policy should be 'adaptable' while values remain uncompromised, Tillerson says
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in an interview with NBC's Chuck Todd on Sunday pushed back against criticism Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) lobbed at his approach to foreign policy in a recent New York Times op-ed.
McCain originally went after Tillerson for the secretary of state's assertion that "in some circumstances, if you condition our national security efforts on someone adopting our values, we probably can't achieve our national security goals." "With those words, Secretary Tillerson sent a message to oppressed people everywhere," McCain argued: "'Don't look to the United States for hope.'"
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The best way to promote American values, Tillerson maintained, is to achieve U.S. "diplomatic and national security objectives" that can "create the conditions for the advancement of freedom." Watch the full Tillerson interview below; Todd brings up the McCain article around the 10-minute mark. Bonnie Kristian
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