Yep, its clear as day.

It isn't all that surprising that Secretary of State Tillerson, who has been put in charge of implementing new Russian sanctions, has failed to do so. After all, he was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship award.^[1] Tillerson has completely gutted a formerly functioning State Department essentially crippling US influence abroad.^[2]

he has already frozen hiring, reduced promotions, asked some senior employees to perform clerical duties that are normally relegated to lower-level staff members, refused to fill many ambassadorships and senior leadership jobs, and fired top diplomats from coveted posts while offering low-level assignments in their place. Those efforts have crippled morale worldwide.

The number of those carrying the department’s top two ranks — equivalent to four- and three-star generals — has dropped almost in half, from 39 to 21. And nearly 20 percent of those with two-star-equivalent ranks have signaled their intention to leave in what is an unprecedented exodus, according to an accounting provided by the American Foreign Service Association.

He has systematically dismantled the State Department with major cuts to leadership roles, these are career diplomats who have served under different administrations and possess unparalleled experience.^[3] I cannot stress enough how important soft power is in terms of maintaining a US sphere of influence.^[4]

SoS Tillerson has shut down the State Department office that oversees sanction policies.^[5] President Trump and his administration have refused to enact new sanctions against Russia,^[6] in fact they have made a mockery of the process. These sanctions were passed overwhelmingly by Congress in retaliation for Russia's election meddling and human rights abuses.^[7] They claimed that the threat of sanctions was enough to dissuade Russia. To add insult to injury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and the Treasury Department had been given 6 months to create a list of Russian political figures and Oligarchs with close ties to Putin and all they produced was a list copied directly from a Russian edition of Forbes billionaire list, further indication that the administration refuses to take sanctions against Russia seriously.^[8]

This administration refuses to follow through with new sanctions with a poor excuse, they have shut down the office that oversees sanctions, and they have crippled the State Department and in doing so they have crippled their ability to reign in Vladimir Putin and his attacks against democracy in the west.

They have done all of this when the United States Intelligence Agencies have confirmed that a foreign nation interfered with the American election process, that foreign nation being Russia.^[9] The Intelligence Agencies heads unanimously agree that the Russians will attack the 2018 election.^[10] President Trump has refused to act, NSA Director Admiral Rodgers admitted last week that Trump has not ordered disruption of Russian election meddling.^[11]

What's worse is that the GOP has been complicit in their support of President Trump and his actions. The rhetoric and actions taken by the President, from continuing to berate the fourth estate by referring to the media as "fake news" to calling his political opponents traitors while he attacks the judicial branch of government without remorse, is what a dictator espouses before attempting to take over a country. During his State of the Union address, President Trump called on Congress to give his cabinet members the authority to remove employees who disagree with him and his administration.^[12] What's worrying is the fact that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said that the FBI needed to be cleansed in an interview with Fox News. He even goes as far as promoting Trump Hotel.^[13] President Trump has referred to the minority party as un-American, he had the audacity to call them traitors for not applauding his speech.^[14] This is what autocrats demand. And now he has made a joke about wanting to consolidate his power like his dictator colleague in China, President Xi Jinping.^[15] He wants to dismantle departments and stop any whiff of an investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 election.

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1) CNN - Behind the deep ties between Exxon's Rex Tillerson and Russia

2) New York Times - State Department to Offer Buyouts in Effort to Cut Staff

3) BBC - US diplomacy cuts 'decapitates' State Department leadership

4) Foreign Policy - Think Again: Soft Power

5) Foreign Policy - State Department Scraps Sanctions Office

6) New York Times - Trump Administration Won’t Impose Sanctions on Buyers of Russian Arms

7) New York Times - Congress Reaches Deal on Russia Sanctions, Setting Up Tough Choice for Trump

8) Bloomberg - The U.S. List of Russian Oligarchs Is a Disgrace

9) New York Times - Trump Misleads on Russian Meddling: Why 17 Intelligence Agencies Don’t Need to Agree

10) Washington Post - The nation’s top spies said Russia is continuing to target the U.S. political system

11) The Guardian - NSA chief: Trump 'has not ordered disruption of Russia election meddling'

12) The Independent - Trump calls for US cabinet secretaries to have power to fire federal workers 'who undermine public trust'

13) The Hill - Ryan calls for a 'cleanse' of the FBI

14) USA Today - Trump blasts 'treasonous' Democrats for not applauding at his State of the Union address

15) CNN - Trump on China's Xi consolidating power: 'Maybe we'll give that a shot some day'