Tillerson has gone off the reservation...

via Free Beacon.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in remarks during a trip through the Middle East this week, said the United States recognizes Hezbollah is part of the political process in Lebanon as global leaders gather to discuss the Middle Eastern country's future.

Despite the terrorist group's unhelpful influence, Tillerson said "we also have to acknowledge the reality that they also are part of the political process in Lebanon."

Tillerson's remarks raised eyebrows in Washington, D.C., where some foreign policy officials questioned how the United States would hold diplomatic discussions with Hezbollah as the Trump administration also works to dismantle the group and crush its financial networks.

The comments starkly contradict efforts by the U.S. Treasury Department, which declared earlier this month that Hezbollah has no legitimate role to play in governance of Lebanon or other Arab countries Iran is seeking to destabilize.

Some officials remain concerned that treating Hezbollah as a legitimate actor in Lebanon—where it has amassed thousands of Iranian-built missiles on Israel's northern border—will provide legitimacy to the terror group and make it even more difficult for the Trump administration to target it with sanctions.

Speaking in Jordan on Wednesday, ahead of his travel to Beirut, Tillerson told reporters that Hezbollah must be part of any political process discussing Lebanon's future following the resignation of the country's prime minister, who disclosed upon his resignation that Hezbollah has assumed de facto control of the nation.

"We support a free, democratic Lebanon free of influence of others, and we know that Lebanese Hezbollah is influenced by Iran," Tillerson said. "This is influence that we think is unhelpful in Lebanon's long-term future."

However, "we also have to acknowledge the reality that they also are part of the political process in Lebanon," Tillerson said. "I think Lebanon is taking positive steps with their law on disassociation that was passed last year to send a signal as to their view that they do not want to see any of Lebanese Hezbollah involved in foreign conflicts and have asked that they bring all of their people back from the conflict in Yemen."

Story here. 

Tillerson.

This dude is all over the map on a whole host of issues...but this...this is going a few steps too far.

I don't get his thinking.  Either the guy is operating on the genius approaching cosmic level or he's a flaming idiot from the dark side of hell.

He's off the reservation, that much seems obvious.