Crisis in Foggy Bottom: What Rex Tillerson Can Really Learn From Alexander Haig

Last month, in the midst of the Trump administration's first foreign policy crisis — an escalating exchange of threats with North Korean after the regime tested new intercontinental ballistic missiles — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's days seemed to be numbered. First came an NBC News exposé detailing the secretary's discontent with the president's leadership, which forced Tillerson to issue a rare statement confirming his intention to remain in the position. Then came a New Yorker profile by Dexter Filkins, which found the secretary "at the breaking point," overwhelmed by the scope of decision-making, aloof from the State Department, and feuding with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

Tillerson's own comportment hasn't helped instill confidence in his tenure....