New York Times columnist apologizes after comparing Rex Tillerson to Pol Pot

New York Times columnist Bret Stephens compared Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Cambodian genocidal dictator Pol Pot during an appearance on “Morning Joe” on Tuesday:

NYT’s Bret Stephens Compares Rex Tillerson to Pol Pot: Could be ‘Worst Secretary of State Ever’ https://t.co/MiFnyxeBZ5 pic.twitter.com/OAcnaxBb5J

— Mediaite (@Mediaite) August 22, 2017

Stephens didn’t mean in a “Killing Fields” sort of way, but in reference to the revolutionary concept of “year zero” which states “all culture and traditions within a society must be completely destroyed or discarded and a new revolutionary culture must replace it, starting from scratch.” He clarified immediately on the show:

“I don’t mean the Killing Fields,” Stephens helpfully clarified. I mean the year zero mentality. Blow it all up, see what happens, wait for a while and then try to arrange the pieces as you see ft. That might work in a start-up environment. It doesn’t work in a bureaucracy with 70,000 people.”

And later apologized for his “rhetorical exuberance”:

https://twitter.com/BretStephensNYT/status/899991207358713856

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