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As His Term Comes to a Close, Sec. Pompeo Isn't Going Quietly

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Mike Pompeo isn’t quietly fading away.

In his final days as secretary of state, he’s issuing orders that have caused international consternation and cementing his legacy as a prime promoter of President Donald Trump’s “America First” doctrine.

Pompeo has doubled down on his support for Trump, even as other Cabinet members have resigned or stayed out of sight in the aftermath of the Capitol incursion.

While the House debated Trump’s role in encouraging the riot, Pompeo sent a tweet promoting Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his involvement in peace initiatives.

Over the past week, Pompeo has celebrated policies that are likely to be overturned by his successor and stepped up criticism of censorship of conservatives on social media.

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While it’s not unusual for outgoing Cabinet members to publicize their successes, Pompeo has taken it a step further by trashing his predecessors in the national security community, some of whom will play prominent roles in President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.

“Remember this Middle East ‘expert?’ He said it couldn’t happen. We did it,” Pompeo said in a tweet featuring a video clip of John Kerry saying Arab countries would not recognize Israel without an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Kerry, a former secretary of state, will serve as climate envoy in the Biden administration.

Since last Saturday, Pompeo has also:

–Rescinded long-standing restrictions on U.S. contacts with Taiwan, a move that is sure to anger China.

–Declared Yemen’s Houthi rebels a terrorist organization, upsetting the United Nations.

–Re-designated Cuba a “state sponsor of terrorism.”

–Accused Iran of deep and longstanding ties with al-Qaida.

The actions are in line with Trump’s tough “America First” policy that he has long espoused with gusto.

Pompeo has been particularly harsh on Iran, re-imposing all sanctions that had been eased by the Obama administration after the 2015 nuclear deal and adding more penalties.

He also advocated for the killing of a top Iranian general in Iraq at the beginning of last year and has been at the forefront of an effort to encourage Sunni Arab states to unite against predominantly Shiite Iran.

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He has made a sport out of trashing China, Cuba and international organizations, as well as Obama administration officials he believes were hopelessly naive in negotiating with them.

“As the UN’s largest contributor, I put U.S. taxpayers and America’s interests first,” Pompeo tweeted on Monday.

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Yet Pompeo and the State Department have had minimal roles in some important areas, with the White House taking charge. That was most notable in one of Trump’s top accomplishments: improving Israel’s ties with its Arab neighbors.

Led by Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, the administration relentlessly promoted Israeli-Arab peace efforts, culminating in agreements for the establishment of relations between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

On Thursday, Pompeo lauded Trump’s March 2019 decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in 1967.

He tweeted a video of himself and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem that night with the caption: “I’ll never forget this moment.”

On his last visit to Israel in November, Pompeo became the first secretary of state to visit a Jewish settlement on land claimed by the Palestinians and on Thursday proudly promoted a West Bank wine named after him.

“L’Chaim to Pompeo wine!” Pompeo said on Twitter.


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