National Security Agency, referring to the agency's efforts as "good and important work".[130]
In a 2013 speech on the House floor, Pompeo said Muslim leaders who fail to denounce acts of terrorism done in the name of Islam are "potentially complicit" in the
In a 2013 speech on the House floor, Pompeo said Muslim leaders who fail to denounce acts of terrorism done in the name of Islam are "potentially complicit" in the attacks.[131] The Council on American–Islamic Relations called on him to revise his remarks, calling them "false and irresponsible".[132] In 2016, ACT! for America gave Pompeo a "national security eagle award" for his comments on Islam.[133] Pompeo has been a frequent guest on Frank Gaffney's radio show for the Center for Security Policy.[133] As a congressman, he cosponsored legislation to add the Muslim Brotherhood to the United States State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.[134][135]
Pompeo opposes closing Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[136] After a 2013 visit to the prison, he said, of the prisoners who were on hunger strike, "It looked to me like a lot of them had put on weight."[137] He criticized the Obama administration's decision to end secret prisons and its requirement that all interrogators adhere to anti-torture laws.[138]
In March 2014, he denounced the inclusion of a telecast by Edward Snowden at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, and asked that it be cancelled, predicting it would encourage "lawless behavior" among attendees.[139] In February 2016, Pompeo said Snowden "should be brought back from Russia and given due process, and I think the proper outcome would be that he would be given a death sentence".[140] But he has spoken in favor of reforming the Federal Records Act, one of the laws under which Snowden was charged, saying, "I'm not sure there's a whole lot of change that needs to happen to the Espionage Act. The Federal Records Act clearly needs updating to reflect the different ways information is communicated and stored. Given the move in technology and communication methods, I think it's probably due for an update."[141]
On July 21, 2015, Pompeo and Senator Tom Cotton alleged the existence of secret side agreements between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on procedures for inspection and verification of Iran's nuclear activities under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Obama administration officials acknowledged the existence of agreements between Iran and the IAEA governing the inspection of sensitive military sites but denied that they were "secret side deals", calling them standard practice in crafting arms-control pacts and saying the administration had provided information about them to Congress.[142]
In November 2015, Pompeo visited Israel and said, "Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu is a true partner of the American people [and his] efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons are incredibly admirable and deeply appreciated." He also said, "In the fight against terrorism, cooperation between Israel and the United States has never been more important [and we] must stand with our ally Israel and put a stop to terrorism. Ongoing attacks by the Palestinians serve only to distance the prospect of peace."[143] He supported Trump's 2017 decision to move America's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.[144]
In 2016 Pompeo stated, "Congress should pass a law re-establishing collection of all metadata, and combining it with publicly available financial and lifestyle information into a comprehensive, searchable database. Legal and bureaucratic impediments to surveillance should be removed. That includes Presidential Policy Directive-28, which bestows privacy rights on foreigners and imposes burdensome requirements to justify data collection."[145]
On March 5, 2016, at the Republican caucus in Wichita Pompeo addressed the issue of an authoritarian president who ig
On March 5, 2016, at the Republican caucus in Wichita Pompeo addressed the issue of an authoritarian president who ignored the constitution and noted that military personnel take an oath to defend the constitution rather than swearing allegiance to a president.[146]
In 2017, Pompeo worked to undermine the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal with Iran (which had been negotiated by the Obama administration) saying, "I look forward to rolling back this disastrous deal with the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism."[147] He also said a better option than negotiating with Iran would be to use "under 2,000 sorties to destroy the Iranian nuclear capacity. This is not an insurmountable task for the coalition forces."
In 2017, it was reported that Pompeo had expressed desire for regime change in North Korea.[148] In July 2017, he said "It would be a great thing to denuclearize the peninsula, to get those weapons off of that, but the thing that is most dangerous about it is the character who holds the control over them today."[149]
In an April 2017 speech addressing the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Pompeo called WikiLeaks "a non-state hostile intelligence service" and described the organization's founder Julian Assange as a "narcissist", as well as "a fraud—a coward hiding behind a screen".[150][151]
During his confirmation hearing, Pompeo said Russia "has reasserted itself aggressively, invading and occupying Ukraine, threatening Europe, and doing nearly nothing to aid in the destruction and defeat of ISIS".[152]
In August 2018 Pompeo called Russia to "immediately release" jailed Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov.[153]
In September 2018, Pompeo "backed continued U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen over the objections of staff members after being warned that a cutoff could jeopardize $2 billion in weapons sales to America's Gulf allies, according to a classified memo and people familiar with the decision".Center for Strategic and International Studies, Pompeo called WikiLeaks "a non-state hostile intelligence service" and described the organization's founder Julian Assange as a "narcissist", as well as "a fraud—a coward hiding behind a screen".[150][151]
During his confirmation hearing, Pompeo said Russia "has reasserted itself aggressively, invading and occupying Ukraine, threatening Europe, and doing nearly nothing to aid in the destruction and defeat of ISIS".[152]
In August 2018 Pompeo called Russia to "immediately release" jailed Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov.[153]
In September 2018, Pompeo "backed continued U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen over the objections of staff members after being warned that a cutoff could jeopardize $2 billion in weapons sales to America's Gulf allies, according to a classified memo and people familiar with the decision".[154][155]
In November 2018, Pompeo blamed Iran for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, saying, "Iran causes death and destruction inside of Yemen and does nothing to prevent the starvation," while Saudi Arabia has "provided millions and millions of dollars of humanitarian relief" for Yemen.[156]
Speaking about climate change in 2013, Pompeo said: "There are scientists who think lots of different things about climate change. There's some who think we're warming, there's some who think we're cooling, there's some who think that the last 16 years have shown a pretty stable climate environment."[157] He has said, "Federal policy should be about the American family, not worshipping a radical environmental agenda." In 2009 Pompeo signed the No Climate Tax pledge of Americans for Prosperity.[158] He called the Obama administration's environment and climate change plans "damaging" and "radical". In 2012 he called for the permanent elimination of wind power production tax credits, calling them an "enormous government handout".[159]
In 2015, Pompeo opposed the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions by the United States and supported eliminating the United States federal register of greenhouse gas emissions.[160] As a member of the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he voted for two resolutions disapproving of the Clean Power Plan implemented by the United States Environmental Protection Agency during the Obama administration.
In May 2019, Pompeo acted against environmental protection at the Arctic Co
In 2015, Pompeo opposed the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions by the United States and supported eliminating the United States federal register of greenhouse gas emissions.[160] As a member of the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he voted for two resolutions disapproving of the Clean Power Plan implemented by the United States Environmental Protection Agency during the Obama administration.
In May 2019, Pompeo acted against environmental protection at the Arctic Council. He refused to sign on to a joint statement addressing the need for protection of the Arctic region from the threat of rapidly melting ice unless all mentions of climate change were removed from the document. He stated "climate change is actually good for the Arctic, since melting ice caps are 'opening up new shipping routes' and thus making it more economically viable to expand oil drilling in the region."[161][162]
He described the Paris climate accord, along with the World Health Organisation and Human Rights Council as one of the "three sins".[163]
Pompeo opposed the Affordable Care Act (ACA).[164] Pompeo has been criticized for saying he supports funding for certain programs, yet opposing them when they are a part of the ACA.[165] He accused the World Health organisation of being under control of the People's Republic of China.[166] The WHO responded by saying Pompeo's comments were unacceptable and a distraction from dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an American who was head of the WHO's emerging diseases and zoonosis unit at the time of the pandemic also expressed pride at the WHO for "saving lives".[167] It was argued that the attempt to blame the WHO was a way to draw attention away from the failings of the Trump administration.[168]
Social issuesPompeo has stated that life begins at conception and believes abortions should be allowed only when necessary to save the life of the mother, with no exceptions for rape.[169] In 2011, he voted for the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which would have banned federal health coverage that includes abortion. On May 31, 2011, he voted for H.R.2059 11-HR2059, which eliminated funding for the United Nations Population Fund.[170]
He opposes same-sex marriage and sponsored bills to let states prevent same-sex couples from marrying.[171][172]
Miscellaneous
Pompeo supported the United States federal government shutdown of 2013, blaming President Obama. He said he believed the shutdown was necessary to avoid an "American financial collapse 10 years from now".[173]
He is a lifetime member of, and has been endorsed by, the National Rifle Association.[174]
Pompeo opposes requiring food suppliers to label food made with genetically modified organisms. He introduced the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 to block states from requiring mandatory GMO food labeling.He opposes same-sex marriage and sponsored bills to let states prevent same-sex couples from marrying.[171][172]
Pompeo supported the United States federal government shutdown of 2013, blaming President Obama. He said he believed the shutdown was necessary to avoid an "American financial collapse 10 years from now".[173]
He is a lifetime member of, and has been endorsed by, the National Rifle Association.[174]
Pompeo opposes requiring food suppliers to label food made with genetically modified organisms. He introduced the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 to block states from requiring mandatory GMO food labeling.[175]
He sponsored the Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013.[176]
Since taking office as Secretary of State in April 2018, Pompeo has been an outspoken critic of China. It has been suggested that his criticism is not because he disagrees with China, but over fears the Chinese provide true competition for the US.[177][178] He suggested that Chinese investment in Israel would create issues between the US and Israel, and threatened to reduce security arrangements between the countries. Though Pompeo also claimed that he would have no problems with open and transparent investments.[179] He accused the World Health organization of being under control of the People's Republic of China and implicated China as being behind the significant number of deaths in the UK as a result of the 2020 coronavirus outbreak.[166] He praised the UK when they started to push back against the Chinese Communist Party and its General Secretary Xi Jinping, especially with respect to Huawei.[180] He also said he preferred a new coalition that did not need to go through established institutions, that were set up by the United States, such as the United Nations.[181] He argued that China was a new tyranny and that it was the duty of every nation to stand up to China.[182]
Pompeo has also argued that China's claims and activities in the South China Sea were illegal. In addition he said the Chinese authorities were not allowed to take unilateral action in the area.[183] This is despite the fact that many, such as Walter A. McDougall's Promised Land, Crusader State (1997), John Lewis Gaddis's Surprise, Security, and the American Experience (2004), and Bradley F. Podliska's Acting Alone (2010) believe it is in the United States' own national interests to be allowed unilateral power.[184] Michael Hirson, at Eurasia Group, argued that Pompeo was calling for regime change.Pompeo has also argued that China's claims and activities in the South China Sea were illegal. In addition he said the Chinese authorities were not allowed to take unilateral action in the area.[183] This is despite the fact that many, such as Walter A. McDougall's Promised Land, Crusader State (1997), John Lewis Gaddis's Surprise, Security, and the American Experience (2004), and Bradley F. Podliska's Acting Alone (2010) believe it is in the United States' own national interests to be allowed unilateral power.[184] Michael Hirson, at Eurasia Group, argued that Pompeo was calling for regime change.[185] He called on the Chinese people to betray their government and rise up to change the Chinese Communist Party.[186]
On July 23, 2020, Pompeo, during his Communist China and the Free World's Future speech, announced the end of what he called "blind engagement" with the Chinese government. He also criticized Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping[187] as "a true believer in a bankrupt totalitarian ideology."[188] He has further advocated for "The Clean Network" which he described as a commitment to technologies that do not allow undue influence by Chinese manufacturers beholden to the CCP.[189]
The former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Daniel Russel, argued that it would have "the opposite effect, in bolstering support in China for Xi Jinping and deepening anger towards the United States". Michael Hirson noted that with the 2020 U.S. presidential election nearing, it was unlikely Chinese policymakers would do anything to change their relationship.[185]
In September 2020, Pompeo accused China of trying to stir up racist unrest in the United States during an address to state lawmakers in Wisconsin.[190]
In October 2020 Donald Trump was diagnosed with coronavirus, and Pompeo cut scheduled meeting with South Korea and Mongolia[191]. However, he still met with allies from Australia, India and Japan, despite there being a risk of infecting his key counterparts, and accused the Chinese Communist Party of "exploitation, corruption and coercion".[192]
Mike Pompeo has continued the US' non-cooperative policy towards the International Criminal Court in The Hague, enacting sanctions against the ICC's chief prosecutor and other officials in September of 2020.[193] Some security experts have suggested that Pompeo himself could potentially face charges under the ICC statutes for CIA activities in Afghanistan during his time as director of that agency.[194][195]
Personal life
sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria
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