March 23, 2018
By Trudy Ring
...Pompeo, (click here) previously the Trump administration’s CIA director, was beginning his fourth term as a U.S. House member from Kansas when he assumed that position. In the House, cosponsored the State Marriage Defense Act, which attempted to slow the spread of marriage equality, and the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act, a precursor to the current First Amendment Defense Act, which is essentially “license to discriminate” legislation. He also voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act when the domestic violence law’s language was expanded to explicitly include same-sex couples. In his three full terms in the House, he garnered two zeroes and a 30, out of a possible 100, on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard.....
...After the 2013 bombing at the Boston Marathon, he said “deafening” silence from American Muslim leaders made them “potentially complicit” in terrorist acts, when in fact many of them had condemned the bombing. In his 2010 run for Congress, his campaign sent a tweet calling his opponent, an Indian-American, a “turban topper” who “could be a muslim, a hindu, a buddhist etc who knows.” Campaign staff later apologized....
This type of dialogue is not diplomatic. He will be judged by many in the international community as an extremist and racist. Mr. Tillerson did not have that problem, because, he was already a diplomat in his role at Exxonmobile. In places that might have been offended by Mr. Trump, wasn't by Mr. Tillerson and were willing to have open dialogues with him.
It seems as though Pompeo is a very good representative to the Trump World dogma and extremist right-wing bias, racism and bigotry. I think Pompeo walks on the same path as Trump. So, it is not surprising Trump would choose him. I am not sure a visit to meet with the president of North Korea is a sincere reflection of the qualities of a Secretary of State for the USA. I would have been more impressed if Dennis Rodman accompanied Mr. Pompeo. At least the racist tilt of this administration might be somewhat removed if Dennis visited as well.
...What a stark (click here) and alarming contrast to Pompeo’s views about Muslims. First off, Pompeo openly pals around with the nation’s top anti-Muslim activists: Brigitte Gabriel, the leader of “ACT for America,” and Frank Gaffney....
I think the most sensitive area that will be confronted by Pompeo as Secretary of State is the Iran Nuclear Agreement. There is no doubt, in my opinion, he will seek to end the continued agreement that the other signators uphold. Right now, Europe is extending welcome to Iranian business relationships to assist in building a stronger economy that Iran will value above any nuclear weapons.
The Tea Party runs a real risk to donors such as the Koch's near billion dollar donations, of which Paul Ryan will no longer oversee; if the views of these people are not upheld. In some ways, Trump's dialogue with China is an offense to the Kochs, but, somehow that is ignored for their own reasons for deregulation to exploit American lands.
Then there is Syria and Israel and the tensions existing since the bombing to end the use of chemical weapons. Pompeo will not encourage any peace negotiations within Syria. He will see Syria as a threat rather than a disarmed country and will want further involvement by the USA, regardless, of the Trump position of removing US troops from the area.
15 April 2018
By Nicky Woolf
...In response (click here) to an open-ended question on Friday about the relationship between the US and Russia, Pompeo, seemingly unprompted, dropped a bombshell admission. “In Syria, a handful of weeks ago, the Russians met their match,” the former Kansas Republican said, adding in a boastful tone that “a couple hundred Russians were killed.”
He was referring to a clash in February. The facts of the event were already known, but it had not been officially confirmed by US authorities, so Pompeo mentioning it in the Senate was a pretty big deal. Pro-Putin sites like Sputnik and Russia Today feasted upon the morsel of outrage, reflecting that the admission, especially the casual nature in which it was made, was likely a bigger deal in Russia than was clear at the time....
Additionally, the idea of seeking a peace agreement in Syria between all parties, except any remnant of Daesh, is trashed by Pompeo stating Russia is not a threat. THEREFORE, the US can feel confident that an invasion might be a preferred stance with a complete military confrontation with Iran.
That veiw of the world is grossly mistaken and completely incompetent. There is nothing that states the "Russia soldiers of fortune" is a good assessment of the Russian military prowess.
That hatred of any country or leader or religion does not belong in the State Department and/or the CIA as far as I am concerned, but, the CIA Director has minimal contact with international high level leaders to cause such deep divides that it CAN LEAD TO WAR. I really think Pompeo as Secretary of State is nothing more than the expression of animosity of the Tea Party, their racism and religious bigotry.
What is more distressing at the international level is the change in posture between allies of the USA and Russia. There are real movements of ships and jets that change the posture of the US Allies and Russia. It might be all show for the sake of Russian allies, including Syria, but regardless it is still occuring. Quite frankly, I don't mind France and the UK have taken back a safer stance considering the ongoing destabilized nature of Ukraine.
By Jonathan Shorman
People fly into the air as a vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against white nationalists in Charlottesville, Va. on Aug. 12, 2017. Kelly won a Pulitzer Prize for the image.
Mike Pompeo, (click here) the CIA director and former Kansas representative, said President Donald Trump was clear in condemning bigotry in the fatal aftermath of a white nationalist rally in Virginia on Saturday.
“I think the president, frankly, was pretty unambiguous about what his Justice Department is going to do, the way he views how utterly inappropriate it is for this hatred and bigotry – I think the president’s remarks were very clear,” Pompeo said on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday.
Trump was criticized for not condemning white nationalists by name in remarks he made following violence in Charlottesville, Virginia....
Mr. Pompeo is also a danger to the domestic landscape of the USA. He looks the other way when it comes to White Supremacists. There are members of his party that have gone to Europe to attend conventions of White Supremacists. He just is too extreme. I believe he is a good read to the values of the Trump White House and administration. I think the more power given to Pompeo, the worst the standing of the USA internationally.
There is simply no doubt who is at fault in the Charlottesville deaths. There is no doubt why they occurred. The leadership of the USA should have had no doubt as to addressing racist violence in the USA.
..."You see sunglasses and shoes and cellphones (click here) that aren't connected to people's hands or feet or heads. You see water spraying. There's just a lot of violent, violent details that are coming through in ways that you don't normally experience in everyday life," Kelly says.
The scene shown in Kelly's photo is the same incident in which 32-year-old Charlottesville resident Heather Heyer was killed, and in which 19 others were hospitalized.
"I'm honestly shocked that more people weren't affected by that," Kelly says. "It was such a violent collision. He was traveling so fast down the road when he collided with the crowd. It's amazing to me that more people didn't die, but I'm very thankful for that."...
Within the past few days, two young Hebrew men were attacked in a very nice neighborhood in Germany. The attacker used his pant's belt to attack a young Jewish man. Others nearby, including a friend, were able to break off the attack. There is a mobile phone video of the attack.
Germany is currently acting on legislation to make such attacks illegal in a way that if there is even any anti-semitic language spoken it is a violation of the law. An attack like this would bring severe consequences in this new approach of law enforcement. If Mike Pompeo with his extremist tilt goes to Germany there is no doubt to me he will be completely rejected as anyone with enough authority to actually address any German laws or leaders in a way that matters.
He is not the man for the job.
