In Cairo, Pompeo blasts Obama's Middle East policies

[webfact]

In Cairo, Pompeo blasts Obama's Middle East policies

By Lesley Wroughton and Lena Masri

 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shakes hands with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry following their meeting at the ministry of foreign affairs in Cairo, Egypt, January 10, 2019. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS

 

CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday accused Barack Obama of sowing chaos by abandoning the Middle East to Islamist militants and Iranian influence in a blistering critique of the former president's policies even as Pompeo's boss, President Donald Trump, moves to pull American troops out of Syria.

 

In a speech at the American University in Cairo, Pompeo dispensed with a U.S. diplomatic tradition of avoiding public airing abroad of domestic disputes by blasting Obama at the site of a landmark 2009 speech by Trump's predecessor aimed at improving relations with the Islamic world.

 

Pompeo presented America as "a force for good in the Middle East" and suggested Obama saw the United States as "a force for what ails the Middle East."

 

Some former U.S. officials and analysts accused the top American diplomat of misreading history and camouflaging Trump's own desire to reduce U.S. commitments in the region.

 

Pompeo accused Obama of underestimating "the tenacity and viciousness of radical Islamism," of failing to adequately support the 2009 "Green Movement" mass protests against a disputed election in Iran, and faulted him for not bombing Syria in retaliation for chemical weapons use by government forces in its civil war.

 

"What did we learn from all of this? We learned that when America retreats, chaos often follows. When we neglect our friends, resentment builds. And when we partner with our enemies, they advance," Pompeo said.

 

Pompeo did not mention Obama by name but called him "another American" who had given a speech in the capital of the Arab world's most-populous nation. Obama's office declined comment on the speech.

 

Pompeo is touring the region to try to explain U.S. strategy after Trump's surprise announcement last month of an abrupt withdrawal of all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, which rattled allies, shocked top U.S. officials and prompted U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis's resignation.

 

It is highly unusual for an American secretary of state to give a speech abroad directly attacking a former U.S. president. Trump has reversed Obama's policies on international issues such as the Iran nuclear deal, trade agreements and the Paris climate change accord as well as a host of domestic policies.

 

Pompeo sought to reassure allies that Washington remains committed to the "complete dismantling" of the threat posed by the Islamic State militant group and to ending Iranian influence in Syria despite Trump's decision to withdraw troops there.

 

"In Syria, the United States will use diplomacy and work with our partners to expel every last Iranian boot," Pompeo said.

 

Pompeo faulted what he called Obama's "desire for peace at any cost" that led him to reach the 2015 nuclear deal under which Iran agreed to curtail its nuclear weapons program in exchange for easing of international economic sanctions.

 

Trump last year abandoned that deal, pursuing instead a policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran to try to force it to limit its nuclear program, curtail its ballistic missile activities and cease supporting proxy forces in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.

 

Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, mocked Pompeo's speech, writing on Twitter: "Whenever/wherever US interferes, chaos, repression and resentment follow."

 

Many people in the Middle East are likely to disagree with Pompeo's assertion that the United States is a force for good in the region. Policies such as U.S. support for Israel, the American-backed 1953 coup that overthrew Iran's popular Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq to topple President Saddam Hussein remain deeply controversial in the region.

 

'SELF-INFLICTED AMERICAN SHAME'

In his June 2009 Cairo University speech, Obama advocated better mutual understanding between the Islamic world and the West and said both should do more to confront violent extremism. As a result, Republicans have accused Obama of apologizing to the world for U.S. actions abroad.

 

"The good news," Pompeo said, "is this: The age of self-inflicted American shame is over. And so are the policies that produced so much needless suffering."

 

Some Middle East experts and officials who served under Obama accused Pompeo of violating the American tradition that "politics stops at the water's edge."

 

"It feels a little bit as if the approach is to 'talk loudly and carry a small stick,'" said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

 

"You could read this as obscuring a continued U.S. retrenchment from Middle Eastern commitments," Alterman added.

 

Pompeo received support from United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash, who said on Twitter that "Washington, through its secretary of state, is asserting the importance of its alliances and supporting its friends."

 

Pompeo pointedly repudiated Obama's 2009 speech.

 

"He told you that radical Islamist terrorism does not stem from an ideology. He told you that 9/11 (the Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on the United States) led my country to abandon its ideals, particularly in the Middle East," Pompeo said.

 

"The results of these misjudgments have been dire," Pompeo added. "In falsely seeing ourselves as a force for what ails the Middle East, we were timid in asserting ourselves when the time and our partners demanded it."

 

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and Lena Masri; Additional reporting by Amina Ismail in Cairo, and David Brunnstrom and Steve Holland in Washington; Writing by Arshad Mohammed and Sami Aboudi; Editing by Will Dunham)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-11

[Somtamnication]

No American policy has been effective, fair and balanced, since the early 1900s. Nothing new here.

[sirineou]

39 minutes ago, Somtamnication said:

No American policy has been effective, fair and balanced, since the early 1900s. Nothing new here.

Not fair, or balanced, but as far as effective is concern, it all depends what you think was the desired goal. I am sure there are those who think it has being extremely effective. 

[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Pompeo accused Obama of underestimating "the tenacity and viciousness of radical Islamism,"

he has been proven right,isn't hard to see them for what they are

[Pedrogaz]

Pompeo is a very stupid fat man. He should have the decency to resign.

[farcanell]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

What did we learn from all of this? We learned that when America retreats, chaos often follows. When we neglect our friends, resentment builds. And when we partner with our enemies, they advance," Pompeo said.

Yeah!

And when did we learn it?

 

when we tried, and all the adults started screaming and pulling out their hair

[Srikcir]

Pompeo’s Cairo speech revealed the total incoherence of Trump’s Middle East policy

https://www.vox.com/world/2019/1/10/18176811/pompeo-cairo-speech-trump-iran-middle-east-syria-trump

But then there's been so much Trump incoherence of foreign policy in the last two years that this isn't a surprise.

And yet the saving grace for the Middle East,

Mike Pompeo lambastes Obama — and then embraces Obama’s Syria strategy

while denouncing Mr. Obama’s mistakes, they are, in Syria, about to repeat them.

Washington Post - link requires subscription

 

 

[stephen tracy]

This is a guy that couldn't even find the Middle East on a map. His boss effectively gave Iran the green light to go ahead with their nuke program. The Trump administration is almost surreal. 

[riclag]

I like Mike,  number one in his class at West Point! Smart as a whip! 

Congressman,lawyer ,CIA director and now SOS! Don't let that smile fool you! He excels at everything he does!

 Calling out Obama Admin. for his misdeeds is spot on! What a mess the prior Admin. left, to clean up!

[bristolboy]

2 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Pompeo’s Cairo speech revealed the total incoherence of Trump’s Middle East policy

https://www.vox.com/world/2019/1/10/18176811/pompeo-cairo-speech-trump-iran-middle-east-syria-trump

But then there's been so much Trump incoherence of foreign policy in the last two years that this isn't a surprise.

And yet the saving grace for the Middle East,

Mike Pompeo lambastes Obama — and then embraces Obama’s Syria strategy

while denouncing Mr. Obama’s mistakes, they are, in Syria, about to repeat them.

Washington Post - link requires subscription

 

 

Actually, if you use "incognito" mode in Chrome or similar modes in Explorer or Firefox you can access Washington Post via links and it's perfectly legitimate.

[bristolboy]

7 minutes ago, riclag said:

I like Mike,  number one in his class at West Point! Smart as a whip! 

Congressman,lawyer ,CIA director and now SOS! Don't let that smile fool you! He excels at everything he does!

 Calling out Obama Admin. for his misdeeds is spot on! What a mess the prior Admin. left, to clean up!

Aren't you the same person who was applauding Trump when he threatened a quick pullout from Syria and abandoning opposition to the Iranian presence there? Doublethink much?

[bristolboy]

Maybe Pompeo should check in with the Defense Department once in a while?

Pentagon Pushes Forward on Syria Pullout

 

"The U.S. military is moving ahead with its plans to withdraw all troops from Syria, in keeping with a White House directive in December, even though a U.S.-Turkey rift appears likely to delay the pullout, defense officials said.

White House national security adviser John Boltonsaid this week that the U.S. wouldn’t leave Syria until Turkey promised not to target the U.S.’s Kurdish partners, provoking a furor during his visit to Ankara and throwing the withdrawal plan into turmoil.

 

But the defense officials said the Pentagon hasn’t received any new direction and until it does, officials are proceeding with withdrawal plans."

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-military-prepares-for-syria-pullout-amid-uncertainty-11547156824?mod=hp_major_pos1

[Tug]

More trump style bs some nonsense clames deflect blame others take credit for non existent achievements 

[simple1]

Blasting Obama's prior policies achieves exactly what? Trump admin has become a farce with trump, the military, Bolton and Pompeo all articulating differing polices regards M.E. Now the armed services have commenced withdrawal from Syria putting thousands of lives of their allies at risk.

[bristolboy]

11 hours ago, riclag said:

I like Mike,  number one in his class at West Point! Smart as a whip! 

Congressman,lawyer ,CIA director and now SOS! Don't let that smile fool you! He excels at everything he does!

 Calling out Obama Admin. for his misdeeds is spot on! What a mess the prior Admin. left, to clean up!

Which makes it all the more bizarre that he's claiming the Trump administration is standing up to Iran and Isis while the withdrawal of US forces is actually underway.

[candide]

11 hours ago, riclag said:

I like Mike,  number one in his class at West Point! Smart as a whip! 

Congressman,lawyer ,CIA director and now SOS! Don't let that smile fool you! He excels at everything he does!

 Calling out Obama Admin. for his misdeeds is spot on! What a mess the prior Admin. left, to clean up!

Actually, the mess, i.e. the rise of terrorism, is a direct consequence of the failed policies of the Bush administration.

[sirineou]

11 hours ago, riclag said:

I like Mike,  number one in his class at West Point! Smart as a whip! 

Congressman,lawyer ,CIA director and now SOS! Don't let that smile fool you! He excels at everything he does!

 Calling out Obama Admin. for his misdeeds is spot on! What a mess the prior Admin. left, to clean up!

Not smart enough to understand that "politics stop at waters edge", especially in a country such as Egypt with its  jails filled to the bream with young democracy supporters. 

 Not smart enough to not give away for nothing political capital.

 Gave away the Jerusalem  embassy move  and got nothing in return, Gave a free pass to Saudi Arabia over the killing and got nothing in return. 

In my book "stupid is as stupid does"