World News – AU – The Rise of Mike Pompeo – The Sunday Guardian Live

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to NSA Ajit Doval during his visit to India Jan.. October at the South Block in New Delhi. ANI

The earth-shaking presidential election, the devastating Covid-19, the defeat of Donald Trump, his unsuccessful election applications and the scary scenario of a president being escorted from the White House by the security forces kept the world in suspense. But one man went around the world as U.S. Secretary of State and decided to begin a second term in January 2021. One day he is in India, the next in Israel, then in Saudi Arabia and wherever American interests need to be protected and promoted. He is desperately trying to change Trump’s image from an outsider, an unpredictable and unstable president, to a man of vision who has achieved a lot in foreign policy towards China, North Korea and Russia and solved the Middle East crisis once and for all. In doing so, he appears to be establishing himself as a candidate for the Republican presidential candidate in 2024, possibly against Trump himself.

Pompeo is a completely unconventional diplomat who calls a spade, not just a spade, but a shovel. He had no qualms about acting out the People’s Republic of China by calling it the Chinese Communist Party and calling Xi Jinping just the leader of the Communist Party. He said it was precise as millions of Chinese citizens should not be held accountable for the wrongdoings of the party and its leader.

No other US Secretary of State has promised India as clearly as he has. “The US and India are taking steps to strengthen our cooperation against all kinds of threats, not just those from the Chinese Communist Party. Last year we expanded our cooperation on cyber issues, our marines carried out joint exercises in the Indian Ocean. Pompeo accused China’s ruling party of failing to adhere to the rule of law and transparency. “Our leaders and citizens see with increasing clarity that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is not a friend of democracy, the rule of law and transparency. I am happy to say that India and the US are taking all steps to strengthen cooperation against all threats, not just those posed by the CCP. The US will stand together with the people of India when they face threats to their sovereignty and freedom, ”Pompeo told a press conference in Delhi and went to Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia to warn them about Chinese perfidy. Nor did he shred a word about Pakistan when he told a joint press conference that India associates China with Pakistan as an adversary.

The most dramatic diplomatic initiative to rescue Trump from his despicable diplomatic record has been his shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East. Although the president’s son-in-law was given the honor of getting the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan to normalize relations with Israel, the mastermind was Pompeo. Benjamin Netanyahu’s secret visit to Saudi Arabia and his meeting with Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) came under the guise of a Pompeo visit, which enabled the Saudis to refuse such a meeting. Saudi Arabia is cautious about bringing an Israeli rapprochement to the public for fear of backlash from the conservative nation. Saudi Arabia cannot move away from the core question that there will be no agreement before the Israelis reach a lasting peace deal with the Palestinians. By posting his own picture on MBS, Pompeo gave credibility that the meeting was not with Netanyahu.

Israel’s Minister of Education appeared to confirm that the meeting took place, adding that the talks between Mr. Netanyahu and MBS were an amazing achievement. President Trump has said he expected Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel, but such a move faces major hurdles. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said in an interview at the G20 summit that the kingdom’s position has not changed. “We have long supported normalization with Israel because we are the authors of the 2002 Arab peace initiative that envisaged full normalization with Israel. But there is one very important thing that must be done first, which is a permanent and full peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis that will provide the Palestinians with a Palestinian state with dignity within the 1967 borders. Since the other Arab states have normalized their relations unconditionally, Saudi Arabia can be expected to do the same. And that’s what Pompeo is working on. In anticipation, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has indicated that there could be a solution without the creation of two states.

Secret diplomacy is a matter of course for Israel as it is a stealth state for several Arab countries and they do not mind if the truth is later revealed. Moshe Dayan’s secret visit to India in 1978 would not have been revealed if then-Prime Minister Morarji Desai hadn’t boasted when a British MP insisted that India should stop ignoring Israel.

In the midst of all this, Pompeo has not even forgotten little Venezuela. He said the US « clearly condemns » a Venezuelan court convicting six former executives of US refinery Citgo on corruption charges and demanding that they be sent home. « After these six people had been detained in Venezuela for more than three years on these bogus charges and most of the time in appalling detention conditions, they should be returned to the US immediately, » he said.

When asked about his greatest achievement in his career, Pompeo said, “I haven’t had a chance to think about it. I think if I gave you my quick answer it would really be something I could return from Pyongyang with three Americans and travel home with them from Asia and bring them back to their families. Pompeo was referring to the release of three Americans detained in North Korea for anti-state activities. Pompeo accompanied the detainees from North Korea back to the United States, which is now one of the State Department’s top performances during the Trump administration. « You were at real risk and we had a chance to bring three Americans home that morning at the beginning of my tenure as Secretary of State, » he said. “That was something very special. Pompeo deliberately avoided any reference to the failure of the summit meeting with Kim.

After the president’s transition began with a nod from Trump, Pompeo has admitted that his second term as foreign secretary is unlikely. Regarding his plans for the future, Pompeo said it was « hard to know » but he would « keep doing this until we are patted on the back and said it is no longer time to be Secretary of State ». . He added, “Susan and I will find out. ”.

In the meantime, he keeps talking about the accomplishments of the Trump administration. In a tweet he claimed, « The government has formed real coalitions – the coalition that crushed the Caliphate in Syria, the coalition that pushed back the Chinese Communist Party, a coalition that refused to appease the Iranian regime. « . The list of our activities is great. ”

“The U. . S.. . sanctioned four companies in China and Russia for supporting Iran’s missile program, which remains a significant proliferation problem. We will continue to use all of our sanctions tools to prevent Iran from upgrading its missile capabilities, ”he said in another tweet.

We don’t know how many other rabbits Pompeo will pull out of his hat before January 2021. But even if he had no concrete results to announce, he would have churned up the foreign policy pot in order to present the Trump administration in a better light. His own ambitions as president could be thwarted if Trump becomes a presidential candidate in 2024. But he may well be content to have a second term as Secretary of State in a new Trump administration. But for the rest of the world, including India, Pompeo will definitely be preferable as president.

T. . P. . Sreenivasan is a former Indian Ambassador who spent ten years in various diplomatic positions in the United States.

Chinese Communist Party, China, Communism, Xi Jinping