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Friday, January 11, 2019

An Honest Assessment

Yesterday in Cairo, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a speech that honestly assessed American policy in the Middle East under president Obama and found it severely inadequate.  Here's the most important quote from the secretary's speech:

“We learned that when America retreats, chaos often follows. When we neglect our friends, resentment builds. And when we partner with enemies, they advance. 

“The good news is this: The age of self-inflicted American shame is over, and so are the policies that produced so much needless suffering.  The United States under President Trump has reasserted its traditional role as a force for good in this region. We’ve learned from our mistakes. We’ve rediscovered our voice. We’ve rebuilt our relationships. We’ve rejected false overtures from our enemies.”


It has been a long time since a Secretary of State has spoken so honestly about past mistakes.

Pompeo chose to deliver the speech at Cairo University in the same room where Obama spoke in 2009 saying such things as that Islamic terrorism did not stem from an ideology, that America was at fault for some of that terrorism, and that the 9-11 attacks had caused the USA to lose its ideals.  Obama followed that by embracing the Egyptian government under the Moslem Brotherhood which supported terror groups like Hamas.  He also followed a policy that tilted towards Iran, his thinking apparently being that by showing strong friendship towards the mullahs in Teheran, he could get them to give up their nuclear ambitions.  Ultimately he entered into the severely flawed Iran nuclear agreement that provided Iran with a ten year pathway to legally getting nuclear weapons.  These policies of weakness and embracing terrorist supporting groups translated in the Middle East into a perception of American weakness and withdrawal.  Even when Obama sent US forces back into Iraq to fight ISIS, he so severely limited their ability to use their combat powers that only slow progress was seen in that fight.  Obama also came down hard on Israel, going so far as to interfere in the Israeli elections to try to oust Israel's prime minister Netanyahu.  These policies produced failure after failure.

It was a good thing for Pompeo to make clear both to area governments and to the world that the days of the Obama policy of American weakness and vacillation were over.  America knows who is a friend and who is an enemy of the USA, and will act accordingly and decisively.

This is an extremely important speech.  I looked to see how it was covered by the mainstream media.  The web site of CBS News does not mention it.  NBC/MSNBC have an article stating that Pompeo gave the speech and that it attacked the Obama policies.  They don't tell you what Pompeo said before spending the bulk of the article quoting old Obama hands who denounce the speech.  Finally in the last few paragraphs (at a point by which most people have stopped reading) they summarize Pompeo's statements.  Once again, the mainstream media pushes narrative rather than news.


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