U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press briefing in Washington D.C., the United States, Feb. 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
- Pompeo lies on almost everything. Logic and common sense evade him at every turn.
- As the U.S. top diplomat, what Pompeo wants is confrontation, provocation and sabotage.
- Pompeo, widely believed to be coveting for the Oval Office, is cashing the reputation of his office as well as the benefits of the U.S. for political chips in the future.
by Xinhua writer Shi Xiaomeng
BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman once commented that "Mike Pompeo is the worst secretary of state ever." He is surely right about that. Moreover, Pompeo is likely the most dangerous individual to hold the post.
In his recent speech at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Pompeo launched a fusillade of ill-founded attacks, inciting an ideological hatred against China and the Communist Party of China, and tried to coax others into forming an alliance against Beijing.
Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, criticized Pompeo's speech as undiplomatic. He wrote in an opinion published by The Washington Post: "Worse was his misrepresentation of history and his failure to suggest a coherent or viable path forward for managing a relationship that more than any other will define this era."
A secretary of state is the most senior diplomatic face of a U.S. administration, representing the United States in the world community.
A competent top U.S. diplomat should be credible and trustworthy. Pompeo is neither. He seems to be a loyal practitioner of what Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels once said "A lie repeated a thousand times becomes truth." Pompeo lies on almost everything, and China is one of his most frequent targets. Logic and common sense evade him at every turn.
The Capitol is seen in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Jan. 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
When he was interviewed by ABC news in May, he said there is a significant amount of evidence to prove that the novel coronavirus was man-made and came from a lab in Wuhan. Yet when the interviewer pressed him with counterproof compiled by Washington's own intelligence community, he responded by saying "That's right. I agree with that." Alas, it seems that Pompeo can change his mind much faster than a chameleon changes its color.
Moreover, the job of a secretary of state is to work with his counterparts to promote peace and stability around the world. Yet it seems that Pompeo has twisted his current office into a post that honors confrontation, provocation and sabotage, a continuation of behavior as the chief of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Under his watch, he advocated for one embargo after another against Iran; and he publically claimed that the days of Nicolas Maduro as Venezuelan president were numbered and threatened military action.
Most extraordinary is that the secretary of state even seems to try to torpedo his own administration's diplomatic undertakings. When the current U.S. administration was negotiating for a denuclearization deal with Pyongyang last year, Pompeo acted so disrespectfully that Pyongyang demanded his removal from the talks, and accused him of "talking nonsense" and being "reckless."
Photo taken on July 23, 2020 shows the White House in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
And as the world now needs broad global cooperation to tackle the dire challenges of a raging coronavirus pandemic, a reeling global economy and a changing global climate, Pompeo, who ought to facilitate international teamwork, is instigating tensions with China, and bullying others, including America's own allies.
There is now wide speculation inside the United States that Pompeo is eying for the U.S. presidency. That could explain his highly politicized actions and statements over the years.
It is increasingly clear that he is merely using the office of secretary of state to reach the pinnacle of his own political ambitions at the expense of the interests of his country and people, as well as the peace and stability of the world. Sober minds in America and worldwide must stay vigilant. ■
