by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has barely had time to unpack from his failed diplomatic jaunt to North Korea and his recent swing through Europe which culminated in the Helsinki fiasco, and now he finds himself being led by the nose into the next diplomatic circus: Iran.
Donald Trump always has an international conflict on the front burner, something to take the public's mind off of his domestic incompetence and endless corruption. But Trump's administration, and certainly his inner-circle, is shockingly devoid of individuals with actual diplomatic experience, and his efforts abroad quickly turn into further embarrassments: witness Singapore, Brussels, London, and Helsinki in just the past few weeks.
But Trump himself never fails at anything, and reports that indicate otherwise are just so much "fake news" - as most Americans with more tattoos than teeth will readily attest to - or would attest to if they knew what "attest" meant.
Trump likes sharing the stage with world class despots, people like Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin. He must reason that being photographed next to strongmen makes him look strong as well. Un and Putin command the respect of their people - literally "command" it - a prerogative that Trump feels should be his as well. But the United States has a pesky "democratic" tradition, one which allows, and sometimes even demands, outspoken public responses to the actions of our leaders, particularly when they try to lead with their heads up their rears.
Nothing is sacred in the Untied States, not even the pronouncements of the King.
The "success" of the summit with Kim Jong Un in Singapore was being questioned before Air Force One even made it back to the States. The "success" of the summit with Putin in Helsinki did not even last until the two world leaders made their way off of the stage. Donald Trump conducts diplomacy off-the-cuff, without preparation, and solely on instinct. His diplomacy is shockingly devoid of diplomats. And Mike Pompeo, a recent second-string Kansas congressman, would be woefully unprepared for his current job - if Trump ever managed to give him much rein to do the job.
But Trump, ever the stable genius, really doesn't need diplomats to handle diplomacy in much the same way as he doesn't require generals to handle defense. Late night telephone calls with other geniuses, people like Sean Hannity and Steve Bannon, build his knowledge and fuel his desire to act. Then by daylight Trump has tweeted his daily positions on world events and charted U.S. diplomatic policy for the next several days. Who needs diplomats - or generals, for that matter?
This "presidenting" stuff is a piece of cake!
So Hannity or some other foot soldier of Benjamin Netanyahu has cranked The Donald up over Iran, and that has become our next crisis de jour. This morning Trump tweeted his equivalent of the "fire and fury" threat to Iran, and he has poked poor Mike Pompeo into action. Pompeo gave a speech at the Reagan Library over the weekend attacking the leaders of Iran as being out of touch with their people. In his prepared remarks Pomepo called the leaders "hypocritical holy men" who are more interested in "spreading hardline views abroad than they are in helping out their own cash-strapped citizens."
Pompeo added, "Sometimes it seems the world has become desensitized to the regime's authoritarianism at home and its campaign of violence abroad, but the proud Iranian people are not staying silent about their government's many abuses." Then he followed up with this: "The level of corruption and wealth among Iranian leaders shows that Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government."
Sound familiar?
Something fun: Take the above quotes by Mike Pomepeo and replace "Iran" and references to its leaders with "United States" and references to our own leaders. Poor Mikey could have just as easily been discussing the United States under the Trump administration.
The only thing certain about the currently escalating conflict between our own government and that of Iran is that we will have moved on to a new crisis within the next week or two, and the U.S. Secretary of State and possibly the Secretary of Defense will have been devalued in the process - because the government of the United States is run by something that resembles the mafia more that a government.
Consider resigning, Secretary Pompeo. There is life beyond the embarrassment of working for the Trump administration.
Citizen Journalist
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has barely had time to unpack from his failed diplomatic jaunt to North Korea and his recent swing through Europe which culminated in the Helsinki fiasco, and now he finds himself being led by the nose into the next diplomatic circus: Iran.
Donald Trump always has an international conflict on the front burner, something to take the public's mind off of his domestic incompetence and endless corruption. But Trump's administration, and certainly his inner-circle, is shockingly devoid of individuals with actual diplomatic experience, and his efforts abroad quickly turn into further embarrassments: witness Singapore, Brussels, London, and Helsinki in just the past few weeks.
But Trump himself never fails at anything, and reports that indicate otherwise are just so much "fake news" - as most Americans with more tattoos than teeth will readily attest to - or would attest to if they knew what "attest" meant.
Trump likes sharing the stage with world class despots, people like Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin. He must reason that being photographed next to strongmen makes him look strong as well. Un and Putin command the respect of their people - literally "command" it - a prerogative that Trump feels should be his as well. But the United States has a pesky "democratic" tradition, one which allows, and sometimes even demands, outspoken public responses to the actions of our leaders, particularly when they try to lead with their heads up their rears.
Nothing is sacred in the Untied States, not even the pronouncements of the King.
The "success" of the summit with Kim Jong Un in Singapore was being questioned before Air Force One even made it back to the States. The "success" of the summit with Putin in Helsinki did not even last until the two world leaders made their way off of the stage. Donald Trump conducts diplomacy off-the-cuff, without preparation, and solely on instinct. His diplomacy is shockingly devoid of diplomats. And Mike Pompeo, a recent second-string Kansas congressman, would be woefully unprepared for his current job - if Trump ever managed to give him much rein to do the job.
But Trump, ever the stable genius, really doesn't need diplomats to handle diplomacy in much the same way as he doesn't require generals to handle defense. Late night telephone calls with other geniuses, people like Sean Hannity and Steve Bannon, build his knowledge and fuel his desire to act. Then by daylight Trump has tweeted his daily positions on world events and charted U.S. diplomatic policy for the next several days. Who needs diplomats - or generals, for that matter?
This "presidenting" stuff is a piece of cake!
So Hannity or some other foot soldier of Benjamin Netanyahu has cranked The Donald up over Iran, and that has become our next crisis de jour. This morning Trump tweeted his equivalent of the "fire and fury" threat to Iran, and he has poked poor Mike Pompeo into action. Pompeo gave a speech at the Reagan Library over the weekend attacking the leaders of Iran as being out of touch with their people. In his prepared remarks Pomepo called the leaders "hypocritical holy men" who are more interested in "spreading hardline views abroad than they are in helping out their own cash-strapped citizens."
Pompeo added, "Sometimes it seems the world has become desensitized to the regime's authoritarianism at home and its campaign of violence abroad, but the proud Iranian people are not staying silent about their government's many abuses." Then he followed up with this: "The level of corruption and wealth among Iranian leaders shows that Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government."
Sound familiar?
Something fun: Take the above quotes by Mike Pomepeo and replace "Iran" and references to its leaders with "United States" and references to our own leaders. Poor Mikey could have just as easily been discussing the United States under the Trump administration.
The only thing certain about the currently escalating conflict between our own government and that of Iran is that we will have moved on to a new crisis within the next week or two, and the U.S. Secretary of State and possibly the Secretary of Defense will have been devalued in the process - because the government of the United States is run by something that resembles the mafia more that a government.
Consider resigning, Secretary Pompeo. There is life beyond the embarrassment of working for the Trump administration.
2 comments:
Pompeo could only resign based on an issue of principle. That is an asset in scarce supply among his resources. Mike is highly educated he graduated first in his class and received his B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point and his J.D. from Harvard Law. Contrasting with principle in his asset cache is ambition. Mike wants to become President and the nation be damned he if it is destroyed in the pursuit of his dream.
While Trump and his minions believe that the work of governing is all done with smoke, mirrors, photo ops, and sound bites the truth is there is serious work needed to move forward our economic and national security needs. In this Trump era reality is perception to those in power.
In non-Trump circles reality is what it is. Central to the efforts of maintaining the national security of these United States is a robust diplomatic corps. This Administration has allowed staffing at the State Department wither. The other two resources the nation uses to influence the world is our wealth and our military. While Pompeo is helping Trump build a great campaign ad watch where and how our military is deployed. Trump is a dangerous man who employs those willing to treat governance as though it were a video game.
Perhaps Pompeo thinks that if President Ulysses S. Grant, who ranked 21st out of 39 in his West Point class, can make it to the oval office then he must be a shoe in. America would be better off with a drunk like Grant today because he understood not only what wasn't real but also how to get things done.
Trump is on record as predicting Obama would declare war on Iran in order to salvage his presidency --- not once, but several times. What's interesting is that here is "everyone's favorite president" offering up some interesting advice.
Post a Comment