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Mike Pompeo’s handling of the Trump administration’s foreign policy “has inflicted some of the worst diplomatic damage the United States has suffered in decades, especially in relations with its closest allies,” writes the deputy editor of the editorial page and Washington Post columnist Jackson Diehl. (Photo: The Washington Post)
The Washington Post
Updated: August 30, 2020
As secretary of state, Mike Pompeo has presided over the collapse of negotiations with North Korea, the failure of a pressure campaign against Iran and a failed attempt to overthrow the authoritarian regime in Venezuela. During his tenure, China has carried out a genocide in its Xinjiang region and the suppression of Hong Kong’s freedoms without resistance from Washington until it was too late.
Pompeo has been unable to fill dozens of high-level positions in the State Department, and hundreds of career diplomats have left or been ousted in political purges. Morale is at an all-time low: In staff surveys, there has been a 34 percent increase between 2016 and 2019 in those saying that senior State Department leaders “failed to maintain high standards of honesty and integrity.” Perhaps it’s because Pompeo himself has defied congressional legal mandates, circumvented a law restricting arms sales to Saudi Arabia, commissioned staff to run errands for him and his wife, and fired the inspector general who was investigating. their violations.
Last week, Pompeo crossed another ethical line by speaking before the Republican National Convention, thereby ignoring the State Department’s explicit legal guidance against such appearances. His speech was weak and riddled with false or simply ridiculous claims, such as that the recent diplomatic agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates is “a deal our grandchildren will read about in their history books.” Maybe if they specialize in Middle Eastern affairs.
With his ambitions likely pinned on a presidential bid in 2024, Pompeo undoubtedly hopes that most diplomatic disasters will eventually be blamed on President Trump, especially if Trump loses the November election. But the former Kansas congressman shouldn’t get out so easily. Yes, it is Trump’s foreign policy. But Pompeo’s leadership has led to some of the worst diplomatic damage the United States has suffered in decades, especially in relations with its closest allies.
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Related:
Pompeo Approves Plans to Stop Aid to Ethiopia Over Nile Dam Dispute
fake images
The hill
08/28/20
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo approved plans to halt some of US aid to Ethiopia, Foreign Policy reported on Friday.
The aid cessation comes as the United States mediates a dispute over a dam on the Nile River that pits Ethiopia against Egypt and Sudan, according to Foreign Policy. The decision could affect up to $ 130 million in assistance to programs that include security, counterterrorism and human trafficking.
“Progress is still being made, we still see a viable path forward here,” a US official told the magazine. “The role of the United States is to do everything possible to help facilitate an agreement between the three countries that balances their interests. At the end of the day, it has to be an agreement that works for these three countries. “
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
Ethiopia and Egypt are stuck in negotiations over how the dam on a tributary of the Nile will be managed.
Egypt and Sudan, which depend on the Nile for much of their fresh water, oppose any development they say will affect downstream flow, including the 6,000 megawatt power plant Ethiopia hopes to develop at the dam.
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Is the Trump administration using aid to intimidate Ethiopia over the Nile dam?
It is unfortunate that the United States has decided to take the wrong side in a local African dispute regarding the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. As the following FP article reports, the Trump administration is cutting “some foreign aid” to Ethiopia because of the GERD. The plan may be intended to tip the balance in Egypt’s favor, but if history is any indication that this type of foreign intimidation does not work in Ethiopia. It is also worth mentioning that the dam, a $ 4.5 billion hydroelectric project, is being funded entirely by the Ethiopian people. (Fake images)
Foreign policy
The United States halts some foreign aid funds to Ethiopia over the dam dispute with Egypt, Sudan, some US officials fear the move will harm Washington’s relationship with Addis Ababa.
Updated: AUGUST 27, 2020
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo approved a plan to halt US foreign aid to Ethiopia as the Trump administration tries to mediate a dispute with Egypt and Sudan over the East African country’s construction of a huge dam on the River Nile. .
The decision, made this week, could affect up to nearly $ 130 million in U.S. foreign aid to Ethiopia and fuel new tensions in the relationship between Washington and Addis Ababa as it carries out plans to fill the dam, according to U.S. officials and aides to the Familiar Congress. with the matter. Officials cautioned that the details of the cuts are not yet set in stone and that the final figure could run to less than $ 130 million.
Programs that are in the works include security assistance, counterterrorism and military education and training, anti-trafficking programs and broader development assistance funding, congressional officials and aides said. The cuts would not affect US funding for emergency humanitarian aid, food assistance or health programs aimed at addressing COVID-19 and HIV / AIDS, authorities said.
The move is intended to address the standoff between Ethiopia and other downstream Nile River countries that have opposed the construction of the massive dam project, called the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Egypt views the construction of the dam as a critical security issue given the country’s heavy reliance on the river for fresh water and agriculture, and in the past Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has hinted his country could use military force. to stop the construction of the dam.
Some Ethiopian officials have said they believe the Trump administration is siding with Egypt in the dispute. President Donald Trump has shown affection for Sisi, apparently calling him his “favorite dictator” during a G-7 summit last year. Officials familiar with the negotiations said the Trump administration has not approved parallel cuts in foreign aid to Egypt.
Administration officials have repeatedly assured all parties that Washington is an impartial mediator in the negotiations, marking one of the few diplomatic initiatives in Africa in which the president has played a personal and active role. These officials noted that Egypt has accused the United States of siding with Ethiopia in the dispute as well.
“Progress is still being made, we still see a viable path forward here,” said a US official. “The role of the United States is to do everything possible to help facilitate an agreement between the three countries that balances their interests. At the end of the day, it has to be an agreement that works for these three countries. “
But the measure is likely to face a sharp setback on Capitol Hill, according to congressional aides familiar with the matter. State Department officials briefed congressional staff on the decision on Thursday, attendees said, and during the session reported that the relationship between the United States and Ethiopia would remain strong despite a cut in aid because the United States may have difficult conversations “with friends”.
“This is a really fucking illogical way to show a ‘friend’ that you really care,” a congressional aide told Foreign Policy in response.
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