Washington, D.C. — April 23, 2018 — In response to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee narrowly voting to recommend Mike Pompeo for the role of Secretary of State, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released the following statement:
“In voting to recommend Mike Pompeo for Secretary of State, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted against diplomacy today, and for a foreign policy even more inclined towards war.
“Mike Pompeo’s record of war mongering, climate denial and Islamophobia speaks for itself. He advocated bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities during delicate negotiations that ultimately succeeded in blocking Iran’s potential pathways to nuclear weapons without resorting to war. He continues to question the science of climate change despite the Pentagon identifying it as a major threat to national security. He has close ties to some of the most well-known anti-Muslim propagandists in the country, and himself espouses Islamophobic views, such as suggesting Muslim leaders are complicit in acts of terrorism that they fail to publicly denounce.
“How can we entrust the vital role of the nation’s top diplomat to someone who prefers bombing runs to negotiations? How can we trust Pompeo to be effective in nuclear diplomacy with North Korea when he wants to abrogate the Iran nuclear agreement despite Iran’s compliance? How can we expect Pompeo to work well with leaders of Muslim majority nations when his anti-Muslim bias is so readily apparent?
“In recommending Pompeo, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee failed in its role as a gatekeeper of American foreign policy, furthering the realization of President Trump’s war cabinet. For the sake of peace and security, the full Senate should overrule the committee and vote to reject Pompeo.
“Even if the Senate confirms Pompeo, it will be by only a few votes. Pompeo should take that lackluster support and the overwhelming polls that show Americans support diplomacy over war as a mandate to vigorously push for talks over tanks.”
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Founded in 1957, Peace Action (formerly SANE/Freeze), the United States’ largest peace and disarmament organization, with over 100,000 paid members and nearly 100 chapters in 36 states, works to abolish nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights and support nonmilitary solutions to international conflicts. The public may learn more and take action at www.PeaceAction.org.
