On his last overseas tour
Pompeo raises anger and confusion as he looks to his future
Pompeo, on a visit to an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, angered the Palestinians.
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Pompeo visiting a settlement in the occupied Syrian Golan.
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By the end of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's 10-day tour through Europe and the Middle East, he had angered the Palestinians and embarrassed the French.
Bloomberg News said it was a trip that seemed aimed at polishing and improving Pompeo's conservative image, in preparation for a possible presidential campaign in 2024. Because he is not interested in etiquette or protocol, Pompeo's last big tour as the 70th Secretary of State of the United States has caused provocations for those who They questioned President Donald Trump's "America First" policy and Pompeo's role as its primary promoter.
Like President Trump, Pompeo refuses to publicly acknowledge Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election on November 3, however the seven-nation trip, one of his longest as a minister, provided evidence that Pompeo was indeed looking forward to what After the Trump era, when the journey was crowded with rhetoric that would likely make Biden's life difficult and set the stage for his political future.
Irritating the world
"He spends the last two months in his post arousing the anger of the world," said Shadi Hamed, a researcher at the Brookings Institution for Research.
The tour began in Paris, where Pompeo's first activity - before meeting government officials - was a private meeting with journalists from right-wing French media, including the magazine "Valor Actoel", a magazine that was criticized and severely condemned as racist, and was placed under preliminary investigation. By a prosecutor, after printing a photo showing a black French female slaveholder in a fictional article.
And Bloomberg News reported that in Turkey, Pompeo suggested that government ministers come to him in Istanbul, but they refused, and he met with the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Turkish officials described Pompeo's statement on religious freedom in Turkey as "extremely inappropriate", while senior Foreign Ministry officials blamed scheduling conflicts for his failure to travel to the capital, Ankara.
In Georgia, Pompeo intervened in the election dispute there and legitimized a government that cracked down on protesters calling for new elections.
Lack of diplomacy
Pompeo reached the height of lack of diplomacy by visiting a winery in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which named one of his red wine products, with a label saying "Legal Made," because of his pro-settlement stance.
Under any previous administration, republican or democratic, this visit was prohibited, given that Palestinian families were still claiming their right to the land on which the winery was built.
The left-leaning Haaretz newspaper said, in an editorial on Pompeo's last day in Israel, that he "visited settlements, drank from the poisoned chalice, and acknowledged the dispossession of property ... These are Pompeo's last days ... how good it is for this to be the situation."
With all this done, the question remains: Why?
What was so important that it was worth taking a trip at a time when France, Israel and other countries began new lockdowns, in a desperate attempt to control the Coronavirus before Christmas?
Pre-planning the tour
The tour was planned long before the US elections, and foreign ministers travel routinely at the end of their work in the period between elections and inauguration .. And before the trip, senior officials in the Foreign Ministry said that it had several goals, namely honoring victims of terrorism in France and promoting freedom. Religious.
On Sunday, a senior State Department official, who requested anonymity, told reporters the idea that the trip was a tournament of victory or that it was intended to bolster Pompeo's ambitions.
The official described the tour as diplomatically important even in light of the Corona epidemic, saying that the administration will continue its policies throughout its time in office.
However, the United States has never witnessed such a situation, as Trump still refuses to admit his loss in re-election, and Coronavirus infections in the United States are still recording record numbers.
Two people familiar with Pompeo's talks said the people he met had largely avoided the issue of the US election.
Shortly before leaving the United States, when asked briefly if he was preparing for the Biden administration, Pompeo said, "I am preparing for a smooth transition to a second administration for Trump."
Although it sounded a joke, Pompeo has been criticized for underestimating the election crisis in his country, given that the United States often addresses election problems in other countries.
Avoid the press
During his visits, Pompeo avoided giving any opportunity to reporters to ask him questions about the transition and Biden, and no press conference or briefing was held, and the State Department attributed the reason to the restrictions of the Corona virus.
Pompeo also headed by helicopter to a military site that has turned into a tourist area in the Golan Heights, where he said: "Imagine ... Imagine with (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) controlling this place the size of the dangers and damage that could inflict the West, Israel and the people of Israel."
Pompeo also stopped at a museum that highlights the contributions that non-Jews have made to Israel over the years, and it is called the "Friends of Zion" museum.
"I see it as another attempt by Trump to clarify his legacy, but in order to clarify his legacy, he seemed to put his thumb in the eyes of his critics," said Kenneth Pollack, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. "Pompeo might have other things on his mind, especially. Strengthening his relationship with Israel for his future prospects ».
Negation
Officials denied that Pompeo aimed to push policies to become traps or decoys for Biden if he sought to return to a less biased policy towards Israel with regard to the Palestinians.
The biggest announcement on Pompeo's trip was that the United States would allow goods produced in Israeli settlements to place the "Made in Israel" label.
It will be difficult for Biden to undo such moves, which will expose him to criticism from Republicans running for president in 2024 - and Pompeo may be among them - that he is weak in his support for Israel.
- Officials denied that Pompeo intended to push policies to become traps or decoys for Biden if he sought to return to a less biased policy towards Israel with regard to the Palestinians.
Pompeo avoided giving reporters any opportunity to ask him questions about the transition and Biden. There was no press conference or briefing, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attributed the reason to the restrictions of the Corona virus.
Pompeo reached the height of lack of diplomacy by visiting a winery in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which named one of his red wine products, with a label saying "Legal Made," because of his pro-settlement stance.
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