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Shultz represents the gold standard for a secretary of state defending his department. It’s hard to see current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo taking a page from Shultz’s playbook. It appears that if there’s anything Pompeo learned from his predecessor Rex Tillerson, it’s not to oppose President Donald Trump or make him unhappy.
We have worked for a half dozen secretaries of state in both Republican and Democratic administrations and rarely if ever have we encountered one more ill-suited for the job. Pompeo, who seems to be motivated by his own political ambitions and his desire to keep his job, has produced little of real consequence to advance the nation’s interest. If he continues on his current trajectory, Pompeo may end up being remembered as the worst secretary of state in modern times.
To be fair, Pompeo works for a mercurial and undisciplined President who trusts and empowers no one, interferes in foreign policy when his vanity and mood swings move him, and sees everything through the lens of his own personal and political needs. It may well be that no secretary of state can navigate these turbulent waters.
In his role as secretary of state, Pompeo has compiled a dismal record in areas like the Middle East, where he has carved out a prominent role for himself. His uncompromising and confrontational style of diplomacy has brought the US and Iran closer to the brink of war and all but extinguished any hope of a new dialogue between the two countries on the nuclear issue.
When the beleaguered and hapless Rex Tillerson was unceremoniously dumped by Trump, morale at the State Department had hit rock bottom and most observers assumed it had nowhere to go but up. This proved to be wrong — morale, by all accounts, has sunk to an even lower level. Trump’s disdain for the State Department, diplomacy, and America’s diplomatic corps bears much of the blame. But Pompeo is not blameless, and he should be held accountable.
Finally, Pompeo failed to oppose the investigation into current and former State Department officials who sent emails to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email — a blatant attempt to tarnish the careers of these officials. Whatever Pompeo has been whispering into Trump’s ear, it has not been a message to lay off the State Department.
It’s hard to see the next year or so improving Pompeo’s prospects. His reputation has taken a hit on Ukraine and it may get further blackened as the impeachment inquiry intensifies. It would be smart politics and good policy for the administration to try to engage in serious diplomacy in the next year.
But Iran and North Korea will be tough nuts to crack and success will require the kind of diplomatic skill so far missing in the repertoire of a secretary of state who seems better suited to haranguing and lecturing America’s adversaries than negotiating with them.
It often takes time and perspective to judge the performance of a secretary of state. In Pompeo’s case, the verdict may already be in.
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