Credit: US Department of State: Mike Pompeo, US Secretary Of State.

By Gary Raynaldo   DIPLOMATIC TIMES

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo  today vowed the Trump Administration would work relentlessly to assure a secure Middle East even as 2,000 American troops are pulling out of Syria.  Pompeo is currently out of the country on a tour of the Middle East to assure allies in the region of America’s commitment to defeating Islamic terrorism. Pompeo is traveling from Jan. 7 to 15 to Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait. Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. In his stopover in Egypt Thursday, Pompeo spoke at the American University in Cairo.  The Secretary of  State  laid out America’s plan of  continued political and military engagement in the Middle East.  Pompeo’s speech was entitled: “A Force For Good; America’s Reinvigorated Role in the Middle East”

On confronting radical Islamist terrorism,  Pompeo stated: “We ask every peace-loving nation of the Middle East to shoulder new responsibilities for defeating Islamic extremism. The United States will remain a steadfast partner in counter-terrorism. ”  Pompeo said US airstrikes in the region will continue as targets arise. He vowed America would keep working with its partners in the Coalition to Defeat ISIS. “We will continue to hunt down terrorists in the Middle East and around the world who seek safe havens.” Pompeo said.    “The age of self-inflicted American shame is over, and so are the policies that produced so much needless suffering. Now becomes the real new beginning,” Pomped stated, in an apparent attack of former President Obama’s Middle East policy.

“America will not retreat until the terror fight is over. In Syria, the United States will use diplomacy and work with our partners to expel every last Iranian boot, and work through the UN-led process to bring peace and stability to the long-suffering Syrian people. “

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,   American University In Cairo, Egypt Jan. 10, 2019.

SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE US SECRETARY OF STATE’S REMARKS IN CAIRO, EGYPT: 

On  IRAN:   “President Trump has reversed our willful blindness to the danger of the regime and withdrew from the failed nuclear deal, with its false promises,” Pompeo said. “The US re-imposed sanctions that should never have been lifted.”

On  YEMEN:  “We’ve assisted our coalition partners as they take the lead in preventing an Iranian expansion that would be disastrous for world trade and regional security.”

On  LEBANON:  “Hizballah remains a major presence, but we won’t accept this status quo. Our aggressive sanctions campaign against Iran is also directed at the terror group and its leaders, including the son of Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hizballah.”

On  UAE:     “The UAE has cancelled its imports of Iranian condensate following the re-imposition of American sanctions. Bahrain has exposed the Revolutionary Guard proxies that are active in its country, and which- and working- is working to stop Iran’s illicit maritime activities in the region.

SOURCE: US Department Of State 

Pompeo’s plan sounds great on paper, however, it is worth noting that as the US Secretary of State embarks on his Middle East tour, the  “Trump administration still lacks key ambassadors and senior diplomats to help tackle its biggest foreign-policy challenges,”  according to an article in Foreign Policy. 

“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to the Middle East this month to soothe nervous allies highlights a problem that has dogged the U.S. State Department since President Donald Trump took office two years ago: empty posts and depleted ranks. Of the nine countries Pompeo is visiting, five are without ambassadors. The top Middle East diplomat position also remains vacant, filled in an acting capacity by career diplomat David Satterfield.”

Foreign Policy.com

Key US Diplomatic Posts Remain Unfilled Two Years Into President Trump Administration 

Credit: Wikipedia.

“The vacancies, current and former officials say, hamper U.S. engagement in the region as Trump and his top deputies grapple with some of the toughest foreign-policy challenges Washington faces: extricating U.S. troops from the war in Syria, countering Iran, dealing with a devastating civil war in Yemen, continuing counter-terrorism operations, and patching up a long-simmering rift between Persian Gulf states,” foreignpolicy.com 

After all, wars and geo-political conflict are not always won on the battlefield carrying a Big Stick, but require soft power through Diplomacy.