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We may be entering the most dangerous period of the Trump presidency so far when it comes to foreign relations.
I am talking about the recent cabinet nominations of John Bolton, Mike Pompeo and Gina Haspel.
John Bolton’s nomination as national security advisor should send chills down the spine of anyone who works for peaceful solutions to conflict in our world. He is one of the most extreme hawks in Washington, promoting bombing and military strikes as the solution to nearly every conflict the U.S. has abroad.
He has repeatedly called for military strikes against North Korea and Iran. He even to this day believes the Iraq war was a good idea! His voice in Trump’s ear absolutely needs to be balanced by other cabinet members to ensure all problems aren't met with military solutions.
Mike Pompeo, nominated to be the new secretary of state, is definitely not the right person for this job.
The Pompeo/Bolton team lines up a war cabinet that would make Dick Cheney jealous. On the Iran nuclear deal, Pompeo has said “I look forward to rolling back this disastrous deal,” despite the fact that it’s working. He has also advocated for regime change in North Korea.
Pompeo is going to need to get Senate confirmation before assuming the role. Senators must speak out against the appointment of such far-right ideologues, and in the case of Pompeo, vote against his confirmation and demand the secretary of state role be filled by a diplomat to balance Bolton’s extreme militaristic worldview.
Add to this duo the nomination of Gina Haspel to replace Pompeo as C.I.A. director. While a C.I.A. veteran, Haspel oversaw one of the disgraced C.I.A. “black sites” used to conduct waterboarding.[1]
Just so we’re clear, Trump is promoting a proponent of the Iraq war as his national security advisor, someone who advocates for military strikes over the Iran nuclear deal to be the top U.S. diplomat, and an individual who oversaw torture to lead the C.I.A.
Did you just feel your spine shiver?
Republicans only hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate and Republican Rand Paul (R-KY) has already come out in opposition to Pompeo and Haspel. Most Republicans and Democrats, however, have yet to share their thoughts. It’s imperative your senators hear from you!
Groundbreaking dialogue with North Korea is on the horizon. The renewal of the Iran nuclear deal comes up next month. It is critical we do everything in our power to stop these anti-diplomacy, pro-regime-change idealogues from taking the reigns of U.S. foreign policy.
Thank you for taking this critical action today.
Jon Rainwater
Executive Director
Peace Action
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