In Egypt, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo presented his vision for U.S. policy in the Middle East in a speech at a Cairo university Thursday that at times directly contradicted President Trump. Pompeo promised the U.S. will “expel every last Iranian boot” from Syria, even as the president has vowed to remove 2,000 troops from the region. Pompeo repeatedly attacked former President Barack Obama throughout the address, telling his audience, “The age of self-inflicted American shame is over.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: “President Trump has made the decision to bring our troops home from Syria. We always do, and now is the time. But this isn’t a change of mission. We remain committed to the complete dismantling of ISIS—the ISIS threat and the ongoing fight against radical Islamism in all of its forms. But as President Trump has said, we’re looking to our partners to do more, and in this effort we will do so, going forward, together. For our part, airstrikes in the region will continue as targets arise.”
Pompeo did not mention gross human rights abuses committed in Egypt under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, or the 60,000 political prisoners human rights groups say are currently locked up in Egyptian jails.