Pompeo slams Biden's foreign policy on China, Iran: 'Proven to have terrible policies executed horribly'
Fox News contributor Mike Pompeo joined 'Life, Liberty & Levin' to discuss foreign policy threats and the Biden administration's approach to handling America's adversaries.
Joe Biden’s failed policies in the Middle East continue to impact the American people through high gas prices and increased national security threats and impact our allies in the region.
Most recently, this has been evident in a bewildering approach to our friends and enemies, apparently confusing the two. Biden’s impending Middle East trip has already added to that confusion by the administration’s lack of coherence in announcing the non-meeting, meeting with Saudi Arabian officials.
On the campaign trail in 2019, Joe Biden vowed to make the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a "pariah" state. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
In 2019, while on the campaign trail, Biden vowed to make the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) a "pariah" state in the Middle East. In the first few weeks of his presidency, he made good on his promise by sending KSA a clear message: the good relations between America and Saudi Arabia, which we in the Trump administration worked hard to develop and from which both our nations greatly benefited, were at an end.
The Biden administration had decided a major security and economic partner – vital to our counter-terrorism efforts and our work to protect Israel – should be shunned. Now he intends to ask our "shunned" ally to increase their oil supply.
President Biden’s comments on the campaign trail, and his administration’s resulting policies, were unbelievably naïve and shortsighted. By shunning a trusted partner, Biden showed himself to be unreliable and untrustworthy.
By freezing out KSA and working to revive the failed Iran nuclear agreement, Team Biden has ensured that it is the United States that has become the Middle East pariah. Its continued strategy of Iranian appeasement and weakness – including allowing Russia to mediate the talks even as Vladimir Putin invades Ukraine – has only turned America’s Middle East partners against us. Sadly, this has become the norm for Team Biden: Its approach to foreign policy has been to punish our friends and help our enemies.
This is true regarding Israel as well.
In response to Hamas launching rockets at Israeli civilians in 2021, Biden called on both sides to "de-escalate." The Biden administration restored aid to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which is, historically, blatantly antisemitic and overtly anti-Israel. It restored hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority in violation of the Taylor Force Act.
Recently, the Biden administration announced that it would open a new Office of Palestinian Affairs in Jerusalem – signaling that the United States does not consider Jerusalem the undivided capital of Israel. And of course, by negotiating with the Iranian regime, the Biden administration was making deals with the nation that most wishes to carry out Israel’s complete and utter destruction. How serious will Israel take Biden’s security guarantees for Israel and what will he offer them?
Bear in mind that these terrible policies were embraced by the Biden administration after historic peace and normalization agreements, the Abraham Accords, were signed by Israel and several of its neighbors. It shows that Joe Biden and his administration are more committed to rolling back Trump's success than driving to good outcomes. Worse yet, these mistakes will not easily be corrected by the next, more sensible administration; it will take years to undo the damage President Biden’s foolish Middle East policies have caused.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE OPINION NEWSLETTER
Unfortunately, the president’s trip to Saudi Arabia will likely not correct these egregious policy missteps. He is not going to KSA to improve our relations, evidenced by the fact that the White House press release does not even mention a potential meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Instead, President Biden is going to KSA to beg it to produce more oil.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman addresses the Future Investment Initiative conference, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 24, 2018. (Saudi Press Agency via AP, File)
It is not a coincidence that this visit will come as the national price of gasoline tops $5 per gallon in the United States. This is certainly better than begging Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro or the ayatollahs in Iran to produce more oil, but sadly the Biden administration refuses to accept that the answer to the inflation and energy crisis crippling American families is right here at home.
The truth is, President Biden doesn’t need to travel halfway across the world the make gas prices go down. There are places right here in America he should visit instead – places like Midland, Texas, the Bakken shale reserve, or Western Pennsylvania.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
During the Trump administration, we proved that America has the capacity and resources to achieve energy independence. Where Joe Biden has begged dictators in Venezuela and Iran to produce more oil for America, we trusted the American energy industry and achieved historic prosperity for the American people. Where the Biden administration embraces Green New Deal, climate-change hysteria as gospel truth, we chose to embrace innovation and growth in our own energy industry. This is because we recognized that American energy independence is the only path forward for America.
If we want lower gas prices and cheaper energy costs, indeed if we want an economy in which Americans can prosper, we must elect new leaders in 2022 and 2024 who are committed to putting American prosperity first and won’t do it by enriching our adversaries.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO
Get the recap of top opinion commentary and original content throughout the week.