Outpourings of a deluded zealot

Mike Pompeo gets most things wrong in his book and only comes across as self-absorbed and delusional

Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love

Author: Mike Pompeo

Publisher: Broadside Books/ HarperCollins, 2023

Pages: 438

Price: Rs 1,199

It is really very difficult to go through this book. Page after page, Donald Trump’s former CIA chief and secretary of state pounds the pulpit and waves the flag to tell us that he is a brave, honest and committed leader whose heart always beats for God and country. Mike Pompeo’s United States is “awesome”, “the greatest nation in the history of civilisation”, “the most brilliant star in the darkest skies of the world”. What makes the US exceptional is its Judeo-Christian founding. During Bible Study at West Point, Mr Pompeo “gave my life to the Lord and take up my cross and follow him”.

Sadly, there is a “mean, nasty world out there” —  soft Democrats, progressive-activist media, state department officials who espouse “hard left … cultural sympathies”. Mr Pompeo says Barack Obama was weak and left an “unmoored” nation. Senator Kamala Harris was a “wasteful use of a seat” during his confirmation hearings. And now, with Joe Biden in the White House, “Obama’s appeasers are back in power”.

Mr Pompeo has no time for the United Nations’ “uselessness and deep-seated anti-Semitism”. For him, dealing with the European Union “was the most unpleasant task”: While France and Germany are “abusing their power” over Europe’s smaller countries, it is Lithuania, Slovenia and the Czech Republic that are Europe’s “moral leaders” against Chinese coercion. His North Korean interlocutor was a “small, sweating, evil man” who is also a “mass murderer”.

Mr Pompeo is propelled by two passions: Intense animosity for Iran and intense love for Israel. For him, Mr Obama’s nuclear deal was a “boneheaded move” that enabled Iran “to sit back, count its cash, enrich fissile material” and wait for the deal to expire. He takes credit for the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, the “maximum pressure” policy of crippling sanctions on Iran, and the assassination of Qasem Soleimani that nearly caused a regionwide conflagration. He still is proud that his policies were in “support of the Iranian people” —  no mention here about how millions of middle-class Iranians have been pushed into abject poverty.

He says his strong ties with Israel’s Mossad chief, Yossi Cohen, were based on their shared faith — the Mossad chief is an orthodox Jew, while Mr Pompeo is an evangelical Christian. Mr Pompeo fails to mention that, at the “Second Coming”, evangelical Christians believe that the “Great Tribulation” will befall the Jews when they will have to choose between conversion to Christianity or the most horrible death. Mr Pompeo still says the US’ “real special relationship” could be the one with Israel rather than Britain.

Not surprisingly, Mr Pompeo gets most things wrong. He believes that the Trump presidency “put America in a radically better place” than the one left behind by Mr Obama. Hardly anyone would agree — recall here the assault on the Capitol by Mr Trump’s supporters that threatened the foundations of the country’s democratic order, the deeply polarised state of the union, and the obvious inability of the US to garner support for sanctions on Russia in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Mr Pompeo speaks of the “Abraham Accords” as signalling that West Asia was ready for a re-alignment, with a dramatic shift in favour of Arab ties with Israel. This is delusionary: Since 2020, no other Arab state has normalised ties with Israel. The consensus across the region is the need for Israel to address the aspirations of the Palestinian people, something in which neither Israeli nor American leaders have any interest.

Mr Pompeo states that the Trump presidency “expanded peace in the lands of Abraham”. In fact, US policies have ensured that it has lost credibility as a regional security provider. Soon after  Mr Trump’s departure, West Asian states began the process of re-engaging with their neighbours — the UAE has sent its ambassador back to Tehran, while Saudi Arabia and Iran have had five rounds of dialogue to address issues that divide them. And, despite the US’ maximum pressure, Iran remains a significant presence in regional affairs and a major source of military support for Russia in Ukraine. Iran has also enriched uranium up to 60 per cent, just short of weapons’ grade.

While Mr Pompeo castigates China for the pandemic, he fails to mention the gross incompetence of the Trump administration that made the US the number one country globally in terms of those killed during the pandemic.

Mr Pompeo has devoted five pages to ties with India — here again he gets most things wrong. He sees the importance of India as “the next great American ally” and is self-congratulatory in raising the “Quad” to foreign minister level. However, India has ensured that the Quad will not be a security alliance directed at China but will instead focus on longer term matters relating to climate change, and pandemic and technological cooperation. India has also affirmed its strategic autonomy by affirming close political, defence and energy ties with Russia.

Mr Pompeo rejoices in his “unabashed Americanism” and never giving an inch where US interests are concerned, but only comes across as self-absorbed and delusional. There is no gravitas here, nor any understanding of the views of others. The only purpose the book serves is to remind Republican true-believers that a Trump-like zealot is waiting in the wings for an opportunity to use his “God-given talents—  and realise another American century”.

The reviewer is a former diplomat