I will say this for Mike Pompeo; he does not give an inch. His book primarily deals with his time as head of the CIA and then Secretary of State during the Trump administration is probably the most direct political memoir I have read. He states his positions very clearly and makes note of his successes and failures for all to see. There is no doubt where he stands and what he stood for while holding those two positions. I can see that if he had been in different administrations, he would not have achieved what he did and certainly would not have lasted as long as he did.
A staunch believer in his country, he is not ashamed to admit that he gathers much of his strength from his family, especially his wife and their strong religious beliefs. He will quote scripture to show how the Bible has helped him achieve his successes and in more than one situation, his knowledge of scripture won him high marks in the international field.
To a greater extent than normal, his freely gives credit to those who work for him praising their dedication, knowledge and patriotism. The list is long and is referenced throughout the book; here is a man who has built businesses and has signed paychecks and who knows that a successful manager is one who surrounds himself with the best people possible. On the other hand, he names names and gives examples of D.C. professionals who are shallow, seek to feather their own nests and are certainly not beholding or supportive of any particular occupant of the White House. Unlike other Trump officials, he always remembered that he signed onto the Trump administration and that while he may have disagreed with the President on certain matters, he was free to voice his opinion and then his job was to soldier on, as long as the job did not cross the line of his own conscience.
While head of the CIA, it was a turn around opportunity after years of “playing it safe” and there was a positive response from the majority of the employes to his directives. Yet his time there was short as the President nominated him to become Secretary of State. There is a story about Harry Truman and after his retirement, he spent hours in the Truman Library going through the records. Time after time he would mutter, “I didn’t know that they did not tell me”. The State Department has a culture all of its own and few Secretaries can make a real difference at the department. Kissinger once told Jared Kushner to not let the State Department get involved in his actions as they will leak the information and do all they can to stop any action. That would fairly sum up Pompeo’s view of State.
Pompeo traveled extensively during his tenure at State, including not only the traditional visits (Kerry for example thirty-four visits to France, twenty-eight visits to the U.K. and twenty visits to Switzerland) but to countries never before visited such as Slovakia, Poland, the Baltic States, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc. who were countries of rising influence in their area. This allowed him to meet more heads of state and to lay out the plans and actions of the U.S.
The President was determined to bring U.S. troops back from Afghanistan and despite wincing at having to deal with the Taliban, Pompeo realized that short of total annihilation, at some point the U.S. would have to deal with the reality on the ground. The question was how to withdraw and still honor the sacrifices over the past two decades. A four-step plan was worked out which included the preservation of the Afghan state, a realization that a certain portion of the Taliban leadership was interested in a reconciliation deal, keeping Pakistan from not undermining the reconciliation process and that there was an understanding that the U.S. military presence would not be pulled back until the U.S. was satisfied that the Taliban was holding up its portion of the bargain. To enforce the last point, a system was set up by which the U.S. would contact the Taliban leadership if in some province the accords were not being honored. A set time was allocated for the Taliban to correct the situation and if they did not, the U.S military would “rain down fire” to clear the situation. In effect, this was the same tactic that Kissinger had used during the Paris Peace Talks re: Vietnam. Additionally, U.S. financial aid would be scaled back which due to corruption in Afghanistan, would hit the Taliban in their own pockets.
The greatest obstacle to the process was President Ghani of Afghanistan an individual not very high up on Pompeo’s lists of guests for dinner. He was more concerned with his own power, financial well-being, etc. Getting his co-operation was more difficult than reaching an agreement with the Taliban. During the process, the U.S. military commitment was reduced from 8,600 to 2,500 and there had not been a serious Taliban attack against the U.S. troops in over a year. That took Pompeo to the end of 2020 and the rest is history. There was no phased withdrawal, no carrot and stick against the Taliban, no communication with our Allies, etc.
In the end, one either walks away with a great deal of respect for an American patriot who will go to the wall for his nation, or, one may view him as a throw back to Teddy Roosevelt, which is in some people’s minds, a negative (not this reviewer). His honesty at his own mistakes and the road to wisdom is refreshing and hopefully we will see more memoirs which will be worth picking up and reading time and time again.
