Update: 4/26/18 -The Senate voted today to confirm CIA Director Mike Pompeo as secretary of state in a bipartisan 57-42 vote.
(Original post): Tony Perkins of The Family Research Council lays out the case for Pompeo's confirmation:
It would be difficult not to be impressed with a man who graduated at the top of his class at West Point, earned a degree from Harvard Law, built a successful business career, served his country -- and Congress. Even the most relentless of Democrats would have a tough time poking holes in a résumé like that. But on Thursday, when Mike Pompeo sits before the Senate and defends his qualifications to be the next Secretary of State, liberals will still try.
Of course, the Democrats' problem with Pompeo isn't his credentials -- it's his convictions. From his early days in the House to his job at the CIA, Mike's opponents know that he's never been easily intimidated. When it comes to protecting America's interests or the values he cares about, Pompeo -- like the president -- is fearless. He stands up for what's right, regardless which way the political winds are blowing. And Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), for one, thinks that's exactly what our nation needs. "...Director Pompeo is clear-eyed and hard-nosed about the threats we face, and he speaks in the direct, blunt manner of a man who has no time to waste when confronting those threats," he said.
After the mess President Obama made of America's reputation and its relationships, Mike would be the powerful presence this administration needs to get our diplomatic efforts back on track. In a letter to Senate leadership, a coalition of 49 groups talked about one of the most important facets of that work: reviving the department's work on international religious liberty. "Mr. Pompeo," the group writes to Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Chuck Schumer, "is a strong nominee who will make international religious freedom a foreign policy priority -- a matter which is especially important given that we now know religious freedom, long protected for its own sake, is also intricately connected to the security and prosperity of nations themselves." As we've said for years, the only path to long-term peace is making religious freedom a foreign policy priority. Mike Pompeo understands that.
If you ask most conservatives, one of the greatest tragedies of the Obama years was watching the president turn the State Department into the global headquarters of LGBT propaganda. With an army of 75,000 employees, he set out to convert "unenlightened" countries to his brand of cultural extremism. Now, more than a year into Donald Trump's term, it's no wonder that groups like GLAAD and Human Rights Campaign are up in arms about Pompeo's nomination. They can't stand the idea of ending these social distractions and returning the agency to its true purpose.
Unfortunately, Obama's obsession with LGBT issues didn't just come at the expense of America's relationships or taxpayer dollars. It also cost the agency any real progress on religious liberty. And unlike Obama's off-mission social engineering, protecting and promoting our First Freedom is a stated goal of Congress under the International Religious Freedom Act. Besides, the coalition reminds Senate leaders, "Promoting religious freedom is simply good foreign policy. Indeed, one of the pillars of our National Security Strategy, recognizing 'the hope of every soul to live in freedom," is to 'advance American influence' by 'protect[ing] religious freedom and religious minorities.'" With Ambassador Sam Brownback in place and a secretary of State as committed Mike Pompeo, the millions of suffering men and women of faith around the world would finally get the help they need. Contact your senators and urge them to support Mike Pompeo's nomination.
** For more on how Mike Pompeo could transform the culture at the Department of State, below is Tony Perkins' new op-ed in Fox News.
Mike Pompeo, religious freedom and a safer world -- how are these three things connected?
Cultivating religious freedom worldwide is a major ingredient for our national security here at home. Mike Pompeo understands this, and will act on it, if confirmed as our next Secretary of State.
Thanks to groundbreaking scholarship released in the past few years, we can now see the clear link between religious freedom and economic growth, and more peace in a society. We understand it is also tied to security—the outcome of which, though perhaps first observed locally, ultimately affects even the national security of the United States. As one scholar noted, “[t]here is not a single nation in the world that both respects religious freedom and poses a security threat to the United States,” and overall, the evidence shows that, “entities engaging in religious persecution—both states and non-states—are on balance more likely to pose a security threat to the U.S.”
If Mike Pompeo is confirmed as Secretary of State, he would lead us in strategically engaging on religious freedom around the world, which will ultimately help keep us safer at home.
The most recent United States National Security Strategy, which President Trump rolled out in December 2017, states: [t]he United States also remains committed to supporting and advancing religious freedom—America’s first freedom. Our Founders understood religious freedom not as the state’s creation, but as the gift of God to every person and a fundamental right for our flourishing society.” The document also states it is a “priority action” to “protect religious freedom and religious minorities.”
Implementation will include certain concrete action steps, such as incorporating religious freedom into negotiations on trade and other issues. But it will also include creating a culture in which it is expected that foreign policy and national security professionals will seriously consider religious freedom in their strategy and decision-making. For instance, when the Christians, Yezidis, and others driven away by ISIS are restored to their communities in Northern Iraq (the United States also recently pledged to make sure its aid goes right to groups assisting these communities on the ground), we must understand that not only will we be working toward religious freedom and pluralism in that area, but we will be stabilizing it, and leaving one less spot for the next variation of ISIS adherents to plot attacks against the United States.
The religious freedom challenge posed by violent Islamic theologies being spread around the world is huge. But that same challenge is also a national security challenge. If the propagation of violent Islamic thinking is not dealt with directly and with a long-term strategy, it is likely our national security will always remain in doubt, nor will religious freedom ever be successfully defended around the globe. The two issues are inextricably linked.
Well, how to do this? One way is through a policy of clearly and openly announcing our support for those Muslims and Muslim organizations seeking to promote a theology which is consistent with the peaceful coexistence of those of other faiths. Such a policy honestly and constructively recognizes the religious roots of violent conflicts involving Islam, while making it clear that our religious freedom policy will accept nothing less than tolerance for all to choose how they will worship. Muslims willing to assist this endeavor are out there. But they are often under serious pressure to remain silent, at risk of their own lives. They must know they do not stand alone.
While previous administrations have paid lip service to religious freedom, now is the time to act. The conditions have perhaps never been better aligned than now for a resurgence of this fundamental American value and international human right in our foreign policy and global engagement. We have seen the Senate just confirm an excellent Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback. If Mike Pompeo is confirmed as Secretary of State, he would lead us in strategically engaging on religious freedom around the world, which will ultimately help keep us safer at home.