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Context on Thiessen and Pompeo

The Spokesman-Review posted Marc Thiessen’s defense of Mike Pompeo (“The Senate must confirm Pompeo,” April 22, 2018), specifically a defense of his confirmation to secretary of state, in today’s paper, but declined to add context about who its author is, and Thiessen neglected to discuss who Pompeo is. I’ll happily supplement the editorial, because this context is important.

Pompeo is a former U.S. representative and current CIA director. He’s a tea party member. He still opposes same-sex marriage. He supports expanding our surveillance to create a giant database of records for every person in the U.S. Pompeo advocates for regime change in North Korea, and has hinted the same for Iran. These messages would be disastrous for the U.S.’s reputation and could potentially lead us into more endless wars.

Thiessen, on the other hand, was W’s and Rumsfeld’s chief speechwriter. He has asserted that Iran is the world’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism - conveniently ignoring Saudi Arabia and many others. His only book? A defense of the CIA’s torture program. He’s still an apologist for the Iraq invasion. Thiessen is a Bush-era monster who somehow hasn’t been shamed into retirement. Ignore him. Opposing Pompeo is advocating for peace.

Hayden Tank

Spokane Valley

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