Win Without War and Nearly 70 National Organizations Send Letter Urging Senate to Reject Mike Pompeo for Secretary of State

LETTER_69 organizationsurge the senate to reject pompeo

UPDATE: Since April 10, 2018, one additional group (The Nation) signed on, making it a total of 70 national organizations who have signed on to this letter.

On April 9, 2018, Win Without War joined 68 other national organizations in sending a letter to the Senate urging opposition to Mike Pompeo for Secretary of State. The letter states, in part: “Pompeo’s […] repeated advocacy for war, Islamophobia, climate change denial, hostility to human rights, including reproductive and LGBT rights, and support for torture make him dangerous and unfit to be a chief architect of U.S. foreign policy.”

The organizations on the letter collectively represent tens of millions of Americans and a broad cross-section of communities throughout the nation and include groups focusing on foreign policy, civil rights, climate, human rights, faith, labor, immigration, development, and public health, among other issues.

The full text and list of signers is below and a PDF version of the original letter can be found here. You can also read initial reporting here.

 

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The Honorable Mitch McConnell

Majority Leader

United States Senate

U.S. Capitol Building, S-230

Washington, D.C. 20510

 

The Honorable Chuck Schumer

Minority Leader

United States Senate

U.S. Capitol Building, S-221

Washington, D.C. 20510

 

Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer,

We are writing to express our strongest opposition to the nomination of Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State. Our organizations collectively represent tens of millions of people across the United States.

Pompeo promotes principles and policies that are antithetical to American values. His repeated advocacy for war, Islamophobia, climate change denial, hostility to human rights, including reproductive and LGBT rights, and support for torture make him dangerous and unfit to be a chief architect of U.S. foreign policy.

 

  • More War: Pompeo’s clear preference for war over diplomacy fundamentally disqualifies him from serving as America’s top diplomat. Pompeo’s seeming hunger for war with Iran, threats of military intervention in North Korea, desire to tear up the Iran nuclear agreement, and support for ongoing unauthorized conflicts like that in Yemen shows a reckless disregard for U.S. national security, contradicts the position of many U.S. military leaders, and threatens the lives of many civilians and U.S. soldiers.
  • Climate Change Denial: Pompeo’s denial of climate change poses a fundamental threat to our planet and the future of our species. Without strong U.S. leadership, climate change will wreak havoc upon millions of people inside and outside the U.S.
  • Opposing Reproductive Health: Pompeo has never missed an opportunity to attack reproductive health. Pompeo is fundamentally out of line with U.S. values and foreign policy goals of promoting gender equality and the health of women and communities around the world.
  • Anti-LGBT Hate: Pompeo is an ally of designated anti-LGBT hate groups and supports discrimination against LGBT people, which fundamentally disqualifies him from representing U.S. support for human rights on the world stage.
  • Islamophobia: Pompeo’s repeated, unabashed promotion of anti-Muslim bigotry is repugnant. He is deeply rooted in the organized anti-Muslim hate movement, having not only hosted and accepted an award from an anti-Muslim hate group, but personally called for collective blame of Muslims after acts of mass violence. America’s top diplomat should not be a vehicle for Islamophobia or any other form of bigotry.
  • Defending Torture: Pompeo’s defense of torture, including waterboarding, is abhorrent and should be categorically rejected. His words offer other repressive governments a justification for their own brutality.

Make no mistake: President Donald Trump is assembling a War Cabinet with Mike Pompeo at the helm. Our concerns are only further heightened with the recent appointment of John Bolton as National Security Advisor, a man who shares many of the same dangerous and disturbing policies and positions as Pompeo. There is no doubt that the Senate would have blocked the nomination of Ambassador Bolton to any Senate-confirmable position, and they must not now allow his radical and extreme agenda to be implemented by having Mike Pompeo join him in Donald Trump’s cabinet.

 

After two costly, bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it would be a national folly to put advocates for another major war in charge of U.S. foreign policy. The costs would be devastating for civilians around the world, U.S. soldiers sent to war, and our national treasury. To preserve America’s global standing and advance our national interests, U.S leaders must champion human rights and continue to promote global development and diplomacy.

 

Pompeo is unfit to serve as Secretary of State. We urge you to oppose and reject his nomination.

Sincerely,

198 methods

350. org

About Face: Veterans Against the War

act. tv

Action Corps

Action Together Network

ActionAid USA

Advocates for Youth

American Family Voices

American Friends Service Committee

Americans for Peace Now

Beyond the Bomb

Campaign for America’s Future

Center for Biological Diversity

Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)

Climate Hawks Vote

ClimateTruth.org

CODEPINK

Common Defense

Council for a Livable World

Council on American-Islamic Relations

Courage Campaign

CREDO

Daily Kos

Demand Progress Action

Democracy for America

Demos Action

Friends of the Earth U.S.

Gasp

Global Forum on MSM & HIV

Herd on the Hill

Indivisible

J Street

Jewish Voice for Peace

Jewish World Watch

Just Foreign Policy

MoveOn.org Civic Action

MPower Change

NARAL Pro-Choice America

National Center for Lesbian Rights

National Council of Jewish Women

National Immigration Law Center

National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund

NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

NextGen America

NIAC Action

Nuclear Information and Resource Service

Oil Change International

Only Through US

Pantsuit Nation

Peace Action

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Population Connection Action Fund

Power Shift Network

Presente.org

Progressive Congress Action Fund

Public Citizen

Rachel Carson Council

RootsAction.org

STAND: The Student-Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities

Sunrise Movement

SustainUS

The Nation

The Sierra Club

The Yemen Peace Project

United for Peace and Justice

VoteVets

Win Without War

Women’s Action for New Directions

World BEYOND War

 

CC: Chairman Bob Corker and Ranking Member Bob Menendez, Senate Foreign Relations Committee