Editing Mike Pompeo

'''Mike Pompeo''' (1963-) is a politician from the [[United States of America]], who served as the 70th [[United States Department of State|Secretary of State of the United States]] (2018–2021),<ref>[https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/principalofficers/secretary Secretaries of State] - Principal Officers - People - Department History - Office of the Historian. State.gov.</ref> Director of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (January 2017 to April 2018) under the [[Donald Trump|Trump]] administration,<ref>[https://2017-2021.state.gov/biographies/michael-r-pompeo/index.html “Michael R. Pompeo - United States Department of State.”] 2020. United States Department of State. December 2020.</ref> and was elected to four terms in Congress representing the Fourth District of [[State of Kansas|Kansas]]. He was also the co-founder of Thayer Aerospace, later Nex-Tech Aerospace, a specialized aircraft machinery manufacturer whose customers included [[Lockheed Martin Corporation|Lockheed Martin]], [[Boeing]] and [[Raytheon]] at the time when Pompeo sold his interest in the company in 2006. Pompeo also served as president of [[Sentry International]], a manufacturer of oilfield equipment, from 2006 to 2010.<ref>Barrabi, Thomas. 2018. [https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/mike-pompeo-owned-kansas-aerospace-company-before-political-career “Mike Pompeo Owned Kansas Aerospace Company before Political Career.”] [[Fox News Channel|Fox]] Business. April 26, 2018. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230329224756/https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/mike-pompeo-owned-kansas-aerospace-company-before-political-career Archived].</ref><ref name=":0">[https://iop.harvard.edu/events/conversation-cia-director-mike-pompeo “A Conversation with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.”] Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard.edu. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230809142901/https://iop.harvard.edu/events/conversation-cia-director-mike-pompeo Archived] 2023-08-09.</ref> Pompeo stated in a 2020 speech that "securing our freedoms from the [[Communist Party of China|Chinese Communist Party]] is the mission of our time" and that "we can’t treat this incarnation of China as a normal country."<ref name=":1">[https://cl.usembassy.gov/secretary-michael-r-pompeo-remarks-communist-china-and-the-free-worlds-future/ “Secretary Michael R. Pompeo Remarks ‘Communist China and the Free World’s Future.’”] U.S. Embassy in Chile. July 29, 2020. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230809143627/https://cl.usembassy.gov/secretary-michael-r-pompeo-remarks-communist-china-and-the-free-worlds-future/ Archived] 2023-08-09.</ref>

In 2019, Pompeo stated to an audience from [[Texas A&M University]] that the CIA trains employees to lie, cheat and steal, saying: "When I was a cadet--what's the cadet motto at West Point? 'You will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do.' I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. We had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment."<ref>[https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/We-Lied-Cheated-and-Stole-Pompeo-Comes-Clean-About-CIA-20190424-0033.html “‘We Lied, Cheated and Stole’: Pompeo Comes Clean about CIA.”] Telesurenglish.net. teleSUR. 2019. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230316233629/https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/We-Lied-Cheated-and-Stole-Pompeo-Comes-Clean-About-CIA-20190424-0033.html Archived] 2023-03-16.</ref>

Around 900 videos on [[YouTube]] have been compiled of [[Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region|Xinjiang]] citizens' responses to Pompeo's accusations of [[Uyghur genocide allegations|genocide]] in Xinjiang, which [[Qiao Collective]] notes "angered many Chinese citizens of Xinjiang, inspiring them to submit written and video responses rebuking Pompeo. Many of these were compiled by [[Tianshan Net]] and reveal a unity of Xinjiang residents, from government officials to rural villagers, from elderly family heads to young students, and from artists to religious leaders, in rejecting the [[United States imperialism|United States’ imperialist aggression]]."<ref>[https://www.qiaocollective.com/xinjiang-responds "Xinjiang Responds."] [[Qiao Collective]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230809150036/https://www.qiaocollective.com/xinjiang-responds Archived] 2023-08-09. </ref>

According to Pompeo's official website as of 2023, he leads the Champion American Values [[Political action committee|PAC]] and Champion American Values Fund, organizations which his website says are dedicated to "pushing back" against "the 'woke' liberals who are shoving their ideology into our homes, schools, military, workplaces, and communities."<ref>[https://www.mikepompeo.com/ “Mike Pompeo I Never Give an Inch.”] Never Give an Inch. Mikepompeo.com. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230809144950/https://www.mikepompeo.com/ Archived] 2023-08-09.</ref>

== Early life ==
Pompeo is originally from Orange County, [[State of California|California]] and is a graduate of [[West Point]] and of [[Harvard Law School]].<ref name=":0" /> He spent his active duty years in [[Federal Republic of Germany|West Germany]], "patrolling the [[Iron Curtain]] before the fall of the [[Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart|Berlin Wall]]".<ref name=":1" />

== Views ==
Much of Pompeo's political career has focused on [[People's Republic of China|China]], referring to the "China threat" and stating that "securing our freedoms from the Chinese Communist Party is the mission of our time",<ref name=":1" /> and expressing disapproval of the USA's willingness to engage economically and politically with China, stating in a 2020 speech, "perhaps we were naive about China’s virulent strain of [[communism]]" and adding "we have to keep in mind that the CCP regime is a Marxist-Leninist regime. General Secretary [[Xi Jinping]] is a true believer in a bankrupt [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] ideology" and that "America can no longer ignore the fundamental political and ideological differences between our countries, just as the CCP has never ignored them. [...] We must induce China to change in more creative and assertive ways, because Beijing’s actions threaten our people and our prosperity," stating that "we can’t treat this incarnation of China as a normal country." 

In the same speech, Pompeo expressed that the key difference between China and the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]] is that China is more deeply integrated into the global economy, describing it as a "complex new challenge that we've never faced before" rather than a matter of "containment", because "the USSR was closed off from the free world. Communist China is already within our borders. So we can’t face this challenge alone."<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
<references />