Pompeo, Obama have similar views on extremism, demagoguing about Muslims

Rep. Mike Pompeo and President Obama don’t agree on much. So it is worth noting that they have some similar views on overcoming extremism and the importance of not demagoguing about Muslims – though they still have sharp differences in policies and approach.

The Wichita Republican was one of few in his party to publicly support Obama’s call for military action against Syria in 2013, after Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons on his own people.

“History will prove the president and I were right,” Pompeo told The Eagle editorial board this week.

But lacking support in Congress, Obama backed away from that stance and has since taken a more hands-off approach, which Pompeo criticized.

“The president has allowed Syria to burn,” he said.

Pompeo, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, also agrees with Obama that resolving the turmoil in the Middle East ultimately will require a political solution, and that involves a coalition of Middle Eastern countries and Muslim groups. As a result, it is not helpful for GOP presidential candidates and others to treat all Muslims as if they were terrorists and enemies of America.

“There are folks in my party who are demagoguing,” Pompeo said.

U.S. leaders should avoid such speech not because it is “politically incorrect,” Pompeo said, but because “it is untrue” and is “not a solution to the terrorist threat we face.”

Pompeo criticized Obama for being too cooperative with Iran, which Pompeo contends is at the root of Islamic extremism. He also complained that Obama seems to think U.S. intervention in the Middle East creates more problems than it solves.

Pompeo believes stronger U.S. leadership is needed. He said that Middle Eastern countries are willing to contribute their own troops to the fight against extremism but need to know that the U.S. has their backs.

Still, Pompeo warned against expecting too much. He said that the United States sometimes mistakes American values for American interests.

“My task is not to create democracy in Syria,” Pompeo said. “It is to create safety in Kansas.”

Pompeo also discussed other intelligence and foreign policy issues, including:

▪  He expects the special committee on Benghazi, on which he serves, to finish its report by next spring.

▪  Pompeo was appointed to a special House committee investigating the U.S. Central Command. He said the purpose of the investigation is not political but to ensure that officials receive accurate and complete intelligence information.

▪  Pompeo actively opposes possible plans by the president to move terrorism detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the U.S. mainland, possibly Fort Leavenworth. He dismissed Obama’s contention that grievances about Gitmo serve as a recruiting tool for terrorism.

▪  Not only does Pompeo want to revive the intelligence community’s metadata program, which gathered information about phone calls and other communications, he supports “a metadata program on steroids.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Pompeo, Obama have similar views on extremism, demagoguing about Muslims."