Michael Richard Pompeo

“ And finally—and perhaps most importantly — we need to deepen the trust between the Intelligence Community and the citizens we strive to protect.
At CIA, I can assure you that we are committed to earning that trust every day. We know we can never take it for granted. We must continue to be as open as possible with the American people so that our society can reach informed judgments on striking the proper balance between individual privacy and national security. As CIA Director, it is my sworn duty to uphold the Constitution and defend national security. ”

“ Look, the hard questions that I posed earlier don’t have easy answers, and I am certainly not here today to tell you what the answers are. Every company is different. I know you all will figure it out. I know that because you are visionaries who have transformed the world. Your companies are built on the ethos of bringing good things to your fellow man, and I know you’ll get it right. As America’s Secretary of State, I’m hoping you’ll do that soon. America is facing a challenge from China that demands every fiber of your innovative skill and your innovative spirit. ”

“ They don’t all come from the Intelligence Community, share the same background, or use precisely the same tactics as Agee, but they are certainly his soulmates. Like him, they choose to see themselves in a romantic light — as heroes above the law, saviors of our free and open society. They cling to this fiction, even though their disclosures often inflict irreparable harm on both individuals and democratic governments, pleasing despots along the way. The one thing they don’t share with Agee is the need for a publisher. ”

“ The United States of America has led the world in holding the perpetrators of the most heinous human rights abuses accountable. From the Nuremberg Trials, to the creation of the Genocide Convention in 1948, to the declaration of ISIS’s recent genocide against the Yazidis, Christians, and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, Americans have given voice to those who have been silenced by evil, and stood with the living who cry out for truth, the rule of law, and justice. ”

“ And the facts that derive from that are that it also creates a responsibility, a duty for America all across the world. And I know for certain that America can’t execute that duty, can’t achieve its objectives absent you all, absent executing America’s foreign policy in every corner of the world with incredible vigor and incredible energy. ”

“ It’s central to what we do. It’s not about nation building. It’s about reminding the world about the greatness of our founders, of our Constitution, and what it means for every human being to have dignity by – just by the nature of their humanness. ”

“ Granted, the intelligence arena can never be as transparent as other parts of government. Secrecy is essential to us because we have hardworking officers and foreign agents in harm’s way, doing dangerous work on behalf of our country. But even if we can’t share everything with the people, we can share it with the President they elected and with the overseers they sent to Congress. Having served on the committee myself, I am a CIA Director who fully understands the imperative of oversight. Doing right by the American people is as important to me as carrying out our Agency’s mission. ”

“ Our commitment, the United States commitment to the collective defense under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty remains ironclad. As President Trump said, the alliance has been the bulwark of international peace and security for nearly 70 years, and it will remain so.
Threats to our common security come from many sources and we must address them all to keep people safe around the world. Our collective defense demands greater burden sharing. ”

“ The United States diplomatic corps needs to be in every corner, every stretch of the world, executing missions on behalf of this country, and it is my humble, noble undertaking to help you achieve that. ”

“ We know this because Assange and his ilk make common cause with dictators today. Yes, they try unsuccessfully to cloak themselves and their actions in the language of liberty and privacy; in reality, however, they champion nothing but their own celebrity. Their currency is clickbait; their moral compass, nonexistent. Their mission: personal self-aggrandizement through the destruction of Western values. They do not care about the causes and people they claim to represent. ”

“ SECRETARY POMPEO: It’s Silicon Valley, but Silicon Valley thought of in the biggest possible terms, in terms of the connectivity and relationships that are developed there and the intellectual capital that’s developed right here in this region. It is central to my mission.
When I travel around the world and talk to my counterparts, I know I always have at my back the fact that we’ve got a growing, thriving economy. It matters an awful lot. They know it, too. They are striving for it. It is difficult, frankly, for many of them to get to that same place. They know that, too. ”

“ Any responsible country would have invited world health investigators to Wuhan within days of an outbreak. China instead refused offers of help – including from the United States – and punished brave Chinese doctors, scientists, and journalists who tried to alert the world to the dangers of the virus. Beijing continues today to withhold vital information that scientists need to protect the world from this deadly virus, and the next one. ”

“ Instead, they choose to exploit the legitimate secrets of democratic governments — which has, so far, proven to be a much safer approach than provoking a tyrant. Clearly, these individuals are not especially burdened by conscience. We know this, for example, because Assange has been more than cavalier in disclosing the personal information of scores of innocent citizens around the globe. We know this because the damage they have done to the security and safety of the free world is tangible. ”

“ I’m going to get out to USAID as quickly as I can to see their important part of our mission as well. I know that every task, every endeavor that each of you undertakes is a critical part of achieving that ultimate objective, which is to deliver President Trump and America’s foreign policy around the world, to be the diplomatic face that achieves the outcomes that America so desperately needs to achieve in the world. ”

“ The one that’s not good is, I must say, as I travel the world, the absolute level of corruption around the world in so many countries. We take for granted that in America it’s just not like that – you do a deal, we have a court system, we have the rule of law; it works. In so many places, that simply doesn’t exist. You have corruption at levels that are difficult to even see one’s way through. ”

“ What can and should CIA, the United States, and our allies do about the unprecedented challenge posed by these hostile non-state intelligence agencies? While there is no quick fix — no foolproof cure — there are steps that we can take to undercut the danger. First, it is high time we called out those who grant a platform to these leakers and so-called transparency activists. We know the danger that Assange and his not-so-merry band of brothers pose to democracies around the world. Ignorance or misplaced idealism is no longer an acceptable excuse for lionizing these demons. ”

“ The United States has made abundantly clear that NATO should not return to business as usual with Russia until Moscow shows a clear change in its actions and complies with international law.
President Trump has also made clear that fighting terrorism must be a major focus of NATO. The alliance should work with our partners in North Africa and the Middle East to address conditions and activities that enable terrorism, such as traffic of weapons, irregular migration, and regional instability. ”

“ The United States reiterates the importance of unfettered access to virus samples, lab records and personnel, eyewitnesses, and whistleblowers to ensure the credibility of the WHO’s final report. Until the CCP allows a full and thorough accounting of what happened in Wuhan, it is only a matter of time until China births another pandemic and inflicts it on the Chinese people, and the world. ”