Pompeo backs 'muscular' US diplomacy

New US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today defended the "muscular diplomacy" practiced by President Donald Trump as a way to solve thorny global issues "peacefully, without ever firing a shot."
Speaking before of a group of American diplomats at the State Department, Pompeo outlined his vision for US foreign policy at a time of "many challenges."
"Fortunately, we have a president who believes in muscular diplomacy as well, one that makes full use of the instruments of national power to advance, first and foremost, vital American interests and values."
Today, he explained his view that a firm diplomatic hand "increases our chances of solving problems peacefully without ever firing a shot." As an example, he cited the "enormous diplomatic effort to continue to keep the pressure on North Korea and bring them to the negotiating table, to a place where we can successfully eliminate the threat from Kim Jong Un's nuclear arsenal."

In the Middle East, where Pompeo traveled on his first trip abroad, he said "strong diplomatic efforts" were needed "to prevent Iran's destabilizing behavior in Syria, in Yemen, and across the region."