The letter calls for a cease-fire and 'de-escalation'
By Adam Shaw , Andrew Mark Miller Fox News Published November 18, 2023 4:00am EST
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unleashed a fiery response to Biden administration officials who signed on to a dissent letter over President Biden’s pro-Israel stance in its fight against Hamas terrorists — with the former top diplomat saying their moral compass "is broken."
"People who serve our country in any government institution, whether in the military or the State Department, swear allegiance to the United States and should commit to the mission of the President — elected by the American people — and his Administration," Pompeo said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "If they are unable or refuse to do so, they should resign or face termination."
Hundreds of government officials from 40 departments and agencies within the administration signed an anonymous letter demanding a "cease-fire" and opposing the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
BIDEN OFFICIALS REBEL AGAINST PRESIDENT ON ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR, SIGN DISSENT LETTER
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on March 3. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"We call on President Biden to urgently demand a cease-fire; and to call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the Israeli hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians; the restoration of water, fuel, electricity and other basic services; and the passage of adequate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip," the letter reads, in part.
Biden and others have argued that a cease-fire would only benefit Hamas, who launched a brutal terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, in which militants murdered over 1,000 Israeli civilians. The administration has pushed for humanitarian pauses in fighting, which Israel has carried out.
Pompeo said the dissent was a problem that plagued him during his time in office "when hundreds of State Department employees worked to subvert the mission of the Trump administration."
"Then as now, these dissenting staff fundamentally misunderstand their role and authority. Not a single American voted for them or their personal views on foreign policy. Their job is to serve the State Department as it executes the elected President's foreign policy objectives to keep America safe," he said. "To do otherwise is not just inappropriate; it is deeply at odds with our Constitutional order and subverts the will of the American people."
BIDEN ALLIES CONDEMN FAR-LEFT CALLS FOR CEASE-FIRE IN ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR: ‘AMERICANS REMAIN PRO-ISRAEL’
Apart from their general outspokenness about government policy, Pompeo argued that the staff "are also dead wrong."
"Their moral compass is broken," he said.
"It is absolutely right for America to back Israel in its war against the barbaric Hamas terrorists who committed the worst massacre against Jews since the Holocaust. Supporting Israel right now isn't about politics. It's about enabling the triumph of good over true evil," he asserted. "Any staffer who fails to recognize this does not deserve the honor of serving the American people at the State Department or any other government agency."
Arab American organizations have been highly critical of President Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News Digital//Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, President Biden on Wednesday said he believes that Israel’s military operation in Gaza will stop when Hamas "no longer maintains the capacity to murder, abuse, and do horrific things to the Israelis."
"Hamas said they plan to attack Israelis again and this is a terrible dilemma," he said.
Source: Fox news