Chris Wallace to Pompeo: Is Soleimani Strike a ‘Big Step Back’ in Trump Pledge to Stop ‘Endless Wars’?

Chris Wallace spoke with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, in the context of what President Donald Trump has said in the past about “endless wars.”

Trump said in his statement on the strike, “We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.”

Wallace played Pompeo comments Trump made last year about stopping “endless wars” and how the U.S. should “let someone else fight over this long blood-stained sand.”

Wallace then brought up the troop deployments to the region in the past week and asked, “Is the president pulling us out of endless wars in the Middle East or with his action this week did he take a big step back in?”

“Endless wars are the direct result of weakness and President Trump will never let that happen,” Pompeo said. “We are going to get our facilities as hardened as we can possibly get them to defend against what Iran may potentially do, but make no mistake, America’s mission is to have our footprint in the Middle East reduced while still keeping America safe. Safe from rogue regimes like the Islamic republic of Iran and from terrorist activity broadly throughout the region.”

“So is it fair to say that while the big strategy is to pull the U.S. out of endless wars, at least in the short term there could be more of a commitment?” Wallace asked.

“The Obama Administration created an enormous risk to the American people in Iran. This administration is working to reduce that risk,” Pompeo responded.

You can watch above, via Fox News Sunday.

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