Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he did not see his counterpart Sushma Swaraj as a “significant political player” but famously hit it off with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in their first meeting.
In his latest book ‘Never Give An Inch: Fighting for the America I Love’, which hit stores on Tuesday, Pompeo described Sushma Swaraj somewhat disparagingly, using the American slang terms “goofball” and “heartland political hack” for her.
“On the Indian side, my real opponent was not a key player in the Indian foreign policy team. Instead, I worked much more closely with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, a close and trusted confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the 59-year-old Pompeo wrote in his book. .
A confidante of then US President Donald Trump, Pompeo was the CIA director in his administration from 2017 to 2018 and then served as Secretary of State from 2018 to 2021.
“My second Indian counterpart was Subrahmanyam“My second Indian counterpart was Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. In May 2019, we welcomed “J” as India’s new foreign minister. I couldn’t have asked for a better counterpart. Jaishankar. In May 2019, we welcomed “J” as India’s new foreign minister. I couldn’t have asked for a better counterpart. I love this man. English is one of the seven languages he speaks. One of them, and he’s slightly better than me,” wrote the former top American diplomat, who is now exploring the possibility of a 2024 presidential run.
“Professional, rational, and a fierce defender of his boss and his country,” is how Pompeo described Mr. Jaishankar.
“He (Jaishankar) said he could see why I had trouble with his predecessor, a goofball and a heartland political hack. “Be careful, I’m a heartland political hack!” I jokingly replied. He smiled, noting that if It was true, that would make me the first heartland political hack who was editor of the Harvard Law Review. Well done, Jay,” Pompeo said. Here J stands for Jaishankar.
Commenting on Pompeo’s claim, Mr. Jaishankar told PTI, “I have seen a passage in Secretary Pompeo’s book referring to Ms. Sushma Swaraj. I have always held her in high regard and had an exceptionally close and warm relationship with her. I condemn the disrespectful remarks. Used for that.” In his book, Pompeo says American neglect of India is a decades-long bipartisan failure.
“We are natural allies, as we share a history of democracy, a common language, and bonds of people and technology. India is a market with great demand for American intellectual property and products. These factors, and its strategic location in South Asia, make India my go-to counter to China’s aggression.” formed the basis of diplomacy,” he wrote.
“In my mind, a counter-China bloc consisting of the US, India, Japan, Australia, South Korea. The UK and the European Union would have at least three times the economic weight of China. I chose India as the next great American ally for a serious amount of time. And spend the effort,” Pompeo said.
