Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Pompeo, Kushner attend elite event in Switzerland
MONTREUX, Switzerland — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday joined Jared Kushner at a meeting of the Bilderberg Group in the Swiss resort of Montreux, where the public is not allowed and attendees are urged not to reveal what is discussed.
The four-day annual gathering, which concludes today, draws high-profile participants from business, politics, intelligence and defense, including America’s top diplomat and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
The meeting’s theme this year is “A Stable Strategic Order,” prompting Trump critics to argue that the president’s rhetoric and policies — including his threatened tariffs on Mexico and tensions with Iran — are a threat to the globalist postwar stability that was largely born of U.S. leadership. Trump supporters counter that the world has taken advantage of the United States for too long and must contribute more, financially and militarily.
The event aims to foster dialogue among experts from North America and Europe. On the agenda this year were topics including Europe, China and Russia, climate change, the future of capitalism and cyberthreats.
Private security and Swiss police cordoned off sidewalks and limited traffic near the bright-yellow Fairmont Le Montreux Palace overlooking Lake Geneva, where the meeting is taking place this year. A handful of placard-waving protesters voiced their opposition peacefully outside the gates.
“What we have is an administration that is behaving like a unilateralist wrecking ball,” said Ken Oye, an MIT political science professor on sabbatical in Switzerland, who came to protest.
Many at the meeting have championed cooperation in tackling international issues and have bemoaned Trump’s “America First” approach, which has broken with decades of U.S. policy.
Among the notable Europeans attending this year are NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and the British and Danish intelligence chiefs, Jeremy Fleming and Lars Findsen.
In addition to Kushner and Pompeo, both of whom are currently on major diplomatic missions, at least two senior Pentagon officials and two senior members of the National Security Council were at the forum.
Attendees from media outfits including Bloomberg News, The Economist and The Washington Post were rubbing elbows with political leaders such as rising Democratic Party personality Stacey Abrams and chiefs of international organizations including the U.N. cultural agency and animal rights group WWF.
Kushner arrived from Tel Aviv after a three-nation Middle East tour aimed at building support for his yet to be released Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
Pompeo came to Switzerland from Germany as part of a four-country European tour dominated by increasing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Pompeo is seeking to assure European leaders that despite U.S. intentions to step up economic pressure on Iran with sanctions, the U.S. is not seeking war with the Islamic Republic and may explore opening a channel of communications with Tehran.
Trump has openly signaled that he wants to talk with Iranian leaders. And neutral Switzerland, which has long represented U.S. interests in Iran, could be a convenient emissary.
Pompeo will meet the Swiss foreign minister today, prompting speculation toward that end.
“I’m not going to talk about how we’re communicating or not communicating with [Iran],” Pompeo told reporters on his plane.
Asked why he was spending three days in Bern — the Swiss capital that was last visited by a U.S. secretary of state more than two decades ago — Pompeo replied only that he’s a “big cheese and chocolate fan.”