Pompeo also told the gathering of neocons Trump decertified the Iran deal not because it is in violation—the Iranians are playing by the rules—but rather because Trump has been told it "would curtail Iranian adventurism."

Trump advisor, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, also addressed the FDD neocons. He said America has suffered from a lack of "strategic competence… in recent years," in other words, the deep state has failed to remove the governments of Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and assorted others.

Foreign Policy columnist Jeffrey Lewis compared McMaster's remarks to those of General Maxwell Taylor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Taylor urged President Kennedy to launch an invasion of Cuba.