Posted by Tina
A photo of the President standing next to Mohamed Abdelaziz, the leader of a Moroccan separatist group in Algeria, has to embarrass his advisers and security team. The Washington Free Beacon has details:
The controversial photo in question appears to capture a smiling President Obama standing next to Mohamed Abdelaziz, the leader of the Polisario Front, a Moroccan separatist group in Algeria that commits massive human rights infractions and has been cited as a “prime recruiting grounds for al Qaeda.”
The picture was supposedly snapped at last week’s Nelson Mandela memorial ceremony in Johannesburg and then featured on an Arab language news website, which dubbed the encounter as “the first official meeting between the Polisario and the U.S. president.”
Former U.S. officials and other foreign policy insiders expressed outrage over the photo, saying that it is embarrassing for the U.S. president to be seen smiling next to the longtime leader of a violent Marxist movement known for torturing innocents, snatching children, and working with one of the deadliest terror groups on the planet.
“I don’t blame the president; lots of people want their pictures taken with him. But where’s the quality control? What were his aides thinking?” asked Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon analyst and terrorism expert.
“The whole reason Obama travels with hundreds of people is to prevent this sort of screw up,” said Rubin, who first flagged the photo in a column for Commentary magazine. “This is the African equivalent of accidentally shaking hands with the head of Hamas, Hezbollah, or any of the throwback Palestinian Marxist groups.”
The article points out that the group has “forged a relationship with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)”.
Once again this president seems either to be flouting protocol entirely or is totally clueless when it comes to foreign affairs and acting as the President of the United States. I personally believe that the President is grounded in Marxism and as such felt completely at ease in the presence of such a man.
Obumble was also seated with dictators, liars, thugs & thieves at the Mandela memorial, too.
Guess he feels right at home with those individuals . . .
What I find hilarious is that it finally just took a picture to invoke concern that Obama is “totally clueless” on so many levels!
“The whole reason Obama travels with hundreds of people is to prevent this sort of screw up,” said Rubin, who first flagged the photo in a column for Commentary magazine.”
This is, I have to say, a legitimate beef. On the other hand, how is this sort of thing to be managed? … out on the stage with all the other world leaders? Do we put our Prezzy in a little pen of velvet rope and blatantly screen supplicants?
It’s all the South Africans’ fault. Should have had everybody properly segregated: cool world leaders to this side of the stage … uncool … over there.