Obama going to Saudi Arabia, will skip Auschwitz liberation anniversary
Having
blown off France two weeks ago, Barack
HUSSEIN Obama will
skip the Taj Mahal next week to
visit the new king of Saudi Arabia. In case that doesn't make his priorities clear enough, the President of the United States will then
skip the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
This is from the third link.
World leaders have been streaming into the country to pay their
respects to the powerful kingdom, which controls one of the world's
largest reserves of oil. The late King Abdullah had been a close friend
of the United States, but the new king, Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud is
less known in the West.
The president has been on a bad streak of late. He skipped the Paris
march after the massacre at the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, instead
watching NFL playoof football. The White House later acknowledged that
it should have sent someone with a "higher profile" than just the U.S.
ambassador to France.
Then this week, the White House announced that Obama will not see the
Israeli Prime Minister on his March visit to address Congress, calling
the invitation from House Speaker John Boehner a breach of protocol. But
the president did make time on Thursday to visit with a YouTube star
who once took a bath in a tub filled with milk and Fruit Loops,
prompting much ridicule.
Now, with the change announced Saturday by the White House, Biden will
stay in Washington as Obama makes the trip to Saudi Arabia.
But once again, Obama will be a day late and a dollar short. He won't
stop in Riyadh until Tuesday, while Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry
Medvedev, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, French President
Francois Hollande and Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito will visit on
Saturday and Sunday to offer condolences.
Well, maybe Obama is afraid that Hollande will treat him about as well as Netanyahu does.
And then there's the
Auschwitz snub.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will represent the United States at the
70th anniversary ceremony for the liberation of the Auschwitz
concentration camp on Tuesday—rather than President Barack Obama or Vice
President Joe Biden—while other countries are slated to send their
heads of state.
Tuesday’s ceremony will likely be the last major anniversary where a
significant number of survivors of the Nazi camp are present. About 300
are expected to attend, and most of them are in their 90s or older than
100. Nazi authorities killed 1.1 million people at the camp, mostly Jews, which was liberated by the Soviet army in January 1945.
The New York Times reported on the foreign dignitaries that would be present:
A preliminary list of those attending includes President
François Hollande of France, President Joachim Gauck of Germany and
President Heinz Fischer of Austria, as well as King Philippe of Belgium,
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Crown Prince Frederik of
Denmark. The United States delegation will be led by Treasury Secretary
Jacob J. Lew.
The White House claims that Obama will be in India on a 'long-scheduled' trip. As if they didn't know when the liberation of Auschwitz took place. At least he'll avoid Hollande there too.
Labels: Auschwitz, Barack Hussein Obama, France, Francois Hollande, India, Saudi Arabia, Saudi King Abdullah, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Taj Mahal
No time for France, but time to take in 'jewel of Muslim art' in India
President Hussein Obama
had no time to go to Paris last Sunday to identify with the victims of Islamic terror, but next week he will be
taking his wife Mooch to India for
four days. As part of the trip, they will be visiting the
Taj Mahal, which is the '
jewel of Muslim art' in India. This is from the first link (Hat Tip:
Gateway Pundit).
Obama, who will be the first U.S. president
to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade, will be accompanied by
his wife Michelle Obama and a team of senior officials in his
administration.
On the first day
of his visit, the American president and Prime Minister Narendra Modi
are to hold talks on the entire gamut of bilateral ties and discuss ways
to enhance ties in defense and nuclear energy. The two sides have
already decided to renew a new defense pact for 10 years and to start
joint development and production of military hardware.
Obama’s
visit, his second to India, is also expected to give a fillip to the
seven-year-old civil nuclear deal, stalled over tough provisions in the
Civil Nuclear Liability Act here.
During
the September meeting between Obama and Modi, the two leaders decided
to set up a high-level Contact Group on civil nuclear cooperation. The
group has held two rounds of detailed discussions on a range of
implementation issues, including administrative, liability, technical
and licensing to facilitate the establishment of U.S.-designed nuclear
power plants in India.
...
After their meeting, Modi and Obama will
make press statements. The U.S. president will also attend the banquet
in his honor by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan,
according to information available here.
On
the second day of his visit, Obama will attend the Republic Day parade
and later, along with Modi, take part in a CEO roundtable.On the final day of the visit, Obama is expected to address a town hall. However, the time and place have not been finalized.
An advance U.S. team is scheduled to be here this week to finalize security and protocol issues with its Indian counterparts.
Before
his departure from India, the president and the First Lady are to visit
the Taj Mahal, the monument to love in Agra. Obama's wife Michelle
accompanied the U.S. president during their four-day trip in 2010 but
the couple could not travel to Agra,
Anyone want to make bets as to
how much this trip will cost the American taxpayer? I guess the Taj was one of the places on
Mooch's list.... /sigh
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, France, India, Islamic terrorism, Michelle Obama, Paris, Taj Mahal
Obama to bankrupt US treasury by traveling for the next two years
On Wednesday, Jake Tapper tweeted his more than 73,000 followers (yes, I'm envious) to tell us all that it was not true that President
Obama's trip to India is costing $200 million per day.
Still, luxuries like
this do not come cheap (this undoubtedly costs a little more than Michelle's trip to Spain over the summer), and I have to wonder if every trip Obama takes for the next two years is going to include this type of coverage. If it does, the cost could be quite significant (Hat Tip:
Sunlight).
Communications set-up, nuclear button, a fleet of limousines and majority of the White House staff will be in India accompanying the President on this three-day visit that will cover Mumbai and Delhi.
He will also be protected by a fleet of 34 warships, including an aircraft carrier, which will patrol the sea lanes off the Mumbai coast during his two-day stay there beginning Saturday. The measure has been taken as Mumbai attack in 2008 took place from the sea.
Arrangements have been put in place for emergency evacuation, if needed.
Obama is expected to fly by a helicopter -- Marine One -- from the city airport to the Indian Navy's helibase INS Shikra at Colaba in south Mumbai.
From there, he will drive down in Lincoln Continental -- the Presidential limousine -- to the nearby the Taj Hotel.
Two jets, armed with advanced communication and security systems, and a fleet of over 40 cars will be part of Obamas convoy.
Around 800 rooms have been booked for the President and his entourage in Taj Hotel and Hyatt.
I don't recall other Presidents doing this. In the time I've lived in Israel, Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush came here (George H.W. Bush never did) and I can tell you that neither the entourage nor the security were anywhere near this. I know that there was a terror attack in Mumbai two years ago. If it's not safe, maybe he shouldn't be going there.
Labels: Barack Obama, entourage, Mumbai, security, Taj Mahal
