Monday, November 10, 2008

Obama Lied About Firing Middle East Adviser

In May of this year, Barack Obama fired Middle East adviser Robert Malley when it was revealed that Malley had been holding secret talks with Hamas.

One of Barack Obama’s Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas – prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.

Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. Such talks, he stressed, were related to his work for a conflict resolution think-tank and had no connection with his position on Mr Obama’s Middle East advisory council. “I’ve never hidden the fact that in my job with the International Crisis Group I meet all kinds of people,” he added.

Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Mr Obama, responded swiftly: “Rob Malley has, like hundreds of other experts, provided informal advice to the campaign in the past. He has no formal role in the campaign and he will not play any role in the future.”

It appears Obama reneged on his word.

Per Daily News Egypt:

On the flipside, it emerged that Obama had sent his senior foreign policy advisor Robert Malley to both Cairo and Damascus these past few weeks to outline the president-elect’s plans for the region, which indicates a willingness to further strengthen ties with staunch US ally Egypt and begin boosting relations with Syria.

So is it a good thing to still have your foreign policy advisor on your staff even though hes had regular contact with terrorist groups in the past? Oh and the fact he lied about firing him is great too.

H/T: LGF