While Joe Biden observed the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 in Alaska, as physically far away from New York and Washington, DC as possible, his administration marked the day by celebrating a deal with Saudi Arabia and giving $6 billion to terrorism sponsor, Iran.
Optics are really not their strong point.
FOX News reports:
Biden admin strikes deal with Iran to swap prisoners, release $6 billion in frozen fundsThe Biden administration has struck a deal with Iran to swap prisoners and release $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds.Per the deal, Iran will release five American citizens detained in Iran and the U.S. release five Iranian citizens being held in the U.S.The deal creates a blanket waiver to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of violating U.S. sanctions. No money is going directly to Iran and no U.S. taxpayer funds are being used.The United States classifies Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed off on the deal late last week, but Congress was not notified of the decision until Monday, the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to the notification, which was obtained by The Associated Press.
White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson tweeted about the Saudi Arabia news.
This article in Newsweek makes a good point about the Saudi Arabia news:
This year, Biden became the first president to bow out of participating in any 9/11 memorial events. The president did deliver remarks honoring the lives lost in the 2001 attacks from Anchorage, Alaska, later in the afternoon and made posts to social media accounts remembering the 2,977 deaths.”On 9/11. During the first presidency to not commemorate this day at a 9/11 site. I cannot even understand this,” Democrat Lindsey Bolan wrote in response to Watson’s tweet.Some users on the social media platform called the spokeswoman a “disgrace,” while others called the timing “tasteless,” “unbelievably tone deaf” and “politically inept.””The White House commending the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the anniversary of 9/11 while the Kingdom is still actively fighting the 9/11 families & survivors in federal court is something….” political strategist Brian Walsh tweeted.Survivors and the families of 9/11 victims are still fighting a long-running federal lawsuit in New York to hold the Saudi government responsible for the attacks. For 15 years, the lawsuit had been blocked because of the “sovereign immunity” protection for foreign governments in court. Congress cleared the way for the lawsuit in 2016.
Could they possibly be any more tone deaf?
It boggles the mind.
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