On Thursday, the White House posted a photo to Facebook Wednesday night showing President Biden shaking hands with Delta Force operators that are on the ground in Israel—but forgot to blur out their faces, a major no-no.
This is the post that was in question. It stayed online for many hours and received thousands of comments and likes.
The administration has now removed the image and apologized publicly for the security breach. Hamas terrorists are likely able to screen-capture just like everyone else. The screenshot button has been used by many people, and there are still images of the untouched image on social media platform X.
The White House announcement was brief:
We immediately removed the picture as soon as we were made aware of this error. We apologize for the mistake and any problems this may have caused.
It was a clear security breach and violation of standard practices that the photo taken by Biden at an event in which he met Israeli medics who responded to the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2008, was not taken.
The faces of the men were revealed, which is against Department of Defense regulations. Officially released photos usually have blurred faces.
The Pentagon hides the identities of elite units in all its forms, including during training and deployment.
As they shook Biden’s hand, the men wore camouflage, had American flags on their arms, and were unshaven.
The gaffe was not unnoticed. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-TN, called it “gross incompetence”. Monica Crowley, former Fox News host and podcaster, was even more blunt:
The president is preparing to address the nation on Thursday, 8 PM EDT about the impending war.
The speech, which will begin at 8 pm, comes one day after President Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other Israeli officials, in Tel Aviv. Biden and Israeli officials talked about the Gaza Strip humanitarian crisis and the ongoing conflict.
Biden has pledged support for Israel but is expected to announce $100 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza, the West Bank, and Gaza.
Biden, on his return to Washington D.C. from the Middle East, told reporters that he was “very blunt” about the importance of getting humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Biden said he “got no pushback, virtually none” from Netanyahu.
It is very worrying that an administration makes amateurish mistakes like this during a war when the United States should be projecting its strength.
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