Obama's Falklands Gaffe
The Telegraph reports on the latest diplomatic mis-step by President Obama. If anyone wonders why regular people mock the media, the subhed on the story might give a clue:
Barack Obama made an uncharacteristic error, more akin to those of his predecessor George W Bush, by referring to the Falkland Islands as the Maldives.
Reporters: He's been president for 3 years. He's an adult. He's leader of the free world. You don't need to cushion the blow of every single thing he does wrong by tying it to his predecessor. That's his job, OK?
But leave it to the media to miss the big error by Obama. John Tabin at The American Spectator writes:
This is a gaffe on top of a gaffe: The Maldives are in the Indian Ocean, and he obviously meant the Malvinas -- the Argentine government's name for The Falklands. But he shouldn't have been trying to say "Malvinas," either; that's an Argentine nationalist propaganda term that implicitly denies the right to self-determination of the 3000 British subjects who live on the Falklands.
Maldives, Malvinas, Falklands. Just words.
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Nov '10
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
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Edited on April 17, 2012 at 3:13pmJun '10
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
There isn't any mystery here. Obama is not an educated man. He's the product of leftist indoctrination. He never learned the basic facts about geography, history, culture or economics. His latest gaffe falls in a long line of such, like his declaration that we need more Arabic speakers in Afghanistan. The lack of general knowledge combined with his ideological fantasies pretty much ensure failure. Hopefully we'll get out of his mess without too much permanent damage to the nation.
Jun '10
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
If you remember, there was a similar gaffe with Jerusalem:
John Brennan (Deputy National Security Advisor) calling Jerusalem "al-Quds."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wglrLBqYxQ
Jul '10
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
That's the name in the Austrian language.
Aug '11
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
I read this yesterday, and yes aside from the Malvinas/Maldives screw up, to me it was a signal to Argentina that if they wanted to start up another war over the Falklands, Obama would be on their side.
He doesn't like the British very much, does he?
May '10
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
You say Malvinas and I say Maldivas.... Let's call the whole thing off...
OK, Ira Gershwin I am not.
Maybe Joe Biden slipped O some Gaffy-taffy. Makes you say stupid things.
May '11
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
I wonder whether he will call Belize by its Spanish name.
Sep '11
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
DrewInWisconsin: I read this yesterday, and yes aside from the Malvinas/Maldives screw up, to me it was a signal to Argentina that if they wanted to start up another war over the Falklands, Obama would be on their side.
He doesn't like the British very much, does he? · 17 minutes ago
I think Drew is correct.
There are two possible perspectives:
Which leaves us with a simple question about 'Bam's foreign policy after three years?Is he a) bumbling and unprepared? Or b) bumbling and deceitful?
Given Obama's previous conscious efforts to go out of his way to bitch-slap the Brits whenever he has the chance (regardless of tucking David Cameron into bed on Air Force One), I'd vote for B.
Oct '10
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
etoiledunord: If you remember, there was a similar gaffe with Jerusalem:
John Brennan (Deputy National Security Advisor) calling Jerusalem "al-Quds."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wglrLBqYxQ · 32 minutes ago
These are not gaffes. They are policy statements. The same is true of the Malvinas statement. Obama is aligning America with historical lies which the progressive mind embraces.
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
Unless I misremember, in the Obama years, the State Department ostentatiously withdrew its support from the British position vis-a-vis the Falklands. This was no gaffe; it is policy.
Oct '10
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
The Aussies must be on tenterhooks waiting to see how Obama will throw them under the bus.
May '10
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
This is a revealing gaffe. In Great Britain, and indeed the English-speaking world, the name of those islands is the Falkland Islands. In Argentina, they are referred to as las Islas Malvinas.
Obama reveals here that he rejects Britain's name for their own territory. But then, wanting to show his contempt for Britain, that pesky detail -- what was it that the Argentines call the islands? -- tripped him up. So he's pompous and asinine on two levels.
If you are going to shoot off your mouth to stick it to our ally like this, then at least do your homework, man!
Aug '11
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
Dr. Rahe, you might be referring to this, from June, 2010:
Jan '11
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
No wonder Hillary has quit worrying. Now she just wants to party.
May '10
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
It's Bush's fault the Falklands aren't the Maldives.
Sep '10
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
I don't know. Throwing stones at someone who mucks up a language he did not grow up speaking is, to me—who speaks with Spanish-speaking strangers all the time in part because they do not make fun of my mistakes (they love them!)—a bit harsh. I know. He's the prez and all that. Still. Sometimes a mistake is just a mistake. ... This is not to say that he's not tellingly gaff-prone, his mispronouncing corps being the most egregious example to me because it suggests complete inexperience with the word.
Apr '11
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
DrewInWisconsin: I read this yesterday, and yes aside from the Malvinas/Maldives screw up, to me it was a signal to Argentina that if they wanted to start up another war over the Falklands, Obama would be on their side.
He doesn't like the British very much, does he? · 32 minutes ago
One of the happy things about this issue is that the Falklands are not vulnerable. Thatcher, Major, and Blair all helped create the fortress that the islands are today. The Argentine Navy retired their only aircraft carrier in 2000, and the Royal Navy retired the Argentines' only cruiser in May 1982.
The Argentines could take the islands in 1982 because the invasion was so unexpected, and there were only token forces in defense. Today any conflict would be a disaster for them, and they know that. They build up their military for its politically appealing sabre rattling sound, and for Latin American political advantage, not for actual use.
The politics still matter, but the nuclear option is off the table.
Mar '11
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
"Uncharacteristic error?" How many uncharacteristic errors does one get before it becomes characteristic? Fifty seven states, the Austrian language, his self-described "Muslim faith," "Cominskey" Park rather than Comiskey Park, "corpsemen" twice in one speech, Arabic interpreters in Afghanistan...I used to think that hanging around Biden would have a bad effect on Obama. Now I fear it's the other way around.
Poor ol' Joe.
Apr '11
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
It was a prepared speech, written by people who should be competent in the English language. The "Malvinas" choice is unlikely to be accidental; the man was studying international relations at Columbia during the Falklands war. I would be surprised if the only real colonial war of his adult life was not a big deal to him, particularly given his choice of social context at the time. I've been lectured about the Falklands war in law classes in 5 law schools (over three degrees); Obama's formal engagement with the issue is unlikely to have ended at Columbia.
Sep '10
Re: Obama's Falklands Gaffe
I'm a university press editor and am not at all surprised by such an error in a prepared speech. Frankly, I'm surprised there aren't many many more, but it only tells what anyone who's been listening has known since early 2009: the kids running this administration have been ill prepared by their ivied backgrounds and have no preparation in history, much less context. ... Perhaps you're right and it really is a big deal, but I think it's better manners not to pile on when it comes to an error anyone could make. This is one idiocy on the president's part that I wish to rise above.
James Of England
It was a prepared speech, written by people who should be competent in the English language. · 2 minutes ago