Tag: military

Bangladesh Army chief to hold talks with India’s military brass

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New Delhi: Bangladesh Army Chief Gen SM Shafiuddin Ahmed will embark on a three-day visit to India beginning Thursday with an aim to bolster bilateral military cooperation.
Gen Ahmed is set to begin his visit to India by paying tributes to the fallen heroes at the National War Memorial in New Delhi, officials said.
The visiting general will also be accorded a guard of honour at the South Block lawns in the Raisina Hills.

Later in the day, Gen Ahmed is expected to hold wide-ranging talks with Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande.
Gen Ahmed is also likely to meet Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari.
Gen Pande visited Bangladesh in July last year during which both sides vowed to expand their military cooperation. It was his first trip abroad after taking the reins of the 1.2 million strong force.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 26, 2023
Pakistan Army chief in China to boost military ties

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Islamabad: Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir is in China on a four-day official visit aimed at enhancing bilateral military relations with the neighbouring country, according to the military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
“COAS is on a four-day official visit to China for enhancing bilateral military relations,” Dawn news quoted the ISPR as saying in a brief statement.
During his visit, the army chief will hold meetings with the Chinese leadership, Radio Pakistan reported.

This is COAS Munir’s fourth overseas visit ever since he took charge as the army chief in November 2022.
Earlier this year, he undertook a week-long official visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia and held meetings with the top leadership of the Gulf states.
During the visit, the officials reviewed Pakistan’s bilateral ties with the two countries and discussed ways to strengthen the relations.
Later in February, the COAS visited the UK for meetings on defence-related issues.
He also attended a conference at Wilton Park, an executive agency created by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office to foster open dialogue between governments, Dawn reported.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 25, 2023
Ukraine’s foreign minister urges EU to speed up ammo deliveries

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LUXEMBOURG — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday implored EU foreign affairs ministers to move faster on their promises to supply Kyiv with ammunition. But his plea came as officials were given new details showing the EU still has a long way to go to meet its lofty pledges.
According to several diplomats, Kuleba — who addressed a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg via video link — was critical of the slow pace of the EU in delivering ammunition and missiles as part of a plan to provide 1 million shells in the next 12 months as Ukraine fights off Russia’s invasion.
The plan has already been endorsed by EU leaders but, when it comes to the technical details, has only been partially agreed upon by member states, which are still discussing the so-called track two of the scheme, which involves the joint purchase of ammunition.
The bone of contention is a legal one about exemptions for companies based outside the EU in the supply chain of the defense companies involved in the plan, but in the background doubts also remain as to whether the EU defense industry can really deliver all of these shells.
Kuleba on Monday “repeated that Ukraine needs desperately the ammunition to stand against the Russian attacks, and also to organize the counterattack,” Margus Tsahkna, the foreign minister of Estonia, which put forward the ammo plan, told POLITICO. “And ammunition is crucial.”
The problem is not only the speed of the EU in delivering the ammo, but also the quantity. The plan is being funded by a pot of money called the European Peace Fund, which partially reimburses the member states for ammo and missiles. That cash, meant to help provide ammunition quickly, comes from the so-called track one of the plan — worth a total of €1 billion — which has already been fully agreed upon. EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, speaking to journalists Monday, said that “we have received requests for reimbursement for €600 million.”
Yet according to three diplomats, not all the material that member states want reimbursing for has actually been delivered. Of the €600 million that Borrell mentioned, €180 million was for the provision of 1,080 missiles (six of which have not yet been reported as delivered) and the rest of the money was for 41,000 pieces of ammunition, of which 28,000 have not been reported as delivered, the diplomats said.
Those numbers are well short of 1 million.

Kuleba stressed “that if there is one priority, and if it’s a single burning issue, this is weapons delivery, in particular ammunition … he also asked for not being hesitant on delivering the aircraft and other modern pieces of military technology,” Slovakia’s foreign minister, Rastislav Káčer, told POLITICO. “He was pushy, politely,” Káčer added.
Borrell tried to offer reassurance on the speed of the EU decision-making process, saying: “There has been some disagreement but the work continues. We are not waiting for the legal document to be finished to start working. The work continues and everything is being prepared,” he said at a press conference after the meeting.
Diplomats reckon it’s a matter of days, likely Wednesday, before track two of the plan will be finalized.
“The truth is that there is not satisfaction about how we’re delivering on track one, in the quantity and the speed,” Káčer said. “We can do more, we can scratch more. Slovakia is trying. We are putting everything we have in the stockpiles.”

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

April 24, 2023
Eastern Ladakh row: India, China hold 18th round of military talks

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New Delhi: India and China held a fresh round of high-level military talks on Sunday with a focus on resolving the remaining issues in eastern Ladakh as the border row enters the fourth year, people familiar with the matter said.
The 18th round of military talks took place ahead of Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu’s visit to India next week to attend a key meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation being hosted by New Delhi under its presidency of the grouping.
Sunday’s military talks came around four months after the last round of the dialogue between the senior Army commanders of the two sides.

The talks were held at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, the people familiar with the developments said.
It is learnt that the Indian side insisted on resolving the issues at the remaining friction points of Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh as soon as possible.
The Indian delegation at the dialogue was led by Lt Gen Rashim Bali, Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps that takes care of security along the LAC in the Ladakh sector.
In line with a decision taken at the 16th round of military talks, the two sides carried out disengagement from Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in September last year.
The Corps Commander-level talks were instituted to resolve the eastern Ladakh row. India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020 following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area.
The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process on the north and south banks of the Pangong Lake and in the Gogra area.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 23, 2023
Apheresis centre at military hospital in Secunderabad inaugurated

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Hyderabad: Major General Rakesh Manocha, SM, VSM, General Officer Commanding, Telangana and Andhra Sub Area inaugurated the newly established Apheresis Centre at Military Hospital Secunderabad.
The Apheresis machine helps in the collection of only the desired blood component and the remainder of the blood is returned to the body. It will be instrumental in treating Dengue cases in this endemic zone by providing single donor platelet from a single donor at a faster rate.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 18, 2023
Joint Chiefs shuffle: Biden’s top contenders to replace Trump’s military leaders

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The vacancies give President Biden a chance to put his stamp on the Joint Chiefs as the administration looks to take big steps to counter Chinese aggression in the Pacific, chart a new course in Europe after the Ukraine invasion and dump old weapons systems to make room for new ones.
“These are legacy moments for the Biden administration, but they are also the guard rails for the republic,” Peter Feaver, a former staffer on the National Security Council and author of “Armed Servants: Agency, Oversight, and Civil-Military Relations.”
It’s also an opportunity for Biden, who named the first Black defense secretary in 2021, to make more historic appointments, including the first female member of the Joint Chiefs. Last year, Biden chose Adm. Linda Fagan to be the first female commandant of the Coast Guard, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security.
POLITICO spoke to 11 current and former Defense Department officials, as well as leaders in academia with knowledge of the discussions to forecast who’s in the running for the jobs. Some were granted anonymity to discuss the subject ahead of the announcements.
Here are the names at the top of the list:
Chair
Current leader: Army Gen. Mark Milley, sworn in Oct. 1, 2019

The frontrunner: Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown
If you ask most people at DoD, the shoo-in for the top job is Gen. C.Q. Brown, the Air Force chief of staff. Brown, a fighter pilot by training, has stellar credentials, serving as commander of the service’s forces both in the Middle East and in the Pacific. He is also the first Black man to serve as Air Force chief of staff, and was nominated for the job the same summer as the Black Lives Matter protests swept the nation.
Brown is not known for making news, and typically sticks closely to the talking points during public appearances and press engagements. But in a rare candid moment, he weighed in on the racial unrest roiling the country in an emotional video describing his experience navigating the issue in the military.
Tapping Brown for the top job would mean plucking him from his current post before his term is up. He was sworn in Aug. 6, 2020, and has another year left as the Air Force’s top officer.

Marine Corps Gen. David Berger
The White House is also considering Gen. David Berger, the Marine Corps Commandant, who has served in the post since July 2019.
Berger “connected” more with the president during his interview for the job, one former DoD official said. Berger’s interview lasted 90 minutes, while Brown’s interview lasted only 40, another former DoD official said.
A career infantry officer, Berger has commanded troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Pacific. Yet he is seen as controversial in some corners of the military. His vision for reshaping the Marines by shedding heavy weaponry in favor of a lighter, faster force has drawn criticism, particularly from retired generals.
The longer interview for Berger doesn’t mean he has the job of course, but one person familiar with both Berger and Brown pointed out that the Marine leader is considered more talkative than the analytical Brown. Plus, Berger’s almost total rethinking of how the Marine Corps will be positioned to fight — particularly in the Pacific — is by far the most ambitious retooling of any of the services in decades, which could have sparked more conversation.
One factor that might weigh against Berger is that the current vice chair, Adm. Christopher Grady, is a Navy officer. Lawmakers frown on having a chair and vice chair from within a department, such as the Department of the Navy, which includes both the Navy and Marine Corps.

Army Gen. Laura Richardson
DoD insiders aren’t ruling out Gen. Laura Richardson, an Army officer serving as the commander of U.S. Southern Command. She is one of only 10 women ever to hold the rank of a four-star general or admiral. A helicopter pilot, Richardson previously served as commanding general of U.S. Army North, and has commanded an assault helicopter battalion in Iraq. She also served as military aide to former Vice President Al Gore, and the Army’s legislative liaison to Congress.
But one unofficial rule of the process is that no two consecutive chairs should be from the same service. Since Milley is also an Army officer, Richardson may be at a disadvantage. However, she is also seen as a candidate to replace Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville.
Army
Current leader: Army Gen. James McConville, sworn in Aug. 9, 2019.

The frontrunner: Army Gen. Randy George
While Richardson is a contender, the top candidate for Army chief of staff is Gen. Randy George, who is serving in the vice chief of staff role. George is an infantry officer who served in the 101st Airborne Division and deployed in support of the Gulf War. He also served as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s senior military assistant from June 2021 to July 2022.

Army Gen. Andrew Poppas
Another possibility is Gen. Andrew Poppas, a former commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division. He’s the head of Army Forces Command, a position Milley also held before becoming the Army’s top officer. Poppas also served as director of operations of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, a post Austin held in 2009.
Navy
Current leader: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday, sworn in on Aug. 22, 2019.

The frontrunner: Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti
Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti, currently the vice chief of naval operations, is widely seen as a lock for the top job. The second woman to hold the vice CNO job, Franchetti also holds a degree in journalism. A career surface warfare officer, Franchetti served on the Joint Staff, and commanded the destroyer USS Ross.

Navy Adm. Samuel Paparo
There has also been some talk of Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of the Pacific Fleet, as a possible candidate. He is a longshot, however, and is considered the top pick to take over as head of Indo-Pacific Command in two years when Adm. John Aquilino moves on.
Air Force
Current leader: Gen. C.Q. Brown, sworn in on Aug. 6, 2020.

The frontrunner: Gen. Jacqueline Von Ovost
If Brown is tapped to be the next chair, that creates an opening to be the top leader of the Air Force.
There’s a lot of buzz around Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, who as the commander of U.S. Transportation Command has been at the center of all DoD’s most high-profile efforts during the Biden administration. Her forces moved vaccines during the Covid-19 response, flew evacuees from Kabul airport in 2021 and are shipping weapons to Ukraine. She is the first female head of Transportation Command, and would be the first woman to head the Air Force.

Gen. David Allvin
The Air Force’s No. 2 military officer since 2020, Allvin previously served as the director for strategy, plans, and policy on the Joint Staff. He comes from the air mobility community and commanded forces in Afghanistan and Europe.
Marine Corps
Current leader: Gen. David Berger, sworn in on July 11, 2019

The frontrunner: Gen. Eric Smith
Gen. Eric Smith is the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, making him the service’s No. 2 general. He has commanded at every level, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a general officer, he commanded the Marine Corps’ forces in U.S. Southern Command, as well as Marine Corps Combat Development Command. He also served in the Pentagon as senior military assistant to the defense secretary in 2016 to 2017.

Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl
While Smith has for months topped the list as a successor to Berger, another candidate in high standing is Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, who leads the Marine Corps’ Combat Development Command. In that job, Heckl has pushed to test and implement Berger’s reforms, and he has in many ways been the service’s public face for modernization in the Berger vein.
Joe Gould, Paul McLeary and Lee Hudson contributed to this report.
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#Joint #Chiefs #shuffle #Bidens #top #contenders #replace #Trumps #military #leaders
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 18, 2023
NAVIFORCE Men’s Military Digital Watches Analog Quartz Waterproof Watch Sport Multifunctional Leather Wristwatch

Price: [price_with_discount]
(as of [price_update_date] – Details)

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🌻Specification (approximate):
Case diameter: 4.6cm
Case thickness: 1.5cm
Band Wideth: 2.2cm
Band Length: 25cm
Weight: 102g
Band Adjustable: Yes
🌻 Description:
100% brand new and high quality.
Durable Alloy case/back(Environmental protection vacuum plating) & High-quality Genuine Leather strap.
Analog & Digital display.
Japan original digital movement.
Dual display watch: You can use it as two time zones or use one of them as the backup one.Make sure the time is under your control.
LCD Display with Back-light: Advanced LCD display, energy saving
Back-light supported, you can also read the time in dark night.
When you need to read the time, press on the light button, it just lights up.
Shows time digital numbers Digital And Analog Dual Display Sports Watch.
Display time in numbers indicate the hour, minutes and seconds.
Display the day & date 12h/24h, and week.
Alarm clock function included.
Stop watch function included: Calculate the time by 0.01 second minute.
Precise quartz movement for accurate time keeping.
Luminous hands.
3ATM water resistance (not for showering and swimming).
🌻
Package Included:
1 * Sport Watch
1 * Instruction
1 * Guarantee card
1 * Beautiful Luxury Box

Batteries ‏ : ‎ 1 A batteries required. (included)
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 26 x 4.6 x 1.7 cm; 101 Grams
Date First Available ‏ : ‎ 16 November 2021
Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ NAVIFORCE
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09JZ39RRM
Item model number ‏ : ‎ 9197L
Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ China
Department ‏ : ‎ Mens
Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ NAVIFORCE
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 101 g
Item Dimensions LxWxH ‏ : ‎ 26 x 4.6 x 1.7 Centimeters
Generic Name ‏ : ‎ Sport Watch
Material: Anti-scratch mineral glass and environmental protection vacuum plating case never fade. Genuine leather strap, delicate and soft.
Multifunction Design: Simple and luxurious dial, covers the week,date, time display, chronograph, LED light functions.
Perfect Gift: This elegant looking luxury wristwatch can be worn for a variety of occasions, whether formal, business or casual, or from indoor, outdoor events or everyday use.
Display Type: Analog-Digital; Item Shape: Round; Bezel Function: Calendar; Case Material Type: Metal; Department Name: Mens

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April 14, 2023
Germany can’t fulfill NATO obligations, says army chief in leaked memo

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BERLIN — Germany’s land forces cannot fulfill their NATO commitments, according to a leaked memo from a top soldier cited in a German media report.
A division that Germany promised to NATO isn’t fully ready for battle, Bild newspaper reported Tuesday, citing a routine “leadership message” from Alfons Mais, the army’s inspector general, to the armed forces’ inspector general.
The memo increases pressure on Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who is being confronted with the Bundeswehr’s structural problems that also faced his predecessors.
Berlin had promised a fully-equipped army division to NATO in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine as early as 2025, two years earlier than planned.
However, without countermeasures, “the army will not be able to hold its own in high-intensity combat and will also only be able to fulfill its obligations to NATO to a limited extent,” the army chief was quoted by the newspaper.
A spokesperson for the German defense ministry told POLITICO that it generally does not comment on “internal documents” and the “state of readiness.” However, the commitment for 2025 remains unchanged, the spokesperson added. The German army, the Bundeswehr’s land forces, declined to comment “on a classified document and its content.”
The operational readiness of a second division, which the Bundeswehr plans to provide from 2027, is also considered “unrealistic” according to the report, as the division will “not be sufficiently equipped with large-scale equipment in 2027.”
According to the report, Mais wrote that even pulling together all of the army’s assets would not make it possible to fully equip the 2025 division. The report cited continued underfunding and military support for Ukraine as strains that are already leading to a “clearly noticeable reduction in the army’s operational readiness.”

On the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Mais said on social media that the German land forces were “more or less bare” in view of the new threats.

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#Germany #fulfill #NATO #obligations #army #chief #leaked #memo
( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

April 11, 2023
Germany aims to ‘set the record straight’ on China after Macron’s Taiwan comments

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BERLIN — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is heading to China to represent Berlin, but she’ll likely have more explaining to do about Paris in the wake of French President Emmanuel Macron’s explosive comments on Taiwan.
As Baerbock embarked on her two-day visit Wednesday evening, officials in Berlin were eager to stress that Germany and the EU care about Taiwan and stability in the region, arguing it’s mainly China that must contribute to de-escalation by refraining from aggressive military maneuvers close to the island nation.
Baerbock’s trip comes amid international backlash against Macron’s comments in an interview with POLITICO, arguing Europe should avoid becoming America’s follower, including on the matter of Taiwan’s security. Although German government spokespeople refused to comment directly on the French president’s remarks, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry specifically called out Beijing when expressing “great concern” over the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
“We expect all parties in the region to contribute to peace. That applies equally to the People’s Republic of China,” the spokesperson said, adding: “And it seems to us that actions such as military threatening gestures are counter to that goal and, in fact, increase the risk of unintended military clashes.”
Nils Schmid, the foreign policy spokesperson for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), said he expects Baerbock to “set the record straight” during her trip to China, which will involve meetings with Beijing’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Vice President Han Zheng and top diplomat Wang Yi.
“We clearly defined in the [government] coalition agreement that we need a changed China policy because China has changed. The chancellor made that clear during his visit. Above all, Scholz also issued clear warnings about Taiwan during his visit [last year],” Schmid wrote in a tweet. “I assume that Foreign Minister Baerbock will repeat exactly that and thus set the record straight and make a clarification after Macron’s botched visit.”
Berlin traditionally has been much more in sync with the U.S. on foreign and security policy than France has, which is why many politicians and officials in the German capital reacted with horror to Macron’s comments. The French president said Europe should not take its “cue from the U.S. agenda and a Chinese overreaction,” suggesting the EU stood between the two sides, rather than being aligned with its longtime democratic partners in Washington.
Macron gave the impression to some in the U.S. that Europeans see Beijing and Washington as “equidistant” from Brussels in terms of values and as allies, said SPD foreign policy lawmaker Metin Hakverdi, who is currently on a parliamentary visit to the U.S.

“That was foolish,” Hakverdi told POLITICO, adding that “Macron potentially damaged the peaceful status quo around Taiwan” by giving “the public impression that Europe has no particular interest in the conflict over Taiwan.
“The issue of Taiwan is not an internal matter for the People’s Republic of China. Anything else would virtually invite Beijing to attack Taiwan,” Hakverdi added. “I am confident that our foreign minister will make that clear during her trip to Asia — both to Beijing and to our Asian partners.”
Katja Leikert from the main German opposition party, the center-right CDU, criticized Macron’s comments as “extremely short-sighted,” and added: “Should China decide to strike Taiwan militarily, either by invading it or by starting a maritime blockade, this would have significant political and economic repercussions for us. We cannot just wish that away.
“What we actually need to do right now is strengthen our defense against aggressive measures from Beijing,” Leikert said.
For Berlin, Macron’s comments also come at a particularly bad moment for transatlantic ties. The German government is keen to mend cracks in its relationship with Washington that have emerged over the controversial benefits for U.S. businesses under Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Europe hopes to reach an agreement so that its own companies may also be eligible for these subsidies.
Macron’s comments “will not help in renegotiations on the Inflation Reduction Act, nor will they help Joe Biden in the election campaign against populist Republican candidates,” said the SPD’s Hakverdi.
The German foreign ministry spokesperson was quick to stress that both France and Germany were involved in shaping a joint EU-China policy | Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images
The German foreign ministry spokesperson was quick to stress that both France and Germany were involved in shaping a joint EU-China policy, which was also done in cooperation “with our transatlantic partner.”
During her trip to China, Baerbock plans to raise the situation in the Taiwan Strait; Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; the human rights situation in China; as well as the fight against climate crisis, the spokesperson said.
Baerbock’s foreign ministry is also currently drafting Germany’s first China strategy. A draft of this seen by POLITICO last year vowed to take a much harder line toward Beijing. Baerbock and her Green party are at the forefront of pushing such a tougher position, while Scholz has long preferred a softer approach.
Incidentally, however, the German government said Wednesday it is reassessing whether to potentially take a firmer stance and ban Chinese state company Cosco from going through with a highly controversial move to buy parts of a Hamburg port terminal.
Scholz had strongly pushed for the port deal ahead of his own trip to Beijing last year, but the future of the transaction is now in doubt after German security authorities classified the terminal as “critical infrastructure.”

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

April 11, 2023
Oh no, Joe: Biden confuses ‘All Blacks’ rugby team with ‘Black and Tan’ military force

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DUBLIN — That didn’t last long.
Joe Biden managed to tread carefully around historic and current political sensitivities during the first part of his trip to the island of Ireland this week, marking 25 years since the U.S.-brokered Good Friday Agreement sought to secure lasting peace for Northern Ireland.
But not long after crossing from that U.K. region into the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday, the U.S. president made a major gaffe: He confused New Zealand’s “All Blacks” rugby team with the notorious “Black and Tans” British military unit that fought the Irish Republican Army a century ago.
At the end of a rambling speech in a pub Wednesday night, Biden — flanked by Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin and star rugby player Rob Kearney, a distant cousin — tried to pay a compliment to one of Kearney’s greatest sporting accomplishments. That would be when Ireland’s rugby team defeated New Zealand for the first time in 111 years, in November 2016 in Chicago. New Zealand’s squad is famously called the All Blacks, in reference to their uniforms.
Trouble is, Biden let slip a reference that could well reflect his affinity with Irish rebel history and its folk songs.
“He’s a hell of a rugby player, and he beat the hell out of the Black and Tans,” Biden said to audience laughter.
The Black and Tans were an auxiliary unit of Britain’s security forces that fought IRA rebels in their 1919-21 war of independence from Britain. Their name reflected the improvised and inconsistent colors of their uniforms.
The unrelentingly pro-Biden coverage on state broadcaster RTÉ, which televised his speech live, didn’t acknowledge the mistake. The commentator’s sign-off? “Well, that’s Joe Biden: a little bit sentimental, a little bit schmaltzy, but a thoroughly decent guy and a great friend to Ireland. The trip is off to a great start.”

But the gaffe and “Rob Kearney” blew up on social media in Ireland. Some listed the retired rugby fullback’s career accomplishments including, most famously, his single-handed defeat of the British forces a century ago.
“The greatest gift Ireland wanted from Joe Biden was a signature gaffe. And … didn’t he just go and give us one for the century,” tweeted comedian Oliver Callan.
Attempting to hose down the row on Thursday, Biden aide Amanda Sloat, the National Security Council senior director for Europe, said: “I think for everyone in Ireland who was a rugby fan it was incredibly clear that the president was talking about the All Blacks and Ireland’s defeat of the New Zealand team in 2016.”
She added: “It was clear what the president was referring to. It was certainly clear to his cousin sitting next to him who had played in that match.”
Lost in the shuffle was Biden’s other Kearney gaffe: He still hasn’t figured out how to say his name.
When introducing Kearney at the White House on St. Patrick’s Day, Biden called him Keer-ney. The Irish pronounce the name Kar-ney. Biden stuck with Keer-ney on Wednesday.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

April 11, 2023