So Now We Have Umbrella-gate…Really?

In the eight years I have been doing this blog, I have made a point of always trying to take and maintain a civil and cordial tone even when the subject was personally repulsive to me. This post is an exception because simply put – you can’t fix stupid, but God help me, I’m going to try anyway.

On 16 May, 2013, the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visited Washington  just days after two car bombs in his country killed dozens during a deadly terrorist attack. Turkey is a NATO member, along with the U.S., and a country where 99.0% of the population is Muslim. Turkey wants the U.S. to get more involved in Syria while the U.S. sees Turkey as the critical broker in the region.

During a joint press conference, in the Rose Garden, it started raining. At first, President Obama ignored the drizzle and continued the press conference, but the rain got heavier. He asked two of the four Marines assigned to the White House as US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan -Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)sentries to hold umbrellas primarily so the Turkish head of state would not get wet during the event. This was simply protocol and good manners for the hosting head of state (as ABC news reported).  Below is a photo of the scene. (We’ll come back to that photo in a minute.)

A little later, when the weather cleared, Obama dismissed the Marines as the press conference continued. It took about 45 seconds after the press event was over before right-wing conservative groups criticized Obama for using Marines and umbrellas (not necessarily in that order). Photos of just Obama and the Marine (cropped to exclude the Turkish PM) appeared all over the conservative blogging sphere with captions ranging from:

  • Outrageous – No other President has received such special treatment.
  • Obama Breaches Marine umbrella protocol.
  • Mr. President, when it rains it pours, but most Americans hold their own umbrellas.
  • Obama expects our troops to hold damn umbrellas rather than go inside.
  • Obama again disrespects the military by having Marines hold umbrellas while he speaks.

The truth is, all of this is just noise not based on any facts. Some of these bloggers are quick to suggest that Obama should be impeached because he violated Marine Corps regulations regarding umbrellas.

Really? This is high crimes and treason? This is an impeachable offense?

The Marine Corps uniform regulations state that male Marines can’t carry an umbrella in uniform; however, female Marines can carry an umbrella with any service uniform except  the utility uniform (“cammies.”)  These same bloggers also point out that only the Commandant of the Marine Corps could tell these Marines they could hold (note hold, not carry) an umbrella.

Let me make sure I got this straight.  The boss of the boss of the Commandant of the Marine Corps told these Marines to provide inclement weather protection for the Turkish Prime Minister. The Marines (being Marines) were prepared and did exactly that and somehow some people think that’s a high crime worthy of impeachment.

These are the same people who fail to point to Title 10 of the U.S. Code. It’s that pesky law that authorizes the current  U. S. Marine Corps in the first place. I draw your attention specifically to this portion of the law (emphasis added):

The Marine Corps, within the Department of the Navy, shall be so organized as to include not less than three combat divisions and three air wings, and such other land combat, aviation, and other services as may be organic therein. The Marine Corps shall be organized, trained, and equipped to provide fleet marine forces of combined arms, together with supporting air components, for service with the fleet in the seizure or defense of advanced naval bases and for the conduct of such land operations as may be essential to the prosecution of a naval campaign. In addition, the Marine Corps shall provide detachments and organizations for service on armed vessels of the Navy, shall provide security detachments for the protection of naval property at naval stations and bases, and shall perform such other duties as the President may direct. However, these additional duties may not detract from or interfere with the operations for which the Marine Corps is primarily organized.

In short, this is a non-issue made noisy by those looking for noise.  The Marines had clearly been directed to be ready with umbrellas if necessary prior to the event. Simply by looking at the picture, any informed observer could tell by the positioning of the Marines and their symmetrical pose, they had planned and practiced for this contingency. Just look at the freaking picture!

There are four Marines who stand sentry duty at the west-wing of the White House. The Obama administration had these Marines tell their story back in 2009. It’s a good story and it’s one I wish all these bloggers had seen before they showed the world how petty and small-minded they are.

Look, this President has done some things that have bothered me a lot recently. It is right to be concerned about the IRS seemingly targeting Tea Party groups seeking  tax-exempt status (keyword is targeting). And I’m equally concerned that the Justice Department may have gone too far to discover the source of the AP leak that “exposed a U.S. spy planted in the Yemen-based group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.”

However, I am not concerned about the President of the United States asking a Marine sentry to hold an umbrella over the Turkish head of state so that the PM could announce his continued support of our position on the Syrian conflict.  There is just no needle in this haystack.

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