Hadi al Amiri, a militia leader identified as one of the organizers of this week’s attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, met with President Barack Obama in the White House in 2011.
Al Amiri joined a delegation consisting of several top advisers including Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki for the meeting with the former President inside the oval office.
He was known to have links to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps – a designated terror organization – at the time.
Earlier this week, according to the Daily Mail, al Amiri “was leading the charge against the US embassy in Baghdad when it was stormed and set alight by pro-Iran militants.”
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The attack today was orchestrated by terrorists – Abu Mahdi al Muhandis and Qays al-Khazali – and abetted by Iranian proxies – Hadi al Amari and Faleh al-Fayyad. All are pictured below outside our embassy. pic.twitter.com/2QfGGrfmDd
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) December 31, 2019
Obama’s Guest
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shared an image of the militia leader on social media calling the attack on the embassy “orchestrated by terrorists” and “abetted by Iranian proxies.”
The mob, including al Amiri, stormed the embassy in Baghdad wearing militia uniforms and shouting “Death to America!”
Al Amiri, according to the Washington Post, “is considered Tehran’s man in Baghdad” though they diminished his pull by defining him as a ‘rabble-rouser’ for protesters.
“Amiri heads the Badr Organization, which is one of the largest pro-Iran militias in Iraq and is part of the PMF,” they reported.
The PMF (Popular Mobilization Forces) is “an umbrella organization uniting primarily Iran-backed Shiite paramilitary groups.”
What a timeline – from the Obama White House in 2011 to conducting terrorist attacks against American buildings and personnel less than 10 years later.
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As you attack Trump’s foreign policy, Iranian militia members are — at this very moment — attacking American soldiers using the $1.7B cash you and Team Obama sent to Tehran.
What a time to be self righteous. https://t.co/FUtg02WTwZ
— Bryan Dean Wright (@BryanDeanWright) December 31, 2019
Obama Criticized at the Time
Mr. Obama was heavily criticized at the time over “grave concerns” associated with having somebody associated with the Revolutionary Guard in the White House.
Louis J. Freeh, who served as FBI director in the Clinton administration, said it was shocking that al-Amiri would be included in the visit, noting that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had been involved in “countless acts of terrorism, which are acts of war against the United States.”
Former Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), who served as Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee at the time, said then it was “extremely disturbing that the White House would see fit to welcome Al-Amiri.”
“If anything, he should be subject to questioning by the FBI and other appropriate U.S. law enforcement and counterterrorism agencies,” she added.
Instead, Obama welcomed him as a guest. A guest who later helped to organize an attack on a U.S. embassy.
