Vice President Joe Biden did not meet with the man who interrupted his speech at a recent campaign rally for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, despite giving his “permission” to do so in front of crowd in Parma, Ohio.
While speaking Thursday, Biden momentarily put his speech on hold as he addressed a heckler who repeatedly yelled that his friend died in recent combat in Syria. “My friend died,” yelled the man, who criticized the Obama administration for demanding the retreat of Syrian Kurdish fighters back east of the Euphrates River after helping U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces achieve victory against the Islamic State in Manbij in August.
After some back-and-forth, in which Biden said “the deal” in Syria was to let Kurd forces help liberate the city and then have them cross back over the Euphrates so that U.S. special forces could move in, the vice president urged man to meet with him after the event.
“If you’re serious… Come back after and and talk to me about this,” Biden said to applause from the audience. “You have my permission.”
But it turns out Biden never did meet with the man, according to the heckler who identifies himself as Reinas, a name he used while serving with Kurdish forces in Syria for half a year. He said that after speaking with a Biden staff member and the Secret Service, he was denied a meeting because the vice president did not have the time.
Reinas, who later identified himself to Washington Examiner as Robert Amos, currently residing in Indiana, said he is disappointed that Biden did not follow through on his offer, but added, “I could potentially believe he was busy. He was late” to the event.
When asked why he confronted Biden, Amos told the Examiner that he wanted to know why the Kurdish YPG had to give up ground that “was made for in American blood.”
He also said “it was apparent [Biden] had not been briefed on Syria” because there are no U.S. special forces in Syria’s Aleppo Province, as there are in others. Amos said the lack of U.S. support in Manbij and other nearby areas “compromises” the safety of other Americans still serving with Kurdish forces that may be targeted by Turkish-backed forces and the Islamic State. Three Americans have reportedly died while fighting the Islamic State in Syria.
The American man whom he claimed to know and who died in Syria was Levi Shirley, who reportedly was killed due to a land mine near Manbij in July.
“I knew Levi Shirley, from the very beginning. As he had military experience, he also helped train me during morning drills,” said Amos.
Amos is involved with a small group called the American Veterans of the Kurdish Armed Forces, which also includes members from the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries. Its goal is to get 2016 presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to endorse the YPG’s actions west of the Euphrates.
Amos criticized current U.S. policy regarding the fight against the Islamic State as “somewhat schizophrenic” for supporting both Turkish-backed and Kurdish forces. Last week during a visit to Turkey, Biden assured his Turkish counterparts that the Kurdish YPG, which Ankara views as a terrorist organization, would make the retreat away from the northern Syria city near the Turkish border or else lose the support of the U.S.
“He’s serving Turkey’s interest instead of America’s interest,” Amos said.
Despite not getting to meet Biden, Amos said he respects the vice president, and even suggested that what Biden had said, whether correct or not, was meant well.
“I really believe the Obama administration has done a lot for the Kurds. That is not to say that they couldn’t do more. But when I was in Kurdistan whenever the Kurds saw a coalition warplane they pointed and said, ‘Heval Obama’ (friend Obama),” Amos wrote in an email to the Examiner.
“It just makes me sad to see what Biden said about the Kurds,” he said. Amos said Biden’s team has his number, should the vice president ever reach out for a meeting.
A White House spokesperson referred the Examiner to the U.S. Secret Service, when asked for comment. The Secret Service told the Examiner that it had no information to provide in regards to the vice president’s schedule.
