The Iraqi ambassador in Beirut... and the diplomacy of the "RPG"

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[size=52]The Iraqi ambassador in Beirut... and the diplomacy of the "RPG"[/size]

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[size=45]Pictures of the Iraqi ambassador in Beirut, Haider al-Barrak, who is in the midst of a group of armed men in civilian clothes, and one of them is seen firing an RPG-7 in the Bekaa region, caused an uproar on social media, leading to calls from Iraqi activists to summon him from his country’s foreign affairs and “charge him with Insulting diplomacy and Iraq’s reputation.”[/size]
[size=45]While the ambassador was reported to have accepted “the invitation of the sheikhs of the Bekaa region, and throwing the RBG7 is one of their habits,” Al-Nahar newspaper reported that the photos were taken on Tuesday during a party that came in the context of Al-Barrak accepting a lunch invitation at the home of one of his companions from the Hamiyah family in the town of Taria, where he was received. Young men from the family were armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.[/size]
[size=45]She mentioned that the reception, which was held in the tribal manner, comes against the background of clan ancestry between the Al-Barrak clan and the honorable house, as there is kinship between the people of the house and the Hamavand clan, to which the Iraqi ambassador belongs.[/size]
[size=45]An undocumented account, bearing the name of Al-Barrak and the definition of “Iraq’s ambassador to Lebanon,” responded to the first post that included the photos by saying, “I wish (you) would show our cultural and political activities (…) and the embassy’s achievements instead of your quest for excitement, my hobby is hunting, what is the problem with that (… Give a little bit."[/size]
[size=45]The account published what it said was an “important clarification” and stated, “As an essential part of the work of any ambassador, which is openness and communication with the society in which he lives with all its components, I accepted a generous invitation from one of the largest Arab tribes in the Bekaa region to visit them.[/size]
[size=45]As usual, the people of villages and the countryside welcome the guest who is received by the tribal sheikhs and dignitaries in that area, the mayor and some army and police officers. When the guest arrives, they welcome him in their own way, and it is by shooting.”[/size]
[size=45]He continued: "During the tour, a group of young men who guard the borders stopped me and asked to take memorial photos with them while they were doing their duty, and I took this photo."[/size]
[size=45]The photos were met with a torrent of comments, some of which expressed anger at “these behaviors that are emanating from an official in the Iraqi state with the rank of ambassador, which reflects a bad image of the country’s reality and civilization and the nature of diplomatic work in particular,” while others mocked by saying: “It seems that he is good at it.” The ambassador sends the letters of the bombers before the diplomatic interfaces, the protocol, the rules of diplomatic work, and the civilized tools in which the professional ambassadors of respected countries express the culture of their peoples, in soft and modern ways.[/size]
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