New Book Claims Obama Complained About Taking Pictures With Troops During Trip to Baghdad

Author and Rolling Stone contributing editor Michael Hastings' new book, The Operators, could cause waves for President Obama's reelection bid -- not to mention his already tenuous relationship with U.S. troops -- as book excerpts reveal the president was less than enthused to be photographed with troops during a visit to Baghdad.

The following excerpt describes Obama's visit to Baghdad and subsequent irritation at a request to take additional photos with soldiers and embassy staffers:

After the talk, out of earshot from the soldiers and diplomats, he starts to complain. He [Obama] starts to act very un-Obamalike, according to a U.S. embassy official who helped organize the trip in Baghdad.

He’s asked to go out to take a few more pictures with soldiers and embassy staffers. He’s asked to sign copies of his book. “He didn’t want to take pictures with any more soldiers; he was complaining about it,” a State Department official tells me. “Look, I was excited to meet him. I wanted to like him. Let’s just say the scales fell from my eyes after I did. These are people over here who’ve been fighting the war, or working every day for the war effort, and he didn’t want to take f*cking pictures with them?"

(h/t: BuzzFeed)