Obama Goofs on Falklands

He refers to disputed islands as Maldives
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 17, 2012 2:02 AM CDT
Updated Apr 17, 2012 2:14 AM CDT
Obama Goofs on Falklands
PresidentObama speaks during a joint news conference with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos during the 6th Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Gaffe alert: President Obama fumbled the Spanish name for the Falkland Islands in remarks before the Summit of the Americas. He referred to them as "the Maldives or the Falklands, whatever your preferred term," using the name of an island chain 8,000 miles away in the Indian Ocean instead of saying "Malvinas," which is what Argentina calls the disputed islands. The president reaffirmed American neutrality on the issue, saying "this is something in which we would not typically intervene" and calling for dialogue between the UK and Argentina, the Telegraph reports. (More Malvinas stories.)

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