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Rosenberg Blasts Obama for Snubbing Jordan's King Abdallah

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President Barack Obama's decision to pass on meeting Jordan's King Abdullah is a sign that the president doesn't understand the Middle East or how to fight radical Islam, author and Middle East expert Joel Rosenberg told CBN News.

Jordan is a key U.S. ally in the Middle East and the fight against the Islamic State. Abdullah is in Washington this week, but Obama, who will give his final State of the Union Address tonight, has declined to meet with him citing "scheduling conflicts," according to a report by TheTimes of Israel.

"This is insane," Rosenberg said. "The King of Jordan is probably the most faithful Sunni ally that the United States has, and President Obama doesn't have time to meet with him?"

"He had time for Matt Lauer this morning on the 'Today Show.' You know, I mean, carve out 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour with our main ally in the most dangerous fight that we are in right now," he continued. "This just goes to the heart of it, if you understand Islam, if you understand the Middle East, then meet with your allies."

Watch Joel Rosenberg's full commentary on President Obama's decision not to meet with King Abdullah of Jordan.

A White House official said the two leaders will meet "in the near future," according to The Times report.

Abdullah met with Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday and Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter on Monday.

The Times reports Abdullah and Kerry held talks about defeating the Islamic State and reviving peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians. That discussion included conversations about the Temple Mount and ongoing disputes between parties on both sides.

A Pentagon spokesman said Carter told Abdullah he deeply appreciates Jordan's help in countering the Islamic State.

The Islamic State has conquered large parts of Iraq and Syria and proclaimed itself a caliphate. The radical Islamic army has attacked and killed religious minorities and turned women into sex slaves.

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CBN News is a national/international, nonprofit news organization that provides programming 24 hours a day by cable, satellite and the Internet. Staffed by a group of acclaimed news professionals, CBN News delivers stories to over a million viewers each day without a specific agenda. With its headquarters in Virginia Beach, Va., CBN News has bureaus in Washington D.C., Jerusalem, and elsewhere around the world. What began as a segment on CBN's flagship program, The 700 Club, in the early 1980s, CBN News has since expanded into a multimedia news organization that offers today's news headlines