President and Mrs. Obama are planning a trip to sub-Saharan Africa later in the month, but the White House has scotched a plan to include a Tanzanian safari on the agenda after a reporter revealed that a team of snipers with high-powered military assault rifles would accompany him in the wild.
The Washington Post reported Thursday afternoon that the itinerary's dangers 'would have required the president’s special counterassault team to carry sniper rifles with high-caliber rounds that could neutralize cheetahs, lions or other animals if they became a threat.'
The newspaper based its report on a confidential planning document leaked from someone in the administration.
'But the White House canceled the safari Wednesday,' the report continued, 'after inquiries from The Post about the trip’s purpose and expense, according to a person familiar with the decision.'
Sit still, Simba: Sniper rifles were planned accessories for Obama's visit to Africa, but to protect him from wild animals, not crazed jihadis
Obama and Vice President Biden offered solemn promises for more gun control following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in December, vowing to ban so-called 'assault rifles' - even though the Newtown shooter left his AR-15 rifle in the trunk of his car
Presidential hors-d'oeuvres? The White House supposed that a lioness like this one might prefer to feed on the U.S. commander-in-chief instead of a freshly killed buffalo
The trip could be among the most expensive journeys a president has taken in recent memory, with price forecasts ranging between $60 million and $100 million. His recent appearances in Israel cost taxpayers an estimated $10.9 million.
Trips on Air Force One cost the government about $180,000 per flight hour..
Obama family 'costs taxpayers $1.4BILLION per year' (that's 20 times more expensive than British Royal Family)
Michelle Obama’s ‘goodwill tour’ of Africa cost U.S. taxpayers up to $800,000
That's a bit brave, Michelle! First Lady and daughters go looking for lions on safari in an open-air vehicle
'If I shoot it, I'm gonna eat it': Tea Party congressman reveals he killed and ATE a LION on safari in Africa (and now it's sitting proudly in his office on Capitol Hill)
Gun rights groups are outraged for a different reason, however, finding hypocrisy in the president's short-lived plan to rely on armed men for protection from wildlife, using the same kind of weapons his administration wants banned from public use to protect against human predators.
The late Frank Lautenberg, then a Democratic Senator from New Jersey, showed off an AR-15 carbine during one news conference, promising to ban them entirely. Some military units carry fully automatic versions of this firearm
The cheetah is the world's fastest land mammal, but sniper details are trained to hit moving targets at 500 yards
'Mr. Obama shouldn’t need special counter-assault teams to neutralize threats,' Second Amendment Foundation founder Alan Gottlieb told MailOnline. 'He’s got the IRS for that, doesn’t he?'
'Oh, that’s right,' he noted with tongue in cheek: 'Lions, cheetahs and other animals aren’t conservative taxpayers.'
The Obama White House has attracted criticism from both sides of the political aisle for an IRS program that targeted right-wing advocacy groups for special scrutiny based on the presence of words like 'patriot' or 'tea party' in their names.
Michelle, Sasha and Malia Obama went on Safari during a June 2011 goodwill trip to Africa. They rode through the savannahs in an open-air vehicle with standard Secret Service protection.
That trip, according to news reports, cost about $800,000.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Second Amendment Foundation founder Alan Gottlieb (L) isn't amused by the high-powered rifles on the president's planned safari details, since the White House doesn't believe ordinary citizens should be allowed to own them. Then again, Obama might have needed protection if a tigress hopped atop his armored Range Rover
Relax, panther! This growling cat is safe from Obama's personal protection forces
Call of the wild: Michelle Obama and family members in their safari vehicle at Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa in June 2011
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