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Obama shamed for disabling Instagram comments over pleas to help Afghanistan: 'F**king Coward'

Instagram accounts belonging to Obama and his wife Michelle obstructed visitors from commenting on their posts for about two hours

Former president Barack Hussein Obama faced considerable backlash after briefly suspending comments on his Instagram page on Monday, August 16, after his followers demanded he take the initiative to help Afghanistan following the Taliban's hostile takeover of the country.

Instagram accounts belonging to Obama and his wife Michelle obstructed visitors from commenting on their posts for about two hours. "Comments on this post have been limited," a message read on both pages during that period. The former president is yet to issue a public statement about the heart-rending situation in Afghanistan. Instead, his most recent social media post is a clip concerning voting boundaries in major US constituencies.

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"Afghanistan needs your help. Please please help Afghanistan," one commented, according to Fox News. "The blood of the #Afghan people is on the hands of those who have remained silent in the face of oppression and have made friends with the Taliban," another added. "History will not forget your crime."

"What did we accomplish in Afghanistan if we turn tail and run now?" another chimed in. "They need us! That is not the American way! We do not surrender and run! We stay and fight and until the issues are resolved which is true independence!"

The comments, which often featured hashtags #help_afghanistan and #afghanistanisbleeding, were soon cut off. Meanwhile, a similar suspension was enforced on former first lady Michelle Obama's page.

Speaking to Fox News, a spokesperson for the Obamas said there was "no intentionality on our side," but did not explain why it happened. They added that the former commander-in-chief had "no further comment" on the Afghan crisis and referred to his remarks in April lauding Biden for his "bold leadership" in withdrawing troops from the country.

"It has been a long and arduous struggle in Afghanistan, rooted in our response to the deadliest terrorist attack on the U.S. homeland in our history," Obama said at the time, adding that the service members and diplomats involved could "take pride in their efforts to deliver justice for 9/11, destroy al Qaeda's safe-haven, train Afghan Security Forces, and support the people of Afghanistan."

Over on Twitter, however, critics lambasted the 44th POTUS for disabling comments on Instagram. "Obama has shut off comments on his social media accounts. F***ing Coward!!!" one wrote. "That’s what happens when things get tough he shuts down comments and doesn’t let real concerns get out there," another tweeted. "Obama is way too scared from honest and realistic comments and questions from the American people," a user added. "Obama turned his Instagram comments off in shame of the Taliban situation, what a coward," a comment read. "Obama disabled his comments on Instagram lol. Maybe letting the current Taliban leaders out of Guantanamo Bay during his administration had something to do with it," another chimed in.

Journalist Craig Whitlock accused Obama in his book "The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War" of lying to Americans when he announced in December 2014 that the war with Afghanistan had reached a "conclusion," Fox News reported.

Only last week, James Jay Carafano, vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at The Heritage Foundation, characterized the Obama administration's foreign policy as "an abysmal failure." Carafano wrote in an opinion piece published Friday, August 13, "In the face of America’s enemies, the default position of Obama-Biden foreign policy default is accommodation and appeasement. Unfortunately, the bad guys are not stupid. They had eight years to study the Obama playbook, and they know what to do with it: exploit the deliberate self-weakening."