Biden's ambassador to Bahrain Steven Bondy used insulting and racist language about Arabs 'all the time' and Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan believes he treats people 'like garbage', a new report claims
The Biden administration's Ambassador to Bahrain was accused of disparaging Arabs with racist remarks by fellow State Department staff and was even observed treating his subordinates as 'garbage' by an Abu Dhabi royal, according to a bombshell Monday report.
Ambassador Steven Bondy, a longtime career diplomat who was confirmed to his latest post on December 18, is the subject of a Politico report that cites multiple officials who served under Donald Trump and Joe Biden as witnessing him act inappropriately toward his own staff.
'I would hear him say disparaging remarks about Arabs all the time,' said retired US Army Brigadier General Miguel Correa, who Bondy reportedly sidelined while both worked at the US Embassy in the United Arab Emirates when Bondy was charge d'affaires there.
Correa and Bondy allegedly had a rivalry that culminated in Bondy having the now-retired Green Beret removed from his staff following clashes over power dynamics under the Trump administration.
The general had also been a close ally of Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, the Crown Price of Abu Dhabi.
A former Trump White House staffer cited in the report claims al Nahyan and other senior UAE officials expressed reservations about Bondy in 2018.
Bondy (left) has had a decades-long career in various State Department posts across Turkey, Egypt, Afghanistan and the UAE (pictured with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2019)
The official recounted a conversation with the Crown Prince after a meeting in March of that year.
'I asked MBZ, "Your highness, what’s up?" And he said, "We’re not a fan of Bondy." "Why not?" And he said, "We don’t think he’s a good person",' the official reportedly said.
'And I said "What do you mean?" And he said, "He treats his people like garbage".'
Victoria Coates, a former US official in Saudi Arabia who worked out of the UAE embassy recalled, 'I recall an instance of him being dismissive of Middle Eastern staff.'
Bondy 'vehemently and categorically' denied the report's accusations in a statement to DailyMail.com, and State Department spokesman Ned Price defended the diplomat's record of service.
'Steve Bondy is a diplomat with a long and distinguished track record. A regional expert with a deep appreciation of the Middle East, Bondy has spent most of his 30-year career working some of our nation’s most pressing issues in that region, including two years in war zones,' Price said in a statement to DailyMail.com.
'He was awarded the Presidential Rank Award for his strong performance and extraordinary service to the United States and has served the State Department with the utmost professionalism.'
The report notes that Coates and Correa worked closely together in the past and are friends.
Bondy's (left) main detractor quoted in the report is retired Army General Miguel Correa (right), who also served in numerous military posts across the Middle East
However, it cites two other former Trump official and one other unnamed source who 'interacted' with Bondy as also having heard him make 'insulting and prejudicial or racist remarks' about Arabs.
Correa, who spoke to Politico earlier this month, told the outlet he came forward after Bondy's nomination because he 'wanted the facts to come out in the public for our leaders to see the entire picture.'
Some Correa allies allegedly claim Bondy tried to block the former Trump official from returning to the UAE for 'secret conversations' that later developed into the historic Abraham Accords.
Other detractors of Bondy's claim he unwittingly insulted UAE officials on multiple occasions.
A former Trump White House staffer cited in the report claims Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan (pictured) and other senior UAE officials expressed reservations about Bondy in 2018
One instance featured Bondy asking Emirati ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba when the 'last time' he saw his estranged father was.
Otaiba's father, Mana Al Otaiba, is the former Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of the United Arab Emirates.
'Every time Bondy would see him [he would say], "Oh I saw your dad the other day, he’s really proud of you and what you’re doing. When was the last time you saw him?"' a witness to the conversation said.
'It was stupid stuff like that where he didn’t do his homework and was always offending them, and the rest of us looked bad because we were there trying to clean it up.'
Another former Trump official at the US embassy in UAE, Robert Dias, claimed Correa detailed his accusations to him before being removed from that post.
Trump-era deputy assistant secretary of Defense for the Middle East Simone Ledeen claimed to also hear from Correa about Bondy's racist remarks about Arabs.
But the report notes that Dias, Ledeen and Coates did not come forward during Bondy's confirmation process or until they were contacted for the story.
The White House's official statement announcing Biden's intent to nominate Bondy to his current post details his decades-long career with the US Foreign Service.
Former US Ambassador to Bahrain under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush leapt to Bondy's defense
Biden's official statement announcing his intention to nominate Bondy lists an impressive resume in the Foreign Service
In addition to leading the embassy in UAE on an acting basis, Bondy also served at posts in Turkey, Egypt and Afghanistan.
He was previously a Senior Advisor in the Department of State’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. He was also the Assistant Chief of Mission in Kabul, and the Foreign Policy Advisor to the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command.
After the claims were published on Monday, one of Bondy's predecessors also leapt to his defense.
'This ... article on new US Ambo to #Bahrain is a piece of trash. Swampiest of the swamp,' said ex-Ambassador J. Adam Ereli, who served in Bahrain under Georgie W. Bush and Barack Obama.
The former official wrote on Twitter, 'I've known Bondy for 20+ years. He served w/distinction in Iraq & Afghanistan - Accusations are from Trumpists w/a vendetta agst State Dept - He's a fair & honorable public servant.'
'It is shameful and should be deeply embarrassing that POLITICO would allow itself to be used to launder false allegations that other outlets and bipartisan Congressional staffers have deemed to lack merit and to be nothing more than the product of political, personal, and workplace animus,' a State Department official told DailyMail.com.
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