Afghanistan Photoshopped A Picture Of Rex Tillerson Meeting With President

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made a secret journey to Afghanistan Monday to meet with the country’s president, but the Afghani version of events seems to be altered.

Both Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Tillerson praised each other and called the meeting productive. The State Department originally said the meeting took place in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, but later amended their statement to say the meeting took place at a military base, Bagram Airfield, which is roughly 90 minutes away.

Ghani’s office, however, appears to want to perpetuate the idea that the meeting took place in Kabul. Photos released by the Afghani president’s office of the meeting differ than the photos released by the State Department. In the Afghani version, it appears as if a U.S. military clock and an American fire alarm are photoshopped out.

Afghanistan faces numerous new security concerns with the resurgence of Taliban in the country. Defense During Secretary James Mattis’s visit to the country last month, dozens of rockets were launched at and around Kabul’s airport.

The photo, however, was released after the meeting, after Tillerson's security was no longer at risk. The photo may be trying to portray Kabul in a better light and safer than it is which could fuel skepticism of the Afghani president.

“There is no question that the photo has been manipulated,” Hany Farid, an expert in photo forensics and a professor of computer science at Dartmouth College, told the New York Times.

Tillerson is in the middle of a week-long trip to the Middle East, which has also included a surprise visit to Iraq and a stop in Saudi Arabia.