Why wasn’t Obama in Paris?
Posted on January 13, 2015 by Chip Wood Views: 5,529
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People gather in Paris during a unity rally on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015, in tribute to the 17 victims of a three-day killing spree by homegrown Islamists.
That was quite a sight on Sunday, seeing millions of people all over Europe demonstrating their support of freedom and their opposition to jihadist terrorism. More than 40 world leaders marched arm in arm down the streets of Paris, leading crowds estimated at more than 1 million people.
Yes, it was impressive to see French President François Hollande being joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, EU President Donald Tusk and dozens of other world leaders. Even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas were there.
But where was Barack Obama? He was the one world leader who was conspicuous by his absence. Nor did he send Vice President Joe Biden to represent him. The highest U.S. official in Paris over the weekend was outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder. And Holder chose not to join the march, perhaps because he realized his presence would call attention to the fact that his boss wasn’t there.
When I remarked to a neighbor that I thought it looked bad not to see Obama marching with the other world leaders in Paris, he made the rather snarky remark: “I’m not surprised Obama wasn’t there. Didn’t you say it was a gathering of world leaders?”
Greta Van Susteren, host of the popular Fox News show “Off the Record,” was outspoken in her criticism of our President. “I think this is insulting,” she said in a Facebook post. “The Obama Administration’s solution for not doing its job — the President going to Paris and standing with the 40+ Heads of State — is to INSULT us.”
She was referring to a remark by Secretary of State John Kerry, who said that criticism of the White House for missing the march was “quibbling.” That caused the popular TV personality to declare:
Face it, the President did not do his job representing us yesterday in Paris with 40+ world leaders. The Administration’s solution for not doing its job, the President not doing his job, is now to insult the rest of us (‘quibbling’) for whom it mattered.
And I’ve got to say, I agree with her conclusion:
Showing a united front — meaning our leader joined the other leaders — would have sent a powerful message. Wanting that done is not some petty little ‘quibbling.’
But even though our president’s failure to show up in Paris is mildly upsetting, there is another theme the mainstream media have launched that really annoys me. And that is the constant refrain that we better not blame all Muslims for the murderous actions of a tiny minority.
Hey, I’m willing to agree that the vast majority of the adherents of Islam aren’t murderous jihadists. Thank goodness that most of them are law-abiding folks who want to live peacefully with their neighbors.
But that said, let me also point out the obvious: Jihadist terrorism will never be defeated, so long as its murderous adherents (including some of their religious leaders) enjoy the protection of their neighbors — not to mention the overt support of such Muslim-run countries as Yemen and, yes, even Saudi Arabia.
After the murders in Paris at the satiric newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket, millions of people all over the world declared their support of freedom by proclaiming “Je suis Charlie.” France’s president said the world needs to declare a war on terrorism.
But this is a war that will never be won, until and unless we can identify the participants. We will never be able to persuade them that they are wrong. It’s going to come down to kill or be killed.
Sadly, I think the body count in the West will get a whole lot higher before we come to grips with these realities.
Until next time, keep some powder dry.
–Chip Wood
