Almost two million people gathered in Paris Sunday for a unity march in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks. Among them, according to many sources, were more than 40 world leaders including French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, and even Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
And representing the US … our Ambassador to France, Jane Hartley.
Where was President Obama? Or even Vice President Joe Biden? Our president didn’t see fit to stand with our oldest ally and the leaders of the free world when freedom of speech was attacked? Western leaders gathered in a show of unity against terrorism and we weren’t there. We should be the face of free expression. Yet our president couldn’t be bothered to show up in Paris?
Secretary of State John Kerry was in India Sunday but, after originally dismissing the criticism as “quibbling,” now says he’ll stop in Paris Thursday on his way home. Gee, by all means, if it’s not too much trouble, swing by there and extend our condolences.
US Attorney General Eric Holder was actually in Paris attending a security summit on combating terrorism, but he was not seen at the march.
It’s much too late for White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest to be saying, “We agree that we should have sent someone with a higher profile.” It’s much too late for him to be saying, “Had the circumstances been a little bit different, I think the President himself would like to have had had the opportunity to be there.” (Reports say the president had no public obligations and was instead watching football games.)
Word is the decision was made by staff members or the Secret Service, but President Obama knew what happened in Paris. He knew about the unity march. He’s the president. One word from him and Air Force One would have been winging its way to Paris, complete with all the security needed for him to march with the other world leaders — where he should have been.
They should have had it near a golf course?
Hmmm. Some wise person once said “Actions speak louder than words.”
And there’s the old “There’s always time for things that are important.”
WHO made the decision? WHO’s in charge and leader of the free world?
Secret service says it would have been an effort but they could have done it….and there is the interesting fact what other leaders were there and there was already a great deal of security already in force….
The Press Sec will not reveal where Obama was or what he was doing at the time. So much for transparency…
Sorry, Mr. President, that this incident annoys you because it distracts from the social programs and speeches you want to do, but life is always throwing curves and giving the unexpected.
DUDE, if you don’t want to do the job, step down.
What is the definition of dereliction of duty?
Certainly embarrasing.
There’s no excuse for this. None! A child would understand the importance of his being there.
I don’t understand why he should be there PT and I’m certainly not a child. I cannot see where this is a dereliction of his sworn duty to the people of the United States of America.
I do believe that too many people are geting carried away there is too much grandstanding going on.
What on earth did this Charlie do that entitles him to instant elevation as a diety? He published a satirical magazine/paper.
What people are now saying that anythime a publisher of a satirical paper meets an untiely end he is entitled to a state funeral attended by world leaders and especially the POTUS.
Sorry but I’ll never agree with youon this one PT
Yes, there were some grandstanders among the gathered leaders, but that was no reason for Obama to stay home. He’s supposed to represent us and our ideals. Twiddling his thumbs in Washington while some 40 leaders of the free world were marching in Paris is not my idea of representation.
And if you think Charlie was an individual, you are ill-informed about what happened in Paris.
I am not uniformed PT I’ve been following whats been happening and going on closely. my sister lives in France, south of Paris not north and I have more than a keen interest in the affairs over there at the moment.
I’m all for freedom of the press, although I think that the press take undue advantage of that freedom at times, (think rupert murdock). the people who were slain at the offices of Charlie Hebdo knew the risks they were taking and unfortunately paid the price.
It was the highest price ever to pay, and now they are the martyrs to the cause of freedom of the press just as those killers that have been slain by the gendarmerie are undoubably being held as martyrs by their own people. It’s all so much senseless killing.
But why should POTUS be singled out for not attending, our prime minister didn’t they’d have been uproar had he have done so.
I don’t care what your prime minister does or doesn’t do. I do care about what my president does, and I think he was wrong not to go to Paris.
But you know how children only want to do what they want to do. Given up hoping for change. That arm and arm picture will go down in history….a Where’s Waldo moment.
There’s no way they can explain this away and should just quit trying. We know who he is now.
… and who he isn’t.
Why do I not agree with you,I believe he did the right thing when you stop and think about it, in fact I’m sure he did. Why was there need for any head of state to attend? None as far as I can see, The British PM, Israeli PM were grandstanding and for what? To make themselves look caring? They both need some good publicity especially that war criminal from Israel. I suppose the French president needed to be there but for other government leaders? I think not!
Had it been the French head of state, a different thing and he would have been there, and that’s the way things are and meant to be!
They certainly didn’t come to Sydney after that terrorist shot and killed an innocent person and there was no need to and they wouldn’t have been wanted. Wheres the difference 12 dead as against our 2. How many needs to be slaughtered to receive so called mourners from the political scene are required to attend.
No. President Obama did exactly the right thing, although I think he went overboard with sending the US Ambassador. He didn’t send the US Ambassador to Oz to the funeral of our dead, and he wouldn’t have been welcomed in all probability anyway.
I sincerely hope though that he exhibits the same correctness should Mr rupert murdock, suffer a similar fate.
Apparently you agree with whoever defended his absence with “This isn’t about us.” But it is about us and and our leadership in the free world. It is about us standing for peace and freedom of expression and against terrorism. How could our president not be there? We had more reason to be there than anyone else; the US is emblematic of free speech.
I commiserate with Australia, but this was not about how many were killed. This was bigger than any one country. This was a purposeful attack on a freedom cherished by many nations. And the leaders of those nations marched together. Except for ours.
EUROPE:
French President Francois Hollande
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
British Prime Minister David Cameron
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker
European Parliament president Martin Schulz
European Union president Donald Tusk
Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg
Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz
Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny
Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico
Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban
Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel
Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat
Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven
Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga
Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibachvili
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov
Austrian foreign minister Sebastian Kurz
NORTH AMERICA:
Canadian Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney
MIDDLE EAST:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman
Jordanian King Abdullah II and Queen Rania
Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas
United Arab Emirates foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan
Qatari Sheikh Mohamed Ben Hamad Ben Khalifa Al Thani
Bahrain foreign minister Sheikh Khaled ben Ahmed Al Khalifa and Prince Abdullah Ben Hamad al-Khalifa
AFRICA:
Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita
Gabonese President Ali Bongo
Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou
Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi
Tunisian Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa
Algerian foreign minister Ramtane Lamamra
I shall never agree with you on this one PT, and what you say begs the question; when the Nazis overran France in 1940 where were the Americans? When the Nazis occupied France and started executing the French Maquis where was the US? What did they do for their oldest ally? The answer of course is nowhere, nothing.
So I think that the statement about France being the oldest ally is completely without credibility and best left unsaid, When your oldest ally needed you in their greaestt hour of need you were not there for them, theres a smack of hypocrisy there i’m starting to think
Britain/England went to their aid and we are their oldest foe, they still don’t like us and we still don’t like them, (so Cameron was just grandstanding) but we went onto the continent of Europe and made an effort against fascism in 1939.
Yes, France has been our ally since our war of independence, but that was certainly not my main point (that we stand for and defend free speech), which you apparently missed. As for what we did in and for France and Europe in WWII … I can’t even think of a polite response.
The 300,000 American casualties in WWI and the million in WWII say all that needs to be said about supporting France.
Thank you. I was too taken aback to say anything printable last night.
I agree he should have gone. But this president doesn’t seem to see his duties as past presidents have. Let’s face it, the guy just isn’t up for the job. Period. End of story.
Every time I think that, I have to remind myself that the alternatives were McCain and Romney, and I would not have voted for either of them. However, Obama has been far from stellar. And I’m at a complete loss when it comes to understanding this particular faux pas. I can’t think of a valid excuse for it.
That “arms linked” photo will be historic. And Barack Obama should have been right in the center of it. I’m a big supporter of President Obama, but his absence in this case was shameful.
I’m afraid you’re right. This photo and Obama’s absence will be remembered long after the details of the attack itself are forgotten. To me his absence is inexplicable and inexcusable.