[DoodleDawg]

President George W. Bush ordered flags to fly at half-staff at the passing of Pope John Paul II in 2005, President Bill Clinton did so for Yitzhak Rabin (1995) and King Hussein of Jordan (1999), and President Ronald Reagan honored Anwar Sadat in 1981, but the historical precedent most often cited is President Lyndon Johnson’s bestowal of the honor in recognition of the passing of Winston Churchill in 1965.

Then agree or disagree with the decision, I guess Obama isn't setting a precedent. But Churchill at least had honorary U.S. citizenship while the others did not.

[dfwgator]

Well even Reagan did it for Sadat, and Sadat certainly also was part of some terrorist acts in his early days.

[reg45]

Jeanette Jerome, the mother of Winston Churchill, was from Brooklyn.

[IronJack]

Churchill at least had honorary U.S. citizenship

Churchill had American blood from his mother's side.

[DWar]

Churchill’s mother was an American, too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Randolph_Churchill