Obama's Paris snub wasn't an oversight

Washington Examiner ^ | 01-12-2014 | Byron York

[KeyLargo]

Opinion: White House Obama's Paris snub wasn't an oversight By Byron York | January 12, 2015 | 4:33 pm

The uproar over whether President Obama or another top administration official should have attended the massive unity rally in Paris has obscured an important point about the White House's reaction to the latest terror attacks in Europe. The administration no-shows were not a failure of optics, or a diplomatic misstep, but were instead the logical result of the president's years-long effort to downgrade the threat of terrorism and move on to other things.

"The analogy we use around [the White House] sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a JV team puts on Lakers uniforms, that doesn't make them Kobe Bryant," Obama told the New Yorker magazine in a January 2014 interview. The president was referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria but was also suggesting in a broader sense that a number of post-9/11 offshoot terrorist organizations aren't worth the sort of war-footing mobilization that took place in the George W. Bush years.

WH admits Obama should have sent high-profile rep to Paris

RELATED ARTICLE: Obama regroups after Paris no-show criticism

Seven months earlier, Obama made an extended case for downgrading the terrorist threat in a May 23, 2013, speech at the National Defense University. He mentioned al Qaeda 24 times in the speech and argued that America's victory over the organization behind 9/11 was nearly complete.

"Today, the core of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan is on a path to defeat," Obama said. "Their remaining operatives spend more time thinking about their own safety than plotting against us."

[chesley]

If cynicism is indistinguisable from reality, is it cynicism?

[FR_addict]

I bet it was because Netanyahu went. Evidently, the French and Dutch did not want him there. I bet Obama told him to stay away too.

Netanyahu was supposed to stay away when most of the victims were Jewish, so Europe could pretend there’s no anti-Semitism. The White House isn’t going to admit it, but it finally makes sense to me. Obama was probably livid that Netanyahu went, just like the rest of the Jew haters. I’m glad Netanyahu went. It was the only reasonable thing to do.

[SunkenCiv]

• Bucking another trend, Ted Cruz reports to jury duty even though senators are exempt
• Tapper to Jay Carney: The Good Wife Had More Obama Officials Than Paris Rally
• Turkish President's Stunning Outburst: The French Are Behind Charlie Hebdo Massacre; Mossad Blamed
• Carter: Give Obama A Break for Not Going to Paris, He Just Came Back from Vacation
• Jimmy Carter defends Obama over missing Paris rally
• Post-attack Charlie Hebdo cover uses prophet cartoon
• From the Charlie Hebdo attack to your local street corner: Multiculturalism as a fount of bloodshed
• First Muslim tapped to serve on House Intel Committee
• White House: Obama Will Fight Media To Stop Anti-Jihad Articles
• Pelosi to name first Muslim lawmaker to House intelligence committee
• Paris's Muslim Suburbs Blame Jews For Charlie
• Salon.com: It is "Racist" to Point Out Paris Attackers were Muslim
• Secret Service was never asked to prepare for an Obama trip to Paris (What a lame excuse)
• Journalists grapple with fear and doubts about firearms after Paris attack
• Jimmy Carter: Israeli-Palestinian conflict a cause of Paris attacks
• Is the White House a 'Sleeper Cell'?
• Liam Neeson on Charlie Hebdo, gun control in US
• Muslims denounce new 'defiant' Charlie Hebdo cover
• Josh Earnest: Yeah, we should have sent someone with a higher profile to that Paris march
• Defiant Charlie Hebdo to print 3M copies of latest edition with Muhammad on cover
• Jimmy Carter Blames Recent Terror Attacks On 'Palestinian Problem'
• Dem Sen. Murphy to Maddow: Blame Bush for Radicalization of Hebdo Terrorists
• Western Sleepwalkers and the Paris Massacre
• Confirmed: Obama Watched NFL Playoffs Instead Of Going To Paris
• Anjem Choudary Is Right: People Should Know the Consequences (Not what you think)
• Three million copies of Charlie Hebdo to feature Mohammed cartoons
• Obama hosts Spurs at White House ("the United Nations of basketball due to the team's diversity."
• While Paris mourns, Muslim terrorists murder thousands in Nigeria (use 10 year old girls for...)
• Eugene Robinson: Paris Massacre Would Have Been Worse in America, Because of the Right to Bear Arms
• French Jesuits publish anti-Catholic cartoons in tribute to Charlie Hebdo
• US says it should have sent high official to Paris march
• Next Charlie Hebdo Frontpage to be Caricature of Muhammad
• Erdogan blasts Netanyahu for 'daring' to attend Paris rally
• White House: Should have sent high official to Paris march
• WHY OBAMA WATCHED FOOTBALL INSTEAD OF GOING TO PARIS
• Ronan Farrow: 'Everyone' I Spoke With Understands Absence of Top US Officials from Paris March
• White House admits: We screwed up not sending higher-ranking officials to Paris
• Obama AWOL in Paris: Message to America, allies is we don't care
• Spurs to meet Obama during White House visit (Monday, Jan. 12)
• Confirmed: Obama watched NFL playoffs instead of going to Paris
• Boko Haram is actually putting ISIS to shame for barbarism
• Surprise: One of the Parisian terrorists claimed allegiance to ISIS
• France mobilizes 10,000 troops at home after Paris shootings
• Kerry announces planned Paris trip, says criticism for missing march 'quibbling'
• Kerry defends absence from unity rally, will go to Paris on Thursday
• In Defense Of Obama Not Going To Paris
• Nobody from the US govt marched in Paris today... not even Eric Holder

[GOPJ]

Obama and his not so useful idiots are concerned about ‘extremists’ but they think that means ‘political opponents. If this had been a March against the Tea Party the White House Totalitarians would have been there with bells on...

[ryan71]

“I bet it was because Netanyahu went.”

Good point. If he is on the muslim’s side, which he is, he surely couldn’t be seen with Netanyahu.

[ryan71]

And everything he has done up to now has been to publicly snub Netanyahu. He wants to make is very clear to the muslim world he is not on Israel’s side.

[GOPJ]

If that were true the Obama lowlifes would have put that excuse out to all their paid shills.

[Yardstick]

If this were truly a snub — and it would have been a snub of epic proportions if it were one — the French would have vented to the press. But it wasn’t a snub for the simple reason that Obama and Hollande are a couple of socialists who don’t particularly like America and didn’t see it as essential for its president to be there. They especially don’t like the symbolism of America in this context. So they tacitly agreed to let the difficulty of getting security spun up on short notice be the reason not to pursue it. Both sides were fine with that, hence no complaints.

[Yardstick]

And they couldn’t have used the excuse that the French didn’t want them there because the French would have turned around and said well Obama didn’t want to be there, and how would that have looked. Everyone’s sticking with the security excuse because it’s plausible and there’s no reason to say more.

[TomasUSMC]

I think odumbi remembers that europeans are not as enamored with him as some Americans are. He might have been booed and had eggs thrown at him.....still he should have been there.

[Billthedrill]

The article has an interesting take that I won't discard too easily. It is simply that 0bama has been deliberately back-burnering terrorism so that he can shift media focus in other directions - Ferguson, anyone? Illegal immigration? And that to bring it back to center stage will cast a little too much light in directions disagreeable to his Middle East policies: ISIS, for one, Benghazi for another, and especially his withdrawal from Afghanistan after declaring the Taliban on the road to defeat.

In short, he doesn't want to deal with reality and does want to weave a web of illusion, which is nothing new for this disgrace of an administration. The media, however, know a juicy story when they see one and aren't spiking the thing. This public disconnect that we're seeing isn't anything new, what's new is that we're seeing it.

[GOPJ]

I know Obama and his team are liars. I know our press will cover for Obama, but not necessarily for the French.

[KeyLargo]

Not to worry.

Al Sharpton was searching for a new ‘cause’ and decided that stirring the racial flames pot can be reignited with protests of Hollywood dissing blacks at the Academey Awards.

[Yardstick]

I haven’t seen a peep from the French in either the U.S. or international media. If this were the snub of the century, we’d be hearing from them one way or another. I just think everyone had their reasons for not particularly wanting Obama to be there.

[GOPJ]

If some Country snubbed the United States after 9/11 - (and while were still grieving the murders of our fellow citizens) their Secretary of State brought a funny song and dance routine to ‘apologize’ it would be tacky.

But I doubt we would complain - that would just heightens the joy of their cruelty.

And I think Kerry's giving the finger to France was timed to coincide with the mutual butt kissing that happened with Great Britain today...

[Liz]

So why didn't Secy of State John Kerry show up at the Paris gathering of world-leaders?

==========================================

KERRY WAS THEN A US SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETS---Within hours of the Boston Marathon bombings by two Chechen Muslim immigrants, US government officials, and Muslims, in Boston called each other to offer assistance......just in case THE MUZZIES suffered backlash or threats.

Bomber worshipped at Islamic Society of Boston's mosque---built w/ then-Mayor Menino's govt authority.

Kerry's "credentials," presented to Ohaha when the Secy of State job became available.

==================================================

(NTL REVIEW/DAVID HANSON) The Boston bomber Tsarnev brothers---Chechan Muslim immigrants here on expired student visas---offer us a teachable moment about what has become near-suicidal US immigration policies..... the government can't, and wont, assure Americans that it is enforcing immigration laws already on the books:

(1) foreign nationals must at least avoid crime and stay off public assistance, and,

(2) the govt would be disinclined to grant "asylum" (free ride on the US gravy train) to “fearful refugees” from war-torn Islamic regions, and,

(3) forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for these "fearful foreign nationals" to travel back and forth to their supposedly hostile homelands.

(more below)

[Liz]

Back in October 2011 one of the most astute lawmen in Washington ---- Congressman Louis Gohmert (Repub-TX), a former judge -----questioned then-DHS Secy Janet Napolitano about Mohamed Elibiary, a member of the Obama admin's Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Mohamed Elibiary was given a high level security clearance and had allegedly accessed, illegally from his home computer, a Texas State and Local Intelligence Community database.....(Elibiary is now out--ousted for other shady activities).

Napolitano managed to unglue her lips from Obama's behind---and told Cong Gohmert she knew nothing about it, and that she would "personally" do the investigation. (waiting for hysterical laughter to die down)

=========================================================

Among the 5 MILLION hires Obama gave top security clearance to:

Arif Alikhan, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for policy development;

Mohammed Elibiary, a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council;

Rashad Hussain, the U.S. special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference;

Salam al-Marayati, co-founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC);

Imam Mohamed Magid, president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA);

Eboo Patel, a member of President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships.

==================================================

Estimates range from several thousand to approximately eight million Islamic fighters inside the United States as we type. The exact number is unknown. Several thousand could create havoc if a coordinated attack was to occur. Eight Million .... anybody’s guess. Just 19 Islamic fighters killed almost three thousand people on 911. One has to believe the worst case scenario----that nearly eight million are already here.

========================================================

Cong Michelle Bachman says the FBI told her Americans who joined ISIS are allowed back in the US.

===============================================

REFERENCE: Muslim Brotherhood is Advising Obama Not to Stop ISIS (SOURCE Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert posted on FR by Rusty)

(Video) - http://www.opposingviews.com/i/politics/foreign-policy/war-terror/rep-louie-gohmert-claims-muslim- brotherhood-advising-obama-not#sthash.VpgL9ODz.dpuf