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Posted on 04/06/2009 4:20:18 PM PDT by CitizenM
Barack Obama, concerned about offending Britain and Germany, rebuffed strenuous attempts by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to persuade the new American president to make a trip to Normandy this week.
White House officials travelled to France at the start of March to discuss a visit by Mr Obama to Omaha Beach, the site of the American Cemetery, established in 1944 just after D-Day and where 9,387 American personnel are buried. Among them is Theodore Roosevelt Jr the eldest son of the 26th US President.
French officials and senior American military officers walked with White House staff through the cemetery discussing how the two presidents might follow the same route. But even before their trip, the White House had decided that Mr Obama would not travel there this week.
"It wasn't going to happen," said an American official in Washington. "We went through the motions to placate President Sarkozy but giving special treatment to France was not on our agenda.
"During this trip, we wanted to maintain a balance between the British, German and France". A White House spokesman in London declined to comment. Last month, White House officials briefed that a Normandy visit had been considered but it had not been logistically possible.
Mr Sarkozy is said by French officials to be piqued that Gordon Brown became the first European leader to meet Mr Obama and was then lavished with praise by him at a 50-minute joint press conference in London on Wednesday.
----snip----
According to French reports, Mr Obama was to visit the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville-sur-mer, just north of Omaha Beach. The pair were apparently to have dined at the nearby chateau de Bénouville in Caen.
The White House rejected the offer....(see rest of story)
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
But the worst offense was to our Military...with Obama not even making a stop to pay honor to the Americans who gave their lives in WWII, buried there. Do you suppose Obama could have visited at least one American war dead cemetery while in France, especially since this is his first trip there as President? I guess it doesn't fit in well with his agenda of apologizing for American "arrogance." "
Mostly white males died there.
It wasn’t giving special attention to FRANCE YOU MORON!!!
It was giving special attention to OUR SOLDIERS GRAVES!!!
I despise this man.
mr. Obama doesn’t care for our military, dead or alive.
Good. Obama doesn’t deserve to be in the same graveyard as the WW2 dead, or on Omaha Beach. Saves us having to listen to him read mealymouthed, hypocritical platitudes while Michelle stands around, splaylegged, dressed in the hotel bedspread.
This guy is no Commander-in-Chief, that’s for sure.
Does it get any worse?
(Stupid question. My bad.)
“Good. Obama doesn’t deserve to be in the same graveyard as the WW2 dead, or on Omaha Beach. Saves us having to listen to him read mealymouthed, hypocritical platitudes while Michelle stands around, splaylegged, dressed in the hotel bedspread.”
This/thread
Why would this offend Britain? This guy is gutless. Can you imagine Reagan giving this excuse that he did not want to offend Germany?
I've never been to France. But, I've vowed that if I ever make a trip there, I'm taking a day to visit the memorial at Omaha Beach.
This is just plain disrespectful to the GI's that fought and died in WWII. The Germans wouldn't be offended by it: they are very much aware of that dark part of their history. For that matter, the Vichy were defending Omaha Beach, too.... but the French weren't offended.
What you said!
Has any other CIC turned down this invitation?
What both of you said and that was my first thought he don’t belong there
He's hardly a man at all.
I see these headlines and assume they are satire.
And then I read the source and see it's true; and have to treated for neck whiplash after shaking my head repeatedly.
I’d rather he stay away from everything military.
Fine with me.
That’s an official Tax-chick Classic [tm].
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