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 ...
Even if it wasn’t on the official schedule, you would think ANY American President would visit there just out of respect or history.
But this President does not like or appreciate anything American.
It was much more important to have town hall meetings with people who are not even American citizens rather then pay a sign of respect to those who made the freedom of Europe for the past sixty four years even possible.
Barack Obama thinks America IS the problem.
He wasn’t even smart enough to go there with Sarkozy and show him in real terms that America always pay the major cost of other people’s freedom, and that it is time for France and others to do their part.
IMHO, I am glad he did not go, That would have been a sacrilege.
He is not worthy to walk on that hallowed ground.
That’s what i was wondering. This couldn’t possibly offend the UK. I’m not even believing the germans would be offended by it.
Somehow, I doubt those fallen heroes (with crosses for headstones) would be too disappointed that the messiah is too busy explaining to Muslims that America is not a Christian nation to bother visiting their graves.
All the moron had to do was to take a moment to pay his respects at a German war dead cemetery. Problem solved.
My good God, is this man totally witless?
THIS GUY IS SUCH A POS
If you scroll down real real fast, past your post, you see obama’s face with those donkey ears.
I really am starting to hate this guy on a personal level. At first I thought it was just he was a radical who’s views I don’t like. Now I think he’s really a bad person.
Especially in light of how far he went out of his way to say how awful America is, he could have at least made a point to visit a site that represents how great America is.
Excellent!!!
The cat in me salutes you, ma’am!!
Amazing slap in the face of my comrades in arms!
LOL! You hit that one right on the money friend.
“No, Mr. President. ‘Don’t mention the war’ was my line.”
Yes. And count on Obama doing the same thing when his thugs do a poll and find out Americans are not happy with his dissing of American heroes.
He's confident the public will never learn about this.
It was a terrible disrespect to our military and it was intentional.
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