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Home Front: Politix
Bambi refuses trip to Normandy to avoid insulting Germans
2009-04-08
From last week's Telegraph but we didn't comment on it then.
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.
But we did get Nick a nice set of Jerry Lewis DVDs ...
"During this trip, we wanted to maintain a balance between the British, German and France".

A White House spokesman in London declined to comment.
Posted by:Steve White

#24  IMO an American president when overseas should have time available to pay his respects to those who in life were better than any of us.AND IT SHOULD NOT BE A FUCKING PHOTO-OP. Shouting over
Posted by: and it shouldnCheaderhead   2009-04-08 19:45  

#23  I can tell you from having visited that cemetery and some others like Margraten - it indeed concentrates the mind and provokes an overwhelming emotion.
Posted by: Cynicism Inc   2009-04-08 18:32  

#22  There is no reason for a Head of State not to visit the graves of the brave fallen soldiers of his country. It might concentrate his mind about his ultimate responsibilities. He can also pay his respects to the brave fallen soldiers of those who were at the time the enemy. Again a useful lesson.
Posted by: Aussie Mike   2009-04-08 18:02  

#21  If Obama considezrs that Germans would feel aggraviated it means Obama considers them as Nazis.
Posted by: ly a ctholic thing.    2009-04-08 17:17  

#20  FUCK HIM AND THE CAMEL HE RODE IN ON.

Sorry for shouting, but this pisses me off. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2009-04-08 15:19  

#19  To a size of 172.5 acres, the Normandy American Cemetery has 9,387 burials of US service men and women. Of this number, some 307 are unknowns, three are Medal of Honour winners (see below) and four are women. In addition there are 33 pairs of brothers buried side by side. It is the largest American Cemetery from WW2, but not the largest in Europe: that is the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery from WW1 with more than 14,000 burials.

There are 9,387 reasons to pay respects--this number doesn't include all the wounded who sacrificed. Normandy is hallowed and sacred like Gettysburg.
Posted by: JohnQC   2009-04-08 14:46  

#18  This came to a head when President McAleese and Queen Elizabeth inaugurated the Peace Tower at Messines in Belgium on November 11th, 1998, in the presence of King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium. The tower, dedicated to the memory of those from the island of Ireland who fought and died in the first World War, was erected at the site of the Messines Ridge battlefield, the only location in that conflict where the 36th (Ulster) Division and the 16th (Irish) Division fought side by side. The Irish and British governments helped fund the project.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2009-04-08 14:02  

#17  I have mixed feelings on this. When was the last time a head of State visited Verdun, Marne, Ypres, or Somme?
Posted by: Yosemite Sam   2009-04-08 13:50  

#16  Don't give him any ideas, Frank.
Posted by: Spot   2009-04-08 13:19  

#15  he could've visited Normandy, and apologized to the Germans
Posted by: Frank G   2009-04-08 12:02  

#14  Deference to Nazis over the US military

And the closest he'll ever get to a WWII Nazi Concentration Camp will be channeling his great-uncle, Charles T. Payne, a member of the 89th Infantry Division, who helped liberate Ohrdruf.

Can't offend the 'Holocaust Deniers', now can we.
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2009-04-08 11:18  

#13  To heck with Muzzie relatives. I think Obama is on the other side. Deference to Nazis over the US military--sheesh.
Posted by: Thealing Borgia 122   2009-04-08 10:47  

#12  Spot, you assume that the Obamanation WANTS to honor those brave Americans.

Remember, his Muzzie relatives were on the other side.
Posted by: AlanC   2009-04-08 09:46  

#11  Speculation of motivations supported by unnamed sources usually indicates agenda driven journalism.
Posted by: DepotGuy   2009-04-08 09:43  

#10  WTF? The reason to visit Normandy is not to "placate" France, but to honor those brave Americans (and British, Canadians, and Poles) who died there. The Germans would not have been insulted. In fact, he could have visited the WWI cemetaries, too.
Posted by: Spot   2009-04-08 08:23  

#9  ...or the people who made it happen.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2009-04-08 08:01  

#8  Perhaps Normandy is the ultimate symbol of non-soft power, and O doesn't want to be associated with that sort of thing.
Posted by: Cynicism Inc   2009-04-08 07:37  

#7  I'll have to pitch the BS flag on this one. At La Cambe, Marigny, Lisieuz, and Orglandes lie over 55,000 fallen Germans. Graves that are still visited and decorated by surviving kith and kin. While I have a few ideas, I don't know what his reasons were for not visiting Normandy but it had little to do with the Germans.
Posted by: Besoeker   2009-04-08 07:28  

#6  The longer Obama presidency goes on, the more I suspect its a Karl Rove plot.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2009-04-08 05:55  

#5  They probably haven't finished recording all of the names from the markers for their next Get Out the Vote campaign.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike   2009-04-08 03:58  

#4  Why would he visit Omaha Beach? It's not like the soldiers and sailors would rise up and give him his required standing ovation for oratory brilliance.
Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie   2009-04-08 02:30  

#3  At least Omaha Beach wasn't desicrated this time like Clinton's fake photo op.
Posted by: Muggsy Glink   2009-04-08 01:17  

#2  Instead, using the astounding power of Smart Diplomacy™, Obama visited Compiègne, France. Twice.
Posted by: ed   2009-04-08 00:23  

#1  "During this trip, we wanted to maintain a balance between the British, German and France".

But obviously not to the Americans forever in Normandy...
Posted by: Ulinesh Hapsburg5687   2009-04-08 00:22  

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