President Obama on Sunday called the coordinated carnage in Paris “an attack on the civilized world.”
Speaking at a press conference with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during the G20 summit in Antalya, Obama linked the Paris attacks to last month’s bombings in Ankara that killed more than 100 people.
“As was true with the terrible attacks that took place in Ankara, the killing of innocent people based on a twisted ideology is an attack not just on France, not just on Turkey, but it’s an attack on the civilized world,” Obama said.
So true, President Obama. I hope the world reacts in a forceful yet thoughtful and civilized manner.
There is a story floating around that Obama and Putin privately and unannounced put their heads together for 35 minutes or so. Nobody is talking about what they talked about.
Putin is a pretty bright guy and one who is also very concerned with how he is viewed back home. This attack on Paris was a lot closer to home and many Russians love Paris, so it hit close to their hearts. Like everyone else, they need reassurance they will be kept safe. If only from behind the scenes, I believe we will have more cooperation from Russia now. That’s not to say Mr. Putin will not be an ass from time to time–at least in public–but he has a lot at stake here as well.
Yes , war is uncivilived. We bomb them, they strike back but they are uncivilived and we are WHAT.
Right. Don’t forget the Russian jetliner that ISIS appears to have taken down with a bomb. Putin’s interest in defeating ISIS may now have superseded that of asserting Russian influence in Eastern Europe and the Mid East because the former poses a greater near term threat to his Russian mobster regime.