Beltway Insider: Obama Welcomes French Pres to WH; Climate Summit; PP Shooting; Medal Honorees

President Obama bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, upon sixteen leaders, ranging from Hollywood icons to legal scholars to sports legends, for acts of bravery, of brilliance, of unwavering dedication to the strength of the nation.

According to Gallup, President Obama's job approval, over the past week, increased one percentage point to 46% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as President decreased four percentage points to 48%.

Obama Welcomes Hollande to White House

President Obama welcomed French President François Hollande to the White House this week, as the two leaders spoke on the recent terror attacks endured by the French people as the unadulterated evil manifested itself again in the City of Lights.

The two leaders spoke on their friendship, allies, a strength forged in the good times, which carries loyalties through the bad times. This is one of those seasons. President Obama made it clear and the French President reiterated the full resource of the United States is available to them.

"It's been noted that the terrorists did not direct their attacks against the French government or military.  Rather, they focused their violence on the very spirit of France -- and by extension, on all liberal democracies.  This was an attack on our free and open societies -- where people come together to celebrate and sing and compete.  In targeting venues where people come together from around the world -- killing citizens of nearly 20 countries, including America -- this was an attack on the very idea that people of different races and religions and backgrounds can live together in peace," the president said.

They also discussed the current strategy in annihilating the Islamic State fighters as the steadfast determination of President Hollande, who has remained fixed on a single course, has continued to sharpen the iron and strength of the leader.

With more than 8000 airstrikes, the leaders each agreed they must do more. President Obama has signed into legislation to allow French intelligence access to airlifts and intelligence as they move ahead.

Americans have survived her share of terrorist attacks and mass shootings, and we as a people, a nation understand the mourning, the national grief, that lingers even over a long period of time. We mourn with the French, we stop and wonder when the terror of the Islamic Fighters or any member of the quad of terror will once again rear its unprecedented evil in our land.

"It's not just our security professionals who will defeat ISIL and other terrorist groups.  As Americans, we all have a role to play in how we respond to threats.  Groups like ISIL cannot defeat us on the battlefield, so they try to terrorize us at home -- against soft targets, against civilians, against innocent people.  Even as we're vigilant, we cannot, and we will not, succumb to fear.  Nor can we allow fear to divide us -- for that's how terrorists win.  We cannot give them the victory of changing how we go about living our lives," the president said.

President Hollande took the podium and began, with a grateful heart, spoke eloquently at the solidarity of the American people in uniting with the French. He explained how President Obama was the first leader to call him at 2:00a.m.

Related Beltway Insider: France Dominates; Graphic Image; WH Strategy; Quad of Terror; Refugee; Election 2016

 

"I do not forget, either, all of the messages that the American people sent to the French people over the past few days -- the French colors, the French flags all around in many gatherings; these candles in places that represent France here in the United States; La Marseillaise, our National Anthem, sung in official ceremonies.  It is true that in 9/11, we all felt Americans.  But after the 13th of November, Americans felt French.  Our two peoples, together, merged as one, sharing the same emotion and also the same willingness to fight for freedom, to stand for our values," Hollande said.

He also spoke of the resource of the terror group that over the course of 2015 they "hit many countries -- Denmark, Tunisia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Turkey, Egypt, as well as Russia, by taking down a Russian plane."  

The two leaders share a bond, one that runs through each of them to a determined people, here in the United States and in the French also; a bond that will not be broken or destroyed, a bond which will cause us to continue the fight until the day we celebrate the eradication of terrorism.

"France and the United States stand together to bring that joint response.  Militarily, it is about destroying Daesh no matter where they are.  It is about taking out their financing, hunting down their leaders, dismantling their networks, and taking back the land they currently control.  We, therefore, decided, President Obama and myself, to scale up our strikes both in Syria and in Iraq, to broaden our scope, to strengthen our intelligence-sharing regarding the targets we must aim at," Hollande said.

Obama Travel to Paris for Climate Summit

President Obama, after meeting with French President Hollande in Washington, will meet with the French leader along with the leaders of 200 countries in Paris as the long planned Climate Summit will continue in the wake of the Terror attacks.

"It's an opportunity," Obama said, "to stand in solidarity with our oldest ally, just two weeks removed from the barbaric attacks there, and reaffirm our commitment to protect our people and our way of life from terrorist threats. It's also an opportunity for the world to stand as one and show that we will not be deterred from building a better future for our children."

For the next eleven days, world leaders will set up ambitious plans, encouraging other nations who are not as committed to the G7 proposal as the majority of nations, will attend bi-lateral meetings understanding the long range devastations that nations, individually and globally, will face if these changes are not implemented.

Addressing what the President deems a "clear and present threat" to the security of the United States global climate change has long been a part of the Obama White House foreign policy platform. Reducing the global greenhouse gas emissions, which to receive a commitment to consider becomes a challenge as it effectively challenges the current way of living.

In the nations that emit the largest amount of greenhouse gasses, the idea of switching to low carbon plans, which can be difficult to even understand let alone put in place, those nations participating have been given the opportunity to submit plans that will reduce their nation's greenhouse gases.

"What makes this gathering different is that more than 180 nations have already submitted plans to reduce the harmful emissions that help cause climate change. And America's leadership is helping to drive this progress. In fact, our businesses and workers have shown that it's possible to make progress towards a low-carbon future while creating new jobs and growing the economy. Our economic output is at all-time highs, but our greenhouse gas emissions are down towards 20-year lows," Obama said.

World Protests

On  the eve of the historic Paris Global Climate Summit, tens of thousands of individual citizens worldwide are gathering in cities around the world showing solidarity and support and hoping the strength of the numbers will encourage leaders to come to an agreement that will put stop, slow or stall the out of  control  global warming that is deteriorating the planet, causing ice packs, Seracs, (ice overhangs on mountains), and glaciers to melt at an alarming rate, resulting in food shortages for animals living in these climates as global warming disrupts the natural habitat, creating dangerous conditions for recreational climbers.

The long range effects of global warming are not simply the dangerous weather conditions we see as with each storm season an increase in strength, frequency and subsequently damage costing nations billions of dollars in rebuilding and emergency costs.

President Arrives in Paris

President Obama in his first official stop accompanied French President Hollande as the two leaders laid flowers at the site of the Bataclan Theater, where the majority of the 130 were killed during the Night of Terror, less than two weeks ago.

In a nation still reeling from the unmitigated evil that stormed through its capital, the somber scene of the two leaders united pausing to remember.

Spending a moment, the President looked worn as he surveyed the makeshift memorial, layers of flowers, signs of solidarity, wreaths. Paying his respects he laid a flower at the scene, paused for a moment of silence and as the French leader stared intently at the memorial each man gathered the same resolve.

Second Agenda

The Climate Summit will also give the President the opportunity to meet again with French President Hollande who, after leaving the White House, this week, also visited Russian President Vladimir Putin and also spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Gathering the necessary commitments to step up the decimation of the Islamic State fighters and t hose terror groups loyal to the ISIS/ISIL terror plans.

With President Vladimir still suspended from the G7, and his nation now directly involved in the war against the Islamic State Fighters, the beleaguered leader will need to make a serious commitment or face a continued political ban and sectorial sanctions on his nation.

The Russian leader has made his commitment to Basher al-Assad, the President of Syrian and Islamic State loyalist, known and has even supplied the leader with Aircraft. The issue now, of course, becomes the definitive line the United States has stated in its refusal to work together with Putin should he advocate a continuation of the Assad government.

The White House and coalition has agreed to a future without a nation for the Islamic State Fighters to call home and at this point Syria has granted them asylum.

Putin, in a surprise move, has initiated airstrikes against once ally Syria. Striking the northwest town of Ariha, the Russians pummeled the area killing 42. In the wake of the airstrikes so close to the Turkish border Putin's allegiance is still unclear.  

Planned Parenthood Shooting

Garret Swasey, Colorado Springs Police Officer, in response to an active shooter scene unfolding at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood was shot and killed in a standoff that lasted hours.  Two others were also killed in the shooting.

"This is not normal.  We can't let it become normal.  If we truly care about this -- if we're going to offer up our thoughts and prayers again, for God knows how many times, with a truly clean conscience -- then we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them.  Period.  Enough is enough," President Obama said in response to yet another mass shooting.

The two killed, and Iraqi vet and mother of two, both at the facility in support of others, collectively leave four children and spouses. Officer Swasey also leaves two children and a spouse.

The suspect, Robert Lewis Dear, is in custody.

Medal of Honor Recipients

 "Today, we celebrate some extraordinary people, innovators, artists, and leaders, who contribute to America's strength as a nation.  And we offer them our highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom," the President said.

Among the Hollywood luminaries to receive the Presidential Medal of honor the multi-talented Barbara Streisand and iconic Director Steven Spielberg, from the world of music singer/songwriter James Taylor and Latin pioneer musician Gloria Estefan.

An emissary of the power of music master violinist Itzsak Perlman and Stephen Sondheim, lyricist and composer who is able to build suspense, tell a story invoke emotion with his musical choices.

Legal Scholars to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom the honorable Minoru Yasui, the Honorable William D. Ruckelshaus, the Honorable Barbara A. Mikulski, the Honorable Lee H. Hamilton, all champions of freedom.

NASA Scientist Katherine G. Johnson, one of the first female scientist on the NASA Team for the moon Landing, Willie Howard Mays, Jr., one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Bonnie Carroll, the founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program.

Others include posthumously Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra, the Honorable Shirley Chisholm and Billy Frank, Jr., champion of Native American rights.

For more information on President Barack Obama: www.whitehouse.gov

Sources: Whitehouse.gov, Wikipedia.com

#JeSuisParis

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