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White House statement released on Little Rock recruiting center shooting
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File photo of Private William Long, US Army, who was killed
Monday by shots fired at a recruiting center in Little Rock, AR.
The White House released the following statement Wednesday in response to the shooting at Little Rock, Arkansas of a military recruiting center that resulted in the death of Private William Long.
I am deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence against two brave young soldiers who were doing their part to strengthen our armed forces and keep our country safe. I would like to wish Quinton Ezeagwula a speedy recovery, and to offer my condolences and prayers to William Long’s family as they mourn the loss of their son.
The statement appeared on the website of Little Rock television station KATV (hat tip Tammy Bruce) and appears to have released only to Arkansas media. It was made on the third day following the tragedy, causing many to question President Obama’s concern for the safety of members of our military. In contrast, Obama’s statement on the gunning down in Wichita, Kansas of Dr. Tiller by an anti-abortion extremist was issued early afternoon of the day it occurred.
The apparent difference with which the President views the Little Rock and Wichita shootings was the subject of my Examiner.com piece this Tuesday. The lopsided reaction of the Obama White House has not been put in balance by yesterday’s statement to the families of the victims in Little Rock. Though his thoughts are of undeniable comfort to the grieving loved ones, it is worthy to note that his statement on the Wichita killing did not address Dr. Tiller’s families. Instead, he chose to speak to radical anti-abortion activists, admonishing them to reject violence as a means to achieving political ends.
In case your memory is as fallible as my own, the President’s statement following Dr. Tiller’s murder was as follows:
I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.
Why then, was the targeting of American military personnel by an alleged shooter who may be tied to radical Islam not responded to in a similar fashion? It couldn’t have been a reluctance to poke a stick in the eye of the Muslim world leading up to his much-anticipated speech in Cairo, because he did that himself by calling on Muslim to purge itself of radicals seeking violence as a means to an end.
In the Tiller statement, the entire thrust was to send a message to those who might be sympathetic or grateful to his killer that such action was not tolerable in civil society (although his words were actually more watered down than what I just wrote) and the effect on Tiller’s family was of no importance. The exact reverse was true of the Little Rock statement, leaving the public to wonder whether this was the cause of White House confusion and lack of organization (no clear policy on who approves communications) or if it speaks to a general disconnect from the realities of the war with Islamic terror.
Words have meaning, and oftentimes intent is embedded in them without the conscious will to do so. Each American will have to ponder what is meant by these two statements.
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