EDITORIAL: Le Decider

The brave, and right, call

The story got much clearer in the days after the attacks in Paris. As the story always seems to do as the days go by. In the first chaotic minutes of any attack, it's hard to know for certain what's happened, much less who's responsible and who's still at large. Who can make sense of things in the smoke with sirens, and people, wailing? We remember during the morning of one particular Tuesday in September back in the year of 2001, word spread that a car bomb had gone off at State in Washington, D.C., adding to the horrible news coming out of New York and Pennsylvania. And that particular story turned out not to be true at all.

Not that a lack of another bomb made the day any more bearable. But it would be days later before Americans learned of some of the heroics that happened on September 11, 2001. Of emergency workers running toward the falling buildings. Of military pilots deciding who's crashing into the cockpit of the next hijacked plane, and who's crashing into the tail. (They didn't have time to arm missiles before taking off.) Of passengers on United Flight 93 being the first to fight back in this War on Terror. ("Let's roll.")

But the days did go by. And the stories did out.

A president named George W. Bush would continue to read a children's story to a classroom as his staff whispered into his ear from time to time. The man finished the story, so as not to alarm the kids and the teacher, then calmly did his duty. A few days later, The Decider would stand in New York and declare that the terrorists would hear from us all soon enough.

Another head of state had a helluva decision to make in Paris when the attacks hit there. And it could have gone terribly badly--that is, terribly worse. France was being attacked, and word comes now that President Francois Hollande was sitting in a soccer stadium when it all went down.

According to the detailed and hair-raising report in the Wall Street Journal, President Hollande was watching the French national team take on Germany in what the Europeans (and rest of the world) call football. The sound of the first suicide bomber triggering himself echoed throughout the Stade de France. A few minutes later, once again staffers were whispering into the ear of a president with the awful news: We're under attack.

What to do, eh? Announce over the speaker system the news and watch the stadium empty as people fled--stampeded?--toward the exits? Announce the news to everybody in attendance--they'd surely find out on their cell phones soon enough--and block the exits, creating even more chaos?

No, the president of France was said to have huddled with officials in his booth, and he made the decision to quietly seal off the stadium, and let the game go on. After all, what if there were more suicide bombers outside the stadium waiting on the crowd?

As it turns out, that's exactly what the terrorists were doing--waiting on the crowd.

French police say one suicide bomber tried to get into the stadium--ticket in hand--but was stopped. And so he triggered himself outside. Police suspect he was supposed to set off panic inside Stade de France and send people fleeing into the waiting arms of other suicide bombers outside. The plan didn't work. The two other bombers on that mission went elsewhere. One of them blew himself to Kingdom Come without hurting anybody else.

Imagine what the reaction would be today if President Hollande--France's decider--had announced the attack and allowed panicked people to flee into the streets. Imagine what the reaction would be today if the bombers had got into the stadium. Would the country be mourning even more people? Answer: Almost assuredly.

Instead, bolt the doors. Let the game play on. The stadium is the safest spot. Handle the unfolding disaster calmly.

The next day, as the sun began to light up the city, the president was anything but calm, declaring war on the Islamic State as the reports of the carnage became clearer. But when it counted, when lives were on the line, he made the right--and brave--decision.

Tres bien, Mr. President. Sometimes bravery means don't just do something, stand there. Until the danger passes and the good guys can come to the rescue. Which they did.

Now is time to yell, pound the table and be angry. And strike out. And call on your countrymen, and allies, to fight back. During the soccer game, such actions might have been deadly.

Editorial on 11/25/2015

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