The catastrophies continue on in this latest installment of horrible mass murder.
A crowd in Nice celebrating Bastille Day was attacked by a lone wolf assailant, using a truck to ram into the mass of people, and then shot out at them. He was killed by police officers after driving more than a mile through the crowd.
This isn't the first attack on civilians this year, by a country mile, and it certainly won't be the last. Attacks on the public are tactics of terror.
The attacker was a Tunisian man with mental health issues, and his motive was unknown. As of yet, as far as I’m aware, he had no jihadi intentions and was not a member of ISIS.
Among the dead are people from Britain, China, Germany, and the United States. At least ten were adolescents and children.
Paris was on the verge of removing the state of emergency that was put in place in response to the Paris Terrorist attacks of last year. Now, however, it doesn’t look as if that will be the case. The new attack will obviously be a stalwart barrier against its removal.
As the United States, it’s important that we stand behind our European allies, not just France. The French people have worked together with us in the battle against ISIS propaganda, and active recruitment in Europe and North America.
Those are the facts. But, I didn't start writing this article to talk about facts. I want to talk about sentiments.
The first sentiment is that anti-Muslim hate mongering is a huge issue in the world, which is leading people to feel alienated. Whether or not this played into the attack is unsure, but make no mistake, hatemongering helps nobody.
The second sentiment is that it's hard for the majority of Americans to connect with a tragedy of this magnitude. I've never personally been involved in a horrible tragedy like this, or even remotely close to this. Most people have never known the brutality of an attack like this first hand. But, I have known family members who were taken too early from this world, by their hand or by circumstance. I've known that pain, and so have millions of people. So, not only do I stand with the nation of France in a dark hour. I stand with the families and friends of the victims, every single one of them. I stand with you all, and so do the other millions of people in our nation.
As a Western Power, France has been nothing short of a valued partner and ally, with Francois Hollande, the French President, speaking closely with President Obama.
I believe in the power of France, that will allow them to rise above the brutal attacks, just like in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and the Paris attacks. I'm proud of the resilience of one our European allies, and I know France won't be kept down for long. The United States stands with you France, and I know that's the truth.
