More than 120 people were killed in the French capital Paris, Friday, in coordinated attacks on six locations across the city. Some analysts and media outlets have dubbed the attacks “the 9/11 of France” in reference to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, which targeted the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C..
In 2001, then U.S. President George W. Bush responded to the 9/11 attacks by launching his “war on terror” and invading Afghanistan within a month to hunt down Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, who the United States blamed for the attacks.
French President François Hollande responded quickly to the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, announcing a state of emergency, closing the country’s borders and mobilizing the army. It remains to be seen if and how the country will physically respond to the attacks, and how that may compare to the U.S. response to 9/11.
One thing can be compared, however: the initial rhetoric in the response from both countries’ leaders some 14 years apart.
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“These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation,” then U.S. President George W. Bush said in his first statement after the 9/11 attacks.
9/11 led US to foolishly invade Iraq, which in turn led to ISIS. Response to #ParisAttacks should be vigorous but avoid similar blunders.
— Stephen Walt (@stephenWalt)
November 14, 201
The same sentiment of strength in the face of terror was echoed by the French president Friday.
“Faced with terror, France must be strong, it must be great and the state authorities must be firm. We will be,” Hollande said in his address to the French people following the Paris attacks Friday.
However, Bush’s statement made it almost clear that his administration was going to unleash a serious domestic and international crackdown.
“We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them,” said Bush in 2001.
On this matter, it seems, a sense of restraint was evident in Hollande’s statement, whose country is home to more than 6 million Muslims, or just over 9 percent of the population.
“In these difficult moments, we must—and I'm thinking of the many victims, their families and the injured—show compassion and solidarity. But we must also show unity and calm,” said Hollande on Friday night.
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Both leaders used language that was meant to assert the power of their militaries in the face “terrorism.” They also used the word “war” when it came to countering the attacks.
“America (the U.S.) and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world and we stand together to win the war against terrorism,” Bush said in his statement.
“I want to say we are going to lead a war which will be merciless,” said the French president.
Hollande's speech while attack was still ongoing reminded me of Bush's response to 9/11. Widening the war is NOT the solution.#ParisAttacks
— Maher Arar (@ArarMaher)
November 14, 201
Hollande, the head of one of the most secular states in the world, used the word “compatriots” to address the French people. Bush, a Republican conservative, evoked the words of the Bible as he concluded his statement in a country where religion plays a key role in politics.
“And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me,’ " Bush said.
Bush closed his statement with “God bless America.” Hollande asserted the nationalist nature of the country and said with emphasis, “Long live the Republic and long live France."