U.S. admits was mistake to miss Paris unity rally

The White House admitted Monday it should have sent a senior official to the massive rally against terrorism in Paris, as President Barack Obama came under fire for failing to travel to France, The Daily Star reported, citing news agencies.

“We should have sent someone with a higher profile to be there,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.

Washington was represented at the event by the U.S. ambassador to France, Jane Hartley.

Earnest said Obama would have liked to have gone himself, but suggested that the security requirements and short planning time had prevented it.

Secretary of State John Kerry said he would travel to Paris after wrapping up his tour of South Asia. “We have offered, from the first moment, our intel, our law enforcement and all of our efforts, and I really think that, you know, this is sort of quibbling a little bit,” Kerry said in reply to a question about the lack of a senior Washington envoy in the rally.

The New York Daily News front page featured a photo of the packed rally along with head shots of Obama, Biden, Kerry and Holder and the admonition: “You let the world down.”

“The absence is symbolic of the lack of American leadership on the world stage, and it is dangerous,” Republican Senator Ted Cruz wrote in an opinion piece on the Time magazine website.

“Our president should have been there, because we must never hesitate to stand with our allies,” he wrote.