Patterico's Pontifications

3/3/2014

Obama’s “Deep Concern” Over Ukraine Sounds . . . Familiar

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:48 am



Barack Obama has expressed “deep concern” over the situation in Ukraine:

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for 90 minutes on Saturday and expressed “deep concern over Russia’s clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is a breach of international law,” the White House said.

Putin must have been deeply concerned by Obama’s use of this phrase, since Obama doesn’t express “deep concern” lightly. It’s not like it’s a pet phrase he trots out every time something happens overseas.

Or . . . maybe it is.

  • Darfur, April 2008:

    IN APRIL 2008, candidate Barack Obama expressed “deep concern” that the Bush administration was making an unseemly deal with the Khartoum regime as a means to bolster the fledgling but already failing UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

  • Gaza, January 6, 2009:

    Barack Obama, who takes over as U.S. president from George W. Bush on January 20, broke his silence about the violence in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, calling the loss of civilian lives in Gaza and in Israel a “source of deep concern for me.”

  • Taliban, March 5, 2009:

    Taliban havens Obama’s deep concern

    THE terrorist attacks have greatly heightened US concerns about the political stability of Pakistan, already under pressure from a weakened economy and increasingly assertive militant groups.

    In a joint press conference with the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, President Barack Obama expressed his “deep concern” about the attack.

  • Iran, June 16, 2009:

    As Iran’s Guardian Council announced a partial recount of Friday’s contested presidential election results, and mass protests rocked the capital of Tehran for a second day Tuesday, President Barack Obama used a press conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to again express his “deep concerns about the elections.”

    “I have said before that I have deep concerns about the elections, and I think the world has deep concern about the election,” Obama said.

  • Libya, February 5, 2011:

    In separate phone conversations with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and British Prime Minister David Cameron, Obama “expressed his deep concern with the Libyan government’s use of violence which violates international norms and every standard of human decency, and discussed appropriate and effective ways for the international community to immediately respond,” the White House statement said.

  • Sudan, June 16, 2011:

    U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday met with his special envoy for Sudan to express “deep concern” over the violence and humanitarian crisis in the country.

  • Syria, August 12, 2011:

    President Obama, for his part, expressed deep concern about Assad’s continued use of violence in a phone call with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Edrogan, said the White House. The two leaders agreed violence should end now, US officials said.

Of course, it’s not just international issues where Obama is deeply concerned. He shows deep concern about domestic issues as well.

  • Tucson, January 9, 2011:

    Obama “was updated on the investigation around 9 a.m. by (national security aide) John Brennan,” said a White House statement. “The president will continue to be updated as appropriate in the coming days.”

    He is not expected to speak today on the tragedy.

    The statement also said that Obama did connect with Giffords’ husband, astronaut Mark Kelly.

    Obama “expressed his deep concern and full support,” the statement said.

There are more. I just got tired of documenting them all.

Because Obama so often expresses deep concern, it stands to reason that he is, of course, deeply concerned. Confirming this deduction, the blog I Hate the Media in April 2011 collected over a dozen examples of Obama being deeply concerned.

So when Obama tells Putin of his deep concern, well . . .

Thanks to an excellent tipster.


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