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U.S. Embassy in Paris turned away Americans who sought shelter there during jihad attacks

Nov 15, 2015 2:47 pm By Robert Spencer

“They decided to walk two miles to the U.S. Embassy, hoping they could take shelter there. But, her husband said, they were turned away.” Why? Would letting them in have been tantamount to admitting that there is a jihad threat?

US Embassy Paris

“Passengers arrive at Atlanta airport safely after Paris ordeal,” by Carrie Teegardin, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 14, 2015 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

Travelers arriving in Atlanta from Paris on Saturday afternoon described extraordinary long lines in Paris to get through security.

Claudio Merloni, who lives in Paris and was arriving in Atlanta for business, said it took more than two hours to go through a security line that usually takes him 10 minutes. Merloni said there was nobody on the streets in Paris when he left for the airport today.

“It’s two attacks, both in France in the same year,” he said. “You start to feel really targeted.”

In the midst of the chaos that erupted in Paris Friday night, Rebecca Hill-Bogle started to wonder how she and her husband, Will Bogle, were going to get back home to Georgia.

They were in Paris to celebrate Will’s birthday and were having dinner when Will looked at his phone and realized something was going on. The server at their restaurant told them they were about 10 minutes away from one of the deadly explosions that occurred during Friday night’s wave of terrorist attacks in the heart of the city.

“We saw a lot of police and ambulances; they were scurrying through the streets,” Will Bogle said.

The Macon couple tried to get a cab to get back to their hotel, but all the taxis were full.

Hill-Bogle is six months pregnant and she was starting to panic. They decided to walk two miles to the U.S. Embassy, hoping they could take shelter there.

But, her husband said, they were turned away.

“I was pretty disheartened that we weren’t allowed to get in,” he said….

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Filed Under: Featured, France, United States Tagged With: Paris, U.S. Embassy


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Comments

  1. Joseph says

    Nov 15, 2015 at 2:51 pm

    No surprise here. The U.S. government has been turning it’s back on citizens for quite a while now.

    • Charli Main says

      Nov 15, 2015 at 3:06 pm

      Would probably have put the red carpet out, if they had claimed to be ” Syrian refugees”.

      • Shane says

        Nov 16, 2015 at 10:54 am

        Sad, but true. The left hates Christians and Jews, but loves Muslims!

    • sidney penny says

      Nov 15, 2015 at 5:29 pm

      You have to invent something,like a clock to get inside a US Embassy in Paris or anywhere or the even White House.

    • Ed in North Texas says

      Nov 16, 2015 at 9:26 am

      Sidney Penny: Just to be accurate, you have to be a Muslim kid with an activist father. Said kid allegedly decides to “invent” a clock by taking an old Radio Shack clock apart, putting the working parts of that clock in a briefcase looking container with wires and the digital display apparent on opening the case. And then take the “clock” to school where a teacher finally decides it looks like a bomb. Then (after who knows what transpires at the school, as the parents will not grant any access to his school record of the incident) get kicked out of school. This will get any Muslim noticed by His Imperial Executiveness, Emperor Barak the Nonpareil, who will invite him to the White House before he, and his family, emigrate to a dictator’s (wanted for crimes against humanity IIRC) Islamic paradise.

    • Charles Knott says

      Nov 16, 2015 at 9:46 pm

      They were rich white people who didn’t want to wait in a line for 2 hours like everyone else had to.

      • kathleen diegel says

        Nov 17, 2015 at 9:46 am

        These rich white people happened to be a black couple from Georgia.

  2. CogitoErgoSum says

    Nov 15, 2015 at 3:18 pm

    I don’t think we know all the details here. What kind of security checks are required to get inside an American Embassy? And would letting inside just anyone off the street be a good idea, especially when terrorists are attacking? This is going to be something people traveling outside their own country are now going to have to think about ahead of time. Where can I go when the terror begins?

    • Ashley says

      Nov 15, 2015 at 4:38 pm

      I concur. In fact, I’m surprised the US Embassy in Paris wasn’t targeted.

      It is my understanding that Paris restaurants were very accommodating to their patrons during and after the attacks. Did this restaurant just close up shop and kick their patrons out on the street?

      In my opinion, this couple made a very foolish move walking two miles to the embassy with an expectation of receiving shelter.

      I’m sorry the Bogles were inconvenienced, but in the grand scheme of things, they should consider themselves most fortunate.

      • Glenda says

        Nov 16, 2015 at 4:44 pm

        I believe this couple was afraid that where they were might be the next target……don’t know what I would have done, but I wont try to second guess them. Thought the Embassy was to help U.S. citizens….

    • TheBuffster says

      Nov 15, 2015 at 6:43 pm

      Exactly what I was thinking, Cogito.

      How can an American embassy open its gates to anyone they don’t know when terrorist attacks are going on? Anyone who has any savvy at all knows that terrorists are going to be salivating to get into an American embassy. And why wouldn’t they pose as an American couple in order to do that? The Embassy’s first job is to keep its own staff safe under such circumstances, not to take the risks of letting in unknown people.

      And I don’t think I’d feel all that safe going to the American embassy during a terrorist attack. It wasn’t exactly the safest place to be in Beghazi, was it?

      • gravenimage says

        Nov 15, 2015 at 9:47 pm

        I think the Embassy could have frisked any seeking asylum there. It doesn’t sound as though the US Embassy was besieged with asylum seekers.

        Instead, the US authorities left her own people in the lurch. Very disturbing.

      • Clive Hyman says

        Nov 16, 2015 at 6:05 am

        Well, America’s opening its doors to tens of thousands of people they don’t know so what’s the difference? Pretty easy for security at the Embassy to check the credentials of a few Americans and hold them in quarantine if necessary. Impossible for DHS to check the credentials of the thousands of economic migrants who are pouring from the Middle-East that Obama’s welcomed to America.

      • Clive Hyman says

        Nov 16, 2015 at 6:13 am

        How can America open its gates to anyone they don’t know when terrorist attacks are going on? Anyone who has any savvy at all knows that terrorists are going to be salivating to get into America. And why wouldn’t they pose as refugees in order to do that?

        The American Government’s first job is to keep its own citizens safe, not to take the risks of letting in unknown people.

        • Joan says

          Nov 16, 2015 at 4:57 pm

          For God’s sake, these are American citizens! Helpless, undefended, unarmed, with all papers in order. An embassy exists to protect just such citizens. It is not their for dignitaries and bureaucrats. You are a VICTIM of the totalitarian mentality which is destroying all of civilization. This is just a small example of people like you submit to the boot.

      • mezcukor says

        Nov 16, 2015 at 1:41 pm

        American embassies are very unfriendly places. Only go there if needed.

      • cd gib says

        Nov 16, 2015 at 1:56 pm

        A US passport would have identified them as AMERICANS. DUH!!!

    • Joan says

      Nov 16, 2015 at 4:54 pm

      You have the socialist mentality all right. What a stupid rationale you give. An American Embassy belongs to American citizens, not State Dept employees!!! An American Embassy by international law is the SOIL of the HOMELAND, a patch of USA on the host nation’s land. Any American should be able to enter an embassy ANYTIME for ANY REASON, with the usual security protocols. A married couple with a wife 6 months pregnant and all their ID’s with them, unarmed…. these are EXACTLY THE PEOPLE who should be welcomed with open arms!!!

  3. Jeanne says

    Nov 15, 2015 at 3:23 pm

    “Would letting them in have been tantamount to admitting that there is a jihad threat?”

    No. U.S. embassies are diplomatic missions, not hotels. Yes, the consulates do provide services to U.S. citizens if they lose their passports, or if there is a death, or if an American tourist is robbed, etc. Embassies are not places of shelter, contrary what American tourists might believe.

    • Terrence Truax says

      Nov 15, 2015 at 5:27 pm

      In Sep 1970, my father suffered a fatal heart attack on a bus between Versailles and downtown Paris. He died right in my arms. My late wife, a French speaker, told the bus driver what had happened, He pulled over right in front of a clinic. Medical personnel rushed out, but it was too late. I called the embassy and was told by the Marine on Post One that he would transfer the call to the Consular Duty Officer. I explained what had happened to the CDO who took down the vital information. He then told me to go back to my mother and my wife and take them back to the hotel, then continue in the morning to drive back to England, where I was stationed. He said not to worry, that they would see to everything, and they did. They arranged to cut through a lot of red tape and my father’s casket arrived in Miami just in time for the funeral. Five years later I went on embassy duty and learned that while the Foreign Service Officers can be real jerks, the Consular Officers really do help out citizens in need of assistance. I went on to spend 20+ years on embassy duty.

      • Roger says

        Nov 15, 2015 at 6:06 pm

        Thank you! Great post.

    • Carolyne says

      Nov 16, 2015 at 9:39 am

      I was robbed in London. Kiss that idea goodbye, too.

    • Kate says

      Nov 17, 2015 at 10:56 am

      “Embassies are not places of shelter, contrary what American tourists might believe.” That’s correct; just ask Ambassador Chris Stevens…

  4. Jeanne says

    Nov 15, 2015 at 3:27 pm

    The only exception I can think of are the Soviet rpt. Soviet Pentecostals who were housed in the U.S. Embassy in the early 1908s.

  5. Angemon says

    Nov 15, 2015 at 4:53 pm

    Hill-Bogle is six months pregnant and she was starting to panic. They decided to walk two miles to the U.S. Embassy, hoping they could take shelter there.

    But, her husband said, they were turned away.

    “I was pretty disheartened that we weren’t allowed to get in,” he said….

    At least they survived.

  6. Champ says

    Nov 15, 2015 at 5:06 pm

    Someone just posted this on Facebook …

    PARIS 13/11
    NEW YORK 11/9
    ISRAEL 24/7

    Sooo true!

  7. Captain says

    Nov 15, 2015 at 6:51 pm

    Embassies exist to protect US citizens. Your passport is your IID and you can be strip searched but US citizens should be permitted a safe haven on the Embassy’s grounds. It is a historical duty but we seem to have people who forget the government serves the People.

  8. Jose says

    Nov 15, 2015 at 7:17 pm

    The Embasyis considered American Soil. Therefore its consider a place of safety for American Citizens with a Passaport.

  9. Gunny says

    Nov 15, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    As a US Marine who served two tours of embassy duty with the State Department. Access to an embassy chancery is difficult enough on a normal business day by design (for security reasons). During a heightened security situation, like in this case, it would be pretty much impossible as access would be shut down. None of the four embassies/consulates I served at had emergency contingency plans for sheltering American citizens (at any time). First thing that would happen would be the Marine Security Guard Detachment would be brought in for added security and access locked down (except for essential personnel like communicators to keep communication open to Main State in DC).

  10. JK says

    Nov 15, 2015 at 9:40 pm

    Ummm Here is what is posted on the website. If you can’t read them so sorry

    http://france.usembassy.gov/sm111315.html

    U.S. Embassy Paris | November 13, 2015

    ParisEmergencyUSC@state.gov
    1-888-407-4747 (From the United States and Canada)
    +1-202-501-4444 (From all other countries)

    The U.S. Embassy in Paris advises official U.S. personnel and U.S. citizens to shelter in place due to the terrorist attacks in the 10th and 11th arrondissements (districts) and the ongoing hostage situation at the Bataclan Theatre located at 50 Voltaire Boulevard in the 11th arrondissement. U.S. citizens should heed local authorities and maintain security awareness. France has declared a state of emergency which includes mobilization of security forces and closing its borders.

    People in France who are safe should be contacting family members.

    Anyone with travel plans should be contacting their airlines directly.

    For further information:

    See the State Department’s travel website for the Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and France Country Specific Information.
    Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
    Contact the U.S. Embassy in Paris, located at 2 Avenue Gabriel 75008 Paris, at +(33)(1) 43-12-22-22 or by email at Citizeninfo@state.gov. After-hours emergency number for U.S. citizens is +(33)(1) 43-12-22-22.
    Call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
    Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

  11. Paulo says

    Nov 15, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    Why the heck would you go out anywhere during a terrorist attack…especially one in the vicinity of your location?! Close up shop, lock the doors, no admittance. Kind of like what the embassy did.

    A relative worked in an embassy in a hostile location. We knew in the event of attacks, unless it was being evacuated or you were necessary to the mission, nobody gets in or out, not even family.

    This couple obviously panicked, and probably having seen too many movies, high-tailed it to the embassy despite the dangers of doing so.

  12. brunokraiske says

    Nov 16, 2015 at 12:45 am

    They should have said : they were American muslims.

  13. A concerned citizen says

    Nov 16, 2015 at 7:53 am

    Didn’t Julian Assange seek and gain refuge in an embassy?
    Of course, he was engaged in treason so I suppose he must be protected.

  14. Carolyne says

    Nov 16, 2015 at 9:32 am

    This isn’t unusual. The US government has no concern at all for US citizens in danger in a foreign country. I happened to be in Istanbul in 1974 when the Turks invaded Cyprus. There were air raid drills every night–blackouts–the whole works. The airport was closed to civilian traffic. I found that out by going to the airport to catch my flight and having a machine gun pointed at me I went to the American Consulate to get advice as to what to do and was met by a locked gate with a Turk inside who handed me an index card and told me to write my name and address on it and give it back to him.

    I went to the train station. Trains were running, but there were thousands of people trying to buy tickets. I went back to what was then the Sheraton Hotel and a group of us–of many nationalities–chartered a bus to take us to Bulgaria. We arrived in Sofia, but the airport would not sell us tickets to leave, so we bribed the bus driver (Who had been drinking Vodka during the trip all night) to take us to Belgrade, from which we were able to get a flight to Rome and then to JFK.

    Never, ever think the US government will help you overseas in an emergency. Look at Christopher Stevens.

  15. DiMu says

    Nov 16, 2015 at 12:00 pm

    Jane Hartley is US Ambassador in Paris. This tells you everything you need to know about her! An Obama appointee (she was an Obama bundler), husband a merchant baker, member of Foreign Relations Committee, worked for Jimmy Carter.

    She is the poster for the Faustian bargain between Marxist Liberalism and Global Casino Capitalism! This is the political elite now ruining the West with their monopolies of power, their gutting of national legislatures and their utter contempt for the welfare of people who are not oligarchs and swindlers like themselves.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_D._Hartley

  16. Charles Knott says

    Nov 16, 2015 at 9:45 pm

    Looks like rich white privileged people whining they didn’t get a preference and actually had to stand in a line.

  17. Jocelyn says

    Nov 17, 2015 at 12:15 am

    Being admitted to an embassy is the same as trying to get on a military base…you cannot without permission. Embassies have strict security.

  18. kevin arnold says

    Nov 17, 2015 at 9:06 am

    Not sure what an Embassy really is? Well, it’s not just another building full of bureaucrats. In many ways, the U.S. Embassy is your 911 when overseas. Whether you’ve lost your passport, need to evacuate the country, or someone back in the U.S. needs to get in touch with you, the U.S. Embassy is your point of contact for assistance in many different situations. During a natural disaster, political upheaval, or other emergency, consular officers assist American citizens with transportation, evacuation, and in keeping them safe. This is just one of the many reasons that we encourage you to register your trip before you depart.

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