The absence of an American presence at the million-strong rally Sunday in Paris is symbolic of the lack of American leadership on the world stage, which is dangerous, said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
"No one from the White House was found among the more than 40 Presidents and Prime Ministers who walked the streets with hundreds of thousands of French citizens demonstrating their solidarity against radical Islamic terrorists," Cruz wrote in an opinion piece for
Time Magazine.
"The absence is symbolic of the lack of American leadership on the world stage, and it is dangerous."
Cruz said that the attack on Paris, like the attacks on Israel and other allies, was an attack on our shared values. He noted that in the last year alone the world has become more dangerous for Westerners as terrorists have aimed their campaign against innocent civilians.
Cruz mentioned in particular the American, British, and Israeli aid workers and journalists beheaded by ISIS. He also listed terrorist incidents in Sydney, Canada, and New York.
"Aid workers, members of the media, government, cafes, law enforcement, Christians, Jews, and even other Muslims — these are the targets of radical Islamists. They want to destroy civil society," he wrote.
"Their grievances are not against any particular government or policy; they are offended by the very notion of a free society where individuals have the right to worship, vote, and express themselves as they please — rights that are defended by security forces whose job is not to persecute or coerce citizens, but to protect them."
He said that Western freedoms are "anathema" to radical Islamists and that we have a choice now to either confront their threat to liberty or "continue to respond to the attacks as if they are isolated incidents that we might be able to prevent if we would only stop somehow 'provoking' them."
"If the events in Paris teach us anything, it is the utter failure of the latter approach. It has not made things better. It has made them worse," he said.
Cruz said that Americans must demand that our country stand up and lead the effort against radical Islamic terrorism, and that we must do so by coordinating closely with allies who are also fighting that threat.
He concluded by saying: "Many of our allies gathered together in Paris yesterday in an admirable display of determination. Our President should have been there, because we must never hesitate to stand with our allies. We should never hesitate to speak the truth. In Paris or anywhere else in the world."