Obama condemns ‘cowardly, evil’ attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris

WASHINGTON — Denouncing the “cowardly, evil” attack on a French magazine, President Obama vowed Wednesday that the United States will help France find the terrorists who slaughtered at least a dozen people.

Obama called the murders at Charlie Hebdo, a satirical publication, an assault on the free press and pledged that the U.S. will stand with France in remarks in the Oval Office before meeting with Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Kerry.

He said he would be discussing with Kerry the need to be vigilant with respect to Americans living in Paris, elsewhere in Europe and in other parts of the world. “I think it's going to be important for us to make sure that we recognize these kinds of attacks can happen anywhere in the world,” Obama said.

The President expressed “my deepest sympathies to the people of Paris and the people of France” and said he plans to speak Wednesday with French President Francois Hollande.

“I think that all of us recognize that France is one of our oldest allies, our strongest allies. They have been with us at every moment when we've — from 9/11 on, in dealing with some of the terrorist organizations around the world that threaten us,” the President said.

“For us to see the kind of cowardly evil attacks that took place today I think reinforces once again why it's so important for us to stand in solidarity with them, just as they stand in solidarity with us.”

The President said that the values that Paris and France stand for would outlast the terrorists who seek to destroy them.

“What that beautiful city represents -- the culture and the civilization that is so central to our imaginations -- that's going to endure. And those who carry out senseless attacks against innocent civilians, ultimately they'll be forgotten,” Obama said.

In the attack, three masked gunmen shouted “Allahu akbar!” as they stormed the Paris offices of the magazine in apparent retaliation for a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad. It was France's deadliest postwar terrorist attack.