GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney was originally scheduled to hold a press conference about the attacks in Libya and Egypt before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave her remarks on the situation this morning, but he pushed the event back.
According to the pool report, Romney will speak to reporters and then hold a rally with supporters in Jacksonville, Fla., immediately afterward.
-- Amanda Terkel
President Obama is expected to speak from the Rose Garden Wednesday morning at 10:35 am. EDT, addressing the Libya attacks and the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Watch the address here.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Libya's leader pledged every effort "to protect our people and pursue those responsible."
"A free and stable Libya is still in America's interest and security and we will not turn our back on that," she said.
She added: "There is no justification for this. None. Violence like this is no way to honor religion or faith."
Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz), Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), three of the leading conservative and centrist voices on foreign policy in the U.S. Senate, called on people not to overract to the attacks on American diplomatic outposts, saying the Arab Spring's push for freedom and democracy outweighs the action of extremists.
Their words come as others on the right have been lashing out at President Barack Obama for supporting and encouraging the democratic uprising in the Middle East.
Despite this horrific attack, we cannot give in to the temptation to believe that our support for the democratic aspirations of people in Libya, Egypt, and elsewhere in the broader Middle East is naive or mistaken. We cannot resign ourselves to the false belief that the Arab Spring is doomed to be defined not by the desire for democracy and freedom that has inspired millions of people to peaceful action, but by the dark fanaticism of terrorists.To follow this misguided path would not only be a victory for the extremists and their associates, but a betrayal of everything for which Chris Stevens and his colleagues stood and gave their lives. In short, it would be a betrayal of our own best ideals as Americans and our own enduring interest in using our great influence to support the overwhelming majority of people in the Middle East who want to be free from the kinds of murderers and terrorists who killed our people yesterday in Benghazi.?
-- Michael McAuliff
GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney was originally scheduled to hold a press conference in Jacksonville, Fla. on the attacks in Libya and Egypt, but according to CNN, he canceled the event and will instead be issuing a statement around 10:15 a.m. People who had assembled for the press conference were ushered out of the room, and the chairs and setting were dismantled.
-- Amanda Terkel
Controversial Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) is blaming President Barack Obama for the attacks on U.S. diplomatic posts in Libya and Egypt, saying the American public should "question" whether they could have been avoided.
He goes onto to suggest it was the U.S. administration's support for the Arab Spring that encouraged the attacks, which were widely seen as a violent reaction to a film promoted by Koran-burning Florida preacher Terry Jones.
West also accused Obama of "appeasement," saying his policy encouraged the attacks by "intolerant, barbaric, radical Muslims."
West concludes that Obama's policies and the Tuesday attacks mean that Obama's diplomatic skills now compare unfavorably with how President Jimmy Carter handled the infamous Iranian hostage crisis.
West's statement:
Less than 24 hours after our nation remembered the heinous attacks of September 11, 2001, Americans find their sovereign soil attacked again as more American lives are lost at the hands of intolerant, barbaric, radical Muslims.United States Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Smith [sic], and several embassy staff were murdered late yesterday when suspected religious extremists stormed the United States Consulate in Benghazi. This morning, my condolences and prayers go out to the families of the victims.
Americans need to question whether the deaths of these innocent patriots could have been avoided. The Obama Administration touted the Arab Spring as an awakening of freedom, which we now see is a nightmare of Islamism.
Even more concerning, is the initial response to these attacks last night from the embassy officials of the Obama Administration was to apologize for a Facebook video that supposedly hurt Muslim feelings. President Obama's policy of appeasement towards the Islamic world has manifested itself into a specter of unconscionable hatred.
How anyone can believe this President is strong on national security and foreign policy is beyond my comprehension. President Obama has clearly surpassed former President Jimmy Carter and his actions during the Iranian Embassy crisis, as the weakest and most ineffective person to ever occupy the White House.
-- Michael McAuliff
Libyan leader Mohammed Magarief apologized to the United States for yesterday's attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
"We apologise to the United States, the people and to the whole world for what happened," Magarief said, according to Reuters.
According to the State Department Office of the Historian, seven U.S. ambassadors have been killed in the line of duty. Five U.S. ambassadors were killed by terrorists, and two died in plane crashed.
_Adolph Dubs, in Afghanistan, 1979
_Francis E. Meloy Jr., in Lebanon, 1976
_Rodger P. Davies, in Cyprus, 1974
_Cleo A. Noel Jr., in Sudan, 1973
_John Gordon Mein, in Guatemala, 1968
_Arnold L. Raphel, in Pakistan, 1988
_Laurence A. Steinhardt, in Canada, 1950
The filmmaker who produced the film that sparked the protests against the U.S. embassy in Cairo and the U.S. consulate in Benghazi went into hiding, the Associated Press reports on Wednesday.
Speaking by phone Tuesday from an undisclosed location, writer and director Sam Bacile remained defiant, saying Islam is a cancer and that the 56-year-old intended his film to be a provocative political statement condemning the religion.
Read the full story here.
Twitter users have responded to a screenshot of a video purporting to show Ambassador Chris Stevens being carried by protesters:
| @ moneyries : So judging by these photos, the Ambassador wasn't just killed in an attack. His body was paraded around a bit, ala Gaddafi, etc. |
In this YouTube clip Chris Stevens introduced himself as U.S. ambassador to Libya. (via @jonjensen)
A second photo released by Getty Images purportedly shows Chris Stevens following the attack. Viewer discretion is advised.
Following the White House's confirmation of the death of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans, an image purporting to show Ambassador Chris Stevens has been released by AFP/Getty Images.
According to the Getty caption, eyewitnesses identified the man as 52-year-old Chris Stevens, a seasoned diplomat.
Read more about the photo on HuffPost World. WARNING: ARTICLE CONTAINS DISTURBING IMAGES.
This footage from doulia.com appears to show the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. (Video could not independently be verified.)
According to an online gaming site, Sean Smith, one of the embassy officials killed, was an avid online gamer who went by the pseudonym "Vile Rat." From the site:
"We knew that Vile Rat was in Benghazi; he told us. He commented on how they use guns to celebrate weddings and how there was a constant susurrus of weaponry in the background. He was in situ to provide IT services for the consulate, which meant he was on the net all the time, hanging out with us on Jabber as usual and talking about internet spaceship games."
Smith was online during the attack and quickly disappeared from site as the gunfire started.
H/T The Guardian.
In this Monday, April 11, 2011, file photo, U.S. envoy Chris Stevens, center, accompanied by British envoy Christopher Prentice, left, speaks to Council member for Misrata Dr. Suleiman Fortia, right, at the Tibesty Hotel where an African Union delegation was meeting with opposition leaders in Benghazi, Libya. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
The U.S. Embassy in Algiers, Algeria, has warned of a possible demonstration on Wednesday.
The statement in full:
"I condemn in the strongest terms the attack on our mission in Benghazi today. As we work to secure our personnel and facilities, we have confirmed that one of our State Department officers was killed. We are heartbroken by this terrible loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and those who have suffered in this attack.
This evening, I called Libyan President Magariaf to coordinate additional support to protect Americans in Libya. President Magariaf expressed his condemnation and condolences and pledged his government?s full cooperation.
Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.
In light of the events of today, the United States government is working with partner countries around the world to protect our personnel, our missions, and American citizens worldwide."
When asked how government will respond, Libyan government answers with vague promises to take action:
"We have been taking actions .... we have been following up on the brutal activities of those people ... it is very difficult at this point to tell whether they are the same group of people or different. We are very serious, we have been looking into this matter seriously."
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