Gunmen attacked and set fire to the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, the cradle of last year's U.S.-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule. Another assault was mounted on the U.S. embassy in Cairo.
U.S. President Barack Obama branded it an "outrageous attack" and ordered increased security at U.S. diplomatic posts worldwide.
Violence also threatened to spread to other Muslim countries. By nightfall on Wednesday, 24 hours after the attacks in Egypt and Libya, police were firing teargas at angry demonstrators outside the U.S. embassy in Tunisia.
The attacks could alter U.S. attitudes towards the wave of revolutions across the Arab world, which toppled secularist authoritarian leaders in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, bringing Islamists to power.
The violence could influence a close-fought U.S. presidential election, in which Obama's challenger Mitt Romney has accused him of not defending U.S. interests robustly enough.
Romney issued a statement criticizing Obama's initial response; the president's campaign responded by accusing him of scoring political points at a time of national tragedy.
It was not immediately clear precisely how or where California-born ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed during the assault. Stevens was a key player when the Obama administration supported the anti-Gaddafi insurgency.
U.S. consular staff were rushed to a safe house after the initial attack, Libya's Deputy Interior Minister Wanis Al-Sharif said. An evacuation plane with U.S. commando units then arrived from Tripoli to evacuate them from the house.
"It was supposed to be a secret place and we were surprised the armed groups knew about it. There was shooting," Sharif said. Two U.S. personnel were killed there, he said. Two other people were killed at the main consular building and between 12 and 17 wounded.
The attack raised other questions about the future U.S. diplomatic presence in Libya, relations between Washington and Tripoli and the unstable security situation after Gaddafi.
The amateurish film portrayed Mohammad as a fool, a philanderer and a religious fake. In one clip posted on YouTube, Mohammad was shown in an apparent sex act with a woman.
For many Muslims it is blasphemous to depict the Prophet. The incident had echoes of the publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons that touched off riots in the Middle East, Africa and Asia in 2006 in which at least 50 people died.
Images of ambassador Stevens purportedly taken after he was killed circulated on the Internet. One image showed him being carried, with a white shirt pulled up and a cut on his forehead.
Across the Muslim world, leaders will be concerned about preventing the spread of violence. Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the film in a statement, calling its making a "devilish act" and saying he was certain those involved in its production represented a very small minority.
The statement from Karzai - who is defended by 113,000 NATO-led troops including nearly 75,000 Americans - made no mention of the violence against U.S. diplomats.
Afghanistan shut down the YouTube site so Afghans would not be able to see the film. The U.S. embassy in Kabul appealed to Afghan leaders for help "maintaining calm".
In Egypt, Prime Minister Hisham Kandil condemned violence while calling on Washington to act against the film's makers.
"What happened at the U.S. embassy in Cairo is regrettable and rejected by all Egyptian people and cannot be justified, especially if we consider that the people that produced this low film have no relation to the (U.S.) government," he said.
"We ask the American government to take a firm position towards this film's producers within the framework of international charters that criminalise acts that stir strife on the basis of race, color or religion."
"SMALL AND SAVAGE GROUP"
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the attack was the work of a "small and savage group".
Accounts of the consulate attack described chaos and bloodshed, with Libyan security over-run and retreating.
"We started shooting at them, and then some other people also threw hand-made bombs over the fences and started the fires in the buildings," said 17-year-old Hamam, who took part in the assault and refused to give his last name.
"There was some Libyan security for the embassy outside but when the hand-made bombs went off they ran off and left," said Hamam, who said he saw an American die in front of him in the mayhem that ensued. He said the body was covered in ash.
One Libyan security official blamed the attack on Ansar al-Sharia, an al Qaeda-style Sunni Islamist group that has been active in Benghazi. Sharif, the deputy interior minister, said leaders of the group had denied responsibility: "There is no specific side to blame."
Witnesses said the mob included tribesmen, militia and other gunmen. Ansar al-Sharia cars arrived at the start of the protest but left once fighting started, Hamam said. "The protesters were running around the compound just looking for Americans, they just wanted to find an American so they could catch one."
On Wednesday, the sprawling, leafy compound in Benghazi stood empty, with passers-by freely walking in to take a look at the damage. The heat of the fires could still be felt.
Walls were charred and a small fire burned inside one of the buildings with glass from shattered chandeliers on the floor. A small group of men was trying to extinguish the flames and three security men briefly surveyed the scene.
Chairs, a table and food lay alongside empty bullet shells. Some blood stains could also be seen in front of one of the buildings. Three cars were burnt out.
UNPREPARED FOR INTENSE ATTACK
"The Libyan security forces came under heavy fire and we were not prepared for the intensity of the attack," said Abdel-Monem Al-Hurr, spokesman for Libya's Supreme Security Committee.
U.S. ambassadors in such volatile countries as Libya are accompanied by tight security, usually travelling in well-protected convoys. Diplomatic missions are normally protected by Marines or other special forces.
Stevens grew up in California, graduated from Berkeley and worked in North Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer. He taught English in Morocco before joining the foreign service where he worked in the Middle East and North Africa.
Tributes poured in to honour Stevens, who said in a video posted on the embassy website of his involvement in the revolution: "I was thrilled to watch the Libyan people stand up and demand their rights."
Libya's interim government has struggled to impose its authority on a myriad of armed groups that refused to lay down their weapons and often take the law into their own hands.
Security experts say the area around Benghazi is host to a number of Islamist militant groups who oppose any Western presence in Muslim countries.
The worst-case scenario for Western governments is that a spate of recent attacks could be the start of an Iraq-style insurgency by Islamist militants. That could have an impact on oil exports as the energy sector depends on foreign workers.
However, security analysts say an insurgency is unlikely to gain the kind of traction it had in Iraq, mainly because Western states have no military presence on the ground in Libya.
Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shagour condemned the killing of the U.S. diplomats as a cowardly act. The head of Libya's national assembly vowed to bring the killers to justice.
U.S. PASTOR
The precise provenance of the film was the subject of some debate. The Wall Street Journal quoted a man who described himself as an Israeli-American property developer and said he produced the film with funds raised from the Jewish community.
Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church condemned Copts living abroad who it said financed had financed "the production of a film insulting the Prophet Mohammad". About a 10th of Egypt's 83 million people are Christian.
Florida pastor Terry Jones, who inflamed anger in the Muslim world in 2010 with plans to burn the Koran, said he planned to show excerpts of the film to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet as offensive and any depiction of him can cause furious protests in the Islamic world as well as among Muslims in Europe.
In neighbouring Egypt, demonstrators tore down an American flag and burned it during Tuesday's protest against the film. Some tried to raise a black flag with the words "There is no God but God, and Mohammad is his messenger".
The crowd of around 2,000 protesters in Cairo protesting against the film was a mixture of Islamists and teenage soccer fans known for fighting police and who played a part in the revolt that toppled Egypt's leader Hosni Mubarak last year.
19 comments:
It was just a matter of time before something like this would happen. Muslim extremists have been eerily quiet since the death of Osama Bin Laden but anybody who thought they would go away is in for a rude awakening. Bin Laden martyred himself for what they believe in, especially by choosing not to return fire or even pick up his gun for that matter. I hate to say it, but I wouldn't be suprised if Al-Qaeda is planning something big for the near future now that people are starting to relax after 9/11. However, I don't think they had a hand in this particular incedent. This was probably a small underground group who were looking for an excuse and found it in that video. This truly is a sick story for many reasons. I will never be able to understand people who provoke others for no apparent reason. Especially not on this level. Muslims are extremely devout, and too many people try to stir them up because they have nothing better to do. That being said, it's sick that somebody can see the product of an imesurable minority and brand their entire country accordingly. Although I suppose we're all guilty of that. Lastly, it's sick that a certain presidential candidate would try to capitalize on this event by blaming his opposition. Because I'm pretty certain that President Obama didn't really have much of a hand in the killing of a national ambassador. I'm starting to get the feeling that Romney might be trouble. But that's just my interpretation of this matter. Make of it what you will.
The Libyan government was obviously not prepared for an attack on the American Embassy of this magnitude. It is heartbreaking that Americans lost their lives trying to do good for our nation. I believe that the U.S. should apologize for the video, and I believe that we should try to evacuate other ambassadors in the Middle East for their own safety.
It is a terrible tradgedy that an American Ambassador was killed while trying to help a changing country. I find it sad that the people of Libia would kill a man who helped them overthrow Gaddafi. I partially agree with Romney's stance because Obama has taken a very laid back stance in his middle eastern policies. I do think that if Obama had decideed to make a stronger policy, this wouldnt have happened. Obama has made it very easy for extremists to take advantage of our weeknesses. That being said, I can understand why Obama has made that decision, since Bush had been so aggresive in the middle east. By making a lacks policy he made his popularity higher with his supporters and withthe elections less than two months away, he could use all the popularity ha can get. I think that some action should be taken to justify this act of violence because since the majority of the crime was comitted at the embassy, that is synonimis with commiting a crime on American soil.
. This whole event has astounded me ever since it has became news to the American public.
For one, Romney is, in my opinion, right about how America needs to step up and show that we take our country's safety and customs very seriously. But it horrifies me that so many people are so focused on which candidate is 'right' and which is wrong. What the real issue right now, is the fact that the U.S. ambassador and a few other American men were killed by a planned attack. This attack also took place on the anniversary of one of our county's greatest terror affack. We, as a country need to be protecting our values, beliefs and rights. Along with our country's integrity.
This is a terrible tragedy to begin with, especially because of how much the Ambassador had done to help Libya. I feel that the people who criticized Obama for not doing anything to stop the violence that arose in other US embassies didn't realize it would take some more time to get that accomplished. The videos obviously gave a small group of people a reason to get revenge on the US because some people will never be able to let go of a grudge. It would be interesting to know where the video came from.
This was definitely a tragedy. We lost Americans who loved were serving not only their country, but trying to make another one better. However, it cannot be said of the circumstances that it wasn't expected. Personally, I don't understand what the person who made that video was thinking. Surly they knew it would be at the worst time for both peoples in the predicament.
Could it have been avoided? Most definitely. But could this have happened any other time on similar circumstances, or rather a simple poke of the stick? Yes. Again, it is an omnipresent thing, when extremist groups, and people with traditions in general for that matter, are put into situations where their beliefs, hard set and true, are being disgraced, there is always going to be someone who pays for it. Whether it be one life or the lives of hundreds, there is always a payment.
It just plunged the knife that much further because it was September 11th, and an Islamic extremist group who committed the crime.
As much as I despise religious intolerance, these Muslim extremists took it way too far. A man died who was trying to help the Libyan people gain their independence. This group of violent people needed to realize that the United States was not wholly responsible for this "film" disgracing their profit. While the people who created the video should be ashamed of themselves for inciting violent protest from ridiculing another religion, the extremists should not have over reacted the way they did. The tension our country has with the Middle East needs to be mended to ensure more useless violence doesn't occur.
I believe that the cause of the attack on the on the U.S. Embassy is outrages, because the Islamic people are blaming all of America for what a small group did. They took out there anger on a group of people who were trying to help. Our government should up the security at all of our Embassys in the Middle East. If we pull our ambassadors it will send a false message. It will say that America is weaker then we really are.
This is a horrible thing that has happened and it was mainly because there wasn’t enough security. We need to have good security for the Americans that risk their life to help others. We can’t trust the Libyan security because they run off like it says when the hand bombs went off. There should have been more American security. This was also caused because of the videos that are circulating on the internet, and America just needs to apologize for that and then that might help lower the violence that happens. Something must be done in order to control all of this violence that keeps happening, so Americans don’t keep getting hurt whenever they go to these countries.
This is a horrible thing that has happened and it was mainly because there wasn’t enough security. We need to have good security for the Americans that risk their life to help others. We can’t trust the Libyan security because they run off like it says when the hand bombs went off. There should have been more American security. This was also caused because of the videos that are circulating on the internet, and America just needs to apologize for that and then that might help lower the violence that happens. Something must be done in order to control all of this violence that keeps happening, so Americans don’t keep getting hurt whenever they go to these countries.
I don't believe the way the Libyan people handled that situation was appropriate. Innocent American people, that had no part in the production of that film died because of it. Yes I understand that we, Americans, offended them but no deserved to die. They're known to take actions in their thought of justice into their own hands. They're government needs to take control! Honestly it's kind of scary, they were killing any American they saw. The video posted on the embassy website, stating the right of Libyans standing up for their rights was right demonstrated how they've been misguided. Everyone has their own opinions and thoughts on the consequences of others actions, and their's are just unreasonable. It was wrong of Romney to point the finger at Obama for this attack. He wasn't to blame, he may have had the power to prevent this, but he couldn't stop it. I believe justice needs to be served to the attackers, not only for the fault of their actions but for the American people.
As much of a tragedy the ambassador's death is, it's very good for Romney's campaign. He will have another opportunity to bash Obama for not taking care of foreign affairs. If Romney plays his cards right, he'll be able to sway some voters by saying that Obama isn't protective of the US and if he can say that if he was in office this tragedy would never have happened.
It is really unfortunate that the cause of Christopher Stevens' death and the others was due to some "extremists" groups. The right of free speech was obviously mishandled in this situation. The "small, savage group", quoted from Hillary Clinton, that made this film obviously had no idea what sort of impact it could have on what countries. Western governments have to start watching their backs more now in order to stay ahead of insurgent groups. The United States embassy in Cairo was desolated and is now in ruin as the result of Muslim extremists. Entire nations have had shame brought upon them by the effects of this film. I can only pray that the victims of these attacks can seek and gain solace in the future.
There is a simple yet unatanable solution to this problem of Muslims attacking anyone who offends their god. If you look at every religious figure in the world, someone, somewhere has ridiculed that god(s). Except Islam. After 9-11 many people were preached that it is not a whole population hijacking planes and blowing up schools but I terrible extremist micro minority. This is not true. In Libya a huge MOB attacked our consolate. This was not a minority but a large group who killed 3 innocent people, one of which was considered Libya's "best friend" throughout their rebellion against Ghadafi's regime. Simply Islamic people must become more tolerant of silly YouTube videos much like everyone else in the world has. Time to grow up and become like the patience prophet Muhammed was. Manning Pope -3rd Period.
Christopher Stevens was a man of peace, he worked in North Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer, taught English to students in Morocco, and now is the face of a tragic attack against our country. What chilled me the most is when a witness said, “The protesters were running around the compound just looking for Americans, they just wanted to find an American so they could catch one.” I find it hard to believe that both our candidates are using this attack for political “jabs” at each other, when there are more important issues at hand. The Islamic gunmen, who planned this attack, stormed the safe house because of a controversial film that was made in the United States. I know it is our personal right to have freedom of speech, but why would you make a film bashing another cultures religion, knowing what extreme consequences would follow. There is already anti-Americanism in the Middle Eastern countries so why would the film maker feed the fire with a disrespectful video? I believe that this major conflict is between two minorities in both areas. ‘Hillary Clinton said the attack was the work of a “small and savage group”’, while the Egyptian Prime Minister said, “ What happened at the U.S embassy in Cairo is regrettable and rejected by all the Egyptian people and cannot be justified, especially if we consider that the people that produced this low film have no relation to the (U.S.) government.” In conclusion I believe that the extreme views on each side will not come to a resolution, or a peaceful resolution, any time in the near future, because there is no sign of compromise on both sides and violence is still a key role in this relation.
I think it's really a shame that four Americans, who were not involved with the video, had to be punished with death for a mistake that someone else made. It makes sense that Muslims would be offended by someone mocking their religion, as we would be too here in America. However, it's just awful that some people who were completely unrelated had to suffer for it, especially when they were only trying to do our country some good. The ambassador seemed like an extraordinary man, and it truly is a tragedy that he would be killed over something like this. For the matter of the presidential debate, it's kind of disgusting that Romney would seem to use this to make Obama look bad. In a time of tragedy it's not appropriate at all to try and make yourself look good. But, that's just my opinion on that aspect of the story. It's truly devastating that we lost this man, and that our country has to suffer for something that only a few were involved in.
This is quite appalling that Ambassador Christopher Stevens (and many others) was wrongfully assassinated. These men should not have lost their lives, we have known that Libya has been in disarray for some time and there should have been more security coverage for them. Stevens was a respected diplomat, he was helping hold Libya together during the beginning of the revolts last year. It is quite unfortunate that it took the deaths of four innocent people for us to realize, we are in need of more embassy security world wide.
This whole event was a surprise to both the U.S. and Libyan government. I could see how the video could have been offensive to some people, but there was really no need for such an outbreak. In my opinion I think both parties should apologize because really when you think about it this incident affected both sides. Those who criticized President Obama on his decision do not realize that he couldn't do much about the situation. What really is worrying is that one of our potential U.S. president is trying to use this incident to capitalize himself. This was an event that I knew was coming and I don't think that events like this are going to stop any time soon.
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