US embassy in Libya in flames, ambassador dead

[mhgaffney]

Even as this unfolds we are repeating the same crazy policy in Syria -- in our attempt to overthrow another government. Unlike Libya, however, the Syrian conflict threatens to explode into a regional -- posssibly a global -- war, involving Israel, Iran...even Russia and China.
MHG


Video: US consulate in Benghazi on fire, ambassador to Libya reported killed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmybuDexikM

US Ambassador and 3 embassy staff killed in Libyan attack

Benghazi - Four Americans including the US Ambassador are reported dead in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The four were escaping the building that was under attack, when a rocket hit their car.

Reuters reports the building was being evacuated as it was being stormed by militants upset about a US-made film insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

A Libyan official is quoted saying US ambassador Christopher Stevens was helping the staff escape the consulate in Benghazi when their car came under attack. The official tells Reuters, "The American ambassador and three staff members were killed when gunmen fired rockets at them."


Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/articl...#ixzz26GyhAwGj

Time to end the crazy wars -- and bring the troops home, hold our leaders accountable for their crimes, take back our country, and fix our dead economy... MHG

[DenverBrit]

Originally Posted by mhgaffney

Even as this unfolds we are repeating the same crazy policy in Syria -- in our attempt to overthrow another government. Unlike Libya, however, the Syrian conflict threatens to explode into a regional -- posssibly a global -- war, involving Israel, Iran...even Russia and China.

What's this.....the 35th claim of imminent WWIII this year??

Meds, take your ferking meds!!

[Smiling Assassin27]

Woodathunk that the 'freedom fighters' we armed and supported with NATO airstrikes would turn out to be criminal gangs with no love for America or lawful society? I'm shocked, SHOCKED...

[spdirty]

Apparently this movie got em all pissed off and in a rage.

[houghtam]

Originally Posted by spdirty

Apparently this movie got em all pissed off and in a rage.

This.

This was not an attack based on foreign policy one way or the other, per se. It was a response to some dumbass making a movie about their god. OOPS I meant prophet...

[ant1999e]

Originally Posted by houghtam

This.

This was not an attack based on foreign policy one way or the other, per se. It was a response to some dumbass making a movie about their god. OOPS I meant prophet...

Well hell, I don't blame them. Freedom of speech is bullshyt.

[W*GS]

gaffe orgasms thinking about WWIII.

[TonyR]

Of course the Romney campaign disgustingly and dishonestly accused Obama of sympathizing with the attackers. How could anyone consider voting for this slime? The whole story here:

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast....overnment.html

These people are simply unfit for the responsibility of running the United States. The knee-jerk judgments, based on ideology not reality; the inability to back down when you have said something obviously wrong; and the attempt to argue that the president of the US actually sympathized with those who murdered his own ambassador in Benghazi: these are disqualifying instincts for someone hoping to be the president of the US. Disqualifying.

[TonyR]

Here's more:

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast....edy-fails.html

[TonyR]

Once again, the Romney pattern holds: pander to the right, issue an irresponsible statement, before Romney and his people even know whether this violence is going to spread, and prove that they will try to use even the violent deaths of four diplomats to political advantage. This isn't an aberration. We've seen enough to know that this is his character.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...9VBnV_ySN4tapQ

[TonyR]

"They were just trying to score a cheap news cycle hit based on the embassy statement and now it’s just completely blown up," said a very senior Republican foreign policy hand, who called the statement an "utter disaster" and a "Lehman moment" — a parallel to the moment when John McCain, amid the 2008 financial crisis, failed to come across as a steady leader... "I guess we see now that it is because they’re incompetent at talking effectively about foreign policy," said the Republican. "This is just unbelievable — when they decide to play on it they completely bungle it."

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/for...-at-romney-cai

[lonestar]

Seems to me the last time and embassy was
Attacked the far left came out in force.

But then the time before that IRAN carter was in office and screwed the pooch a couple of times NOT getting them back.

All it Took was RAGUN taking office To get them released. Not even sure he had warmed
Up the chair in the oval office that they were on the way home.

But that is the diffenrce between wimps and heroes.

[houghtam]

Originally Posted by lonestar

Seems to me the last time and embassy was
Attacked the far left came out in force.

But then the time before that IRAN carter was in office and screwed the pooch a couple of times NOT getting them back.

All it Took was RAGUN taking office To get them released. Not even sure he had warmed
Up the chair in the oval office that they were on the way home.

But that is the diffenrce between wimps and heroes.

Your history is a little off.

If you're referring to Operation Eagle Claw itself, then you're associating President Carter with the planning and execution of a special forces operation, insinuating that it was he who crashed the aircraft into one another and caused the colossal embarrassment of a military operation resulting in no fewer than three new military commands to be named to make sure something like that never happened again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Eagle_Claw

Then again, if you're making that claim, then you also need to give credit where credit is due in Obama's record vs. Osama bin Laden and his #2. You cannot have it both ways.

If you're referring to it being Carter's fault for the entire situation in Iran to begin with, well...you're also wrong. This is a pretty good clarification of Carter's role in the whole thing. If you really want to go down that road we can blame it all on Ike in '53.

http://www.salon.com/2010/08/17/jimmy_carter_and_iran/

Of course, neither you nor any of your whatevercon friends will read the links. Or what I typed. Or history books.

[TonyR]

Veteran diplomat Nicholas Burns:

I was, frankly, very disappointed and dismayed to see Gov. Romney inject politics into this very difficult situation where our embassies are under attack, where there’s been a big misunderstanding in the Middle East, apparently, about an American film, where we’re trying to preserve the lives of our diplomats. This is no time for politics. I just think that Gov. Romney has, in a very unwise way, injected himself into a situation where he clearly doesn’t have all the facts.

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2...omney-response

[Rigs11]

what an idiot

TRENDING: Romney's political pretzel over Libya

Posted by
CNN Political Unit
(CNN) – Has Mitt Romney twisted the narrative of Tuesday's attacks at U.S. missions in Libya and Egypt?

A timeline of the events suggests Romney was wrong in his accusation that the Obama administration's "first response" on Tuesday was one of sympathy for those who started the violence itself–as the violence came after the first statement was published.

And Romney's comments Wednesday characterized that response as standing "in apology" when the embassy's statement was not actually an apology but a condemnation.

The timeline:

Tuesday morning in Egypt, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo released a statement stating it "condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims." The statement came after protests erupted in parts of the Arab world in response to an online video found offensive by Muslims.

While the statement doesn't specifically mention the video, it says the embassy "firmly reject(s) the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others." READ THE FULL STATEMENT HERE.

After the statement, protesters began to breach the embassy in Cairo, where ultimately several men scaled the walls of the mission and tore down its American flag.

At 6:30 p.m. ET - The embassy then tweeted about its earlier statement: "This morning's condemnation (issued before protests began) still stands. As does our condemnation of unjustified breach of the Embassy." The tweet was posted by a foreign service officer, CNN confirmed. Several State Department sources said that the U.S. ambassador to Egypt did not sign off on the original statement, as she was in Washington at the time.

Reports then emerged Tuesday evening, Eastern Standard Time, of attacks on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The State Department also told CNN that a consulate employee had been killed in the attacks. At the time, however, the employee's nationality was not clear.

At 10:10 p.m. ET, Romney's campaign released an embargoed (until midnight) statement blasting the Obama administration. The statement had a veiled reference to the Egypt embassy's statement that condemned offensive speech against Muslims and referred to it as the administration's "first response":

"I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks." READ THE FULL STATEMENT HERE.

At 10:25 p.m. ET, the campaign lifted the embargo, and news outlets began reporting the statement.

At 12:11 a.m. ET, Obama's re-election campaign put out a statement, accusing Romney of taking a political swipe during the crisis.

"We are shocked that, at a time when the United States of America is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in Libya, Governor Romney would choose to launch a political attack."

At 6:21 a.m. ET, CNN reported on its wire service that U.S. ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens was killed in a rocket attack. Over the next few hours, it's revealed that three other personnel, including a Foreign Service information management officer, were also killed.

At 10:16 a.m. ET, Romney held a press conference at his campaign office in Jacksonville, Florida. He renewed his criticism of the Obama administration, saying "Obama has demonstrated a lack of clarity as to a foreign policy."

Asked if he regretted the wording in his statement Tuesday night, the Republican then issued his own timeline of the events in answering the question.

"The embassy in Cairo put out a statement after their grounds had been breached. Protestors were inside the grounds," he said. As noted earlier, however, the U.S. Embassy statement was issued before the breach. The embassy then reiterated the statement on Twitter after protestors were over the walls. A Romney campaign official pointed to this tweet, which has since been deleted, as justification for the Republican nominee's comment that the statement came after the grounds were breached.

Romney then said the administration's original statement from the embassy in Cairo was effectively an "apology." His language went further than the Tuesday release from his campaign where he called it "disgraceful" and an expression of "sympathy for those who waged the attacks." READ THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE HERE.

"I think it's a terrible course for America to stand in apology for our values. That instead when our grounds are being attacked and being breached, that the first response of the United States must be outrage," he said. "An apology for America's values is never the right course."

His comments also raise the question that if Romney was condemning the embassy statement that condemned offensive speech against Muslims, where does Romney stand on the offensive video?

While he wasn't asked about the video in the press conference, Romney stood by the right to free speech.

"We'll defend also our constitutional rights of speech and assembly and religion," he said. "We encourage our nations to understand and respect the principles of our Constitution because we recognize that these principles are the ultimate source of freedom for individuals around the world."

CNN, however, obtained talking points from the Romney campaign in which they advise Republicans on how to respond to the press over the issue. The document suggests Republicans be prepared to answer this question: "Don't you think it was appropriate for the embassy to condemn the controversial movie in question? Are you standing up for movies like this?"

The answer prompts the responder to say that Romney "rejects the reported message of the movie," but to add that "we will not apologize for our constitutional right to freedom of speech."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...el-over-libya/

[mhgaffney]

Originally Posted by lonestar

Seems to me the last time and embassy was
Attacked the far left came out in force.

But then the time before that IRAN carter was in office and screwed the pooch a couple of times NOT getting them back.

All it Took was RAGUN taking office To get them released. Not even sure he had warmed
Up the chair in the oval office that they were on the way home.

But that is the diffenrce between wimps and heroes.

In his memoir FROM THE SHADOWS Bpb Gates debunked the prevalent but wrong notion that Carter was a wimp.

In fact, the US military buildup under Reagan started during the Carter admin.

Evidently -- you still have not heard of the October Surprise.

The one who got screwed was Carter. It was a clear-cut case of treason by HW Bush & co.

The objective was to deny Carter another term by working out a secret deal with the Iranians. That is why the US hostages were released within minutes of Ronnie's inauguration.

The secret deal was arms for hostages -- and the arms deliveries started in March 1981. Bob Gates ran the whole show for the CIA --

Another thing happened -- within weeks of the inauguration: the attempted assassination of Reagan by Mr Hinckley -- who (it turns out) was a friend of HW Bush's son.

No wonder there was bad blood between Reagan and Bush. Reagan had to know that his own VP had ordered the hit on his life.

MHG

[lonestar]

Seems to me the last time and embassy was
Attacked the far left came out in force.

But then the time before that IRAN carter was in office and screwed the pooch a couple of times NOT getting them back.

All it Took was RAGUN taking office To get them released. Not even sure he had warmed
Up the chair in the oval office that they were on the way home.

But that is the diffenrce between wimps and heroes.

[Garcia Bronco]

There has to be a response from our Government on this...I am thinking in the order of the aid we provide these countries. Financial ones....

[elsid13]

Originally Posted by Garcia Bronco

There has to be a response from our Government on this...I am thinking in the order of the aid we provide these countries. Financial ones....

You're right, but it needs to be measured and calculated. The last thing we need is moving either of the nations into alignment with Iran.

[Drunken.Broncoholic]

Obama doesnt even attend intelligence meetings anymore. Not surprised this happened. As far as a movie being the reason? Guess freedom of speech isn't worth fighting for anymore. Al Qaeda just hates America plain and simple. They were screaming anti Obama rhetoric at this mob. I don't think Obama made this movie.

[peacepipe]

Originally Posted by Drunken.Broncoholic

Obama doesnt even attend intelligence meetings anymore. Not surprised this happened. As far as a movie being the reason? Guess freedom of speech isn't worth fighting for anymore. Al Qaeda just hates America plain and simple. They were screaming anti Obama rhetoric at this mob. I don't think Obama made this movie.

where did you get this idiotic notion?

[houghtam]

Wow, Romney really tripped over his dick on this one. And he just doubled down on stupid defending his statement.

Doesn't surprise me.

And yes, there needs to be a calm and calculated response, just as there always does when it comes to foreign policy. Swift and haphazard ends up getting you into stuff you can't get out of.

[The Lone Bolt]

Originally Posted by houghtam

Wow, Romney really tripped over his dick on this one. And he just doubled down on stupid defending his statement.

Doesn't surprise me.

And yes, there needs to be a calm and calculated response, just as there always does when it comes to foreign policy. Swift and haphazard ends up getting you into stuff you can't get out of.

Agreed. Huge political embarrassment for Romney.

[Kid A]

A lot of weird stuff coming out about this "movie" and its involvement in the embassy attack. Sounds like it's not a real movie? And all the background info on it is fake? And a lot of it is dubbed over? And al Queda had been planning to attack embassy for a while, using protests as a cover to infiltrate and pull it off?

Anyway, a lot of important questions unanswered. Which is why it's pathetic to leap at the first possible moment to turn it into political points.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/...-call/262285/#

Mitt Romney could have waited, as they did. When he spoke, he could have said essentially the same thing as they did. We honor the people who serve us. We condemn the violence they endured. We express sorrow and support to their families, and we affirm belief in our values. Americans disagree on many issues, including foreign policy, but those disputes can wait until another day.

But that is not what he said. When he first heard about the violence and protests last night, he rushed to condemn the administration before anyone knew fully what was going on. After he had had a few hours to think, he dug himself in far deeper with a graceless press conference whose dominant theme was partisan criticism of the administration.

[ant1999e]

I know the left wants to turn this into a anti Romney thread and politicize it even more, let's remember that people did die.