Sep 12, 2012 No Comments ›› Pat Dollard
Excerpted from Fox News: The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other American staff members were killed Tuesday in an attack on the U.S. consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi, the White House confirmed.
President Obama, in a written statement issued Wednesday morning, called the attack “outrageous” and “senseless.”
Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was killed Tuesday night when he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff. The protesters, angry over a film that ridiculed Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, were firing gunshots and rocket propelled grenades. All of the other officials — three in all — hold senior security positions in Benghazi.
“I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens,” President Obama said in a statement Wednesday morning. “Right now, the American people have the families of those we lost in our thoughts and prayers. They exemplified America’s commitment to freedom, justice, and partnership with nations and people around the globe, and stand in stark contrast to those who callously took their lives.”
Obama said he’s directed the administration to provide “all necessary resources” to support security for U.S. personnel in Libya and to increase security at diplomatic offices around the world.
“While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, we must all unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants,” he said.
Obama called Stevens “a courageous and exemplary representative of the United States” who “selflessly served our country and the Libyan people” throughout the Libyan revolution.
“His legacy will endure wherever human beings reach for liberty and justice,” the president said.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/12/us-ambassador-to-libya-and-3-embassy-staff-members-reportedly-killed-in-libya/#ixzz26G2sVyu7
Excerpted from The Hill: President Obama on Wednesday “strongly” condemned the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which took the lives of four Americans, including the ambassador.
Obama called the incident an “outrageous attack” and said he was “deeply saddened” by the loss of life, in a statement released by the White House.
“They exemplified America’s commitment to freedom, justice, and partnership with nations and people around the globe, and stand in stark contrast to those who callously took their lives,” said Obama of the four Americans lost in the attack.
U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other staffers died Tuesday night in an attack on the consulate in Benghazi, which was under siege in a protest sparked by an anti-Islam film on YouTube.
Libyan officials told news organizations that Stevens, two security officials and another consulate worker died of suffocation as they tried to evacuate the burning consulate building.
The siege came as Egyptian protesters, in a separate incident, scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy in Cairo and tore and burned an American flag that was flying at half-mast for the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
