Clinton Condemns Libya Protest That Claims U.S. Official’s Life

Clinton Condemns Libya Protest That Claims U.S. Official’s Life


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is denouncing an attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that was prompted by a film clip and claimed the life of an American official.
“I condemn in the strongest terms the attack on our mission,” Clinton said in a statement last night. “We are heartbroken by this terrible loss. There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.”
Demonstrators attacked U.S. diplomatic missions in Cairo and the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi to protest a film being made in the U.S. that they called offensive to Muslims. An armed mob in Benghazi stormed the U.S. diplomatic office there and set fire to the building, the Associated Press reported, citing witnesses.
In Cairo, Egypt’s capital, Islamist demonstrators scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy, ripped down a U.S. flag and chanted “Obama, we are here to sacrifice for Osama.”
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said in a statement he is “outraged” by both attacks and accused President Barack Obama’s administration of initially siding with the protesters, based on a statement the U.S. embassy in Cairo issued before the violence erupted.
“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,” Romney said in the statement last night.

‘Political Attack’

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo, prior to the attack on its compound, issued a statement denouncing the film clip being circulated on YouTube that sparked the attacks.
“The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims -- as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions,” the statement read.
Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Obama’s reelection campaign, criticized Romney’s comments. “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.” LaBolt said early today in an e-mailed statement.
Clinton called President Mohammed Yussef Magariaf of Libya last night to coordinate additional support to protect Americans there, the State Department said in its statement.
Since the overthrow of former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi last year, a weak central government and security forces have allowed violent crime to rise. That violence has punctuated the lives of U.S. and other diplomats in Libya before yesterday’s attack.

Stepped Up Security

In June, after a bomb exploded at a perimeter wall of the U.S. office in Benghazi, the U.S. asked Libya to step up security around American installations.
A week later, attackers targeted the British ambassador’s car with rocket-propelled grenades in Benghazi, injuring two of his guards, Britain’s Foreign Office said. And a day after that, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported that its offices in Misrata were hit by an explosion that seriously damaged the building.
In August, the U.S. State Department warned against all but essential travel to Libya and said violent crime, especially carjacking and robbery, had become serious problems. The State Department also said that political violence such as assassinations and car bombs had increased in Benghazi and the capitol of Tripoli.
The U.S. embassy in Tripoli opened again last September to offer after closing during the conflict.