Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are exchanging words over the handling of foreign attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions in the Middle East.
Romney accused the Obama administration of showing weakness in the attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three American members of his staff. Romney blasted the initial statement from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo as disgraceful and “akin to apology,” adding later, “It’s never too early for the United States government to condemn attacks on Americans and to defend our values.”
However, the embassy statement came before the protesters had breached the embassy’s walls and was not an apology but an affirmation of the American policy of religious tolerance and respect. A statement by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton minutes before Romney’s was released condemned the attack in Libya and said there was no justification for such violent acts.
Obama made a somber statement in the Rose Garden condemning the attacks and announcing plans to deploy additional Marines at diplomatic posts overseas. In an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” later in the day, Obama said the episode showed Romney’s penchant for having “a tendency to shoot first and aim later.”
“It appears that Gov. Romney didn’t have his facts right,” Obama said. That night, during a rally in Las Vegas, the president said he had a message for the rest of the world: “No act of terror will dim the light of the values that we proudly shine on the rest of the world, and no act of violence will shake the resolve of the United States of America.”
The four diplomats were killed Tuesday as protesters overran and burned the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. In a separate incident, the American Embassy in Cairo was breached by protesters, and the nation’s flag was ripped down, although no deaths were reported. And on Thursday, protesters stormed the U.S. Embassy compound in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, tearing down and burning the U.S. flag.
U.S. officials are investigating whether the attack in Libya was a terrorist strike planned to mark the 11th anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Initial reports were that both the Libya and Egypt events had been motivated by anger over an anti-Muslim film made in the United States.
Obama made separate calls Tuesday evening to the presidents of Libya and Egypt, urging them to work with the U.S. to ensure the safety of diplomatic personnel. Obama and Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf vowed to work together to identify the Benghazi attackers and “bring them to justice,” the White House said in a press release.
Obama told Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi “he rejects efforts to denigrate Islam, but underscored that there is never any justification for violence against innocents and acts that endanger American personnel and facilities,” the White House said.
Romney, on Wednesday, defended his decision to issue his criticism Tuesday night, at a time it was not yet known that Stevens had been killed. Asked if he would have done so had he known about the deaths, he said, “I’m not going to take hypotheticals about what would have been known and so forth.”
Romney’s account didn’t mesh completely with events in Cairo.
The statement that he referred to as akin to apology was issued by the embassy in Cairo at midday Tuesday at a time the staff was aware of still-peaceful demonstrations in the area nearby. The mob breached the compound’s walls and tried to burn a U.S. flag about four or five hours later.
Information from KMOV.com and The Associated Press contributed to this report.