September 13, 2012

Obama, Romney trade tough words over attacks

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Republican Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are trading tough words over the handling of foreign attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions in the Middle East, injecting foreign policy into a presidential campaign that has focused on a sour economy.

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.

The Obama and Romney exchange came with less than eight weeks remaining in the tight presidential race, a campaign that has remained close for months and is being fiercely waged in fewer than 10 battleground states.

Economic concerns could play a more prominent role Thursday, when Romney appears at a rally in the Virginia suburbs outside Washington, D.C., and Obama holds an event in Colorado's Denver suburbs. Obama carried both states in 2008, but they remain up for grabs and heavily contested by both campaigns.

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