Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 

US Ambassador, 3 Diplomats Killed in Libya, in Riots Triggered by Anti-Islam Film Produced by an Israeli American By Hassan El-Najjar

News commentary by Hassan El-Najjar

September 12, 2012


Just like what they did with the infamous Danish cartoons, Zionists have been successful in provoking more anti-Western sentiments among Muslims. This time an Israeli-American has produced an anti-Islam film that was used to provoke Muslims, leading to protests and riots against the United States.

The two-hour-long ‘Innocence of Muslims’ movie was written and directed by Sam Bacile, an Israeli-American real estate developer who lives in California, according to France 24 website.

The US Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and his Embassy staff worked hard in helping the Libyan people achieve victory over the dictatorial regime of Qaddafi. They, deserved gratitude which they got from the Libyan people and their government.

The head of the Libyan state, Al-Megaryef, condemned the murderous act and pledged to bring the criminals to justice. He also apologized to the US government, the American people, and the world for what happened to these friends of the Libyan people.

This murder is condemned by Islamic law, Shari'a, which states that killing an innocent person is like killing all humankind. Actually, this crime has achieved the sick purpose of the Zionist planners, who produced the film.

Now, isn't this enough evidence that Israelis and their Zionist supporters are behind all these incidents that aim at continuous hostility between the US and the Muslim world?

The Israelis and their Zionist supporters want to continue pushing the US to more wars against Muslims, particularly Arabs, on their behalf.

This was how Pearle, Feith, and Wolfowitz planned the Bush administration's war on Iraq, and this is how Netanyahu is pressuring President Obama to allow an Israeli attack on Iran now.

The Israeli operatives behind these anti-Islam media stunts aim at dragging the US and NATO to more wars in the Muslim World, depleting their human and material resources, creating a continuous state of insecurity, uncertainty, fear, and hatred among nations of the world.

It's time for the US Department of Justice to investigate these Israeli-Zionist operatives who are causing the US harm.


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U.S. ambassador to Libya killed in Benghazi attack

By Tamim Elyan and Omar al-Mosmari

Wed Sep 12, 2012 8:15am EDT

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) -

The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other embassy staff were killed in a rocket attack on their car, a Libyan official said, as they were rushed from a consular building stormed by militants denouncing a U.S.-made film insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

Gunmen had attacked and burned the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, a center of last year's uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, late on Tuesday evening, killing one U.S. consular official. The building was evacuated.

The Libyan official said the ambassador, Christopher Stevens, was being driven from the consulate building to a safer location when gunmen opened fire.

"The American ambassador and three staff members were killed when gunmen fired rockets at them," the official in Benghazi told Reuters.

There was no immediate comment from the State Department in Washington. U.S. ambassadors in such volatile countries are accompanied by tight security, usually travelling in well-protected convoys. Security officials will be considering whether the two attacks were coordinated.

Libyan deputy prime minister Mustafa Abu Shagour condemned the killing of the U.S. diplomats as a cowardly act.

The consular official had died after clashes between Libyan security forces and Islamist militants around the consulate building. Looters raided the empty compound and some onlookers took pictures after calm returned.

In neighboring Egypt, demonstrators had torn down an American flag and burned it during the protest. Some tried to raise a black flag with the words "There is no God but God, and Mohammad is his messenger", a Reuters witness said.

PORTRAYAL OF PROPHET

U.S. pastor Terry Jones, who had inflamed anger in the Muslim world in 2010 with plans to burn the Koran, said he had promoted "Innocence of Muslims", which U.S. media said was produced by an Israeli-American property developer; but clips of another film called "Mohammad, Prophet of Muslims", had been circulating for weeks before the protest.

That film portrayed Mohammad as a fool, a philanderer and a religious fake. In one clip posted on YouTube Mohammad was shown in a sexual act with a woman.

Jones, a pastor in Florida whose latest stunt fell on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, triggered riots in Afghanistan in 2010 with his threat to burn the Koran.

Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet offensive and any depiction of him can cause outbursts of anger in the Islamic world and among Muslims in Europe.

Libya's interim government has struggled to impose its authority on a myriad of armed groups that have refused to lay down their weapons and often take the law into their own hands.

It was clearly overwhelmed by Tuesday night's attack on the consulate that preceded the assault on the ambassador.

"The Libyan security forces came under heavy fire and we were not prepared for the intensity of the attack," said Abdel-Monem Al-Hurr, spokesman for Libya's Supreme Security Committee.

In Benghazi, unidentified men had shot at the consulate buildings, while others threw handmade bombs into the compound, setting off small explosions.

LOOTED

On Wednesday morning, the compound stood empty, with passers-by freely walking in to take a look at the damage.

Walls were charred and a small fire burned inside one of the buildings. A small group of men was trying to extinguish the flames and three security men briefly surveyed the scene.

A Reuters reporter saw chairs, table and food lying alongside empty shells. Some blood stains could also be seen in front of one of the buildings. Three cars were torched.

The crowd of around 2,000 protesters in Cairo was a mixture of Islamists and teenage soccer fans known for fighting police and who played a part in the revolt that toppled Egypt's leader Hosni Mubarak last year.

The fortress-like U.S. mission is near Tahrir Square, where Egypt's uprising began and the scene of many protests since. Youths danced and chanted football songs. A Reuters reporter said they appeared to climb into the embassy compound almost as an afterthought.

"We sacrificed dozens and hundreds during the uprising for our dignity. The Prophet's dignity is more important to us and we are ready to sacrifice millions," said mosque preacher Mohamed Abu Gabal who joined the protest.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a statement late on Tuesday, confirmed the death of the U.S. consular diplomat in Libya, who was not identified, and condemned the attack there; but she made no mention of an attack on the Ambassador's car.

(Additional reporting by Hadeel Al Shalchi in Tripoli, Sarah N. Lynch and Arshad Mohammed in Washington, and Reuters reporters in Cairo and Benghazi; Writing by Edmund Blair and Tom Pfeiffer; editing by Ralph Boulton and Janet McBride)

Obama raises U.S. security worldwide after Libya envoy killed

Wed Sep 12, 2012, 8:15am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -

President Barack Obama on Wednesday strongly condemned the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other embassy staff, calling it an "outrageous attack," and ordered stepped-up security at U.S. diplomatic posts worldwide.

"I have directed my administration to provide all necessary resources to support the security of our personnel in Libya and to increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe," Obama said in a statement.

Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other U.S. diplomats were killed in a rocket attack on their car late on Tuesday, a Libyan official said, as they were rushed from a consular building stormed by militants denouncing a U.S.-made film insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

Sean Smith, a foreign service information management officer, was identified as one of the diplomats killed, in a statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The names of the two others were withheld while the government notified their families.

Stevens, a 21-year veteran of the foreign service, was one of the first American officials on the ground in Benghazi during the uprising against former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Gaddafi was ousted by rebel forces backed by NATO air power in August 2011 and was killed in October after months as a fugitive.

"I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens," Obama said.

"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," he said.

Gunmen had attacked and burned the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, a center of last year's uprising against Gaddafi, late on Tuesday evening, killing one U.S. consular official. The building was evacuated.

The Libyan official said Stevens was being driven from the consulate building to a safer location when gunmen opened fire.

"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," Obama said.

Clinton also denounced the attack, calling it "vicious and violent."

(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick and Margaret Chadbourn; Editing by Bill Trott)