Last year a gentleman, apparently by the name of Sam Bacile, produced and directed a movie that portrays Islam as a “hateful” religion.
I’m willing to bet that somewhere in that movie, he adds “violent”.
Anyhoo.
When the Islamists revolted against Khaddafi, an American diplomat named J. Christopher Stevens was one of the first American Foreign Service representative to support and aid the nascent revolution — serving as the Special Representative to the Libya Transitional national Council.
When I say that, apparently he was on the ground in Benghazi from fairly early on in the dust-up.
After the rebels won — by no means a sure thing, by-the-by — Stevens was named Ambassador to Tripoli in 2012.
By all accounts Ambassador Stevens genuinely liked the Libyan people, and they — again, by all accounts — liked him.
Ambassador Stevens seems to have thoroughly enjoyed the Middle East as a whole — beginning as a Peace Corp volunteer in Morocco, teaching English to the locals, had a brief career doing other things, then joined the State Department, serving at such posts as Damascus, Cairo, Riyadh and Jerusalem, before being named as Ambassador to Tripoli. A fluent speaker of Arabic, he was known for wandering around the traditional areas of Cairo, jogging through the villages of Libya, and visiting souks on his ownsome at every posting he was assigned to.
Does this kind of give you an idea of the character of J. Christopher Stevens?
This was a man in the United States State Department anyone could point to and say: “Here. This man is a friend to the Arab peoples, and to Islam.”
Keep that in mind.
So. Back to Sam Bacile and his movie.
He made this movie in the United States, in which he portrayed Islam as “hateful” and probably “violent”.
And some locals in Benghazi decided that having their religion labeled as “hateful” and “violent” was such a travesty and an insult that the only appropriate response to such lies about “hate” and “violence” …
… was to kill Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and several of his security detail.
“ISLAM IS NOT A RELIGION OF VIOLENCE AND HATE! AND WE’LL KILL ANYONE WHO SAYS DIFFERENT!”
Or, as in this case, they’ll kill good friends of their country, their religion, and their people, if those friends happen to be handy.
As far as the response to this outrage — this act which is casus bellorum to every civilized nation in the world — I’m sure that our Commander-in-Chief will issue very stern reprimands, some symbolic slaps on the wrist; and — if pressed — the Libyans will find some poor schmuck who is willing to confess to anything to make the beating stop, and who will take the high jump with a minimum of last-minute embarrassing revelations.
Sweet Freyja on a twister mat, but doesn’t it feel like 1979 all over again?
If I see Carter going into the White House to offer advice to Obama, I’m probably going to destroy something.
Grr.
LawDog
EDIT: Apparently after they got done killing the Ambassador, they dragged his body through the streets, snapping cell-phone pictures and generally having a grand old time.
I will not link to the pictures, out of respect for the kith and kin of the murdered diplomat.
I do note, however, that our Dear Commander-in-Chief swears that the murderers are simply carrying the dead man to the hospital — cell-phone pictures being critical to that process.
Words cannot express the fury I am feeling right now.
LawDog
One big difference between now and 1979, we don't have a Reagan running against the sitting POTUS. So, things are looking worse than they did then.
1. Feels a lot like that.
2. With wheels turning; chickens coming home to roost.
3. Could we have handled this worse?
4. Break something cheap and replaceable.
V/R JWest
Seems like July 1938 again, crossed with Nov 1979…
I just wonder from whence our Churchill or our Reagan will come?
Vic303
Lawdog,
You haven't asked the most important question.
"How in hell did the Libyan wackos FIND OUT about this highly obscure film that I for one have never heard of and I follow the news and various political blogs (on both sides)?"
Somebody told them, that's who.
Somebody who wants Mittens to win so they get the wackier sorts of Islamics all spun up in this critical election season. Nothing like a spurt of middle east car bombs and blood to make Obama's foreign policy look bad.
Somebody in America triggered this for crass political reasons.
Now, I'm not Obama fan. I detest the man. But I detest Mittens more, and I cannot calculate the depths of hate I have for whichever American psychopath rigged up this scenario.
Don't make the mistake of blaming a conspiracy before you've eliminated 1)simple human nature; 2)coincidence; and 3)stupidity.
@Jim March: I think you could also argue that the Muslim Brotherhood *wants* Ø to stay in, but they are afraid that they won't have the … ah … "flexibility" .. that a continued Ø presidency would afford them, so they need to get the balls rolling now so that they have several months of action before any chances of unpleasant reactions.
Either that, or they believe the CNN polls giving Ø unbelievable leads, and they think it won't matter, because all the US is willing to do, as it has for years, is mutter about how we're sorry for offending the "Religion of Peace", and apologize for looking at the floor funny.
If it was up to me, all Egyptian and Libyan foreign aid would have been stopped as of yesterday. Their diplomats would have been given 24 hours to leave the country. Every embassy and consulate in the arab and muslim world would have had the marines take over from any local security. And at the slightest signs of complaint, a few well chosen locations would have rather suddenly become flat and uninhabitable, with guarantees that every such complaint would receive a similar, but steadily escalating response.
They've thought us weak, ever since Bush 41 allowed Powell and the Europeans to talk him out of allowing Schwarzkopf to roll all the way through to Bagdad.
I'm not disagreeing that the killers were scumbags. But in the "who does this benefit" analysis, the answer is "Mittens". No other way to read it.
So my question still stands: how did the lunatics find out about this whatever-it-is that I've never heard of.
A: somebody told them.
Who?
And where were the marines? Or were they ordered to stand down? Would they have obeyed that command? I can barely remember 1979 but I can remember being scared. Feeling the same way now.
I have heard that at least the Libyan mob was a coordinated and planned affair, and they were using the video as a pretext to distract.
The Muslim Brotherhood could also be hoping to gain major concessions from Obama since they are assuming that he doesn't want to start a war going into the election.
While Romney may benefit from these events, assuming that they are being caused solely for his benefit requires assuming that all the actors are being rational, and the American election is the only thing they are concerned with.
Jim March, you're overlooking another bunch of people who benefit from this atrocity: those that hate Americans. I'm not a big fan of Romney, but you seem to be letting your hatred of him prevent you from looking thoroughly and objectively at the entire picture. As to who told them, it could have been any number of easily offended extremists who want to suck up to terrorists and murderers.
I simply cannot understand, for the life of me, why this man ran for President when he has zero pride in being America and in America in general, and makes apologies for us rather than defending our rights.
Gah.
Sending the Kitty Hawk to Tripoli harbor would send a message. Interdicting Lybia may remind people that they are mortal. Pumping Lybia's entire oil output for the next 50 years would be reasonable in light of circumstances, too.
Too bad the election wasn't last week.
Ulises from CA
Lawdog, I am equally enraged. and if I had within my power to set off a neutron bomb above every population center in the arab world I would. in a heartbeat, and I'd sleep well that night too.
Brother Dog,
This may be our Sarajevo/Archduke Francis Ferdinand moment.
Your sister behind the badge
Wait wait wait.
A bunch of goat-buggering mouth-breathers whose last cultural contribution to the world was the zero, almost two millenia ago, have decided they don't like Americans and bitten the hand that feeds them?
This is my shocked face.
I long for the day when we get a president who sends the Navy & Marines over, shells their leader's house until they get tired of the rubble bouncing, then land a shore detail to kill and behead everyone who points a gun at them, then builds a little pile of their heads on the dockside, and sails away after leaving a sign that says "This is what f***ing with the U.S. looks like. Leave this pile unmolested, or we'll be back to rebuild it twice as high."
Mark you, that would be the last terrorist attack on any American, worldwide, in the rest of recorded history.
-Aesop
This instance of barbarity makes me long for Teddy Roosevelt and good ol' gunboat diplomacy!
No, the President's response was NOT to send a sternly worded letter.
It was to apologize.
That is the sort of leader the President is.
As to Stan's suggestion – Not bad. If you've read Wretchard's "The Three Conjectures" (and if you haven't, go read it, post haste!), you have to ask yourself, which is the most moral course:
1: Gamble the lives of 6 billion plus human beings hoping that an Arab/Islamic terrorist won't gain access to a WMD(s) and set of an apocalyptic WWIII with it.
2: Exterminate all 60 million souls living in the Middle East and associated Islamic environs and ensure that the first scenario doesn't come to pass.
So…morally, it's a tough call. Gamble 6 billion innocent lives against snuffing out 60 million mostly innocent lives right away to ensure 5.94 billion don't die due to the actions of some of those 60 million. That's a lot of women, children dying horribly no matter how you slice it.
I know what choice I'd make though.
Orion
Conspiracy? No. Opportunity is what this was. Here you've got a group of the perpetually offended particularly when the offense can be blamed on the great satan. They were looking for an excuse. An obscure movie and a spineless resident made it awful convenient to hit us on such an anniversary.
You think you can't get any more PO'd?
Sources AFP that "the U.S. ambassador to Libya was raped sexually before killing by gunmen who stormed the embassy building in Benghazi last night to protest against the film…"
Link
Words fail me.
This is actually fairly typical of humans pretty much anywhere.
Accuse someone of pretty much any antisocial behavior, and odds are they'll redouble their efforts to "prove" you wrong.
Call someone a jerk? They act more like a jerk in an effort to prove they are not one. Call someone violent and hateful? They decide to hold a riot and be even more violent and hateful to prove they're not.
A MAN doing his job was murdered and (not men)in DC tell the world that America was wrong to allow free speech?
Words fail me…but I think it's time for action, not words. Asymetric warfare works two ways…and the followers of a hateful religion need to be reminded of that fact.
Time to flatten Mecca…
The Libyan attack happened because they got away with storming the US embassy in Cario the day before. I don't believe the Cario attcak that happened on 9/11 was just coincidence.
The Libyan government has come out and apologized for the attack but the Muslim Brotherhood government of Egypt has called for more demonstrations.
Last night it started in Yemen and I'll bet by Friday they have problems in Bahrain, Iraq and Saudi.
These folks know the White House will do nothing about it. That will make our allies even more uneasy. Islam wants us to cut and run from the region.
Gerry
what we need to do is
1 Find the SandCritters responsible and get Paws on them
2 Extract every bit of data we can from them
3 FedEx their heads home
4 send the balance of their remains Air Freight
Note the needed seperation should be done PostMortem in as clean a many as possible (Diamond saw or Laser)
we need to send a message to "THEM" that this is not to be repeated.
Reports today are coming out that the Ambassador was raped ……………………
Semper Fi'
DM
Momiss, the Ambassador was murdered at the CONSULATE; Marines {please note, capital "M"} are assigned to the EMBASSY. Reports are there were two Marines accompanying the Ambassador; they were murdered, too.
Semper Fi'
DM
Placating such folks doesn't, it encourages their behaviour, seeing the US as weak.
I'm leaning towards L-G at 2:20 as being a good start to straightening out the mess that's been created by allowing the misbehaving children that seem to be running the muslum to create policy by default. There's clearly no resolve at the top in the US to deal with such events in a serious manner.
Lawdog.
I, and MANY americans are more than outraged.
I would like to go over there and just blast the shit out of them.
leaperman
Jim March…
Could you say someone like Soros…or maybe EVEN him?
leaperman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btvSE6tVHzQ
leaperman
You just HAD to remind me of that didn't you… Sigh… And the Aussies are 'amazed' at the lack of US response!
What the Arab Street doesn't really understand is that America is a bit like that mild mannered Bruce Banner guy. Yes, we try to play nice and avoid conflict, and that looks weak.
But push us far enough, and the "other guy" comes out. And will carpet bomb cities into rubble, firebomb the rubble, nuke the ones left untouched, starve the women and children, and turn half the population over to their worst enemies.
We've done it before. To two different countries on opposite sides of the world at the same time.
Don't make us angry. You wouldn't like us when we're angry.
I don't think it's a huge conspiracy, at least not the way Jim March is thinking I don't think anyone in America triggered this for political reasons. I think it was a bunch of anti american, ignorant islamopricks got together and planned this over the last month or more for the anniversary of 9/11. The fact it happened on 9/11, in multiple capitals in multiple countries seems to me, to be a confirmation pointer for that. The fact no one has ever heard about this movie that's being used as an excuse is another.
I heard one astute soul who they talked to on the news today say "You don't respect us.." when the reporter asked why they'd done it.
Hmmm scratch 'astute soul' and replace it with contemptible pig.
Yep..I sure respect you now fucknuts…Oh. Wait. No, I don't.
So…someone want to try and tell me I was wrong when the "Arab Spring" happened and I said "This is going to end badly"?
I just can't understand the blindness! Can someone help me understand how these things are being ignored? My GOD how can a POTUS still be in office after not only allowing these things to continue to happen, but openly apologizing for them? What has happened to our country and when will people wake up? Are the majority of people truly that stupid and weak? I'm just beyond shocked at the willful ignorance.
It's looking more and more like an AQ hit that used the protesting mob as cover…
AQ created the protesting mobs to use as cover.
After the 1979 debacle, the yoots tried it on at the Soviet embassy and were vigorously refused entry by the embassy guards, their water cannon and rubber(or not) bullets.
Shortly after that, the Soviet ambassador met with Khomeini and said "It is now 3 o'clock. In 45 minutes, there could be no Iran".
No more alleged students messing with the Soviet embassy.
our Commander-in-Chief will issue very stern reprimands, some symbolic slaps on the wrist;
Bet you never thought he'd 'slap the wrist' of the US CITIZEN-film-maker, eh?
Jim, I do believe incompetence tops the list here.
We have our own beliefs with regards to culture and religion and we should respect each other's point of view with regards to that.
The film was not the cause – it was the excuse. muslims planned this long and hard to occur on the 9/11 anniversary of their "victory".
islam is NOT a religion. Religions do not instruct their adherents to conquer the world by converting or killing all non-believers. islam is a death cult, started by a pedophile with the stated goal of world domination. it's in their "holy book".
We need to define what religion is …legally… so muslims stop receiving the benefits of our constitution's freedom of religion.
9-11 happened because of what we are, "infidels". It has been happening for 1300 years.
We must stop being tolerant of sharia law under which women are property and beheadings and stoning are just fine with them.
islam has been at war with all non believers for 1300 years and it is NOT the fanatics that are doing it. It is the DEVOUT muslims that are doing it And the "moderate muslims" do nothing to condemn or stop it.
Time to play "Cowboys and muslims"!
Given that it came in the context of a demand that Egypt protect the American embassy from local mobs, I read Obama's remarks as saying that the film-maker did not speak for America, not as an apology.
And now it turns out that Bacile doesn't actually exist. There is no one by that name, nor does Israel have any record of his existence. The film-maker is an Egyptian Copt, not an Israeli Jew. He's on probation for bank fraud, not a real estate developer.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hoYc1zUrhSzrqWW9s22geihV3HLA?docId=016e3bb1a8ea4641a93264adfc90104e
This slime mold does not deserve the protection of "free speech" for this act. Obama's next move should be to see him deported back to Egypt.
Mr. Dog,
You are one of the few fellow conservatives that I respect and follow in the blogosphere (I'm young, forgive me). I see and hear your outrage over the attack, but do keep in mind the cavalier and rather nonchalant attitude our previous C&C had towards attacks such as these.
I respect Obama's state department's actions following the attack. It's the same way you deal with peace officers you don't know, shut up, lawyer up, find evidence to exonerate you and present it. Given the way this current president has been treated by the opposition in the legislative branch and the money minded news companies, you simply cannot make a statement without having every piece of information you can possibly gather.
Look here: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/16/world/africa/libya-us-ambassador-killed/index.html
Over 50 people were arrested in connection to the attack within days of it happening.
Look here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorist_attacks_on_U.S._diplomatic_facilities
There were 11 attacks on US Embassies under Bush Jr. The attack a month ago constituted the second under Obama. 2 vs. Bush' 6 in his first term. Bush' response was immediate declaration almost every time, and call to arms. Rarely any arrests, usually just shooting people.
Given his track record so far, and given his performance in tracking down AQ #1s and #2 and ramming Hellfires up their sphincters, I'll give Barry the win on the terrorism issue.
It takes intel to track down high value targets and eliminate them. Thus far Obama has done a damn good job of letting the intel staff track people down and snuff them.
There are legitimate gripes when it comes to Barry and what he has done in his first 4 years, attacking him on the 1 issue that he campaigned on, was criticized for in his first election bid for, and proved his worth in spades in is NOT a winning strategy.
Markshere2,
By the very definition you offered, Christianity is the most successful "death cult" in history.
On the count of successful terrorist attacks on our soil targeted against this country in regards to religion, Christianity and other sects of John the Baptist's prosthelytizing efforts win almost 8 to 1. By your logic the clear and present enemy to this country's safety is the average church going Christian.
Get an education, one that doesn't involve mis-interpreting the bible for 6 hours out of the day.
Derius Thoran,
Please provide evidence to the notion that the most successful and the most ruthless American President in the history of the war on terror (I'm going all the way back to WWII on the subject, and it was the Jews bombing embassies and doing terrorist-like things back then), the man who has killed, captured, or outright bombed a village to be sure of his eradication more members of AQ than any other man with the capability to do so, who had no qualms with ordering naval snipers to kill children acting as pirates holding Americans hostage, has been apologizing for America in that particular theater?
You obviously see the world through stupid-colored glasses, the man has been more ruthless, more violent, and more nonchalant about killing anybody that could be construed as a terrorist than even Bush was. The only time he sends in people to confirm the kill is when he knows he absolutely has to get it right, like with UBL. Otherwise he doesn't even bat an eye about some kid with no attachment to the intel in CO or AZ in an air conditioned trailer half a world away from the mission pressing a button to get it done. That's the way it should be done, and there are gripes about it, even legitimate ones, but I guess I don't exist in whatever alternate universe you exist in that resulted in an Obama as you describe him. Care to elaborate how things went in your universe/timeline?
I thought that things like that are why we have Marines.