Mitt Romney Attacks President Obama Over Libya Crisis

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  1. Agent_286

    Agent_286 New Member

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    Mitt Romney Attacks President Obama Over Libya Crisis

    By Ryan Grim | HuffPost | 09/12/2012 1:06 pm
    Excerpts:

    WASHINGTON - “On Wednesday morning, hours after the deaths of four U.S. diplomats, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Mitt Romney put his campaign on the line by attacking President Barack Obama and the besieged diplomats in the Middle East.

    Romney, in a statement released Tuesday night, had called the president's handling of the Libya and Egypt attacks "disgraceful."

    Wednesday morning, Romney hastily scrapped a campaign rally in Jacksonville, Fla., dismantling a campaign stage, and instead held a small press conference in which he repeatedly defended his criticism of the administration, slamming embassy officials in Cairo and President Obama.

    "When our grounds are being attacked, and being breached, that the first response of the United States must be outrage at the breach of the sovereignty of our nation. And apology for America's values is never the right course," he said, slamming the Obama administration for "sympathizing with those who waged the attacks."

    Romney's assault on Obama was rare among Republicans, and no other significant GOP leader thought it prudent to immediately single out the president for criticism. A host of Republican foreign policy officials were quick to blast the "utter disaster" that was Romney's response.

    Romney's reference to an "apology for America's values" was directed at a statement the U.S. Embassy in Cairo put out on Tuesday morning, but that statement, which was itself responding to the outrage over the anti-Islamic film, was issued before the embassy was attacked, despite Romney's statement to the contrary. What's more, the statement does not apologize for America's values, but rather supports a founding American value, religious tolerance, while referencing the "universal right of free speech."

    The statement in full: “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. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.”

    Romney's rash condemnation of the president, released after it was known that there had been U.S. fatalities, calls to mind Sen. John McCain's snap decision in 2008 to suspend his presidential campaign to deal with the financial crisis. The move was judged deeply unpresidential and contributed to his defeat.

    The diplomats in Cairo survived the assault on their embassy.

    When the protests spread to Libya, diplomats there weren't so lucky: Four U.S. State Department officials, including Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, were killed in an hourslong assault. Romney responded by attacking the diplomats in Cairo.

    "The embassy in Cairo put out a statement after their grounds had been breached, protesters were inside the grounds," said Romney at his press conference. "They reiterated that statement after the breach. I think it's a - a terrible course for America to stand in apology for our values."

    "It's their administration," said Romney, referring to the embassy in Cairo. "Their administration spoke. The president takes responsibility not just for the words that come from his mouth but also from the words of his ambassadors, from his administration, from his embassies, from his State Department.

    They clearly sent mixed messages to the world. The statement that came from the administration - and the embassy is the administration - the statement that came from the administration was a statement which is akin to apology. And I think was a severe miscalculation."

    Reporters in Washington have been as quick to condemn Romney as he was to condemn Obama and the embassy officials.

    Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama, meanwhile, struck a somber and emotional tone, offering remembrances for the American diplomats who lost their lives in the violence.

    In an appearance in the Rose Garden on Wednesday, flanked by Clinton, the president spoke about the events the night before, pledging that the incidents would "not break the bonds between the United States and Libya."

    Libyan security workers had helped bring other American diplomats to safety during the crisis, Obama noted, and had transported the ambassador to the hospital.

    "It is especially tragic that Chris Stevens died in Benghazi because it's a city he helped to save at the height of the Libyan revolution," Obama said.”

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/mitt-romney-obama-libya_n_1877406.html
    .........

    I think Romney’s disgusting political attack in the wake of a national calamity was a “severe miscalculation” judging from the responses from around the world.

    Most felt that Romney was taking advantage of an insurgent attack to try to score political points on his opponent, but it went in reverse, as even his republican constituents chastized him for his bloodthirsty attempts to score politically on what was sure to be a gamble at best. And Romney lost, again.

    It takes a certain caliber of person that will forsake a national calamity to try to score points on a losing run for the presidency, when the nation is in shock over what has happened in Libya and Egypt. Romeny is a cold, calculating presidential wannabe...and he is taking advantage of every national incident to gain the White House. Do we really want this disgusting, dangerous person in our White House?
     
  2. waltky

    waltky Well-Known Member

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    They'll be back...
    :shock:
    Libyan militias melt into desert, wait for another day
    September 25th, 2012 - It might seem like Libya's Islamist militias are reeling in the face of the popular backlash that followed the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on September 11. But Libya analysts say these groups are well-entrenched and used to operating in hostile environments. They may have melted away for now - but maybe not for long.
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    September 24th, 2012 - Just three months ago, the four-star chief of the U.S. Africa Command warned of a growing threat from al Qaeda and other militant groups in Libya.
     

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