*Updated: September 12, 2012 4:00 a.m.
**Updated: September 12, 2012 5:30 a.m.
Pastor
Terry Jones of
Gainesville, Florida, who is famous for promoting the burning of Quran's which
incited riots in Afghanistan in 2011 that
killed
a dozen people, has now caused two U.S. embassies, one in Cairo,
Egypt and the other in Benghazi,
Libya to be
overrun
by Muslim protestors after promoting an online movie.
The film that Pastor Jones was promoting on the 11th anniversary of 9/11 is
called the “Innocence of Muslims”, which was produced here in the United
States, and allegedly insults the Prophet Muhammad.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confirmed that a State Department
officer was killed at the embassy in Benghazi, Libya.
Pastor Jones, a Christian fundamentalist, has a history of using the
September 11, 2001 anniversary date to intentionally incite Muslims around the
world.
The Quran book burnings were originally planned to take place on September
11, 2010, which was the ninth anniversary of the attacks here in the U.S., but
after General David H. Petraeus intervened, Jones cancelled the book burnings.
But in April 2011 when the outrage grew in New York over a Mosque being
built near America’s holy hole at “Ground Zero”, Jones went ahead with the book
burnings which caused riots in Afghanistan killing seven United Nations
workers, and five of the rioters. No Americans were killed in that riot.
Tuesday night, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a
statement on the violence in Libya and
Egypt:
"I condemn in the strongest terms the attack on our mission in Benghazi
today. As we work to secure our personnel and facilities, we have confirmed
that one of our State Department officers was killed. We are heartbroken by
this terrible loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and those who
have suffered in this attack.
This evening, I called Libyan President Magariaf to coordinate additional
support to protect Americans in Libya. President Magariaf expressed his
condemnation and condolences and pledged his government's full cooperation.
Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to
inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any
intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment
to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let
me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.
In light of the events of today, the United States government is working
with partner countries around the world to protect our personnel, our missions,
and American citizens worldwide."
And it didn't take long for Mitt Romney to seize the moment and use the
riots to attack President Obama."
In a statement Tuesday night, Romney said he was outraged by the attacks and
the death of the American consulate worker. He added:
"It's disgraceful that the Obama administration's first response was
not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those
who waged the attacks"
In response to Romney, Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said in an email
early Wednesday:
"We are shocked that, at a time when the United States of America is
confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in Libya, Gov.
Romney would choose to launch a political attack."
Jones said in a statement that the film "Innocence of Muslims" was
intended not to attack Muslims but to show the "destructive ideology of
Islam."
"The movie further reveals in a satirical fashion the life of
Muhammad," said Jones.
In the past, the world has witnessed Muslim's killing and rioting over
simple drawings of the Muslim Prophet, and Jones thinks that a movie that
portrays Muhammad in a satirical way would not be seen as an attack.
*Update: September 12, 2012 4:00 a.m.
Libyan officials said Wednesday that U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher
Stevens was among four Americans killed in an attack by Muslim protesters on
the U.S. consulate in Benghazi the previous evening.
"I do condemn the cowardly act of attacking the US consulate and the
killing of Mr Stevens and the other diplomats," Deputy Prime Minister
Mustafa Abushagur said on his Twitter account. "Amb. Stevens was a friend
of Libya and we are shocked at the attacks on the U.S. consulate."
**Update: September 12, 2012 5:30 a.m.
President Barack Obama has released a statement "strongly"
condemning the killing of Ambassador Chris Stevens:
"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 in a statement.
"Chris was a courageous and exemplary representative of the United
States," Obama said.
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