US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
As the Muslim world, once again, goes mad over a perceived insult the violence against American interests gets ramped up. An attack on the US Embassy in Libya has left the Ambassador J. Christian Stevens and 3 other staffers dead.
While this is tragic, it does behove us to note the timing of the attacks in Libya and Egypt as well as the response of the Obama administration. It's a story that we've seen before, in Iran of 70s, for instance. The population is getting more and more radicalized and the US just wants to talk it out and apologize for its citizens exercising their Constitutional rights.
The question is, what do you think the correct response of the US Government should be to both attacks?
I'm of the opinion that for starters all material aid to Libya and Egypt should be cut off. That includes the favored trading status that Egypt has since the days of Camp David. Obviously, the perpetrators should be hunted down and prosecuted to extent possible. I would even go as far as to eject the Egyptian and Libyan ambassadors to the US, until such a time that the safety of diplomatic personnel can be guaranteed.
Have at it.
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Comments:
Mar '12
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
It is time to wage war against those waging war against us.
Obama is not the right guy at the right time to handle this situation. He appears weak because he is weak.
Making war on Americans is more his motus operandi than making war on Muslims.
Oct '10
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
Make our response the 11 year delayed thank you for 9/11. Cut all the BS and make it HURT.
Sep '11
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
Prosecute?? This is beyond legal niceties. Send in the drones!
Mar '11
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
What rules of engagement did the Marines at the embassy have? These should be loosened up, and fast. Give warning, then lay down fire.
Jul '10
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
Perhaps I misunderstand, but it sounds like you believe we should dictate to other nations what form they should have. I personally don't give a rat's behind HOW they organize internally. But when they attack our embassy, we should attack back. It may be just I'm a troglodyte, but a squad of fighter bombers would go a long way towards informing the "great unwashed" that we are not to be triffled with. ?You don't like what we say - get accustomed to it. As Molly says elsewhere, we can say whatever we wish.
Jul '12
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
I was appalled when a local radio station referred to the incident as arising out of a "protest" against the American embassies. Any action to which people bring weapons and seek to destroy property and kill people is either a riot or an outright attack. And if the actions can be shown to have been an attack on American sovereign property, then a military response is justified.
And for those who would equate Islamic violence with Christian activism, I would like you to point out the last time that Christians paraded a dead victim of their violence through the streets.
May '10
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
"Hunted down and prosecuted"?
I would much prefer something along the lines of how the English killed William Wallace. We need to teach these barbarians not to **** with us. Oh, and as Derb says "rubble doesn't make trouble".
"The punishment itself consisted of being dragged, or drawn, naked on a wooden stretcher to the public execution area, where the people would gather, some raucously following the criminals as they were drawn through the streets. Food and beer was available for sale and it was a big day out for all.
"On arrival at the public scaffold the traitor was hanged just sufficiently to hurt a lot but not to actually die. Then his genitals were cut off, he was disembowelled (with a special disembowelling device), and the whole mess was burned where he could see it close-up.
"He was then beheaded and his body cut into four parts, and these five bits were stuck on poles or spikes, or otherwise hung from a highly-visible place as a warning to others contemplating treason. The head was simmered in salty water before display, so the traitors face would remain recognizable. "
Aug '12
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
I can understand the bloodthirsty responses for revenge, but we would end up making martyrs out of buffoons. Stopping aid to Egypt is tempting, and should be eased downward, but for now many people there rely on the government for their daily bread. Have you bought a loaf of bread lately? We can still hold out the hope of having Egypt as an ally ... some time in the future.
I'm not trying to be apologetic, but realistic. The Marines guarding the embassy in Egypt should be given better tools to stop any mobs in the future. The military has developed microwave guns that can literally cook people. There are also intense "stink" bombs tested in Iraq that could be effective in breaking up a mob surge.
The embassy in Libya should be vacated until that country can behave. Maintaining borders, whether here or at our embassies, does not seem to be a strong suit for BHO.
May '11
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
There are responses that do not include body maiming explosions. For example, since the Muslim rioters seem to want to return to the 14th century, we could explode a few EMP devices in the area and take away their ability to communicate, to run vehicles, to operate their computers, to do things electrical based.
Got any other ideas?
Jun '10
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
Evan Pokroy
I don't mean prosecuted in the US. I mean prosecuted locally. The attack is a casus belli if there was government involvement. While the government should be taken to task for not preventing it, a mob is a mob (not excusing the actions thereof) but unless there is some proof of the state being involved, war is not a legal option.
Regarding Benghazi, they brought squad automatic and crew-served weapons - RPKs and RPGs - to a "demonstration". Then the "mob" just so happened to kill the chief diplomat, the embassy's intelligence officer, and what are most likely our two spooks before leaving the embassy, which happened in a quick and orderly fashion after those four were killed. One "riot" has thus decimated our intelligence collection effort in Libya, as well as killed the one guy in all the world who could navigate the various factions in contention for the country.
Regarding Egypt, we were tipped off Monday night about an attempt on the embassy and snuck our people out; the "mob" found an empty compound, so no reinforcements hiding in surrounding buildings or nearby vehicles came out to kill our folks. Could've been very different.
Apr '11
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
The first time it was "Carthago delenda est" and the result (about 2200 years ago) was the destruction of the city and salting the ground so it would not be re-built. It was probably not that many miles from Benghazi.
In modern times the barbarians hide inside the cities and the "civilized world" refuse to attack for fear of harming the (not-so-innocent) civilians who support them.
The Jihadists have been at war with the U.S. for about 35 years. Instead of fighting back we launched a "War on Terror" which the current President wants to "end" by conceding a victory to the Taliban in Afghanistan.
In 1940, before the invasion of France, the British war with Germany was called a "phoney war" because of the passivity of the Franco-British alliance. We have been sliding into something similar ever since G.W. Bush refused to identify the enemy: the Islamic supremacists in alliance against us, then located in Afghanistan and Iran. The only thing that has changed is the enemy has re-located.
Aug '11
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
We should defend our embassies.
The billions of dollars we channel to Egypt does give us a position to advise. When they spend that money, especially on military and security matters, we don't dictate, we advise. We should be concerned with how they are organising internally, as it is in the interest of the overall politics of the region.
Devereaux
Perhaps I misunderstand, but it sounds like you believe we should dictate to other nations what form they should have. I personally don't give a rat's behind HOW they organize internally. But when they attack our embassy, we should attack back. It may be just I'm a troglodyte, but a squad of fighter bombers would go a long way towards informing the "great unwashed" that we are not to be triffled with. ?You don't like what we say - get accustomed to it. As Molly says elsewhere, we can say whatever we wish.
Jun '10
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
I had the same questions.
Mar '11
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
This is what happens when we have weak leadership.
I do not think this would have happened under Reagan, either Bush, or even Clinton.
Jun '10
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
Allow me to offer some insights based on the time I spent in Egypt. You will not find anywhere in the world a more threadbare society. Half the population lives on a dollar a day. When you travel the countryside, you return to a time that best approximates Biblical Egypt. The average peasant has one set of clothes (known as a galabeya) and no shoes. He lives on a diet of lentils, foul beans, and bread. He's lucky to get meat once a year. The standard baksheesh at the time was ten piasters (about US 5 cents) which would provide a beggar with enough food for the day.
The one billion dollars we provide in foreign aid acts as a subsidy in ten areas of the Egyptian economy from food to footwear to transportation. Without it the poor would be reduced to misery. It's a large nation, but its 80 million inhabitants are all crammed into the river valley of the Nile giving it one of the highest population densities in the world.
Egypt stands on the cusp of a collapse on its best days. It's time we let nature take its course. Time to get out.
Apr '11
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
Cut the money off, now....to all the Middle East (save Israel). Then let the Palestians and others pressure these Islamic States to get the spickets turned on. Just get out of there and block them off from any aid or possiblity of aid for the time being.
Clean out the State Department members that appease and promote this touchy feelydiplomacy. Became the leader of the Free World, once again, and let everyone know the consequences if you don't.
And claim that the Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist group and purge their membership out of the US and the White House. The world is black and white, not shades of grey that you can hide behind.
May '10
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
Open fire.
Apr '11
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
Jager: This is what happens when we have weak leadership.
I do not think this would have happened under Reagan, either Bush, or even Clinton. · 3 minutes ago
Depends on which Clinton you are referring to....the one in charge of the State Department probably just lost her ability to run for office again. Bad diplomacy that is going to come back and bite her, big time. Of course she might impact this in a positive way eventually, but that remains to be seen. She would have to lead from the front and that is not what this administration is used to.
May '10
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
John Murdoch:
An Israeli-style campaign to kill every single person involved--no matter how long it takes, or how far the trail leads.
Agreed. And I would state clearly to the Libyan government that we will not tolerate interference in any way. We are putting Spec Ops on their soil whether they like it or not.
I agree on ending financial aid to those governments, but that should have been done anyway. It should not be tied to good or bad will on their parts.
Our response must take into account that the killers and vandals are not alone to blame. People were cheering in the streets. It's a national problem, not just a problem with a few terrorists or hoodlums.
May '10
Re: US Ambassador and 3 Staffers Killed in Benghazi, Libya
Two words: Tactical nuke.
Its long past time for the US to say to the world, Don't screw with us or you and the people you care about will regret it.
It may be sad, it may be that we wish it weren't so, but it remains the fact that strength and the willingness to use it is the only currency most of the world, especially the middle eastern world recognizes. If we want respect we need to be willing to do what it takes to maintain it. And drone-fired rockets are really only half measures.
EDIT FOR ADDITIONAL THOUGHT: Since our embassies are technically American soil, perhaps the thing to do is to set off a medium field nuke on the top floor of each embassy in the name of continuing nuclear testing of our arsenal. After all, who could possibly complain if we merely blow up our own soil?
Edited on September 12, 2012 at 9:52pm