Obama Condemns 'Outrageous' Libya Attack
President Barack Obama Wednesday condemned the "outrageous" attack which killed four Americans including the U.S. ambassador in Libya but vowed it would not break America's bond with the liberated nation.
In a somber statement in the White House Rose Garden, Obama paid tribute to Ambassador Chris Stevens and his colleagues, killed when an Islamist mob, angered by reports of a film deemed insulting to Islam, stormed the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
But he took pains to note that the assault should not be deemed as representative of Libya after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi and noted that some Libyans fought to repel the assault on the U.S. consulate.
"The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack," Obama said in a statement in the White House Rose Garden.
"Make no mistake, we will work with the Libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people."
"It is especially tragic that Chris Stevens died in Benghazi because it is a city that he helped to save," Obama said, praising the slain ambassador for building partnerships with Libya revolutionaries in a new Libya.
Obama, who reiterated his earlier warning that he had ordered stepped up security at US posts around the world, noted that many Libyans had already condemned the assault.
"The attack will not break the bonds between the United States and Libya.
"Libyan security personnel fought back alongside Americans. Libyans helped some of the diplomats find safety and carried Ambassador Stevens's body to the hospital where we tragically learned that he had died."
Obama noticeably did not mention another attack on the U.S. embassy in Egypt and ignored Republican nominee Mitt Romney's fierce criticism over the U.S. response to that attack.
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday the killing of the U.S. envoy to Libya and three others by "a small and savage group" should "shock" people of all faiths around the world.
Paying tribute to Stevens and his co-workers, Clinton vowed the United States would not turn its back on Libya as it builds a new future.
"This is an attack that should shock conscience of people of all faiths around the world," she said in a somber statement at the State Department.
"We condemn in the strongest terms, this senseless act of violence, and we send our prayers to the families, friends and colleagues of those we've lost."
Clips of the film at the center of the controversy have been posted on the Internet and private satellite channels have been showing segments.
The low-budget movie, "Innocence of Muslims," in which actors have strong American accents, portrays Muslims as immoral and gratuitously violent.
It pokes fun at the Prophet Mohammed and touches on themes of pedophilia and homosexuality, while showing him sleeping with women, talking about killing children and referring to a donkey as "the first Muslim animal."
