Insight How to Respond to the Embassy Attacks

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

How to Respond to the Embassy Attacks

Outrageous attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya and embassy in Cairo, Egypt, purportedly prompted by a video mocking the Islamic prophet Mohammed, left four Americans dead, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens. Stevens is the first U.S. Ambassador killed since1979.

These deplorable attacks – as well as the subsequent assault on the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen – require a firm response by the American government. President Obama has committed to some measures but should do more, especially when it comes to defending free speech.

1. We must dramatically improve security at U.S. embassies. These posts should have been on “high alert” well before the demonstrations. Libya and Egypt are home to substantial anti-American elements. Both experienced tectonic political shifts that brought in inexperienced governments. Both recently witnessed other assaults on diplomatic facilities – a year earlier a mob overran the Israeli embassy in Cairo, and the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was attacked in June.

The date alone – September 11th – should have prompted more vigilance. In Egypt, Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiyya had scheduled a 9/11 demonstration in front of the embassy weeks earlier. And days before the assault, Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had released a video calling on Libyans to avenge the death of al Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al-Libi.

Embassy security is serious business, and someone seems to have been naïve or asleep at the switch. The Benghazi consulate does not have even basic security features like bullet-proof glass or U.S. Marines protection. In the wake of the attacks, President Obama is taking the overdue steps of sending in the Marines and ordering a review of worldwide embassy security.

AMERICANACTIONFORUM.ORG 2. We must hold the perpetrators accountable. These acts must not go unpunished. As Michael Rubin argues, “Doing nothing would be equivalent to declaring open season on U.S. diplomats around the world.”

The U.S. should marshal our intelligence capabilities on the task of identifying the culprits, as the Obama Administration is signaling through its use of drones. We should work with the Egyptian and Libyan governments to ensure justice is done, via U.S. courts or U.S. munitions.

3. We shouldn’t apologize for American values; we should stand up for free speech. Violence attributed to the alleged defamation of Islam has become all too familiar. When provocative incidents occur, Obama’s preferred tactic is to clarify that such statements do not reflect the U.S. government or the majority of Americans. Obama strongly criticized Pastor Terry Jones’ plan to burn Korans as “an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry.” Obama personally apologized for the accidental burning of Korans by NATO troops earlier this year in Afghanistan.

The Obama Administration apologized yet again in a statement released by the U.S. embassy in Cairo just hours before the assaults concerning “the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims.” In an effort to marshal a stronger response after the attacks, President Obama and Secretary Clinton put out their own statements condemning the violence in Egypt and Libya. Yet neither one defends the right to free speech.

Obama’s apologies simply aren’t working. It’s time to try a different approach.

Evidence suggests the most violent actors in Tuesday’s attacks were terrorists who used an anti-Islamic film as a pretext. Still, widespread sympathy exists across the Muslim world for the purported cause, if not the methods, involved. Even secular Egyptian figures like Amr Moussa and Mohamed ElBaradei stress the offensive nature of the film over the violence employed. In fact, at the United Nations, Islamic countries are pressing for a resolution to denounce slurs against religion.

Free speech – however offensive and incendiary – is a central tenet of our constitution, our democracy, and our values. The Obama administration has created positions, initiatives, and czars to bring diplomatic focus to issues like gay rights, climate change, and the prevention of mass atrocities. A deliberate State Department effort to promote free speech could be a pro-active way to address these episodes of violence.

AMERICANACTIONFORUM.ORG 4. We must hold the governments accountable. Host governments have a responsibility to protect diplomatic missions; American security personnel should be a second line of defense. The problem in Libya was weak governance and a lack of capacity. Egyptian security forces cannot make the same excuse. The U.S. must insist that both countries do better. We also need to see complete cooperation in efforts to find and hold accountable those involved in the attacks. Assailants must face far steeper consequences than the slap on the wrist the Egyptian government recently gave to individuals involved in storming the Israeli embassy.

Government officials in both Libya and Egypt have denounced the attacks, though Libyan government officials have been far more contrite. However, in statement after statement, condemnation of the attacks plays a secondary role to continuing outrage over the film itself. Egyptian President Morsi’s statement – made days after the attack – is a typical: “We Egyptians reject any kind of assault or insult against our prophet. … [But] it is our duty to protect our guests and visitors from abroad… I call on everyone to take that into consideration…”

President Obama focused his remarks on the loss of life in Libya and the cooperation and remorse of the Libyan people. Yet Egypt is the more important country strategically, and President Morsi’s tepid response is worrisome. Obama should not gloss over the incident in Egypt to avoid upsetting the applecart.

As the Arab Spring unfolds and new governments come to power across the region, the Obama administration correctly is willing to engage with Islamist governments so long as they uphold democratic principles and human rights. Protecting free speech – not simply rejecting violence – should be part of our mantra, as should the protection of diplomatic facilities.

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