On Tuesday, September 11, 2012, violent mobs, reacting to an anti-Islam film produced by the Quran-burning American preacher Terry Jones, besieged the US embassy in Cairo and the US consulate in Benghazi. Within hours, Mitt Romney issued this statement:
First, the response to which Romney was referring came not from the Obama administration but from the US embassy in Cairo. It read:
Whether or not you think that the responsible parties in the US embassy in Egypt did wisely in issuing this statement--according to Politico44, an administration official subsequently said, "The statement by Embassy Cairo was not cleared by Washington and does not reflect the views of the United States government"--the fact is that the supposed statement by the Obama administration in response to the attacks was NOT made by the Obama administration and was made BEFORE the attacks.
Mitt Romney was not only using a terrible attack on Americans and American institutions and property as an occasion for gaining political advantage, but was with utter shamelessness misrepresenting a statement NOT made by the Obama administration and made BEFORE the attacks as a statement BY the Obama administration in RESPONSE to the attacks.
Today, on September 12, Mitt Romney called a press conference. Did he take the opportunity to correct his misrepresentation of the facts? If you think he would do such a thing, you don't know Republicans. Here's Mitt:
What disheartens me is the thought that Mitt can count on tens of millions of voters to applaud his fact-free lies and misrepresentations as he pretends to be a statesman.
The best summary that I have yet found of the whole business as it stands at the moment is this one at TPM.
Edited to add: My title is a bit off. To be entirely accurate, it should read: "Romney on the attacks on the US consulate in Libya and the US embassy in Cairo." But you get the idea.
I’m outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. 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.
That Obama administration--always apologizing for America to its enemies! And now it's at it again? Or is Mitt Romney just telling a barefaced lie? Well, let's see.
First, the response to which Romney was referring came not from the Obama administration but from the US embassy in Cairo. It read:
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.
Second, and more importantly, the statement was issued BEFORE the attacks on either of the American sites in North Africa. It was a response to Terry Jones's film, NOT to the attacks.Whether or not you think that the responsible parties in the US embassy in Egypt did wisely in issuing this statement--according to Politico44, an administration official subsequently said, "The statement by Embassy Cairo was not cleared by Washington and does not reflect the views of the United States government"--the fact is that the supposed statement by the Obama administration in response to the attacks was NOT made by the Obama administration and was made BEFORE the attacks.
Mitt Romney was not only using a terrible attack on Americans and American institutions and property as an occasion for gaining political advantage, but was with utter shamelessness misrepresenting a statement NOT made by the Obama administration and made BEFORE the attacks as a statement BY the Obama administration in RESPONSE to the attacks.
Today, on September 12, Mitt Romney called a press conference. Did he take the opportunity to correct his misrepresentation of the facts? If you think he would do such a thing, you don't know Republicans. Here's Mitt:
I also believe the administration was wrong to stand by a statement sympathizing with those who had breached our embassy in Egypt, instead of condemning their actions.
Once again, blatant and unmitigated falsehood. And what about the White House's subsequent disavowal of the statement by the embassy? Saith Mitt:The White House distanced itself last night from the statement, saying it wasn't cleared by Washington. That reflects the mixed signals they're sending to the world.
But there has been no "mixed signal" on the condemnation of the Terry Jones film--which was the only event on which the embassy was commenting. On Tuesday evening, Secretary of State Clinton issued this statement: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.
But here is the Mitt Romney version of events, as presented at his press conference today:
I think it's a terrible course for America to stand in apology for our values. That instead, 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. An apology for America's values is never the right course.
That there never was ANY apology or anything even remotely approaching an apology, and that the statement that he cites as "akin to apology" was made BEFORE the attacks, will not stop Mitt from his bogus posturing.
What disheartens me is the thought that Mitt can count on tens of millions of voters to applaud his fact-free lies and misrepresentations as he pretends to be a statesman.
The best summary that I have yet found of the whole business as it stands at the moment is this one at TPM.
Edited to add: My title is a bit off. To be entirely accurate, it should read: "Romney on the attacks on the US consulate in Libya and the US embassy in Cairo." But you get the idea.
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