Violence has erupted in the Middle East. It began when an Anti-Islam filmmaker released a film mocking the prophet Mohammed, and it went viral. In Egypt thousands of protestors scaled the walls of the U.S. Embassy after the road blocks were recently removed. They replaced the American flag hanging in front of the U.S. Embassy with an Islamic Flag, similar to the Al Qaeda banner. The government there issued an obligatory-sounding condemnation of the riot, and there are calls for larger protests Friday.
While the protests in Egypt did not spiral into violence, Tuesday night riots in Libya were deadly. Protesters stormed the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi with rocket grenades then set the U.S. Consulate on fire. U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, Foreign Service Office Sean Smith, and 2 other Americans were killed while trying to get to safety. It is being described as an al-Qaeda style attack, timed for when the Ambassador was in time and carried out in two waves. The U.S. is now investigating whether the assault was a planned terrorist strike to mark the 9/11 anniversary.
President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and Mitt Romney all spoke earlier today and condemned the attack. With 200 additional marines on their way to the U.S. Embassy in Tipoli, the military is considering sending specialized anti-terrorism security troops to other embassies across the nation.
Furthermore, tensions are now rising between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After rumors that President Obama does not want to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu when he is in the United State later this month, the two spent an hour on the phone last night discussing Prime Minister Netanyahu’s criticism of the U.S. for not acting tough enough about Iran’s nuclear program.
So with everything that has developed over the last 24 hours the Middle East is now back in play as the race for the Presidency takes place. Check out what our Cyclists had to say today on the show
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