U.S. ambassador to Libya is killed in Benghazi rocket attack

BENGHAZI, Libya - Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was among four embassy staff killed in rocket attack in Libya's capital city Benghazi. The attack took place on the Benghazi consulate and a safe house refuge when the building was bombed by Islamist gunmen
blaming America for a film shown on American TV which they said insulted the Prophet Mohammad.

Earlier on there were reports that Egyptians had taken to the streets to protest against the use of the prophet in the film.

Hilary Clinton, the United States Secretary of State, is shocked because she says America helped liberate the Libyans.

Christopher Stevens

On the politico website Hilary went on,  "This is an attack that should shock the conscience of people of all faiths around the world.  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.

"All over the world, every day, America’s diplomats and development experts risk their lives in the service of our country and our values, because they believe that the United States must be a force for peace and progress in the world, that these aspirations are worth striving and sacrificing for.  Alongside our men and women in uniform, they represent the best traditions of a bold and generous nation.

"In the lobby of this building, the State Department, the names of those who have fallen in the line of duty are inscribed in marble.  Our hearts break over each one.  And now, because of this tragedy, we have new heroes to honor and more friends to mourn.

"Chris Stevens fell in love with the Middle East as a young Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in Morocco.  He joined the Foreign Service, learned languages, won friends for America in distant places, and made other people’s hopes his own.

"In the early days of the Libyan revolution, I asked Chris to be our envoy to the rebel opposition.  He arrived on a cargo ship in the port of Benghazi and began building our relationships with Libya’s revolutionaries.  He risked his life to stop a tyrant, then gave his life trying to help build a better Libya.  The world needs more Chris Stevenses.  I spoke with his sister, Ann, this morning, and told her that he will be remembered as a hero by many nations.

"Sean Smith was an Air Force veteran.  He spent 10 years as an information management officer in the State Department, he was posted at The Hague, and was in Libya on a brief temporary assignment.  He was a husband to his wife Heather, with whom I spoke this morning.  He was a father to two young children, Samantha and Nathan.  They will grow up being proud of the service their father gave to our country, service that took him from Pretoria to Baghdad, and finally to Benghazi.