Have We Ever Sunk So Low?

Today must represent the low-water mark in the history of American diplomacy. As Scott wrote earlier today, radical Egyptian Muslims stormed the United States Embassy in Cairo, tore down the American flag and replaced it with the flag of al Qaeda. Note the black flag in the photo below:

This is what you get if you Google “al Qaeda flag”:

The attackers made no secret of their sympathies, chanting, among other anti-American slogans, “Obama! Obama! We are all Osama!” The demonstration was attended by Mohammed Al Zawahiri, the brother of al Qaeda’s current head. Obviously, the timing of the assault on the embassy was intended to commemorate and celebrate the September 11, 2001 attacks.

So how did the Obama administration respond to this outrage? By apologizing to the attackers, and criticizing “those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.” The reference apparently was to people who made a film that hardly anyone has heard of, which served as a pretext for the embassy attack. Jimmy Carter was shown the door for less.

Nor was that the end of the day’s outrages. In Benghazi, Libya, a similar assault was launched by members of Ansar al Sharia, a branch of al Qaeda that is most powerful in Yemen, who fired rocket-propelled grenades at the American consulate. Apparently no one was killed in the attack. Here is their flag, in Yemen:

No word yet on whether the Obama administration has apologized to the militants who fired the RPGs. No doubt Obama thinks that these two attacks, carried out under the flag of al Qaeda on the anniversary of 9/11, are just another manifestation of the “Arab spring.”

We knew that Obama is an abject failure, but is he also a quisling? I’m pretty sure I know the answer to that question, but I am not sure of the answer to this one: have the American people become so degraded that most of us no longer care?

UPDATE: The consulate in Benghazi is now reported to be burning. An American official is said to have been murdered, and the mob is now looting the consulate.

FURTHER UPDATE: The death of a consulate staffer has been confirmed, and an unknown number have been injured in Benghazi:

Libya’s Supreme Security Committee spokesman said: “One American staff member has died and a number have been injured in the clashes.” …

Armed gunmen attacked the compound on Tuesday evening, clashing with Libyan security forces before the latter withdrew as they came under heavy fire.

Reporters on the scene said they could see looters raiding the compound, walking off with desks, chairs and washing machines.

FINAL UPDATE: Mitt Romney has released this statement on the embassy and consulate attacks:

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.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses