Middle East: Romney's attacks against Obama

Al Jazeera

Embassy attacks spill over into US election

Republican candidate Mitt Romney's criticism of the Obama administration's response has been poorly received by many.   By Sam Bollier  Republican Party presidential nominee Mitt Romney criticised what he said was the Obama administration’s “first response” to the violence, which he described as “disgraceful” and as an “apology” for the United States. He was referring to a statement issued by the US embassy in Cairo condemning the obscure film, variously entitled The Innocence of Islam and The Real Life of Muhammad, which mocks Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. The embassy had tweeted: “We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.” The tweet, among others, was subsequently deleted. However, as Talking Points Memo noted, the statement was issued before the violence occurred, and the administration of US President Barack Obama had not approved the statement. Meanwhile, Obama has vowed to bring those who attacked the US consulate in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi to justice. The president called the attack "outrageous and shocking" and described the United States as "the one indispensable power in the world". Read it at Al Jazeera: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/09/20129139155763223.html