Poll Position: How should Obama respond to embassy attacks?
The big story this week was the series of attacks on U.S. embassies across the Middle East and North Africa: from Libya, where our ambassador was killed, to Egypt, Yemen and, today, Tunisia and Sudan. In Libya, the government is cooperating with the investigation into the murders of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The responses from the other countries have been mixed, but they have been rather tepid on the whole.
How should Obama respond to the attacks on our embassies?
- Cut foreign aid (255 Votes)
- Pursue the killers in Libya; otherwise, lie low (173 Votes)
- Stop issuing travel visas for people from those countries (130 Votes)
- Bomb 'em (108 Votes)
- Economic sanctions (106 Votes)
- Too soon to say (102 Votes)
- Cut diplomatic ties (91 Votes)
- Increase foreign aid (5 Votes)
Total Voters: 517
Loading ...President Obama made a mistake Wednesday evening when he said of the Egyptian government, which has been in place less than three months, “I don’t think that we would consider them an ally, but we don’t consider them an enemy.” It was a mistake because the White House on Thursday had to walk back the statement; later Thursday, the State Department had to walk back the walk back, clarifying that Egypt retains the official designation of Major Non-NATO Ally it has held since 1989.
But this post isn’t about criticizing Obama for shooting first and aiming later. (OK, maybe it’s a little bit about that.) It’s really about the question most of us have been pondering since the attacks in Libya and Egypt on Tuesday, the 11th anniversary of 9/11: What is the proper response?
Some of you took my first post on the subject to imply a military action is needed. As I tried to make clear in the comments, that’s not the case. Things would have to spiral much further out of control before we were talking about military action.
Unless, of course, you include drone flights and a possible targeted strike on the terrorists responsible for the ambassador’s death, which the Obama administration appears to be considering at the very least.
Otherwise, there are a range of options here. We could pull our diplomats from their capitals. We could expel their diplomats from Washington. We cut cut or eliminate foreign aid to these countries. We could, I suppose, increase our foreign aid to them and use it to promote and educate them about our laws and values (such as freedom of expression). We could officially remove them from our list of allies. We could stop issuing travel visas from their country to ours. We could impose some form of economic sanctions. Or we could essentially do nothing more than pursue the people who killed Stevens and the other Americans.
What should Obama’s response entail? That’s this week’s Poll Position question. Answer in the nearby poll — NOTE: unlike most of my polls, you can select more than one answer in this one — and the comments thread below.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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949 comments Add your comment
Kyle Wingfield
September 14th, 2012
1:07 pm
getalife: If it’s so common sensical, then why have the White House and now the State Department said Obama was incorrect?
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:08 pm
How do you know if Egypt is an ally or an enemy?
Do tell.
Del
September 14th, 2012
1:10 pm
Actually I mostly agree with Obama’s remark on Egypt. I would only have added to “but we don’t consider them an enemy” the word yet. Having said that the incompetence of this administration goes on display once again when you hear the president, his state department and some key congressional Democrats unable to sing together out of the same hymn book.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:10 pm
I guess you can predict the future Kyle.
Got lottery numbers?
Kyle Wingfield
September 14th, 2012
1:10 pm
JamVet: I’ve pushed through your comment. Now I’m going to disagree with it: Point to a statement by the administration condemning the attacks that came before the embassy’s statement condemning the movie, which it reiterated throughout the day Tuesday.
Kyle Wingfield
September 14th, 2012
1:11 pm
getalife @ 1:10: Now you’re making even less sense than usual.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
September 14th, 2012
1:11 pm
From AmVet: “Quote, please.”
“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.”
— Embassy statement, issued 6 a.m. EST, some six hours before the attack.
Since you don’t understand this country anymore, AmVet, we do NOT use our government positions to condemn free speech, no matter how offensive it might seem to others. That is an apology, sir, and if you have any sense God gave you still in you, you’d know that.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:13 pm
We don’t know yet Kyle.
These are brand new governments.
They have to prove it.
Does that make sense Kyle?
Aquagirl
September 14th, 2012
1:14 pm
Why weren’t there 50+ heavily armed Marines at every embassy in the volatile countries ???
Yeah, let’s deploy hundreds or possibly thousands of heavily armed Marines every time some jerk makes a youtube video. I suggest you go enlist, we’re gonna need LOTS more Marines.
My guess is that you’d rather retain your current rank of Armchair General.
Latifah
September 14th, 2012
1:15 pm
So Kyle, the Libyan rebels we backed with arms and air strikes in their war to oust their dictator have now killed our people and you’re suggesting we attack them? And if the Egyptians, or the other Arab Springers, who we also backed do something similar we attack them too?
What a cluster####. We should’ve heeded the advice of our first President to “avoid foreign entanglements”.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:17 pm
The adults are dealing with the situation so stop attacking them.
Unite like the gop and act like Americans.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
September 14th, 2012
1:17 pm
I guess AmVet was playing hookey the day they taught that an embassy represents the administration they work for.
Romney’s initial statement was clearly and undeniably correct in all regards.
JamVet
September 14th, 2012
1:18 pm
Kyle, so where is it? The proof is the black and white pudding.
tibs wrote, “The American embassy in Egypt blamed America first.”
The actual quote: “The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims…”
tibs equates misguided individuals to America.
Which is childish, puerile nonsense.
But he is the prefect Romney supporter.
Gotta go and make money.
I’ll be baaaaack!
md
September 14th, 2012
1:18 pm
“These are brand new governments.
They have to prove it.”
When one is already an ally, all they can prove is that they are NOT an ally. We don’t go back to square one every time a an ally changes gov’ts. So Obama blew it……….
md
September 14th, 2012
1:21 pm
“tibs equates misguided individuals to America.”
WE are america like it or not…….and that includes all our supposedly misguided citizens…….
Del
September 14th, 2012
1:21 pm
“FIRST response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.”
That’s not a lie it’s absolute fact those apologetic tweets went out several times during the afternoon while the attacks were escalating without one word of condemnation from the White House. Later the W.H. and state department distanced themselves but they had to have known those tweets were going out and did nothing to stop them. Romney was correct but keep drinking the leftist MSM’s Kool-Aid.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:21 pm
md,
So, you think the Muslim Brotherhood is an ally?
I will wait until they prove it.
So far, they used the military to block our embassy but then called for nation wide protests.
We have not signed anything with the new government.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:24 pm
Also, they broke the treaty with Israel sending tanks to the Sinai.
Do some research before you type.
Kyle Wingfield
September 14th, 2012
1:24 pm
JamVet: You said Romney lied, not Tiberius. What did Romney say that was untrue?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
September 14th, 2012
1:25 pm
“So, you think the Muslim Brotherhood is an ally?”
If they are not, then why are we paying them $2 billion per year?
Kyle Wingfield
September 14th, 2012
1:26 pm
And yet, getalife, the WH and the State Dept. have said they don’t have to prove it, that Obama was wrong to say Egypt’s status as an ally was in question.
Now, SHOULD it be in question? That’s a different issue.
Not Blind
September 14th, 2012
1:27 pm
No liberal has any idea what an ally really is. They think an ally is someone that we give foreign aid to. We have few or even no allies in the middle east. Not Israel, not Saudi Arabia nor even Iraq. We have countries that occasionally we are able to ally ourselves with but no true allies like the Brits, Aussies, NZ, etc.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:27 pm
What did romney say that was true? The embassy tied diplomacy that failed so his con knee jerk reaction was blame America first.
Today he blamed the filmmaker.
Next he will blame the media.
Gimme Gimme Gimme
September 14th, 2012
1:27 pm
“When the going gets tough, go to Vegas” ~ President Obama
Kyle Wingfield
September 14th, 2012
1:28 pm
Latifah: No, as I wrote in the OP: “Some of you took my first post on the subject to imply a military action is needed. As I tried to make clear in the comments, that’s not the case. Things would have to spiral much further out of control before we were talking about military action.”
Listing that as one option in a poll is not the same thing as suggesting we do it.
tiredofIT
September 14th, 2012
1:30 pm
There are known knowns; there are things we know that we know.
There are known unknowns; that is to say there are things that, we now know we don’t know.
But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know, we don’t know.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:32 pm
Not Blind,
rand paul tried to cut their funding but failed. Do you think they are an ally just because we give them money? Funny.
Del
September 14th, 2012
1:32 pm
Hopefully, there will be a full congressional investigation of this Libyan incident as there are too many unanswered questions demanding answers. We owe it to our fallen and to our national security.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:34 pm
Our President told Egypt to prove it and has one billion dollar leverage. They have to recognize the country of Israel and sign a peace treaty with Israel.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
September 14th, 2012
1:34 pm
“What did romney say that was true?”
Everything. What part of his statement didn’t you understand?
Del
September 14th, 2012
1:36 pm
Everything. What part of his statement didn’t you understand?
TI, can we all say dodge?
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:36 pm
Del,
Not congress. The FBI is there and investigating, The Libyans made arrests.
Thulsa Doom
September 14th, 2012
1:36 pm
Oh. And one more thing. Make the Egyptians pay for the repairs to our embassy and make the Libyans pay restitution to the families of the 4 dead Americans as well as paying for damage to our consulate.
Del
September 14th, 2012
1:38 pm
whoops, should have been:” What did romney say that was true”
TI, can we all say dodge.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:38 pm
Thulsa Doom,
The Libyans have oil so they can pay us back.
Egypt will not.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:40 pm
I don’t think romney knows what diplomacy is.
Del
September 14th, 2012
1:42 pm
T.D. Libya should also provide us with free oil for the next 20 years.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:43 pm
“Mitt Romney strongly denounced an anti-Muslim film linked to riots against U.S. diplomatic compounds in the Mideast on Thursday, accusing its director of wrongly offending Islamic sensibilities. His comments appeared to move him in line with the White House’s own position.
Romney told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that while he had not seen the film himself, he knew enough to declare it a “very bad thing.”
“You know, I think it’s dispiriting sometimes to see some of the awful things people say,” Romney said. “And the idea of using something that some people consider sacred and then parading that out a negative way is simply inappropriate and wrong. And I wish people wouldn’t do it.” TPM
There ya go.
md
September 14th, 2012
1:44 pm
“We have not signed anything with the new government.”
nor have we denounced anything…..so by default, they are still an ally. What is so hard to get about that?
“Also, they broke the treaty with Israel sending tanks to the Sinai.
Do some research before you type.”
Might want to take your own advice on that one:
“Israel agreed last year to exceptions to the treaty, allowing Egypt’s military to deploy troops with heavier weaponry into the most sensitive zone of eastern Sinai close to the Israeli border. Israel made similar exceptions during its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.”
Li'l Aynie
September 14th, 2012
1:44 pm
Foreign relations is one subject for which Kyle is guaranteed to take leave of his God-given intelligence!
None of the options offered in his ”poll” is necessary and sufficient. All are needed options, but not all need to be done yesterday or even today. One thing that needs doing immediately is for Republican politicians to denounce the trash video that instigated the region-wide flare-up of anti-US demonstrations. Surely that video does not represent American values, not even Republican values.
Enraged mobs are best left to play out their outrage: they cannot be reasoned with or intimidated. The planned attack by militants on the US consulate in Libya must be investigated, with the assistance of the Libyan government, and the miscreants captured or killed. Over the long run, the new governments of the region need to be patiently encouraged and assisted to expand freedom and relieve poverty and ignorance. And Israel needs to solve its long-festering Palestinian problem.
Sounds like the present foreign policy, doesn’t it?
Republican politicians have nothing useful to contribute to the situation: their foreign policy of “bluster and blunder” has proved as ineffective as their domestic policy of “spend but don’t tax”.
Del
September 14th, 2012
1:45 pm
getalife, no this requires a full congressional investigation, which of course should include FBI findings, however, this should be treated as a war crimes investigation as it was planned and executed by Islamic terrorist groups.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:45 pm
“The Republican nominee also condemned Florida pastor Terry Jones, whose burning of a Koran sparked deadly attacks abroad in 2011, for promoting the film.
“I think the whole film is a terrible idea,” he said. “I think him making it, promoting it showing it is disrespectful to people of other faiths. I don’t think that should happen. I think people should have the common courtesy and judgment —- the good judgment — not to be — not to offend other peoples’ faiths. It’s a very bad thing, I think, this guy’s doing.”
I agree.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
September 14th, 2012
1:46 pm
President Mitt Romney:
“Gas up the drones, some brown people need to die.”
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:46 pm
Del,
You still trust congress?
They should stay united and stay out of it until the FBI report.
md
September 14th, 2012
1:47 pm
And if you read some more, you may notice that Egypt seems to be moving those tanks in response to Hamas, not Israel…….although with Hamas one never knows it’s intentions.
http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/are-hamas-and-egypt-moving-towards-conflict/
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:47 pm
md,
I will pass on trusting the Muslim Brotherhood.
Thanks.
Thulsa Doom
September 14th, 2012
1:50 pm
“Gas up the drones, some brown people need to die.”
I guess that would mean Mitt would just be following Obama’s drone civilian bombing policy in Pakistan. Nothing like wiping out a few brown children here and there huh Finn?
md
September 14th, 2012
1:51 pm
“One thing that needs doing immediately is for Republican politicians to denounce the trash video that instigated the region-wide flare-up of anti-US demonstrations. Surely that video does not represent American values, not even Republican values.”
Last I checked, free speech was a value supposedly supported by both sides……..just because you and a bunch of radicals don’t like it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t defend it. I don’t agree with it, but people have a right to their own opinions……..and opinions don’t kill anyone.
getalife
September 14th, 2012
1:51 pm
Thulsa Doom,
Our President is strong on national security.
Del
September 14th, 2012
1:54 pm
This insistence by the left that the ant-Muslim film sparked the murder of our diplomats is an outrageous diversion from fact. The fact is that this attack in Libya was a well planned and executed act of terror, which had nothing to do with that film, it everything to do with radical Islam’s jihad against the United States.