An armed man waves his rifle as buildings and cars are engulfed in flames after being set on fire inside the US consulate compound in Benghazi late Tuesday. An armed mob attacked the US consulate in Benghazi and set fire to the building. (Photo/AFP)
US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, was killed along with three other embassy staff in a targeted rocket attack in Benghazi Tuesday. Killing an ambassador is against the humanitarian bottom line. It should be condemned worldwide.
On the same day, Egyptian protesters breached the US embassy in Cairo. Both incidents were triggered by a US film which the Arab world believes insulted the Prophet Mohammed while the US government refused to apologize. This is the most acute conflict between the US and the Arab world since the Arab Spring.
It is an extreme incident if an ambassador to a country is killed there. It usually signals the failure of foreign policies of the country where the ambassador is from. The US supported the Libyan war and Benghazi is the base camp of the revolution. The attack on the US ambassador there has a severe political meaning.
