Michael J. Totten's Blog, page 52

An Update and a Correction

Yesterday I posted a link to a video on YouTube showing a discussion between Representative Trent Franks and Thomas Perez from the Department of Justice.

Franks asked the following question four times: “Will you tell us here today that this administration’s Department of Justice will never entertain or advance a proposal that criminalizes speech against any religion?”

Perez wouldn’t answer the question.

You can watch the video and see how it played out for yourself.

I erred, however, when I wrote...

Libyans Tried to Save Ambassador Stevens

Photographs and video clips have been circulating on the Internet showing Libyan civilians dragging the body of Ambassador Chris Stevens through the streets of Benghazi.

It was hard to say at first what was happening. Were these people dragging him through the streets like a grim trophy, or were they trying to save him?

It turns out they were trying to save him.

The Washington Post has the story:

Fahd al-Bakoush, a freelance videographer, was among the Libyan civilians roaming freely through the...

"Completely Unfounded and Preposterous"

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice says the assassination of her colleague, Ambassador Chris Stevens, in Benghazi, Libya, was a “spontaneous” event.

“The best information and the best assessment we have today,” she said, “is that this was not a pre-planned, pre-meditated attack. What happened initially was that it was a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired in Cairo as a consequence of the video. People gathered outside the embassy and then it grew very violent. And th...

Why We Need the First Amendment, Part II

The Obama administration’s Department of Justice official Edward Perez, who is the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, refuses to say that his department won’t attempt to criminalize blasphemy in the future.

I can’t imagine that the Department of Justice would ever actually try such a thing, and the Supreme Court would break it in half if it did, but that doesn’t make the spineless weaseliness from Perez any less appalling.

You can watch the video of the sordid incident he...

Quote of the Day

Lee Smith:

Our leaders apparently believe that the way to protect Americans from extremists and terrorists abroad is to tell other Americans to shut up.

What’s next? Where does it go from here? There are more than 300 million ways in which Americans expressing themselves might give offense to those who make it their business to be offended. Maybe it’s some other film, maybe it’s a book or even just a tossed-off phrase that our enemies might seize on to galvanize support for their causes. Is the...

Our Vulnerable Embassies

On Tuesday of this week, demonstrators waving al-Qaida flags stormed the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, removed the American flag from its pole, and set it on fire. At roughly the same time, a terrorist cell attacked the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and assassinated U.S. ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three of his senior staff members. The embassy in Yemen was breached the next day. In the wake of all this, the biggest question isn’t what Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, and Barack Obam...

Why We Need the First Amendment

Why can't the President of the United States bring himself to defend free speech in front of a murderous mob? Because apparently he doesn't respect it. The Washington Post reports:

The White House has asked YouTube to review an anti-Muslim film posted to the site that has been blamed for igniting the violent protests this week in the Middle East.

Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the National Security Council, said the White House has “reached out to YouTube to call the video to their attention and a...

Violent Rioting Spreads

More of our embassies are under attack today by reactionary religious fanatics from Tunisia and Iraq to Sudan. Even the German Embassy in Sudan was breached and set on fire.

An American school was reportedly torched in Tunisia. Totalitarian Salafists have been attacking Tunisians on a regular basis now for a year. This week it’s our turn.

In Lebanon, rioters are attacking restaurants intead of the U.S. Embassy because our diplomatic outpost there is an impregnable armed compound on a winding mo...

Enough Appeasement Already

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton just announced that she finds the anti-Muslim movie trailer that sparked violent and even murderous attacks on American embassies across the Middle East to be “disgusting and reprehensible” and that the United States government had nothing to do with it. I’d add that the trailer is idiotic and hilariously amateurish, but film criticism isn’t part of our chief diplomat’s job description.

It is of course true that the United States government has nothing to do...

Obama Puts Morsi on Notice

Egypt is not an ally of the United States.

Hey, I didn’t say it. The president of the United States just said it.

It is, I believe, one of the smartest things he has said yet about foreign policy. I mean, it’s obvious at this point that Egypt isn’t an ally. A four-year old could figure that out. But there’s a difference between recognizing that fact and announcing that fact. And there’s a difference between someone like me saying Egypt isn’t an ally and the President of the United States saying...