Embassy attacks a tale of two leaders

It will certainly come as no surprise when we discover that the attacks on the US embassy in Cairo and later in Libya were timed to celebrate 9/11. It certainly came as no surprise that Mitt Romney has criticized the reasoned response by the Obama administration. Does Mr. Romney not know that one does not throw gasoline on fires? In the midst of an attack one does not egg on the attackers unless one is really in a position to use force to repel the assault. As cool as it would be in a movie sending in a fleet of  helicopter gunships to cut down the rioters, in real life that would constitute an act of war. In real time the statement that Mr. Romney condemns over and over was a reasoned response intended to sooth tensions as the crowd was in the initial stages of assault, before any actual breach. To call the mob out for a fight would be wrong, to say, let us reason together is the peaceful and dignified approach.

I have hears these strident calls to never apologize never back down before, they always lead to fights even when fights could be avoided. Sometimes it is time to listen to your mother's voice and find a way out. Sometimes what we really need to hear in a stressful situation is a well placed, "I'm sorry, I think there has been a misunderstanding."

An Embassy is a fragile thing, sitting as sovereign ground on foreign territory, armed only with a minimum of troops. Embassies rely on their host governments for protection and security. This case is even more than usually sensitive as we are trying to work with newly established governments in both Egypt and Libya. Diplomacy is a tough game and the Romney Campaign has not shown itself particularly adept at the fine art. It has increasingly found itself stirring the pot.

At the same time that this drama has been playing on the world's news outlets, Mr. Romney's good friend Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has been sounding the alarm on Iran, requesting "red lines" be set against Iran - lines past which military action will inevitably happen. Make no mistake, such lines in the sand are dangerous brinksmanship and are, like defiance to the mobs in Cairo and Bengazhi, a sure way to bring on more trouble. In criticizing the administration response, Mr. Romney may well make his right wing supporters happy, but he loses sight of the need to America to live side by side with other nations in an increasingly hostile world.The only reasoned response to such activity is to call for calm, and seek to restore order. It is only after that that we can determine whether or not our missions to those countries can continue or if we wish to isolate ourselves by withdrawing from the world at large.