Pompeo Mourns Loss of American Life at U.S Embassies in Middle East

Statement

Yesterday, Americans awoke to the news that the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, and three other Embassy staff had been killed in a planned overnight terrorist attack executed in Benghazi, Libya early Wednesday morning. This attack followed a brazen assault against the United States Embassy in Cairo, Egypt on September 11.

Congressman Mike Pompeo (KS-04), a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a veteran, released the following statement in response:

"My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives in service to our nation as part of the diplomatic corps of our country. They are to be honored always. We cannot adequately express how grateful we are for all that they have done for our nation.

"The terrorists' attacks on our embassies in Cairo and Benghazi, and now in Yemen, appear to have been well-coordinated, led by radical Islamists and aimed squarely at America and the freedoms we all value. Eerily reminiscent of the attack on the American embassy in Tehran during the Carter era, we can, again, see what happens when an American President refuses to demonstrate resolve and leadership. The lessons from 1979 have been lost on this administration. It is not difficult to understand that our enemies see a green light to attack us when American leaders apologize and express moral equivalence between those who obey the rule of law and those who plot to destroy our country,

"Further, President Obama's public response to these attacks has been feckless. There has been no mention of the fact that the Egyptian government took two days to condemn the attacks or that it continues to advocate for anti-American demonstrations. There has been no contemplation of whether continued American taxpayer funding of the Egyptian government remains appropriate. There has been no reference to the fact that this coordinated attack on our country continues to present risk--as the assault on the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen demonstrates.

"It is clearer today than ever before that the President's foreign policy is fraught with failed leadership. Our military, Foreign Service, and nation deserve better," stated Pompeo.

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