2000 Egyptian protestors gathered outside the U.S. Embassy walls in Cairo with approximately 20 scaling the walls in order to remove and burn the U.S. flag inside.
Egyptian protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy on Tuesday, tore down the American flag and burned it during a protest over what they said was a film being produced in the United States that insulted Prophet Mohammad.
In place of the U.S. flag, the protesters tried to raise a black flag with the words “There is no God but God, and Mohammad is his messenger”, a Reuters witness said.
Once the U.S. flag was hauled down, some protesters tore it up and showed off pieces to television cameras. Others burned the remains outside the fortress-like embassy building in central Cairo. But some protesters objected to the flag burning.
Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet to be offensive.
CNN reports that Marines inside fired warning shots at the crowd, and that Egyptian riot police were called to help clear the area. The Embassy was cleared of personel earlier in the day anticipating the protest. The Iranian FARS news agency reported that this movie was produced by a “group of extremist Egyptian Copts in the US.”
A statement was posted on the Cairo Embassy website:
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.
While I agree in principle with that statement it really depends on what the film is about. There is no clarity on what movie is actually being protested. Also this statement is weak considering Egyptian nationals invaded our sovereign territory. Just because they’re offended doesn’t give them the right to invade our embassy and burn our flag. Also, there seems to be a misunderstanding that this film (whoever is doing it, CNN thinks it could even be a Dutch film and Ahram online indicates it is supported by Terry Jones – a guy we don’t support) it is being done by private persons (I can’t even say citizens), not the United States.
Update: BBC reports that the U.S. Consulate in Benghanzi. Libya was attacked and that one American has been killed.
A US official has been killed and others wounded after militiamen stormed the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi, security officials say.
It is believed the protest was held over a US-produced film that is said to be insulting to the Prophet Muhammad.
The building is said to have burnt down after being set alight by protesters. It is thought nobody was in the consulate at the time.
2nd Update: Sarah Palin issued a statement on her Facebook page tonight.
Apparently President Obama can’t see Egypt and Libya from his house. On the anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks ever perpetrated on America, our embassy in Cairo and our consulate in Benghazi were attacked by violent Islamic mobs. In Cairo, they scaled the walls of our embassy, destroyed our flag, and replaced it with a black Islamic banner. In Benghazi, the armed gunmen set fire to our consulate and killed an American staff member. The Islamic radicals claim that these attacks are in protest to some film criticizing Islam. In response to this, the U.S. embassy in Cairo issued a statement that was so outrageous many of us thought it must be a satire. The embassy actually apologized to the violent mob attacking us, and it even went so far as to chastise those who use free speech to “hurt the religious feelings of Muslims.” (Funny, the current administration has no problem hurting the “religious feelings” of Catholics.)
But where is the president’s statement about this? These countries represent his much touted “Arab Spring.” How’s that Arab Spring working out for us now? Have we received an apology yet from our “friends” in the Muslim Brotherhood for the assault on our embassy?
It’s about time our president stood up for America and condemned these Islamic extremists. I realize there must be a lot on his mind these days – what with our economy’s abysmal jobless numbers and Moody’s new warning about yet another downgrade to our nation’s credit rating due to the current administration’s failure to come up with a credible deficit reduction plan. And, of course, he has a busy schedule – with all those rounds of golf, softball interviews with the “Pimp with the Limp,” and fundraising dinners with his corporate cronies. But our nation’s security should be of utmost importance to our Commander-in-chief. America can’t afford any more “leading from behind” in such a dangerous world. We already know that President Obama likes to “speak softly” to our enemies. If he doesn’t have a “big stick” to carry, maybe it’s time for him to grow one.