Anti-American violence still spreads throughout the Arab world, while the United Nations and NATO investigate a possible al-Qaida connection to the killing of the late American Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens.
This summer, in Los Angeles, California, a crude video portraying Muhammad, the holy prophet of Islam, as a womanizer, pedophile and senseless murderer was produced and released on the internet. In the early days of Sept. this video gained notoriety and anti-American riots spread throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Protesters have been clashing with police, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails and torching cars.
In supposed retaliation to the video, on September 11, 2012 Islamist militants armed with antiaircraft weapons and rocket-propelled grenades assaulted the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, defended by only a small security detail, killing the American-Libyan ambassador and three members of his staff, raising questions about the radicalization of countries swept up in the Arab Spring.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indicated a connection to the North African branch of the terrorist cell Al-Qaeda, which was responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center eleven years ago, describing the assassination as a “hijacked” protest. Currently American counterterrorism units are investigating what has been described as a “likely” connection with al-Qaeda. “It is self evident that what happened in Libya was a terrorist attack,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Sept. 21.
President Obama has not yet acknowledged the possible terrorist nature of the attack, drawing accusations of a cover-up from some conservative pundits and politicians. One such critic is former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich: “It is clear the Obama team decided to have the vice president lie about an event that killed four Americans, including an ambassador,” he tweeted during the Oct. 11 Vice Presidential debate.
Presently, officials question whether protesting countries receiving U.S. aid should be cut off. Many of these countries are still recovering socially and economically. The U.S. has donated billions of dollars to spur these economies into motion.
In light of anti-American riots in Arab nations, some question whether the America should continue to give aid to countries where riots have taken place. US History teacher, Mollie Ward, believes that it “should depend on the countries and their financial needs and how they have used past aid.”
Freshman George Stiffman thinks“we should make clear that the money were sending out is not related to the video and that the video was not U.S. government sponsored,” he said.
Ward is skeptical about the al-Qaeda link. “The date may not be a coincidence, but Americans tend to call all Arab activity Al-Qaeda,” she said.