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[Secretary Clinton] Yesterday, our U.S. diplomatic post in
Benghazi, Libya, was attacked.
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Heavily armed militants assaulted the compound and set fire to our
buildings.
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American and Libyan security personnel battled the attackers
together.
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Four Americans were killed.
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They included Sean Smith, a Foreign Service information management
officer,
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and our Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens.
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We are still making next-of-kin notifications for the other two
individuals.
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This is an attack that should shock the conscience of people of all
faiths around the world.
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We condemn in the strongest terms this senseless act of violence,
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and we send our prayers to the families, friends and colleagues of
those we’ve lost.
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All over the world, every day, America’s diplomats and development
experts risk their lives
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in the service of our country and our values,
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because they believe that the United States must be a force for
peace and progress in the world,
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that these aspirations are worth striving and sacrificing for.
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Alongside our men and women in uniform, they represent the best
traditions of a bold and generous nation.
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In the lobby of this building, the State Department,
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the names of those who have fallen in the line of duty
are inscribed in marble.
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Our hearts break over each one.
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And now, because of this tragedy, we have new heroes to honor and
more friends to mourn.
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Chris Stevens fell in love with the Middle East as a young Peace
Corps volunteer teaching English in Morocco.
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He joined the Foreign Service, learned languages,
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won friends for America in distant places and made other people’s
hopes his own.
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In the early days of the Libyan revolution, I asked Chris to be our
envoy to the rebel opposition.
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He arrived on a cargo ship in the port of Benghazi and began
building our relationships with Libya’s revolutionaries.
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He risked his life to stop a tyrant, then gave his life trying to
help build a better Libya.
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The world needs more Chris Stevenses.
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I spoke with his sister, Ann, this morning, and told her that he
will be remembered as a hero by many nations.
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Sean Smith was an Air Force veteran.
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He spent 10 years as an information management officer in the State
Department,
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he was posted at The Hague, and was in Libya on a brief temporary
assignment.
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He was a husband to his wife Heather, with whom I spoke this
morning.
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He was a father to two young children, Samantha and Nathan.
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They will grow up being proud of the service their father gave to
our country,
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service that took him from Pretoria to Baghdad, and finally to
Benghazi.
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The mission that drew Chris and Sean and their colleagues to Libya
is both noble and necessary,
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and we and the people of Libya honor their memory by carrying it
forward.
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This is not easy.
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Today, many Americans are asking — indeed, I asked myself — how
could this happen?
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How could this happen in a country we helped liberate, in a city we
helped save from destruction?
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This question reflects just how complicated and, at times, how
confounding the world can be.
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But we must be clear-eyed, even in our grief.
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This was an attack by a small and savage group — not the people or
government of Libya.
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Everywhere Chris and his team went in Libya, in a country scarred by
war and tyranny,
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they were hailed as friends and partners.
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And when the attack came yesterday, Libyans stood and fought to
defend our post.
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Some were wounded. Libyans carried Chris’ body to the hospital,
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and they helped rescue and lead other Americans to safety.
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And last night, when I spoke with the president of Libya, he
strongly condemned the violence
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and pledged every effort to protect our people and pursue those
responsible.
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The friendship between our countries, borne out of shared struggle,
will not be another casualty of this attack.
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A free and stable Libya is still in America’s interest and security,
and we will not turn our back on that,
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nor will we rest until those responsible for these attacks are found
and brought to justice.
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We are working closely with the Libyan authorities to move swiftly
and surely.
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We are also working with partners around the world to safeguard
other American embassies, consulates and citizens.
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There will be more time later to reflect, but today we have work to
do.
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There is no higher priority than protecting our men and women
wherever they serve.
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We are working to determine the precise motivations and methods of
those who carried out this assault.
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Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior, along with the
protest that took place at our embassy in Cairo yesterday,
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as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet.
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America’s commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very
beginning of our nation.
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But let me be clear — there is no justification for this, none.
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Violence like this is no way to honor religion or faith.
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And as long as there are those who would take innocent life in the
name of God,
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the world will never know a true and lasting peace.
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It is especially difficult that this happened on September 11.
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It’s an anniversary that means a great deal to all Americans.
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Every year on that day, we are reminded that our work is not yet
finished,
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that the job of putting an end to violent extremism and building a
safe and stable world continues.
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But September 11 means even more than that.
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It is a day on which we remember thousands of American heroes, the
bonds that connect all Americans,
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wherever we are on this Earth, and the values that see us through
every storm.
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And now it is a day on which we will remember Sean, Chris and their
colleagues.
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May God bless them, and may God bless the thousands of Americans
working in every corner of the world
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who make this country the greatest force for peace, prosperity and
progress,
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and a force that has always stood for human dignity — the greatest
force the world has ever known.
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And may God continue to bless the United States of America.
Thank you.