Both of Kentucky's U.S. Senators are reacting to the attacks on diplomatic posts in Egypt and Libya. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell expressed support Wednesday for deploying every tool available to keep Americans safe overseas and to hunt down those responsible for the attacks which killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other American diplomats.
“Yesterday we commemorated the anniversary of the attacks of September 11, and today we are reminded that brave Americans serve us every day at the risk of their own lives, said McConnell.
Senator Rand Paul's Washington D.C. office issued a statement about the killings. The statement reads:
“I am heartbroken and outraged by the murder of four U.S. citizens, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, during the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost loved ones in this tragedy.
“The perpetrators of this senseless attack must be brought to justice. I, therefore, demand that until the Libyan police hand over suspects to U.S officials, any U.S. foreign aid to the government of Libya be contingent on their full support in this matter.”
From the Wall Street Journal:
The circumstances surrounding the death of Ambassador Stevens weren't immediately clear. Two Libyan security officials in the capital Tripoli gave conflicting reports of the events that occurred several hundred miles away on the east side of the country. One said that the ambassador's convoy had been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. Another said the diplomats died of smoke inhalation.
The news of the killings broke as Americans were waking up Wednesday. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the attack should "shock the conscience" of people of all faiths, but that it wouldn't alter U.S. policy in Libya. The "mission in Libya is noble and necessary … and will continue," she said from Washington. The U.S. also announced increased security measures for all U.S. diplomatic facilities worldwide.
