President Barack Obama

Across the world protests and riots took place as anger over an anti-Islamic movie trailer boiled over even as the flag draped coffins of the four State Department employees came home. US Ambassador Chris Stevens; Sean Smith, better known to many gamers by his chosen handle of ‘Vile Rat’; and former SEALs Glen A. Doherty and Tyrone S. Woods came home.

The four were killed at the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya early Wednesday morning despite the fact that the embassies and consulates were suppose to be empty due to them being on high alert in the wake of the eleventh anniversary of 9/11.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton honored the departed. Obama said of them that “Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.” He also stated “They knew the danger, and they accepted it. They didn’t simply embrace the American ideal. They lived it. . .They embodied it: the courage, the hope and yes the idealism, that fundamental belief that we can leave this world a little bit better than before. That’s who they were, and that’s who we are. If we want to truly honor their memory, that’s who we must always be.”

Clinton firmly stated that the rage and violence aimed at Americans and the American missions around the world were propted by “an awful Internet video that we had nothing to do with.”

Many Muslim nations are just coming out of long term dictatorships in which freedom of speech and freedom of the press were unknown and anything produced in those nations had official sanction.

Obama met with the families privately at Andrews Air Force Base.

Clinton stated of the events that had occurred “This work, and the men and women who risk their lives to do it, are at the heart of what makes America great and good. So we will wipe away our tears, stiffen our spines, and face the future undaunted.” She also stated “The people Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Tunisia did not trade the tyranny of a dictator for the tyranny of the mob. Reasonable people and responsible leaders in these countries need to do everything they can to restore security and hold accountable those behind these violent acts.”

Egypt and Libya have moved quickly to try and tamp down the volatile situation in their nations with many of their leaders calling for peaceful protests and beefing up security at the embassies. The Marine Corps has issued a statement that their men in Egypt were fully armed with live ammunition despite internet rumors to the contrary. They did not fire due to the lack of threat to life since the embassy was, largely, empty.

Here is the MSNBC coverage of the speech:

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