Sen. McCain Remembers Amb. Chris Stevens, Says the US Must Continue to Support Libya, Egypt
Senator John McCain (R) spoke to Neil Cavuto about Ambassador Chris Stevens who was killed during an attack on the US Consulate in Libya. Mourning the loss of all the Americans who were killed, the senator described Amb. Stevens as a lovely man who loved his country. Sen. McCain recalled spending time with Amb. Stevens during the Libyan election. “He went to Benghazi while the fight was still going on … and lived in constant danger until it was over. He moved to Tripoli and set up our embassy there … The Libyan people liked and admired him.”
Sen. McCain labeled the attack in Benghazi as a “planned and orchestrated terrorist attack.” He stressed that, “In Cairo, it was a mob incited by these people that hate America, that were using this so-called film that … provokes Muslims. So there were two very different motivations and types of attacks that were carried out.”
Cavuto asked Sen. McCain what this says about the new Libyan government and they’re loyalty to the United States.
The senator responded, “The Libyan government is very loyal to us and they proved that in the elections where they had huge voter turnout and they voted for a moderate government, not an Islamist government.”
He went on to say, “But there are guns and weapons all over that country as a result of the fighting; there are still these militias that are armed. This is not a strong government. They just recently were elected. They haven’t got a trained police or army. […] So there have been jihadists that have come into that country, there are Al Qaeda that have come into that country and are operating in that country with weapons.”
Given that state, Sen. McCain said it means the US will have to have a very secure environment for any American, including diplomats. While he says he understands the frustration and anger that Americans are feeling, Sen. McCain says it matters to us what happens in Egypt.
The answer is not to withdraw our support in Libya and Egypt, said McCain, because then the terrorists and Islamist extremists win. He added, “I think that our interests in Egypt and that part of the world are pretty significant because if we withdraw the fortress America, some of those places could be a breeding ground for Al Qaeda and we know what Al Qaeda likes to do.”
