What A Day

I woke up this morning to an alert from CNN that said that Ambassador Chris Stevens, posted in Libya, had been killed overnight, along with 3 other Mission personnel. It was a heartbreaking thing to wake up to. I was hopeful the news was wrong, but as I got to work, I realized it was in fact true. It is mind-blowing to me that of all the Americans in Libya that the extremists decided to attack, they chose Ambassador Stevens. He was a career diplomat who spent a large amount of time in Northern Africa. Not only that, but prior to being appointed Ambassador to Libya he served as the U.S. Envoy to the rebels back in the fight against Qaddafi and he helped to save Benghazi. The fact that he was killed in Benghazi is a slap in the face to U.S. and our Libyan counterparts.

Throughout the morning I watched Secretary Clinton's speech and President Obama's speech, as well as the news coverage of the attack. Then at about 1100 we were told to go down to the Courtyard. We did so, and President Obama gave a speech to the employees thanking us for our service and offering condolences for the loss of an esteemed colleague. He spoke off the cuff and from the heart, and it was nice that he came personally to the Department. It shows that the higher ups are aware of us little folk, and it was a much needed morale boost. I even got to shake the President's hand as he walked down the line. Part of me is excited, but that emotion is tempered by the fact that it took a tragedy to get there.

I have so much emotion running through me about this incident that I don't have much else I can say right now. Religious intolerance should never be accepted, but freedom of speech exists for a reason, and we can't forget that. More to come I'm sure.

One last thought-If I didn't already despise Romney, I would after his ridiculous and unnecessary statement last night. There was no need to turn the loss of an Ambassador into a political spectacle, especially with how quickly things were moving both in Cairo and in Libya. I already knew he despised federal workers, but I never thought he would stoop so low as to use us for political fodder. Despicable.