Don’t Blame the Libyan People

Whether it was a planned terrorist attack in response to the U.S. interventions in the region, an assault involving past U.S. allies in the Libya war, or a mob reaction to the hateful anti-Islam movie whose actors say they were duped into starring in it, the murder of four Americans, including diplomat Chris Stevens, at the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, was an atrocity that should not be blamed on the general Libyan population. Here are photos of everyday Libyans reaching out to Americans to make clear they do not endorse terrorism.

Organized murder is always wrong, whether done by mobs, terror groups, or governments. If this attack, along with the disruptions at the U.S. embassies in Yemen and Egypt, prompt Americans to support another deadly war of retaliation, nothing good could come of it, only more senseless bloodshed.

Obama has already ordered drones, Marines, and warships to deploy to Libya. We shall see what happens. I pray that the awful killing of four Americans doesn’t erupt in the killing of dozens, hundreds, or thousands of North Africans. Instead, this should be seen as yet one more horrific failure of U.S. foreign policy, including the disastrous war Obama waged in Libya last year.