Americans Attacked in Egypt & Libya
Joel C. Rosenberg
In scenes eerily reminiscent of the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, American diplomatic facilities in Egypt and Libya were attacked on the eleventh anniversary of September 11, 2001 by crowds of Islamic militants leaving four Americans dead and creating a new crisis in the Middle East and North Africa.
“The U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other American diplomats were killed when suspected Libyan religious extremists stormed the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi late Tuesday, according to Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagour,” reported the Wall Street Journal. The battle in Benghazi involved a five-hour gun battle. Analysts believe the attacks were premeditated and may have been coordinated by al Qaeda. Libyan security forces did little to defend the Americans.
In Egypt, more than 2,000 Islamic militants stormed the American embassy in Cairo. UPI reports: “Egyptian demonstrators Tuesday took down the U.S. flag from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to protest a short film they say demeans the Prophet Muhammad….Protesters climbed atop the embassy walls and got into the embassy’s garden, the report said, where they removed a U.S. flag and replaced it with one bearing the Islamic declaration of faith: ‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah.’”
Please pray the families of those killed and wounded. Please for calm and order. Please pray for the persecuted Christians in Egypt and North Africa. Please also pray for wisdom for our leaders to know how best to respond to this new surge of Islamic extremism which appears to be intensifying over the past few days, not dissipating.
