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Flags at half staff for fallen ambassador
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September 12, 2012 |
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U.S.
Ambassador John Christopher Stevens |
President Barack Obama today ordered United
States flag be flown at half-staff through
sunset Sunday, September 16, as a mark of
respect for fallen U.S. Ambassador John
Christopher Stevens and three other Americans
killed Tuesday in an attack on the U.S.
consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
"As a mark of respect for the memory of John
Christopher Stevens, United States Ambassador to
Libya, and American personnel killed in the
senseless attack on our diplomatic facility in
Benghazi, by the authority vested in me as
President of the United States by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States
of America," the president wrote, "I hereby
order that the flag of the United States shall
be flown at half-staff at the White House and
upon all public buildings and grounds, at all
military posts and naval stations, and on all
naval vessels of the Federal Government in the
District of Columbia and throughout the United
States and its Territories and possessions until
sunset, September 16, 2012. I also direct that
the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the
same length of time at all United States
embassies, legations, consular offices, and
other facilities abroad, including all military
facilities and naval vessels and stations."
U.S. Senator Jim Risch, the ranking member on
the Near East subcommittee of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, immediately called for an
investigation of this attack and another that
occurred yesterday in Egypt by the Obama
administration to see if the attacks were
coordinated to take place on September 11, the
eleventh anniversary of the attacks on the Twin
Towers of the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon, and of the crash of hijacked United
Airlines Flight 93, brought down in a field in
Pennsylvania by the actions of passengers who'd
learned of the attacks earlier that day and
refused to allow a fourth.
“I extend my deepest sympathies to those who
lost loved ones in these vicious attacks. They
made the ultimate sacrifice for America and the
cause of freedom and I mourn their loss," Risch
said in a statement. "The tragic events in Egypt
and Libya are both shocking and senseless, and I
share the outrage of my fellow Americans.
America cannot tolerate attacks against our
citizens and values. I have met Ambassador
Stevens and found him to be a knowledgeable,
talented, and well-spoken diplomat. My thoughts
and prayers are with his family and the families
of those who lost loved ones in this attack.”
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