On the end of the Arab Spring...

Since these embassy attacks began on 9/11, I can't help but notice something very disturbing...

The rumors and accusations associated with where the responsibility rests for the attacks are many and varied beyond belief.  Did the President know of the danger?  Did the Department of State ignore intelligence that said the attacks might happen?  What were the circumstances of the death of Ambassador Stevens, and how is the death effecting State Dept. efforts in the region?

It is exactly this sort of firestorm that can result from a foreign policy agenda that is too concerned with international perception and not concerned enough with US interests abroad.  While I am not typically a fan of calls for Congressional investigations, I'm beginning to feel this situation might warrant one rather badly.

When the leaders of nations such as Libya, Egypt, India, Sudan, et al, fail to see the danger in allowing mob violence to dominate their foreign relations efforts and obligations, and refuse to recognize the difference between a society that embraces "free speech" from one that endorses and supports ethnic and racial hatred... all the while retaining and exercising the right to protest America by burning flags or effigies whenever the urge hits them... certainly do not seem like the sorts of leaders, or even societies, that the US should be investing tens of billions of dollars in on an annual basis.  In short, if these places can't see where their bread is getting buttered (or even who is giving them the bread in the first place!), then the tap needs to be cut off.  I heard both the SoS and the President talk about how important it was to continue to support the "new democratic" governments in places like Libya and Egypt, and that "knee-jerk" reactions will do more harm than good... but not reacting at all would be the WORST alternative I can imagine.

F. Ryan's initial reaction to the news was to see it as a declaration of war... and justly so... but I think it would be a more effective reaction to simply see it for what it is:  a declaration of an end to diplomatic relations, since all diplomatic relations between nations flow through the embassies and consulates that the mobs are attacking.  If the mobs want to burn the embassies, I say pull our people out and let them burn the places to the ground.  When those same mobs are looking for money/food/medicine/aid/whatever... let them turn to the ash and rubble that was their avenue of assistance and ask.  If the new leadership of those same nations want to ask for help or support, they can turn to the same ash heaps and ponder on the obligations expected as a "host nation" and learn to implement better security measures in the future.

And if there are any "liberals" out there asking why it would be okay for the US to ignore the cries and pleas from starving Libyan or Egyptian children who need US aide while this diplomatic "vacuum" was sorted out... I'd have them discuss the issue with the family of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and the three other Embassy staff members who died at the hands of the mobs.