CNN news 2012-09-17 加文本

cnn news 2012-09-17

CARL AZUZ, cnn ANCHOR: I`m Carl Azuz. Today, on cnn STUDENT NEWS, we are going to be talking about a teachers` strike and a new case of a disease that`s usually associated with the Middle Ages.

But we start in Northern Africa. Violence and anger in Egypt and Libya, directed at American citizens and American facilities. This happened on Tuesday night, in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo, protesters attacked the U.S. embassy. That`s the building where an ambassador, the diplomat who represents the United States and other countries and his or her staff work. In Egypt, the protesters tore down the American flag at the embassy. But the situation was much more violent at the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Consulates are like embassies, but they are not located in capital cities. In Benghazi, four Americans including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, were killed. There was a protest outside the consulate. U.S. sources told cnn that the people who attacked the building used that protest as a diversion. The United States promised to track down whoever is behind the killings. The violence left many Americans and many American leaders with questions.

HILLARY CLINTON, THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: How could this happen? How could this happen in a country we helped liberate, in a city we helped save from destruction? This question reflects just how complicated and at times how confounding the world can be. But we must be clear -eyed, even in our grief. This was an attack, by a small and savage group. Not the people or government of Libya.

AZUZ: Libya`s government spoke out against that violence as well. Libyan officials apologize for the attack, and called it a cowardly criminal act. Elise Labott who coves foreign affairs for cnn, talked with us about why this event is so significant.

ELISE LABOTT, FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: An attack on a U.S. consulate or facilities is such a traumatic event, because these are U.S. diplomats that are putting their lives on the line to help further U.S. policy and to help reach out to a country, you know. Secretary Clinton, though, she says that U.S. diplomats are on the frontlines of U.S. diplomacy. And so when you attack a U.S. facility and you attack U.S. personnel, it`s almost like you are attacking America. In fact, it is like you are attacking America. And so it`s really -- everyone is obviously very sad about the loss of life and the danger to U.S. personnel, but it really is an affront to what America`s trying to do in any various (ph) countries.

AZUZ: The protests in both countries, Libya and Egypt, were linked to an online film that was considered offensive to Islam. American religious leaders from several faiths including Muslim leaders spoke out yesterday to condemn the movie and the violence in northern Africa. Meanwhile, the U.S. sent about 50 Marines to Libya to help secure American facilities there, and U.S. embassies around the world have been ordered to increase their security as well.