Note: On the night of 11 September 2012, an armed Libyan group attacked the compound of the US Consulate in Benghazi and the exchange of fire continued until the early hours of next day. Among other, the US Ambassador J Christopher Stevens and three other members of the US diplomatic mission in Libya were killed. Editorial commentaries from the international and the Middle Eastern media on this event are reproduced here. Editor, MEI@ND
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The Jordan Times, Amman, Editorial, September 12, 2012, Wednesday
1. Nothing justifies murder
Aprovocative US movie on Islam triggered acts of violence in Libya and Egypt, leading to the murder of the American ambassador to Libya along with three of his staff. The perpetrators of the attack certainly knew the ambassador and the other victims had no role in the making of the movie, which, according to news reports, intended to depict Islam in a negative manner, a goal that the killers of the US diplomats are also serving. For the full text 

Global Times Beijing, Editorial, 13 September 2012, Thursday
2. Libya fiasco shows sad reality of US policy
US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, was killed along with three other embassy staff in a targeted rocket attack in Benghazi Tuesday. Killing an ambassador is against the humanitarian bottom line. It should be condemned worldwide. On the same day, Egyptian protesters breached the US embassy in Cairo. Both incidents were triggered by a US film which the Arab world believes insulted the Prophet Mohammed while the US government refused to apologize. This is the most acute conflict between the US and the Arab world since the Arab Spring. For the full text

Gulf News, Dubai, Editorial, 13 September 2012, Thursday
3. Attack on US consulate in Libya a deplorable act
The right way to combat anti-Muslim prejudice or propaganda in the US is through the courts. It is a tragedy that the US ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three consulate officials have died during an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi by an armed mob, which set fire to the building in protest against an amateur film that is apparently being produced in America and has been deemed offensive to Prophet Mohammad. The attack in Libya follows a similar attack yesterday (12 September) on the US embassy in Cairo, where the police lost control for a brief time and an Islamist black flag was raised by the protestors, but then the police regained control and talked the protestors into stopping their actions. For the full text

Khaleej Times, Dubai, Editorial, 13 September 2012, Wednesday
4. Bedlam in Benghazi
Libya is in the grip of chaos. The killing of United States envoy and three other embassy staff in Benghazi over a documentary made by a California-based Israeli filmmaker that allegedly indulges in blasphemy is unfortunate. The uprising in Libya and in Cairo, in the last two days, where the US mission was attacked and flag set on fire, just goes on to establish that religion and region are quite sensitive issues, and freebooters should desist from flaring it.
For the full text

The National, Abu Dhabi, Editorial, 13 September 2012, Thursday
5. Fight extremists on both sides after Libya attack
Tuesday night marked an extraordinary low point in this season of Middle East unrest. The attack on the US consulate in Benghazi killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, a US foreign-service officer with a record of supporting the Libyan people during the rebellion against the Qaddafi regime. Aside from the tragedy, and aside from the damage done to US-Libyan relations, this attack will have dangerous reverberations for the region. Once again, the actions of a few extremists have consequences that far outweigh their numbers or their popular support. For the full text

Arab News, Jeddah, Editorial, 14 September 2012, Friday
6. A wake-up call for new Libyan government
The murder in Benghazi on Tuesday (11 September), of the US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, along with three colleagues could have catastrophic consequences for Libya. The crime demonstrates vividly the impotence of the authorities, thus far, to rein in heavily armed militias in a country that is still awash with weaponry from the revolution. For the full text

The Indian Express, New Delhi, Editorial, 14 September, 2012 Friday
7. After Benghazi
The attack on the US consulate in Benghazi appears to have been planned. Although details will emerge only after a thorough investigation, the incident in Libya is different from the protests at the US embassy in Cairo. At the Centre of the tensions is a film seen to be anti-Islamic, which has touched off ripples in a region that is still struggling to settle down after the tumult of the Arab revolutions. Despite the context of political fragility and churn, however, the violent reaction highlights the failure of the state in each case, with anti-US protests now spilling into Sanaa, Yemen. For the full text

The National, Abu Dhabi, Editorial, 14 September 2012, Friday
8. New Libya's first task is solidifying national security
In late July, when Libya's then-deputy prime minster, Mustafa Abushagur, hosted a live online discussion with constituents, the issue of security was a popular concern. Abushagur's answer: "We have already started the process of building a credible police force. However, it will take some time." Time is not on Libya's side. The assassination of the US ambassador, Chris Stevens, in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday underscored the urgent need for sweeping security improvements, and how much work the new government must do to impose federal authority across the country. For the full text

The Pioneer, New Delhi, Editorial, 14 September 2012, Friday
9. Arab Winter is here
Attack on US consulates signals rise of Islamists. As it becomes increasingly evident that the vicious attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi that killed the American Ambassador to Libya was indeed an act of terror, the writing on the wall is clear: The Arab Spring has given way to a cold and dark ‘Islamist winter’ that threatens to envelop countries which are in a state of transition following pro-democracy movements. For the full text

The Nation, Lahore, Editorial, 17September, 2012 Monday
10. Sending in troops
The US has reacted to recent protests in the Muslim world against the anti-Islam film, by deciding to send in its troops to Muslim countries. This decision, to send troops to eighteen locations, came after at least six protesters were killed in Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan and Lebanon on Saturday (15 September). Already stretched thin, with resources deployed in an unpopular war, the US military is now eyeing sending troops into Libya, after the failure of the regime it and NATO forces helped bring to power, failed to protect either its consulates or restore a democratic government. For the full text

Khaleej Times, Dubai, Editorial, 23 September 2012, Sunday
11. Benghazi clean up
Libya is inadvertently in turmoil. The civil-strife torn country, which was gradually becoming a hub for private militias, witnessed a jiff of fresh air as protesters tore down the offices of a jihadi organization that was allegedly involved in the cold-blooded murder of US diplomat Christopher Stevens. The act of rage was unprecedented, as the mob stood against the well-entrenched militia in Benghazi, and forced it to flee. Though the protesters were backed by government machinery, the fact that they made it a political point to shun such disgruntled elements from their rank and file is quite promising. For the full text

Khaleej Times, Dubai, Editorial, 1 October 2012 Sunday
12. Disarmament in Libya
Libyans’ resolve to disarm their polarized society is appreciated. If initial reports are any criterion, the move on behalf of the government to collect illegal weapons from the public and the militant groups seems to be a success. Hordes of people have heeded to the call and surrendered their artillery with the army authorities. The list of collected items sounds amazing, as it includes a couple of tanks, rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns and assault rifles. For the full text

Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Editorial, 15 October 2012, Monday
13. Libya reckoning
The Obama administration's story keeps changing
Day by day, the public is learning more about what happened in the September 11 attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others. There is still much confusion. But last week we gleaned two key points from a State Department briefing and a House Oversight and Government Reform committee hearing: Initial White House statements that the attack was triggered by a demonstration over an anti-Muslim video were wrong. There was no demonstration that night. For the full text

Compiled by MariMuthu U

MariMuthu U is a Doctoral candidate at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Email

As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND.  Editor, MEI@ND:  P R Kumaraswamy