WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans who were killed in an attack on a U.S. consulate last night had been "committed to helping the Libyan people reach for a better future."
Ambassador Chris Stevens was a career diplomat who was confirmed as ambassador to Libya by the Senate earlier this year. He had already served two tours in Libya, and had run the office in Benghazi during the revolt against Moammar Gadhafi.
Clinton said Stevens had a "passion for service, for diplomacy and for the Libyan people," and he was dedicated to "advancing closer ties with the people of the Middle East and North Africa."
The secretary of state said Stevens "risked his own life to lend the Libyan people a helping hand to build the foundation for a new, free nation"
Clinton said the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in eastern Libya should "shock the conscience of people of all faiths around the world."
She said the assault that killed the U.S. ambassador and three American members of his staff was committed by a "small and savage group" of militants, not by the people or government of Libya and there was no justification for the attack.
