Friday's global agenda: Clinton expected to address Libya attack

By Julian Pecquet - 10/12/12 09:32 AM ET

Your morning global affairs speed-read

Largely silent so far on the Libya tragedy that risks tarnishing her legacy as head of the State Department, Hillary Clinton is expected to address the concerns that have been raised about what the administration knew and when in a speech this afternoon. Clinton is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at 2 p.m. at a daylong Center for Strategic and International Studies conference on “The Maghreb in Transition: Seeking Stability in an Era of Uncertainty.”

Clinton's much-anticipated speech comes as Republicans have latched on to the attack that killed four Americans on the anniversary of Sept. 11 to assail President Obama's leadership skills. The Romney campaign doubled down Friday after Vice President Biden said during Thursday's debate that the administration was unaware of requests for more security from the U.S. mission in Libya, in direct contradiction of sworn testimony from State Department officials.

Here are The Hill's other foreign-policy takeaways from last night's debate:

• Biden blames intelligence community for changing story about Libya attack

• Biden calls Romney position on Syria 'whole lot of verbiage'

• Biden, Ryan argue over removing 'surge' troops from Afghanistan

• Biden, Ryan trade barbs on Iran

• Ryan, Biden clash over handling of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

In other news:

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta blamed Iran for recent cyberattacks on 10 U.S. banks in his most urgent warning yet. [The Wall Street Journal]

The U.N.'s cultural agency is suffering its "worst ever financial situation" ever after the United States, its biggest contributor, froze funding last year, UNESCO's chief said. [Reuters]

The Obama administration is considering backing a military intervention to dislodge radical Islamists from Mali, the State Department's top Africa official told The Washington Post.

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