Middle East/North Africa

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday expressed sorrow over the death of Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, who died in the attack on the embassy in Benghazi on Tuesday alongside three other Foreign Service personnel.  

Rice addressed the Sept. 11 attacks on U.S. embassies in Benghazi, Libya and Cairo, Egypt in a Facebook post. 

"I am saddened by the tragic loss of life at our consulate in Benghazi. Ambassador Chris Stevens was a wonderful officer and a terrific diplomat who was dedicated to the cause of freedom," Rice wrote on her Facebook page. "His service in the Middle East throughout his career was legendary. My thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of all of the fallen. They will be sorely missed but never forgotten."

Lawmakers said Obama could show “tremendous leadership” by pressing for the change.

Top Democrats are strongly criticizing Mitt Romney for saying the Obama administration's response to attacks on diplomatic posts in Libya and Egypt was "akin to an apology."

The criticism comes in response to Romney saying early reactions by the Obama administration to protests that, at the time, were escalating into attacks on U.S. embassies in Cairo, Egypt and Benghazi, Libya, were sympathetic to the attackers.

Democrats panned Romney's criticism, saying it was "inappropriate" and the latest example of a serious lack of good judgement on foreign affairs.

"Gov. Romney's comments are about as inappropriate as anything I have ever seen at this kind of a moment," Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) said, according to The Associated Press. "They are flat wrong, but they demonstrate an insensitivity and a lack of judgment about what is happening right now. To make those kinds of statements before you even know the facts, before families have even been notified, before things have played out, is really not just inexperienced, it's irresponsible, it's callous, it's reckless. And I think he ought to apologize, and I don't think he knows what he's talking about, frankly."

Violence in the post-Arab Spring Middle East threatened to upset the presidential race. 

Libya's ambassador to the United States, Ali Aujali, has just put out a statement praising U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans who died in the attack on the U.S. consulate in Bengahzi.

Read the full statement below:

Lawmakers are accusing the GOP nominee of trying to divide the country during a national tragedy.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) ordered the Capitol's flags flown at half-staff Wednesday to mark the death of four Americans in Libya and will lead a moment of silence, but that's where congressional unity ends.

"The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts," the president said. 

Romney stood by his statement criticizing the Obama administration over its handling of protests in the Middle East.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered a defense of Libya Wednesday after a mob attack left four Americans dead.