Comedian Jon Stewart took aim at the Obama administration’s fumbled response to the recent attacks on the U.S. diplomatic outposts in Libya.
Stewart unveiled a new segment on Monday night called, “Do You Guys Ever Talk To Each Other Or…”
The satire mocked the uncoordinated response from President Barack Obama and his administration following the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens.
The White House, through its press secretary, had initially declined to label the incident an act of terrorism, emphasizing the ongoing investigation. The administration also pointed to the anti-Islam video that had triggered violent protests throughout the Middle East.
Stewart then pointed to a host of others who did call it a terrorist attack, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Obama later appeared on The View, where he said the attack clearly wasn’t just a “mob action.”
“And?” Stewart asked. “Is there some middle ground? A cynic would argue he is unwilling to admit the embassy was hit by terrorists because it would make him look bad.”
A CNN report confirmed the assault as a terrorist attack after 24 hours.
“Well, two things apparently have become clear,” Stewart concluded. “The attack on our embassy was planned and coordinated. The response to it — not so much.”
Stevens, 52, was the first sitting U.S. ambassador to be killed in a violent attack since 1979.
Officials said the ambassador, who was stationed at the embassy in Tripoli, was visiting the consulate at the time of the attack. The apparent cause of his death was smoke inhalation, according to several U.S. officials briefed on the attack, although the State Department has not confirmed that.
Stevens and the other Americans were killed when a mob of protesters and gunmen overwhelmed the consulate, setting fire to it in outrage over a film that ridicules Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Stevens died as he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff as a crowd of hundreds attacked the consulate, many of them firing machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
By the end of the assault, much of the building was burned out and trashed.
