Secretary Clinton: Chris would have been the first to say that the terrorists who attacked
our mission in Benghazi on September 11th did not represent the millions of Libyans
who want peace and deplore violence.
You saw and you heard the President’s inspired and inspiring words about that.
Chris understood that most people, in Libya or anywhere, reject the extremist arguments
that violence and death are the only way to reclaim dignity and achieve justice.
He understood that’s why he was in Libya, and there was no substitute for going beyond
the Embassy walls, building relationships, and finding common ground.
He also knew that when America is absent, especially from the dangerous places, there
are consequences.
Extremism takes root, our interests suffer, and our security at home is threatened.
The State Department sends people to more than 275 posts in 170 countries around the
world.
Chris understood that diplomats must operate in many places where soldiers do not, where
there are no other boots on the ground, and security is far from guaranteed.
And he volunteered for those kinds of assignments.
He understood that we will never prevent every act of terrorism or achieve perfect security
in this world, and that our diplomats cannot work in bunkers and do their jobs, that we
inevitably must accept a level of risk to protect our country, a country we love, and
to advance our interests and values.
Of course, it is also our responsibility to constantly improve, to reduce the risks our
people face, to make sure they have the resources they need to do what we ask of them.
And nobody takes that more seriously than I do, and the security professionals at the
State Department.
We now have a formal Accountability Review Board investigating the terrorist attack that
killed Chris, and we will certainly apply its recommendations and lessons learned to
improving security everywhere.
It’s appropriate that we do so based on facts and evidence.
Chris’s family, his colleagues at the Department, and the American people deserve nothing less.
As that process moves forward, though, we are taking immediate steps to bolster security
and readiness.
We’ve dispatched teams, joint teams from the Department of State and Defense, to review
high-threat posts to determine whether there are other improvements we need in light of
the evolving security challenges we now face.
The men and women who serve our country overseas represent the best traditions of a bold and
generous nation, and they are no strangers to danger.
From Tehran and Beirut to Islamabad, East Africa and Saudi Arabia, and now in Benghazi,
and many other places in between over the years, we have seen our diplomats devoted
to peace targeted by terrorists devoted to death.
But we cannot, indeed we must not, be intimidated.
We have to remain focused and clear in our vision of the kind of world we seek to build.
Chris Stevens was an inspiration to all who served with him and knew him during his life.
He remains an inspiration now and I believe far into the future, because he exemplified
the best of what we stand for, who we are as a people.
And he believed in the search for common ground.
So we thank you for recognizing this brave and good man, this consummate diplomat, this
American hero.