U.S. Consulate Overrun by Protestors

      Christopher Stevens, US Ambassador to Libya and three other embassy staff members died after an attack by a mob and gunmen on the US consulate and a safe house.  The attack occurred on the anniversary of the 9/11/2001 attack on the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City, which killed almost 3.000 Americans.  It was the first 9/11 anniversary since the death of Osama Bin Laden.  The purported reason for the attack on the consulate was an amateur film that insulted Mohamed, the prophet of Islam.

The United States was a major force in the international intervention to help displace the dictator Gaddafi.  The U.S. spent around a billion dollars on its efforts.  U.S. and other Nato forces enforced a No-Fly zone to prevent air attacks on the rebels and protected Benghazi against a government counter-attack.