Full Transcript of Benghazi, Libya Embassy Terrorist Attack Remarks from Obama

Below is the transcript of Barack Obama's September 12, 2012 Rose Garden remarks about the embassy attack in Benghazi, Libya. Even though Obama does use the word terror toward the end of the statement. The overall speech was clearly referring to the Innocence of the Muslims trailer as the cause of the attack. This is evidenced by the following passage: "Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. But there is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence."

In the second presidential debate on October 16, 2012, Mitt Romney clearly did not realize Obama used the word terror in the Rose Garden address. Obama, with the surprising assistance of CNN's Candy Crowley (who was supposed to be the neutral moderator of the debate), is being dishonest by trying to pretend that he classified the attack an act of terror, when he was--at that time--actively promoting the idea that the Benghazi attack was caused by regular citizens angry over a video.

In fact, in the Rose Garden statement, Obama never specifically called the Benghazi embassy attack and act of terror. Obama's one reference to terror was a general statement about any acts of terror: "No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation." In this context, Obama's statement could refer to any and all acts of terror. The closest Obama gets to calling the Benghazi attack an act of terror in the Rose Garden remarks is by using the phrase, "this terrible act."

Here is the transcript of the remarks so you can draw your own conclusions as to what Barack Obama was really conveying to the American people.

Remarks by the President on the Deaths of U.S. Embassy Staff in Libya

Rose Garden

September 12, 2012

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Every day, all across the world, American diplomats and civilians work tirelessly to advance the interests and values of our nation. Often, they are away from their fis absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence. None. The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts.

Already, many Libyans have joined us in doing so, and this attack will not break the bonds between the United States and Libya. Libyan security personnel fought back against the attackers alongside Americans. Libyans helped some of our diplomats find safety, and they carried Ambassador Stevens’s body to the hospital, where we tragically learned that he had died.

It's especially tragic that Chris Stevens died in Benghazi because it is a city that he helped to save. At the height of the Libyan revolution, Chris led our diplomatic post in Benghazi. With characteristic skill, courage, and resolve, he built partnerships with Libyan revolutionaries, and helped them as they planned to build a new Libya. When the Qaddafi regime came to an end, Chris was there to serve as our ambassador to the new Libya, and he worked tirelessly to support this young democracy, and I think both Secretary Clinton and I relied deeply on his knowledge of the situation on the ground there. He was a role model to all who worked with him and to the young diplomats who aspire to walk in his footsteps.

Along with his colleagues, Chris died in a country that is still striving to emerge from the recent experience of war. Today, the loss of these four Americans is fresh, but our memories of them linger on. I have no doubt that their legacy will live on through the work that they did far from our shores and in the hearts of those who love them back home.

Of course, yesterday was already a painful day for our nation as we marked the solemn memory of the 9/11 attacks. We mourned with the families who were lost on that day. I visited the graves of troops who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan at the hallowed grounds of Arlington Cemetery, and had the opportunity to say thank you and visit some of our wounded warriors at Walter Reed. And then last night, we learned the news of this attack in Benghazi.

As Americans, let us never, ever forget that our freedom is only sustained because there are people who are willing to fight for it, to stand up for it, and in some cases, lay down their lives for it. Our country is only as strong as the character of our people and the service of those both civilian and military who represent us around the globe.

No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done.

But we also know that the lives these Americans led stand in stark contrast to those of their attackers. These four Americans stood up for freedom and human dignity. They should give every American great pride in the country that they served, and the hope that our flag represents to people around the globe who also yearn to live in freedom and with dignity.

We grieve with their families, but let us carry on their memory, and let us continue their work of seeking a stronger America and a better world for all of our children.

Thank you. May God bless the memory of those we lost and may God bless the United States of America.