His expected campaign advantage on foreign-policy issues suddenly in doubt, President Obama at the United Nations on Tuesday portrayed the deaths of four Americans in Libya as a result of inflamed tensions over an anti-Islam movie produced in the U.S. rather than a terrorist attack aimed at his policies in dealing with the Arab Spring and Middle East unrest.
Although his administration in recent days acknowledged that the deaths of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three others were caused by a terrorist act on Sept. 11, Mr. Obama didn’t mention terrorism as the likely motive in front of an international audience at the U.N. General Assembly’s annual gathering. After referencing the killing of the ambassador, Mr. Obama focused much of his speech on promoting religious tolerance and free speech, blaming the film for provoking the anti-U.S. outbursts while saying there is never an excuse for violence.
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