As anti-American furor raged in the home of the Arab Spring, the top U.S. diplomat on Friday sternly warned countries where the unrest has been most pronounced: Stop the violence and seek justice against those attacking diplomatic missions, or else the United States will.From Morocco to Malaysia, thousands of Muslims have taken to the streets in recent days. Many have fumed over what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described Friday as an "awful Internet video that we had nothing to do with" -- an inflammatory anti-Islam film posted online this summer and publicized in recent days.
- The 14-minute film trailer, which was privately produced in the United States led by a man federal officials identified as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, mocks the Prophet Mohammed as a womanizer, child molester and ruthless killer.
- Protester haven't all been violent, and they represent a fraction of their respective nations' populations: In Egypt, a nation of more than 80 million people, a few thousand have clashed with security forces outside the U.S. embassy in Cairo.
Still, confrontations have aggravated relations between the U.S. and other nations, and led to several deaths -- including those of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three others killed in an attack Tuesday in Benghazi, Libya. The U.N. Security Council issued a statement Friday voicing "deep concern" over attacks on diplomatic posts, calling them "unjustifiable regardless of their motivations."Clinton said such assaults are misguided and fly in the face of the better society many in these countries recently fought for when they overthrew authoritarian rulers.
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