Wednesday morning Americans were stunned to learn the US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, had come under attack. The lethal attack left 4 Americans murdered: Ambassador Christopher Stevens; Foreign Service Information Management Officer, Sean Smith; former Navy SEAL, Glen Doherty; and former Navy SEAL, Tyrone Woods.

While the story first broadcast by the AP and major networks asserted the attacks were a backlash from the anti-Islam, YouTube film, “The Innocence of Muslims” (made by a 55 year old Egyptian-born Coptic Christian man), Libyan officials believe the attacks were strategically planned to mark the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Protesters destroy an American flag pulled down from the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012.

Concurrently, violence erupted in Cairo, where angry mobs tore down the American flag flying over the the US Embassy, replacing it with a black flag that read: “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.”

In Sanaa, Yemen, protestors yelling “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” over-ran the US Embassy Thursday and burned the US Flag. Other US Installments have been put on special alert, including almost all those in the Middle East, as well as in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Burundi and Zambia.

Victor Davis Hanson asks the obvious question, “…who believes that an unhinged, unknown YouTube video that had been in the public domain for some time suddenly enraged the Arab Street — just by happenstance — on 9/11?” The film is nothing more than an artful dodge: these violent protests were far too simultaneous and far too similar to be only an “organic” protest of angry Islamists.

The US Embassy’s initial statement empathized with the offended Muslims,”The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims.” Upon hearing the Embassy apology (which was later retracted), Mitt Romney made a press statement, “I’m outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It’s disgraceful that the Obama Administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.”

Following Romney’s statement, Obama sharply retorted, “There’s a broader lesson to be learned here. Gov. Romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later.”

Ambassador Adolph Dubs, the last U.S. Ambassador to be killed in the line of duty. Died February 14th, 1979, in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Earlier today on Megyn Kelly’s “America Live” Ollie North commented on Obama’s lack of outrage, “There should have been outrage! We can all remember George W. Bush standing on top of the fire truck in the aftermath of 9/11/01, reminding the people who perpetrated that attack that there would be consequences, and the cheers of the firemen and first responders who were still in that smoking wreck! Now the comments by this president are very like those of Jimmy Carter when our last ambassador was murdered. Jimmy Carter professed to be ‘shocked and surprised’ that our ambassador in Kabul could be butchered in 1979.”

President Obama is indeed echoing the appeasement attitude of President Carter. John Bolton accurately describes their assumptions, “Unfortunately, too many mistake resolve for belligerence. President Obama, for example, acts as if American strength is provocative, that we are too much in the world, and that a lesser U.S. profile would make other nations better disposed toward us. This is exactly backwards. It is not our strength that is provocative, but our weakness, which simply emboldens our adversaries to take advantage of what they see as decline and retreat.” Bolton adds an apt Roman quote, “…si vis pacem, para bellum: If you want peace, prepare for war.”

But how does Obama prepare? By downsizing our US Navy to 284 ships? By sympathizing with those perpetrators of vitriolic outbreaks and murder of US citizens? By refusing to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concerning Iran’s known progress toward building nuclear weapons? Obama has indeed emboldened our enemies, sided with the Muslim Brotherhood, and snubbed our long-time ally, Israel.

I was reminded of another terrific Latin motto by @masterescrow on Twitter today, “Oderint, dum metuant.” (Let them hate, so long as they fear). I could not agree more: our allies must be confident of our steadfast support and our enemies, or those tempted to side with our enemies, must be terrified of America’s unapologetically strong reprisals.

US Ambassador Christopher Stevens

Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, and former SEALS Tyrone Woods and Glen A. Doherty were slain in the service of our nation. Woods had been a SEAL for 20 years, Doherty for 9 years: they were elite warriors. 4 good Americans; 4 murders. And to compound the tragic loss, the radical mobs are defiling our flag–the enduring symbol of our great Republic–at our US Embassies abroad.

Time for a leader who will express outrage over the death of any American anywhere. Time for a President who does not apologize for the US, who does not ascribe to America blame for heinous acts by Jihadis. Time for a Commander in Chief that understands the meaning of peace through strength! Time to elect Mitt Romney who will restore real foreign and domestic leadership–America’s future and Americans’ safety depend on it.