Team Romney is trying to score political points over the dead bodies of Americans, who is surprised, NYT on the incident:

“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,” Mr. Romney said in a statement. 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......Mr. Romney was making an apparent reference to a statement released by the American Embassy in Cairo condemning the trailer for the video, made by an Israel-American. The statement, which rejects “efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims,” was released before the protests started in an effort to cool tensions.”

The 'first response' Romney refers to was apparently from someone in the US embassy in Egypt criticizing the religious hatred in the film trailer, before the demonstrations in Egypt or Libya had erupted into violence, to try to cool off tensions.

Romney deceptively tries to imply it was the Obama 'first response' to the killings of the Americans. It wasn't. Obama's first response was to condemn the killings.

For those interested in the larger issue of the US decision to get involved in the Libyan situation, I cannot recommend highly enough Michael Lewis' article on Obama for the October Vanity Fair, which I just finished reading:

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/10/michael-lewis-profile-barack-...

Vanity Fair has been heavily promoting the story as a character piece on President Obama before releasing it, and Lewis does indeed spend a bit of time talking about Obama's daily life as president, his personality, and things like the basketball games the president organizes.

But in the end, you realize that it has all been about Obama's decision to go into Libya .

And it gives a lot of detail about the meetings about the decision, who was in them, who supported what and how he made the decision. (That's why it begins with the story of the downed navigator pilot in Libya, to which he returns through out the piece.)

Plus, it's a fantastic piece of writing, as usual from the author.

U.S. launching apparent terrorist hunt in Libya

(CBS/AP) WASHINGTON - The Obama administration, roiled by the first killing of a U.S. ambassador in more than 30 years, has begun what appears to be a terrorist hunt in Libya, as evidence mounts that the deaths of four diplomatic workers there were perpetrated by well-armed thugs and not an out-of-control crowd.

CBS News correspondent David Martin reports the FBI has opened an investigation into the deaths, and agents will be sent to sift through the wreckage for evidence. They will be accompanied by a second team sent just for their protection.

As part of the hunt for the attackers, officials say the U.S. will increase its surveillance over Libya, including the use of unmanned drones. In addition, the U.S. Navy is positioning two destroyers armed with cruise missiles off the coast of Libya.

One destroyer, the USS Laboon, moved to a position off the coast Wednesday, and the USS McFaul is en route and should be stationed off the coast within days. Officials said the ships, which carry Tomahawk cruise missiles, do not have a specific mission. But they give commanders flexibility to respond to any mission ordered by the president.

The investigation will focus on whether the assault on the U.S. Consulate in Libya was a planned terrorist strike to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and not a spontaneous mob enraged over an anti-Islam YouTube video [....]