Obama mourns US victims of Libya protest

15 Sep 2012, 1:46 pm   -   Source: AAP
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have paid respects to those killed in the US consulate in Libya. (AAP)

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have paid respects to those killed in the US consulate in Libya. (AAP)

At a ceremony in a hangar at Andrews Air Force Base, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have paid respects to those killed in the US consulate in Libya.

Their flag-draped coffins behind him, a solemn President Barack Obama hailed the service of four Americans killed during an attack on the US consulate in Libya, pledging to honour their memory and not "retreat from the world".

At a formal ceremony in a hangar at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid respects to the four men as their remains were returned to US soil.

Clinton spoke first, her voice wavering as she delivered individual tributes. She described Ambassador Christopher Stevens' "goofy but contagious" smile, and his outsized courage.

"He risked his life to help protect the Libyan people from a tyrant," she said, "And gave his life helping them build a better country."

Obama called all four men - Stevens; Sean Smith, a foreign service officer; and two former Navy SEALs, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty - patriots who loved their country, "chose to serve it and served it well".

"They had a mission, and they believed in it," Obama said. "They knew the danger and they accepted it. They didn't simply embrace the American ideal, they lived it, they embodied it: the courage, the hope and, yes, the idealism. That fundamental American belief that we can leave this world a little better than before.

"That's who they were, and that's who we are," he said. "If we want to truly honour their memory, it's who we must always be."

Obama, who met with the families of the four men before the ceremony, known officially as the Transfer of Remains, repeated a vow to see that the perpetrators of the attack are brought to justice.

Republicans have criticised Obama's handling of the violent unrest in the Middle East.

Obama noted at the ceremony that the deaths and the continued turmoil in the region have raised questions about US involvement there.

He argued for a continued presence and recalled seeing a sign held by a man in Libya that read: "Chris Stevens was a friend to all Libyans."

Clinton, too, argued for continued involvement, saying: "There will be more difficult days ahead, but it is important that we don't lose sight of the fundamental fact that America must keep leading the world. We owe it to those four men to continue the long, hard work of diplomacy."

And she called on leaders in those countries to do "everything they can to restore security and hold accountable those behind these violent acts".

"The people of Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Tunisia did not trade the tyranny of a dictator for the tyranny of a mob," she said.

After Obama's remarks, the president and Clinton clasped hands momentarily, then joined Vice President Joe Biden as each casket was placed into a waiting hearse by military pallbearers.

The remains were to be transported by an Air Force C-17 aircraft to the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta also attended the ceremony.

The military ceremony came amid a continued spate of anti-American protests at embassies in the Middle East, Africa, London and elsewhere over a vicious anti-Muslim video.

At the White House, officials defended Obama's stewardship, saying that the administration had no "actionable intelligence" that would have prevented an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi.

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