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Next Steps For U.S. In Libya; Latest in Libya; U.S. and Israel Spar Over Iran; Israel Prods U.S. Over Iran; Campaigns Spar Over Foreign Violence; Apple's iPhone 5 Debuts; Libya After Gadhafi's Fall; Militant Clashes In Libya Continue; Mocking Muslim Faith

Aired September 12, 2012 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Drones over Libya should not come as a surprise to anyone. The U.S. operated drones during the time of the war there last year when the Gadhafi regime was being overthrown. That -- they were operated under the NATO flag. We have reported here at CNN back in June that Libyan officials said U.S. drones were operating over their country looking for militant targets.

So when the president said justice will be done, this was the line of inquiry. And we were able to confirm that the plan on the table now is once again U.S. recognizance drones. Surveying the territory over eastern Libya, east of Benghazi, known -- well known to be militant strongholds, jihadi strongholds, if you will.

We are told the idea here is these drones will conduct further surveillance, gather information, look for militant sites and then try and turn the information over to the Libyans and get Libyan security forces or tribal elements who control a lot of that region to go after these targets. The president laid it all out in those few words when he said justice will be done. The U.S. wants to find the perpetrators of this incident.

Don.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk timeline here. How soon before they arrive, Barbara?

STARR: Well, drones can begin flying very quickly. I think it's doubtful, due to intelligence concerns, that we will get the specific information about exactly when they're up and when they're flying. But, you know, over the last 11 years, since 9/11, militants around the world, in places like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, have learned to keep their eyes on the skies because U.S. drones now are a rather frequent occurrence.

LEMON: And where is the base of operation?

STARR: Don't know that, Don. Drones can fly out of the United States. They can fly out of places in Europe. They can fly from a lot of different locations. It's likely to change depending on the availability and who's, you know, up for that kind -- who's in the rotation for that kind of duty. Just consider this. The Marines, the 50 Marines that are sent -- being sent to the U.S. embassy in Tripoli -- in the capital, they are coming from Spain.

LEMON: All right, keep up updated. Barbara Starr, thank you very much.

There's tough talk from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her condemnation in the murder of Ambassador Stevens, but she was also quick to blame a small savage group, not the government of Libya. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Today many Americans are asking, indeed I asked myself, how could this happen? How could this happen in a country we helped liberate, in a city we helped save from destruction? This question reflects just how complicated and at times how confounding the world can be. But we must be clear-eyed even in our grief. This was an attack by a small and savage group, not the people or government of Libya.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So I want to bring in now the former State Department spokesman, P.J. Crowley. He joins us now from Washington.

P.J., Secretary Clinton not blaming the government of Libya. So who can we blame and what can we do about it?

P.J. CROWLEY, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Well, Libya is a post-conflict society. So you've got a variety of groups. They are, among other things, heavily armed. Protesters have guns. Protesters have RPGs. And obviously they used them yesterday to attack the consulate.

There are multiple factions in Libya. It's a tribal society. And they have competing visions for their future of the country. There are extremist solipsists who have been reported to be responsible for yesterday's attack. They're ultraconservative. They want to take Libya in one direction. And then you have Libya as an emerging, potentially modern society. They want to be connected and integrated with the rest of the world, in particular with Europe. And that means -- that's a different vision. So there is this political jockeying in the aftermath of the fall of Gadhafi and the United States, unfortunately, is in the middle of it.

LEMON: Speaking of politics, it's an election year here. This thing turned political fast, partly due to this statement from the U.S. embassy in Cairo yesterday, released before the deadly attack in Libya. There it is on your screen. It read, "the embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims as we condemn efforts to defend believers of all religions."

So the GOP candidate for president was quick to condemn this statement and Secretary of State Clinton walked this back saying it wasn't cleared by the White House. What are the pitfalls of politicizing this? CROWLEY: I mean it's dangerous. I think it's a little bit unnerving. I would have preferred that we just take another political time-out today in light of this tragedy.

The ambassador to Cairo, the American Ambassador Anne Patterson, is among our most distinguished and outstanding diplomats that we have. She's been through these kinds of episodes before and I think her -- you know, just as we -- we can do more than one thing at one time. We are ardent supporters of freedom of the speech, but also we understand that what we say, what we film, what we put on the Internet has impact. And we can find the right balance there.

I think what the embassy was communicating was a recognition that this film, obscure as it was, you know, had roiled civil society in Egypt. And it was an attempt to communicate not just with the government of Egypt, but with the people of Egypt and help them understand that what might be represented in this film does not represent what we as Americans overall think about Islam or think about the Middle East. It's a very, very difficult line to, you know, to navigate. And it's unfortunate that Mr. Romney would attack one of our most distinguished diplomats in the process.

LEMON: Here's a question now. Drones are being sent, we're being told. Security's being upped at installations, U.S. installations around the world. How do we proceed with Libya if they can't protect our diplomats?

CROWLEY: Well, it's not surprising that coming out of a difficult civil war in transition, Libya does not yet have the kinds of governmental institutions or capacities needed to protect not only Libyan citizens, but also our diplomats and those of other countries. You have a police force, for example, that years ago was there to protect Gadhafi and prey on the Libyan people. Now that police force is under a process of reform and being asked to protect the Libyan people and Libyan civil society. It's going to take time for Libya to develop the kinds of institutions that it needs. It's going to take time for these societies in transition to develop tolerance and peaceful political processes, rather than having, as we've seen in the last 24 hours, you know, people that start with a protest, but it turns into political violence.

LEMON: P.J. Crowley, thank you very much.

More now on this story. We want to go straight to the ground. Let's bring in CNN's Jomana Karadsheh on the phone. She joins us now from Tripoli, Libya.

So, Jomana, we are now hearing that the consulate may have been deliberately targeted. What are you hearing about what set off this violence?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): That is what we are hearing here, Don. Some eyewitnesses in Benghazi do seem to say that this might have been what happened yesterday. They're saying that it wasn't really any news about this video that sparked the protest in Cairo and there was no calls for these protests to take place. And all indications are that this might have been a preplanned attack. We do know that in the eastern city of Benghazi, around the city of Benghazi and other parts of the east, there is a growing movement of radical Islamist groups. These are heavily armed groups operating in that area. We have seen them carry out attacks against other interests areas in the past. That same U.S. consulate was targeted by an attack in June. No casualties in that attack.

Also in June we saw the convoy of the British ambassador also targeted by rocket propelled grenades in Benghazi. And we are hearing today from Libyan officials, top government officials said that this coincided with the September 11th anniversary and they do believe that this may have been linked to it, saying that they will not allow Libya...by these groups to...attacks. That they just...attacks...so far, Don. ...government has failed and has had a very difficult time in...

LEMON: That's our reporter Jomana Karadsheh reporting for us in Tripoli, Libya. Having a little bit of trouble with the telephone. But thank you very much. We'll get back to her.

You know, as this story unfolds, there is a bigger conversation here. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said himself, there could be more deaths as news of the video gets out and it reaches other countries. Could there be more deaths? Also, what stops the violence, if anything? Christiane Amanpour knows this region better than anyone. She's going to join me live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We want to talk more now on our developing story out of Libya. Joining us now from New York, Christiane Amanpour. She is CNN's chief international correspondent, also ABC News global affairs anchor.

Christiane, as we assess these events in Libya and Egypt, the killing of the U.S. ambassador and attacks on a U.S. embassy and consulate, are these the growing pains of two young democracies or is there something more sinister at work here?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's probably a bit of both. It's the growing pains for sure. And there is something sinister at work. According to the latest that we're getting from U.S. intelligence, at least according to CNN reports, is that this had been a pre-planned attack and was not necessarily due to the film, but perhaps coincided with the protests. We're still not quite sure of exactly how that would have played out. But perhaps the attack on the consulate in Libya was pre-planned.

But having said that, they also say they don't believe that the ambassador, Chris Stevens, was a direct target. And it's very interesting to note that in Libya, there is an unprecedented show of support for America and Americans. Polls that have been taken recently show more than 50 percent, some 54 percent of Libyans supporting the United States because they're thankful that the United States, along with Britain and France, led the NATO intervention that liberated them. And I think anybody -- anyone of us who's been there knows that and can feel it. So I think that's key. I think what's also very clear, as Hillary Clinton said and as President Obama said, that this was a small group. It does not represent the Libyan government. It doesn't represent the Libyan people in general, but a small group of extremists who are taking out their constant and consistent anger at the United States in this way. And I think that that's really important to understand. That there have been these small groups. Whether it was, you know, before 9/11, on 9/11 and after 9/11, there have always been these small groups which are determined to be against the United States. And this possibly was one of them. And there are concerns by intelligence that al Qaeda could be regrouping in places -- is, frankly, making a comeback in Iraq, is difficult and dangerous in places like the lawless parts of Libya.

LEMON: And, Christiane, that brings me to my next question then. We're seeing signs of this anger spreading. An Afghan official has told us, they may be looking for trouble there. So what's your feeling on that?

AMANPOUR: Well, look, I think, again, there's two different things happening here that happen to be coalescing and merging on this very dangerous highway. If it was a pre-planned assault, it is coinciding with the violence that's being whipped up after the incitement of this film that's come from the United States. This trailer which is on YouTube. And, of course, we're very concerned about what might happen in Afghanistan. We've seen this movie before. We've seen when deliberate provocation from the United States. For instance, from fringe personalities like Pastor Terry Jones in Florida threatening to burn the Koran, then burning the Koran. It caused deadly riots. We've seen it happen in the Netherlands. We've seen it happen after the Danish cartoons. We've seen what can happen. So people are afraid. People are concerned in Tunisia and in Algeria.

But I think, again, we must again emphasize that these are being taken by the extremists who, a, don't like America, but, b, don't like their own moderate governments who are coming out of this Arab Spring. The government that won in Libya is a moderate government. The forces that won in Libya are moderate forces. In Egypt, yes, it is an Islamic president, but it's a president who has talked about a democracy.

LEMON: Right.

AMANPOUR: And today they talked about, yes, we believe this film is offensive and immoral, but, no, we must not be violent in our response.

In Tunisia, it's mostly moderates that have won there. And there are these solaces, there are these extremists who don't like it at all and who are fighting for their survival, will use any excuse, whether it's the film, whether it's the anniversary of 9/11, to push their attack on America.

LEMON: Agenda. Right. Right. Exactly.

While I have you here, Christiane, and we'll talk more about this in a moment, Israel's pressuring Washington to take a more assertive stance against Iran in hopes of containing Iran's nuclear program. Is this a clash of wills between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?

AMANPOUR: Well, look, I know so much ink has been spilled and so much time has been spent talking about the relationship between these two leaders. You know, it's publicly described as frosty.

You know, I don't know, I've never been in the room. But what I do think I know is that the United States does not want to be driven into a war that it doesn't necessarily want to go in at this time, necessarily. That it wants to make its decisions on what is difficult and dangerous for U.S. national security. And, of course, it takes Israel as its very, very clear ally. It's committed to Israel's security. But there seems to be this war of words and will in this public display of differences over what to do about Iran and when is the time to do it.

The United States still believes that diplomacy can still work out. That sanctions still need to be given time to be effective. And even in Israel, as you know, Don, there's so much discrepancy over what the best thing is to do. And so many people, particularly in the military and intelligence community who don't believe attacking Iran is the best -- best for Israel's national security.

LEMON: Christiane Amanpour, much appreciated. Thank you very much.

And speaking of the apparent rift between the U.S. and Israel, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says there is no deadline against Iran and its nuclear program. So where is the red line here when it comes to a possible military conflict? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're going to keep you posted on the situation in Libya and throughout the Arab world after the killing of the U.S. ambassador, Christopher Stevens. Hold on, though, because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the United States -- wants President Obama to pay more attention to Iran and to Iran's nuclear program. How's this comment from Benjamin Netanyahu?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU:, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Who is he talking to? It seems plain to those who watch these things that Benjamin Netanyahu means Washington. He means President Obama when he says, quote, "those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before Israel."

There's some terminology there that we'll have to wade through, but it sounds as though Netanyahu is saying, OK, Washington, either lead, follow, or move on out of the way when it comes to handling Iran. I want to introduce you now to Aaron David Miller. He is a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He advised Democratic and Republican secretary of state on the Middle East.

So, Aaron, red lines and red lights. What's Netanyahu talking about here and is he talking directly to America?

AARON DAVID MILLER, WOODROW WILSON INTL. CENTER FOR SCHOLARS: Well, I think he is. And I don't want to trivialize Israeli security concerns on this one, but there's a legitimate policy debate which is being exacerbated, frankly, I think by personal differences between the two men. The fact is, the Israelis see more urgency right now and the need for a unilateral strike and they believe their interests are not served by waiting. The president, on the other hand, facing a re- election, is not convinced, and he may be right, that this is a war of necessity right now.

So this whole discussion, Don, frankly, in a way are needlessly self- inflicted wounds. There's no reason that the U.S. and Israel should be discussing publicly right now this whole question of red lines. What they should be doing, quietly and privately, is trying to figure out a way to stay on the same page on this one. That's one point.

Second, you know, I've watched Israeli prime ministers and American presidents since Begin and Carter, which is a long time ago. And I tell you, I haven't seen a more dysfunctional pair than these two. The prime minister thinks the president is bloodless and doesn't understand Israel and the president thinks that Benjamin Netanyahu is not respecting or giving adequate attention to American interests. So this needs to be put back in the box.

LEMON: So, Mr. Miller, when he talks about placing a red light before Israel, is he saying that Washington is actively dissuading him from launching attacks against Iran?

MILLER: I don't think the president of the United States has ever said to Benjamin Netanyahu, you shall -- you will not --

LEMON: But does he think that?

MILLER: I think the president believes that a unilateral Israeli strike in the next several months is premature, that the risk to reward ratio of such a strike is going to complicate matters more than simplify them and will not advance his --

LEMON: But does Mr. Netanyahu think that the president is actively trying to dissuade him, is what I'm asking?

MILLER: Yes.

LEMON: Yes.

MILLER: I think there are ways of sending signals. And I think -- one of the constraints Netanyahu is facing is that he wants to keep the president in his corner, on his side. And right now, privately and publicly, it's clear that Barack Obama simply has different priorities and different views.

LEMON: OK. So the U.S. is saying that the sanctions are causing pain in Iran, which could force Iran to cry uncle and back off its nuclear program. And these are the words from the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. She said, "we're convinced we have more time to focus on these sanctions. We are not setting deadlines against Iran." But here's Netanyahu speaking about the sanctions just yesterday. Listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU: So far we can say with certainty that diplomacy and sanctions haven't worked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So who is right here? Are the sanctions against Iran having their intended effect or is there no way to persuade Iran, short of going to war?

MILLER: Look, you have two possibilities. Three, actually. You could try to negotiate your way out of this. And right now that's not going to work because the-- neither the mullahs nor Obama are prepared to do what is necessary to cut a deal. Or you can apply sanctions or both. Sanctions are very, very harsh. They are causing a great deal of economic pain now, but it is not going to be sufficient to stop the Iranians from at least acquiring the capacity to produce a weapon. So if negotiations don't work and sanctions aren't working, then you're led to the very risky and dangerous default position, which is a strike either by Israel or by the United States. And the two men have different -- a different sense of timing on when this should happen.

One other point needs to be made. The Israelis would prefer, I believe, if at all possible, to get the Americans not only in their corner, but to see whether or not the administration might be willing to undertake such a strike. We could be much more effective in doing it. It's just that no American president right now is going to give an Israeli prime minister that kind of commitment.

LEMON: Very well explained. Aaron David Miller, thank you for joining me.

MILLER: A pleasure, Don. Always a pleasure.

LEMON: We want to get back to the situation in Libya now. And since we're in the middle of a presidential race, it's important to report on how both campaigns are reacting. Mitt Romney getting a lot of heat. We're going to speak live with one of his foreign policy advisors about whether he regrets anything over the past 12 hours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Somehow it always comes to politics, doesn't it? And we're going to get to the politics of it now. The Romney campaign drawing fire for issuing a statement critical of the White House while U.S. diplomatic missions were under attack overseas. Richard Williamson is the Romney campaign senior foreign policy advisor. He joins us now from Chicago.

Ambassador Williamson, thank you for joining us.

You know, Mitt Romney was reacting to a statement released earlier in the day from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo before the embassy's walls were breached. We have that statement and it reads like this.

"The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious freedoms of Muslims as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions."

Now before we talk, I want to read part of Mitt Romney's response to the embassy statement. He said, I'm quoting here, "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."

My first question is this, last night when this country was in the midst of a diplomatic crisis overseas, our people were in harm's way, is this the time for a candidate for the presidency to speak out in a way that's critical of the government? It couldn't wait?

RICHARD WILLIAMSON, SENIOR FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER, ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: Well, let me make a few comments to your presentation. One, the statement issued by the U.S. Embassy on behalf of the Obama administration did apologize for the fact that we have free speech and pluralism in America as in our constitution, our values and our history.

Second, that statement was reissued after the embassy was breached. It remained on the web site. Third, when Governor Romney made his statement of concern that this apology was inappropriate, that we should stand up to our values, it was only then that the White House said we never cleared this.

So those are the first facts. Secondly, by the time the statement was issued, the breach of sovereign U.S. territory in both Benghazi and Cairo were over. Third, it's the responsibility of our political leaders to stand up for what they think are right.

And Governor Romney doesn't think it's right to apologize that we allow people the freedom of speech. He's not condoning how this might use this freedom. But that's in our constitution, that's our values, that's our history.

Those are the things brave Americans have stood for and died for. Of course, we have condolences and sympathy for the people that died. They served our country well.

LEMON: Absolutely. That's the point here instead of focusing on the people that have lost their lives and people in harm's way, we're talking about who should be apologizing for what when most people see that is not the story. Thank you for everything you just said, but my initial question was, it couldn't wait?

WILLIAMSON: Well, let me again reiterate. The timeline you suggest was not the same that I just went through.

LEMON: I'm not asking about the timeline. It couldn't wait until all of the information -- hang on. Let me finish. You didn't answer. I gave you plenty of time when I asked the first time. You gave me three points. You're saying it could not wait, yes or no?

WILLIAMSON: That's a silly question.

LEMON: It's not a silly question because now we're looking at you're having to backtrack now and talk about a statement. It's not a silly question. That's why you're here is to talk about that statement.

WILLIAMSON: I came here to talk about the failed policies in the Middle East, which is what the American people are interested, the failed policies of leading from behind. What you want to do is play games.

LEMON: I'm not. I'm asking you to answer my question.

WILLIAMSON: The statement was fine. It was acceptable. It was right.

LEMON: I heard you. That's not what I asked you, but we'll move on now. I want to read to you what some pretty high-ranking people in your party are saying.

A speech writer for Ronald Reagan said on Fox, I don't feel Mr. Romney has been doing himself any favors in the past few hours, he said. Sometimes when really bad things happen, when hot things happen, cool words, or no words is the way to go.

So she says your guy didn't do any favors for jumping out in front of this. What's your reaction?

WILLIAMSON: Well, as someone who served as deputy chief of staff for Ronald Reagan in the White House and later as assistant to the president for governmental affairs in the White House, I think Ronald Reagan would have had no problem with Governor Romney speaking the truth and saying to the American people we shouldn't apologize for our values.

And we should stand up for what we believe and that the American people deserve a substantive question and discussion about the failed Middle East policies, the failed policies of leading from behind.

LEMON: John Kerry is calling for Mitt Romney to apologize. What's your reaction to that?

WILLIAMSON: Well, you know, it was funny. John Kerry, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, in his convention speech attacked Governor Romney for being like President Bush and the Iraq and Afghanistan policies.

Both of which he voted for. So when the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee apologizes for those votes then he's in a position to ask for others to apologize. LEMON: Back to sort of the initial question and how you and I got off on bad footing here. Don't you think that this makes Romney look like he is trying to use a crisis to his own political advantage rather than thinking about what is best for the situation, being pragmatic about it, standing back, getting the facts and then commenting?

WILLIAMSON: What's best in the situation is to stand up to our values and being willing to lead from the front. Whether it's in Egypt or in Libya or in Syria where 20,000 people have died gruesome deaths from atrocities or whether it's Iran close to a nuclear breakout where there have been huge advances irrevocably, irrefutably under President Obama.

Whether it's the fact we have a hemorrhaged relationship with our most reliable ally in Israel, these are substantive matters that need to be discussed and the governor talked about that and welcomed that discussion and you want to talk about a process issue because the White House doesn't want to talk about substance. They want to talk about process.

LEMON: I would rather not be talking about any of this, about people not diagnose, but because what your candidate did is releasing a statement is timing and tone and had your candidate not done it, we wouldn't be talking about that.

It was a very simple statement that could have say, we were going to wait until the appropriate time and you could have done that when he had the press conference today instead of overnight. I've got to run. Thank you, Ambassador Williamson.

WILLIAMSON: Well, we look forward to talking about this substance when you're available.

LEMON: We appreciate it. Thank you and we'll have you back. We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It's the adult toy that millions have been coveting. What am I talking about? Fans waited months, weeks, years, unrelenting hype a new iPhone is finally here. It's taller, lighter and it's thinner, 18 percent thinner than the last iPhone.

The screen holds five rows of icons versus four rows on the iPhone 4S. Also the iPhone 5 has a new adapter. All the anticipated goodies are there for display and also Apple introduced their new mapping service with 3D maps and navigation. So there you go.

Nearly one in six Americans are living in poverty. That's according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's more than 46 million people including 16 million children. The rate basically held steady last year after increasing for three straight years.

Paychecks and family incomes are shrinking. The median household income was $50,054 down 1.5 percent from 2010. African-Americans got hit hardest with median incomes at $32,229. That's down almost 3 percent.

We're bringing in Professor Cornell West and radio host Tabb Smiley to talk more about poverty in America. Don't miss that conversation coming up in about 30 minutes. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Back now to the unfolding situation in Libya. The attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi happened in the nation that has experienced a tidal wave of change in the last year.

As you know, Moammar Gadhafi ruled the nation for 42 years. Here now a perspective on how Libya has transformed from dictatorship to democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, 20th of October, we are told that Gadhafi is dead. The Libyan freedom fighters have finally succeeded in throwing the curtain on Gadhafi's crimes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This revolution started peacefully demanding the minimum of legitimate rights. But it was faced with violence and excessive violence. So God has put to us what can help us to gain victory.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The result is as follows. The resolution has unanimously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are interested in respecting the will and also the national interests and would trust that the world will appreciate.

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: A free and stable Libya is still in America's interest and security and we will not turn our back on that nor will we rest until those responsible for these attacks are found and brought to justice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: While we focus on the major political events in the lives of Libyans, we should also point out that there have been dozens of violent incidents involving militants including a minor explosion at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi in June. No one was hurt.

My next guest says he's concerned there will never be a way to prevent this, quote, "child's play in the future." He says the video apparently at the center of the uproar will most certainly spark more violence in the coming days. You're going to hear from him that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. Libya's ambassador to the United States had strong words for those behind the deadly attack at the consulate. Ambassador Ali Adjali said this. "We condemn yesterday's deplorable attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi and those responsible for it in the strongest terms.

The government of Libya stands by the U.S. in opposing acts of terrorism. We are committed to bringing the attackers who perpetrated these crimes to justice."

It's not clear at this point who attacked the consulate, but there's no question the movie that played a part in the deadly outrage is offensive and some say intentionally so.

I'm joined now by Abbas Barzegar. He is a professor of Islamic Studies at Georgia State University. So explain to us why this movie you think is intentionally offensive.

ABBAS BARZEGAR, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ISLAMIC STUDIES, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY: Thanks, Don. You know, I had a chance to look at some of the clips yesterday. And honestly, this was done with the clear intention of provoking Muslims to violence.

I mean, there are a number of cases where activists in the west promoting their agendas have tried to use Muslim imagery and Muslim ideas in a satirical way in order to promote their ideas.

But this film differs in its crude and really demeaning depiction of the Prophet Muhammad. It was done with a clear amateur and vitriolic venomous intention.

LEMON: It doesn't even look like, to be honest with you, to most people especially to most Americans, it just looks like a silly movie that was made on a low budget. You can see when they change the words or the voice-overs. It's intentional and it's just a dumb movie. That's what it appears to be, but it's far beyond that.

BARZEGAR: It's far beyond that in the fact it was dubbed into Arabic shows that there was some concerted effort to cause some kind of controversy with this film.

Had it been somebody's production in their basement just for their own purposes that would be one thing, but clearly the launch of this film, the dubbing into Arabic and the statements by this individual who was claiming to be the producer of the film are directed in a way to cause violence.

LEMON: How do you get Americans to understand that? When Americans see that, we say, we can do whatever satire, pretty much whatever we want to do without harming someone else or hateful speech or threatening someone else. And to have consulates attacked, innocent people attacked, most Americans won't understand that.

BARZEGAR: Well, let me first say that the reports coming out today are suggesting that the consulate attack in Benghazi may have been pre-planned as a 9/11 anniversary attack.

However, that said, masses did go to the street in Cairo. People are upset about it. People are protesting all over the Muslim world and the Muslim Brotherhood has called for a large march on Friday all over Cairo to protest these things.

LEMON: The reason I said that because we have seen the prophet mocked before. The Dutch cartoonist got death threats in 2011. Some down play the cartoons. They say it's child's play. You say it's not child's play. Is there anything we can do to stop the violence?

BARZEGAR: Well, the fact of the matter is that free speech Americans know it comes with responsibility. There are clear red lines that we as a society have decided upon. In Western Europe and United States, we have decided there are certain kinds of speech that are not protected.

In the United States, this is a much wider playing ground than it is in Europe. For example, in Europe, anti-Semitic comments are illegal. In the United States, you can technically have an anti-Semitic rally, for example.

But in Europe, for example, Pastor Terry Jones in the U.K. was banned from entering the U.K. because he was seen as an act to incite public violence.

So the idea really is that we have decided as a society what is OK and what is not OK. And we have to come up with the tools to say, you know, these acts of anti-Islamic propaganda are like blood libel to anti-Semitism. We should not allow it.

LEMON: Let's talk about the film maker Sam Bacile, an Israeli- American. He said he got about 100 Jewish-Americans to come up with millions of dollars to make this particular film. What do you think is going to happen to him if it's proven it had something to do with it?

BARZEGAR: Well, it seems that the latest reports are that he is in hiding, but there's also the case that nobody by that name of Sam Bacile exists and the Israeli Consulate has said that nobody on their records by the name of Sam Bacile holds Israeli citizenship.

So it even adds another layer of controversy to what is happening. And I think the real place that the federal authorities need to look is to Pastor Terry Jones and also the individual Morris Zadik who is the extremist cock who is also promoting the film.

LEMON: Thank you. Abbas Barzegar, appreciate it.

BARZEGAR: Thank you very much, Don.

LEMON: You know, sadly we're now hearing how the Americans died in the attack in Libya. We're live at the State Department, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hi, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Almost top of the hour, I'm in for Brooke today. Outrage and shock felt throughout Washington and diplomatic outpost around the world today after the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three staffers were killed.

Now U.S. Marines are speeding to Benghazi where they will help secure the U.S. Consulate where the attack occurred. CNN's foreign affairs correspondent is Jill Dougherty and she joins us now. Jill, how did the four Americans died?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, you know, officials here at the State Department are beginning to piece together --