Republican Sen. Richard Lugar, ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called on U.S. leaders to come together in the wake of the deaths of four American officials in Libya in a statement issued Wednesday. Lugar paid tribute to Ambassador Chris Stevens, killed Tuesday, who served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff alongside Lugar’s staff in 2006 and 2007.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and other American diplomatic personnel in Libya. My thoughts and prayers are with their loved ones.
“Ambassador Stevens served on my Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff as a State Department detailee in 2006 and 2007. I benefitted greatly from his knowledge and insightful counsel on a wide array of Middle East issues. Chris quickly developed close friendships with our staff that endured after he returned to the State Department. It was obvious to those of us who worked with him that he was a rising star who would be entrusted with important missions in the future. Chris was deeply respected by many people on Capitol Hill, both for his work on the Foreign Relations Committee and his subsequent service in Libya at critical moments in that nation’s history.
“Ambassador Stevens was an exceptional and courageous American public servant. He applied great creativity and personal energy to difficult assignments in frequently dangerous circumstances. His work in Libya improved U.S. national security and diplomacy in very tangible ways.
“The series of events that led to his death were senseless and reprehensible. U.S. leaders should unite in redoubling our efforts in the Maghreb and Middle East, practicing the kind of stout diplomacy exemplified by Ambassador Stevens.”
