As part of a day-long event on North Africa at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed recent events in Libya, including a terrorist attack that killed the U.S. Ambassador and three others.
Nearly two years after the so-called "Arab Spring," the North African region is still in a transistional phase, and recent events in the region, from terrorist attacts to anti-American protests highlight the instability of the new democratically elected governments in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.
On September 11th, in Benghazi, Libya, terrorists associated with Al-Qaida attacked the U.S. consulate, killling U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, under the cover of protests sparked by an anti-muslim film produced in the United States. On Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on the attacks, focusing on the security situation at U.S. diplomatic outposts throughout the region.
Other panelists during this event included Caroline Freund, chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank, who spoke about economic challenges and opportunities for the region.