Mitt Romney accused for stance on Libya incident

The death of Chris Stevens, the US Ambassador in Libya, was thrust into the presidential election campaign on Wednesday as Mitt Romney accused Barack Obama of apologising to the Islamist extremists responsible.

The Republican challenger alleged that the Obama administration was inviting violence from enemies by sending "mixed messages to the world" about America's values and power.

The crisis provided an unexpected test for Obama, who has made foreign policy prowess a key part of his re-election campaign. It also offered a rare opportunity for Romney to present himself as a statesmanlike alternative.

Romney chose to tie Obama to a conciliatory statement made by the US embassy in Egypt before mob anger there and in Libya turned to violence. The statement had already been disowned by the White House.

"Their administration spoke," Romney said of the statement, which criticised the efforts of "misguided individuals" such as Sam Bacile, a film-maker - whose anti-Islam documentary may have provoked the violence - to "hurt the religious feelings of Muslims".

"The president takes responsibility not just for the words that come from his mouth, but also the words from his ambassadors," Romney said at a press conference in Florida. He described the statement as "akin to apology" and a "severe miscalculation".

However, the former governor of Massachusetts was himself accused of miscalculating by swiftly seeking to make political capital out of an attack in which four American public servants had died.

Senator John Kerry, the former Democratic presidential nominee, said in a statement: "This is one of those moments when Americans must unite as Americans. It is exactly the wrong time to throw political punches. It is a time to restore calm and proceed wisely."

Romney found himself almost alone among prominent Republicans in focusing on the president's handling of the situation. However, Sarah Palin, a former vice-presidential nominee, wrote on Facebook: "It's about time our president stood up for America and condemned these Islamic extremists.

"We already know that President Obama likes to 'speak softly' to our enemies. If he doesn't have a 'big stick' to carry, maybe it's time for him to grow one."

By contrast, John Boehner, a Republican congressman and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, said: "We mourn for the families of our countrymen in Benghazi, and condemn this horrific attack." His comments were echoed by other senior Republicans.

"I don't feel that Romney has been doing himself any favours in the past few hours," said Peggy Noonan, a former speech writer for Ronald Reagan.

The Libya crisis came after several days of criticism of Romney's foreign policy credentials by the campaign to re-elect Obama, who enjoys a double-digit poll lead over him on the issue. He was criticised for failing to mention the war in Afghanistan or al-Qaeda in his party convention speech last week and mocked for singling out Russia as America's "number-one foe".

The Libya situation - and lack of obvious avenues for an aggressive response - threatened to add weight to Republican claims that Obama had weakened America's hand abroad with his so-called "leading from behind" approach.

A final televised presidential debate in Florida on Oct 22 will focus exclusively on foreign policy. Defending his right to criticise the president yesterday, Romney promised an alternative foreign policy in which the US would have "confidence in our cause, clarity in our purpose and resolve in our might".