PRESIDENT
OBAMA
AT THE
STATE DEPARTMENT
September 12,2012
Washington, D.C.
Obviously,
the first thing that I want to say, and what we all feel, is deep sorrow over
the loss of Chris and Sean. Some of you knew them well. Some of you
worked with them closely and were inspired by them. And there’s not much
that I’m going to be able to say that quells the grief that all of you feel
right now, thoughts and prayers are with their families.
But
what I can say is that had it not been for Chris’s courage and his vision, his
recognition of the stakes that existed last year when Benghazi was on the brink
of being overrun, it’s not clear that those of us who were a little higher up
off the ground would have made the difficult political decisions that we made
in order to save Benghazi and ultimately provide Libya with the opportunity to
determine their own destiny. And in some ways, that’s a microcosm of
Chris’s courage, his vision, his willingness to engage on the ground in very difficult
circumstances. That’s a microcosm of what all of you guys do each and
every day.
Some
of you know that I spent a lot of years overseas when I was a kid. And
there’s no doubt that that’s shaped my perspective on the world and our place
in it, and not always in the ways that some of my opponents describe, but it
shaped it nevertheless. And what I know has always been one of America’s
greatest gifts to the world, one of our greatest traits as a people, is the
fact that we’re not made up of a single tribe, a single religion or a single
race, but we’re this collection of strivers and dreamers, people from all
around the world who came here because we all agreed on a creed, on a set of
principles – the idea that all men and women are created equal, that we’re all
endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights – that these aren’t just
American rights, they’re not just Western rights; they are aspirations that
people in the smallest village in Libya or in the most prosperous cities in
Europe all believe in and care about, and that part of our task is to make sure
that the way we project power as the greatest nation on Earth is consistent
with those values.
We
do so with humility, and we do so understanding that we can’t control the shape
of events everywhere and that it’s not our job to dictate other people’s forms
of government. But it is this belief that those values that make us who
we are have to be part and parcel of how we operate in the world.
And
Chris and Sean, I think, represent the very best of that tradition – people who
were realistic but also idealistic; people who understood how hard it is to
bring about change, but who weren’t daunted by the task and were willing to put
their shoulder behind the wheel to move history in a better direction.
So
I could not be prouder of them. But I also understand that all of you,
with your own capacities and in your own ways, are carrying out that same
tradition each and every day. And as a consequence of what you do,
America is safer, America is more respected, America is more secure.
Are
there risks in that approach? There are risks when somebody like Chris
ventures out from the compound and takes the risk to his own security so that
he can engage with people in circumstances that are still pretty
volatile. There are risks when our diplomats are going to volunteer for
posts that they know pose a risk to their person.
The
fact that Chris and Sean were willing to take those risks, the fact that many
of you are willing to take those risks, is not only commendable, it’s
absolutely vital to us continuing to be a leading light, and it’s vital for us
to be safer. Because the one thing that I’m absolutely confident about is
that when we lead with our values, we lead with our ideas, and we don’t shy
away from the world, and we’re not consumed by cynicism, but the belief that we
can make things a little bit better. But when we embrace that, then we’re
securing a better future for our kids and our grandkids and all those Americans
to come.
So
I hope that alongside your sorrow today, all of you also take a moment to
reflect on how important your work is and to remind yourselves that it’s not
that often in life where you’re allowed to really make a difference, where
you’re put in a position where what you do matters, that changes lives.
It may be the difference as to whether a child gets something to eat. It
may make the difference in terms of whether a political prisoner is freed.
It may make a difference in terms of whether or not a country shifts towards
democracy. It may make a difference in whether or not Americans are
welcome as they travel to places around the world.
What
you guys do every day matters deeply. And so on days like this, it’s a
good moment for us to step back and say all the frustrations, the setbacks, the
dealings with your own internal bureaucracies, the plans that go awry, that all
that stuff somehow is worth it, and that the reason you got into this business
in the first place is because although there are a lot of reasons to be cynical
about the world, there are more reasons to be hopeful about it.
I
know everybody who knew Chris understood that that was who he was. He
loved what he did, and he was excited about it, and he knew that it was going
to make a difference. And he could see it. And I know Sean felt the
same way. And I know most of you who got into this business did so
because you feel that same way.
So
this is a setback today, and part of our family has been lost. But don’t
lose that sense of hopefulness. Don’t lose that sense that somehow the
world is not subject to our better selves. If we work hard enough and
smart enough, then over time we move the world in a better direction. And
it’s not going to happen unless you guys retain that sense – and it can’t come
from anywhere else because there’s no other country on Earth that thinks quite
in that same way.
We
are still the one indispensable power, and the reason is because of the spirit of
people like Chris and Sean and because of you. Don’t lose that. And
I hope that if you can take away one single thing from this tragedy, that we’re
going to redouble our efforts and strengthen our resolve. I know that’s
how your boss, the Secretary of State thinks about it because nobody’s been in
the thick of things longer or seen greater reason to be cynical. And
nobody, behind the tough exterior, still possesses that sense of hopefulness
and idealism as much as our Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
So
take something from her example. Take heart that no matter how difficult
this particular day is, what you guys are doing every single day is making the
world better. I thank you for it and the American people thank you for it
as well.
