U.S. picks retired diplomat to serve as envoy in Libya

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has chosen a veteran diplomat who retired more than a decade ago to serve as its senior envoy in Libya following the death of Ambassador Christopher Stevens in a September 11 attack in Benghazi, the State Department said on Thursday.

Laurence Pope, a former U.S. ambassador to Chad and senior State Department counter-terrorism official, has arrived in Tripoli to serve as "charge d'affairs," the title given to a diplomat who represents a country in the absence of an ambassador, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

"Mr. Pope's selection as charge d'affairs emphasizes the commitment of the United States to the relationship between our two countries and to the people of Libya as they move forward in their transition to a democratic government," Nuland said.

"We will continue to assist as Libya builds democratic institutions and broad respect for the rule of law - the goals that Ambassador Stevens worked hard to achieve," she added.

Stevens and three other Americans were killed during what the United States has called a "terrorist" attack on the American mission in Benghazi on September 11.

The incident has triggered a debate in Washington over whether the ambassador, and the U.S. mission in Benghazi more broadly, were given sufficient protection.

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Will he get the protection that Stevens didn't?

[nickydog]

I'd say he's a very brave man.