WASHINGTON - House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon made the following comments regarding the recent violence in Egypt and Libya:

"What happened overnight in Libya was tragic. Four brave Americans were killed at the hands of a mob. While we mourn their loss, it isn't too soon to start asking why this happened, and how we can keep it from happening again.

"Let’s be clear, in the last 24 hours America's values have been assaulted, our sovereign territory has been breeched in two different countries, and the President's personal representative was murdered.

"If history has taught us anything, it is that weakness is provocative. Again and again under President Obama we have met threats and thugs with apologies and concessions. Unsurprisingly, these mobs aren't satisfied with apologies anymore, they have clearly been escalating the offensive in the war of ideas for some time. Is it any wonder that events spun out of control and that American lives were lost?

"We are clearly on the wrong track. American strength, commitment, and resolve must become the constant in the world once again - not the variable."