U.S. on High Alert as Middle East Violence Spreads

U.S. diplomatic posts in the Middle East and North Africa are on high alert Friday as violence from angry Muslim demonstrators continues to spread, CBN News reports. Muslims in Jordan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Tunisia and even Israel are now joining the anti-American protests, and U.S. officials are watching and waiting, as the period after Friday Islamic prayers is traditionally a time of protest in the Muslim world. In Egypt, police are using tear gas to keep mobs away from the U.S. Embassy compound, and FBI agents from New York are on their way to Libya to assist in an investigation of Tuesday's deadly assault in Benghazi. Some are now questioning whether the U.S. could have prevented the attacks beforehand, after a British newspaper quoted a senior diplomatic source as saying the U.S. State Department had credible information 48 hours before mobs attacked the embassies in Libya and Egypt but that no warnings were given for diplomats to go on high alert and lockdown. The Obama administration denies those reports. Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney continues to slam Obama over the attacks: "The world needs American leadership," Romney said. "The Middle East needs American leadership and I intend to be a president that provides the leadership that America respects and will keep us admired throughout the world."