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Violent anti-American protest spread across Muslim nations

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    Protesters clash with police near US embassies, consulates

  • Duration 4:45
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Anti American violence is certainly mounting at this hour literally around the world as we were just showing you now eleven not -- From Afghanistan over the weekend to Indonesia Pakistan to India.

Protesters all over clashing with police near US embassies and consulates putting our people at -- What is the US doing to stop the violence and what are the Arab nations and other host countries doing are they doing enough.

To keep US citizens -- Michael sing his former senior director of Middle Eastern affairs of the National Security Council.

Also managing director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Michael welcome good morning I -- We have great concern in each and every one of these places where our US assets in our personnel are.

First of all what is the responsibility.

Of -- host nation to protect our folks.

Jamie it's it's terrible to see these images and -- thoughts -- -- obviously.

Our diplomats our soldiers and also innocent people or just caught in this crossfire.

And it absolutely is a responsibility of these host government's to protect our diplomatic installations.

Also to protect their own people again in these neighborhoods who are who are caught in this.

And it's also the US government's responsibility to protect American citizens.

Who may find themselves in these places and that's why you see these warnings for Americans to.

To frankly leaves places like Tunisia and elsewhere.

The anti American sentiment which you've been tracking for years is is obviously growing.

One of the places that surprises me is in Afghanistan where there have been some folks we trained over the weekend that have killed our troops.

And my question is -- all the years that we've spent let's just say Afghanistan as an example.

Fortifying them helping them protecting them and and preparing to leave how could -- happen there should not.

That need them safest place for our people at this point.

Well I'm Jamie look to you you look across.

The world -- what's going on including in Afghanistan.

And many of these protests are just copycat protests are opportunistic protest by people who have obviously their own agenda.

Which may be anti American in nature.

But I think if you look more deeply at what's causing this that this isn't caused.

By a video -- video may be the spark I would set a lot of this off.

But the deeper cause our -- that sort of decades along political and economic.

Grievances that people in these parts of the world feel and and in many ways we're sort of escape goat -- external kind of -- party to blame the for those problems and frankly that's that's true and Afghanistan as well as in many other places in the world.

And let me jump in there and I'm glad you mention that I'm I'm getting a little tired of hearing that this film is solely responsible.

For all of this unrest in places like Sydney Australia really.

My thought is and I want to ask you about this.

What can we do to convince these folks otherwise because I remember the approach in Iraq.

Was very different for troops in the approach in Afghanistan where you deal with the local elders.

How do we convince them that we don't share those sentiments that that we don't categorize the Muslim people in that way.

Well -- eight I think we can say it in our government has been saying it we can disavow these things but we also have to be true our values and -- fact is that.

We believe in freedom speech we believe in freedom of religion.

And Jamie I would caution against making this too much about -- again even though the spark for this.

May have been in this video the actual grievances are much deeper.

And I think that in fact it's it's not just about -- -- -- the other other parties have been targeted here to religious minorities.

The former regime to -- liberal activists have been targeted over the past many months certain these places.

And so it's a mistake to just make this about buzz and and these countries it's it's not all about the United States so so can your can -- not change the minds of the people involved in these protests in huge numbers.

Well I think that you can over time frankly -- -- that -- a problem here is again you have these grievances and more importantly you have parties standing by.

Radical Islam -- and others who are ready to exploit these grievances and say that it is the United States that's to blame or Israel that's to blame more or somebody else that's to blame.

But there what you -- gives a sense -- introspection and reflection.

About how best to take these countries forward right and I think what we need to do is support those who are advocating sensible policies to build political institutions to repair economies to take these place's forward.

And that ultimately is a long term solution here -- Hopefully and some of those countries didn't hold down the video taking off YouTube and Google in their countries thank you so much Michael good to talk to you today.

Like let's take care.

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