In his weekly address Saturday, President Obama observed yesterday's anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and declared that "our country is stronger, safer and more respected in the world." In our Friday column, after the president's Democratic National Convention speech, we observed: "Conservatives tend to argue that the Obama foreign policy has been feckless and will lead to disaster. They may turn out to be right, but it's no easier an argument to make than the Democratic economic case that Obama's policies will produce prosperity real soon now."

After the events of Sept. 11, 2012, the argument is easier to make.

At the U.S. Embassy in Cairo yesterday, what "appeared to be a genuinely spontaneous unarmed mob angered by an anti-Islam video said to have been produced in the United States," according to the New York Times, gathered to protest. According to a timeline prepared by Slate's Dave Weigel, the embassy responded by issuing an apologetic statement:

The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims--as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.

The embassy reiterated the message in a series of tweets, some of which, TalkingPointsMemo.com reports, have since been deleted. The mob was not appeased. "Despite that overture," as Weigel puts it--one might wonder if it was because of it--the mob stormed the embassy, an act "culminating in the raising of a black-and-white flag that resembles the icon of al-Qaida."

Last week John Kerry said: "Ask Osama bin Laden if he is better off now than he was four years ago." According to the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram, the Cairo mob answered that taunt with the chant: "Obama, Obama there are still a billion Osamas."