MSNBC Ignored Cairo Embassy Attacks for Half of Day

Aside from the 11th anniversary of 9/11, there was no bigger story on Sept. 11, 2012 than the attack made upon the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt. But for half the day on Tuesday, MSNBC didn’t mention the incident.

A careful review of MSNBC’s programming on Tuesday proved that up until 6PM eastern, MSNBC had still not bothered to report the storming of the U.S. embassy.

Late on the morning of Sept. 11, Muslim protesters angry, they claimed, over an American movie that portrays the Prophet Muhammad in an unsavory light, scaled the walls of the embassy in Cairo. The protesters removed the U.S. flag and replaced it with al Qaeda’s. Some five hours later, the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya was also attacked. One American was reported killed and the embassy was burned to the ground.

By 6PM eastern, both CNN and Fox News had televised stories about the attacks while MSNBC remained quiet.

The U.S. embassy in Cairo also made waves by issuing a statement criticizing the purported movie makers in the U.S. for having “hurt the religious feelings of Muslims.”

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

GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney called the embassy’s statement “disgraceful.”

I’m outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It’s disgraceful that the Obama Administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.

Embarrassed, the Obama White House later disavowed the U.S. embassy’s statement.