President Barack Obama addresses the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations in New York, N.Y., Sept. 25, 2012. Sitting on the dais are: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, UNGA President Vuk Jeremić and Jean-Jacques Graisse, Acting Head for General Assembly and Conference Management. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama remembered Ambassador Chris Stevens and delivered a defense of both free speech and the spirit of tolerance.
The President described Stevens — who was slain earlier this month in an attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya — as a man who "embodied the best of America."
"Like his fellow Foreign Service officers, he built bridges across oceans and cultures, and was deeply invested in the international cooperation that the United Nations represents," the President said. "He acted with humility, but he also stood up for a set of principles — a belief that individuals should be free to determine their own destiny, and live with liberty, dignity, justice, and opportunity."
