President Obama addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday and remembered Ambassador Chris Stevens and delivered a defense of both free speech and the spirit of tolerance.
Stevens was killed earlier this month in an attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya.
"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," Obama 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."
Obama called the attacks on the civilians in Benghazi "attacks on America."
"Today, we must reaffirm that our future will be determined by people like Chris Stevens -- and not by his killers," Obama said. "Today, we must declare that this violence and intolerance has no place among our United Nations."
The president urged the world leaders to work together towards a world where we are strengthened by our differences, and not defined by them.
"That is what America embodies, that's the vision we will support," Obama said. "Let us condemn incitement against Sufi Muslims and Shiite pilgrims. It's time to heed the words of Gandhi: 'Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.'"
Obama said that freedom and self-determination are not unique to one culture and they are not simply American values or Western values -- they are universal values.
"And even as there will be huge challenges to come with a transition to democracy, I am convinced that ultimately government of the people, by the people, and for the people is more likely to bring about the stability, prosperity, and individual opportunity that serve as a basis for peace in our world," the president said.
Obama described the video that has sparked protests and outrage throughout the Muslim world as "crude and disgusting." He said the U.S. cannot ban such a video because of "our Constitution protects the right to practice free speech. "
"Americans have fought and died around the globe to protect the right of all people to express their views, even views that we profoundly disagree with," Obama said. "We do not do so because we support hateful speech, but because our founders understood that without such protections, the capacity of each individual to express their own views and practice their own faith may be threatened. We do so because in a diverse society, efforts to restrict speech can quickly become a tool to silence critics and oppress minorities."
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