1:20PM EDT October 12. 2012 - Vice President Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan disputed a range of facts during their debate Thursday in Danville, Ky. Here are a few foreign policy claims worth examining:
Libya
Claim: Ryan said President Obama took two weeks to acknowledge the Sept. 11 attack on the Benghazi consulate was conducted by terrorists rather than protesters.
The facts: This is mostly false. White House spokesman Jay Carney said at the Sept. 20 White House news briefing that the incident was a terrorist attack. The president himself, speaking on Late Night With David Letterman on Sept. 18, a week after the attack, said "terrorists and extremists" had attacked U.S. diplomatic installations in Libya and elsewhere, using a controversial video that portrayed the prophet Mohammed as a pedophile as a pretext. In fact, Obama called the assault "an act of terror" in remarks on Sept. 12. However, Carney and other top administration officials, including U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, continued to describe the incident as part of a protest outside the U.S. diplomatic mission for several days after the incident.
MORE: Biden, Ryan exchange sharp attacks in VP debate
Security cuts
Claim: Biden said Ryan's budget called for a $300 million cut to security of the U.S. Embassy in Libya.
The facts: Ryan's budget plan would have cut non-defense discretionary spending by 19% in 2014, according to The Hill newspaper. The blueprint doesn't specify cuts to embassy security, but the Obama campaign says the figure — if applied across the board — would result in a $300 million decrease in funding for protection, construction and maintenance of all U.S. embassies. The Romney campaign disputed the claim, saying no specific cuts were recommended.
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