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Sarasota News Leader MARKED CONTRASTS SEEN IN THE DEATHS OF TWO AMBASSADORS OPINION November 23, 2012 By David Staats Contributing Writer COMMENTARY On the night of Sept. 11, 2012, John Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassa- dor to Libya, was trapped in an interior room of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi during a well-planned attack on the facility by a heav- ily armed insurgent force. The attack left the compound shattered and in flames. Later, Stevens was found alive but uncon- scious by a group of non-insurgent Libyans who transported him to a nearby hospital. Doctors were unable to resuscitate him and Stevens was pronounced dead at 2 a.m. lo- cal time on Sept. 12. The cause of death was smoke inhalation. Reaction to Stevens' murder by the Obama Administration was to scapegoat responsibil- ity for the inadequate security protection it gave our ambassador. Republicans clumsily attempted to parlay Stevens' murder as a cam- paign issue. Both parties behaved shamefully. There was a time, however, when a chief of state did act resolutely when his ambassador was murdered. In 1216, Shah Aladdin Muhammad of Khwarezm proposed to Chingis Khan a last- ing peace and preferable trade relations with the Mongol Empire. The shah ruled over West Asia: Iran, Central Asia (Transoxania) and Af- ghanistan. Chingis Khan, who had just com- pleted the conquest of northern China, ruled over East Asia. Chingis Khan approved the pact and dis- patched a trade caravan of 500 camels to the shah. The Mongol trade delegation was placed under the command of Chingis Khan's ambas- sador and personal representative, Uquna. When the caravan reached the Khwarezmian frontier, the provincial governor, Inalchiq, murdered Uquna and plundered the caravan. Thinking that Inalchiq had acted without the shah's approval, Chingis Khan then sent a second diplomatic mission to Khwarezm, de- manding the extradition of Inalchiq and the return of the caravan animals and the goods they carried. Not only did Shah Muhammad refuse to extradite Inalchiq, but he also ex- ecuted the senior Mongol envoy on Chingis Khan's second mission. The Mongol attack on Khwarezm was pursued without mercy. Khwarezm was completely de- stroyed. For his greed, Inalchiq was executed by having molten silver poured into his eyes and ears. In Nishapur, all of the inhabitants were beheaded and their skulls arranged in great pyramids. The slaughter took two weeks to complete; then, the remains of the city were burned to the ground. The similar destruc- tion of other cities followed. In 1220, Shah Muhammad died while fleeing the Mongols. Page 47