In the wake of an attack on the U.S. embassy in Libya that killed four Americans, the Department of Defense has moved two warships to the coast of the North African country. Though the two vessels enter with no specific strategy, the move underscores the seriousness of the brash attack on Tuesday night, according to The Associated Press.
One of the ships, Laboon, is already stationed off the coast and the McFaul should be there soon. Both of the ships are outfitted with cruise missiles and can quickly respond to the situation as it evolves. Though the Pentagon has yet to confirm the deployment of the two ships, spokesman George Little emphasized that it's somewhat of a routine exercise.
"Without commenting on specific ship movements, the United States military regularly takes precautionary steps when potential contingencies might arise in a given situation," Little told the AP. That's not only logical in certain circumstances, it's the prudent thing to do."
The attacks on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi come just less than a year after the United States offered Libyan rebels support in the toppling of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Though there has been some speculation surrounding the motives for the attack, there has been some investigation into whether it was timed to coincide with the anniversary of September 11.