JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Twelve people died when Muslim militants stormed the U.S. consulate in the Saudi city of Jeddah Monday, officials said.

Saudi security officials said four of their men were killed by the assailants. Security forces killed three attackers and wounded two, who were then captured.

A U.S. embassy spokeswoman said five non-American consulate staff, including a contract guard, had also been killed.

Earlier there was confusion about whether the five non-U.S. dead listed by the embassy had included the four dead guards.


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Yay, happy fun Middle East Monday to everyone.

The excuse from the administration is that this will be part of the war on terror. Having taken our country to war, we will never actually know the alternative to a more diplomatic or peaceful solution. I have a hard time believing that a more passive approach would have lead to more violence that's occuring right now.

I'll play a bit of devil's advocate:

Some would say that the "more diplomatic or peaceful" solution was taken by President Clinton. However, the attacks continued to escalate, from the 1998 African embassy bombings, to the USS Cole, to Sept. 11th.

Also, when you say "Having taken our country" to war, are you referring to just Iraq, or Afghanistan as well?