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Log Cabin Republicans disavow ad with picture of dead ambassador

The national organization of the Log Cabin Republicans is disavowing an ad sponsored by its Broward County chapter that featured a photo of the body of Amb. Chris Stevens following his murder on Sept. 11 and accusing the Obama administration of failing to protect gay Americans. "We reject that ad absolutely. That ad that was ...

The national organization of the Log Cabin Republicans is disavowing an ad sponsored by its Broward County chapter that featured a photo of the body of Amb. Chris Stevens following his murder on Sept. 11 and accusing the Obama administration of failing to protect gay Americans.

"We reject that ad absolutely. That ad that was run the Broward County chapter. It does not represent the views of the Log Cabin Republicans," Log Cabin Executive Director R. Clarke Cooper told The Cable today. "I’m stunned."

The ad plays into the original erroneous reporting that photos from the night of the attack showed Benghazi residents dragging Steven’s body through the streets triumphantly. Official accounts say that the residents took Stevens to a local hospital, where doctors tried to resuscitate him, and a video later surfaced of Libyans discovering his body amid the charred debris of the consulate, believing they had rescued him.

"If the Obama administration isn’t going to protect Gay/Gay-friendly American citizens from the terror of Islamic radicalism, what makes you think they will protect us from Shariah law… anywhere?" the ad reads. "Support Israel in this hour of darkness. Vote Republican!"

Cooper said the Broward County chapter sponsored the ad without consulting the national organization, that other local chapters were also disavowing it, and that the national headquarters has already been in touch with the Broward County chapter to voice its displeasure.

Cooper said that as an Army veteran and former diplomat, he was personally embarrassed by the ad and was embarrassed to have to explain it to two pro-Israel, pro-gay rights officials he knows personally, Israeli Amb. Michael Oren and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), whom he has worked for in the past.

"This wrong on so many accounts. As a conservative organization, we feel there are plenty of reasons to vote Republican to support U.S. interests and human rights abroad. That ad in this publication was fallacious, grossly inappropriate, and irresponsible," Cooper said.

"They were trying to show their support for Israel and get people to the polls, but this is not the way to do it."

Josh Rogin covers national security and foreign policy and writes the daily Web column The Cable. His column appears bi-weekly in the print edition of The Washington Post. He can be reached for comments or tips at josh.rogin@foreignpolicy.com.

Previously, Josh covered defense and foreign policy as a staff writer for Congressional Quarterly, writing extensively on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, U.S.-Asia relations, defense budgeting and appropriations, and the defense lobbying and contracting industries. Prior to that, he covered military modernization, cyber warfare, space, and missile defense for Federal Computer Week Magazine. He has also served as Pentagon Staff Reporter for the Asahi Shimbun, Japan's leading daily newspaper, in its Washington, D.C., bureau, where he reported on U.S.-Japan relations, Chinese military modernization, the North Korean nuclear crisis, and more.

A graduate of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, Josh lived in Yokohama, Japan, and studied at Tokyo's Sophia University. He speaks conversational Japanese and has reported from the region. He has also worked at the House International Relations Committee, the Embassy of Japan, and the Brookings Institution.

Josh's reporting has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, C-Span, CBS, ABC, NPR, WTOP, and several other outlets. He was a 2008-2009 National Press Foundation's Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellow, 2009 military reporting fellow with the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and the 2011 recipient of the InterAction Award for Excellence in International Reporting. He hails from Philadelphia and lives in Washington, D.C. Twitter: @joshrogin

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