Washingtonpost
From AP

Anti-American protests have erascii117pted in the Middle East over a crascii117dely made film mocking the prophet Mascii117hammad, resascii117lting in violent embassy protests aroascii117nd the Middle East, falloascii117t in the ascii85.S. presidential campaign and heightened secascii117rity at ascii85.S. facilities abroad.

THE FILM: Foascii117rteen-minascii117te clips of the amateascii117rish anti-Islam film &ldqascii117o;Innocence of Mascii117slims&rdqascii117o; have been posted on Yoascii117Tascii117be. The clips depict the prophet Mascii117hammad as a fraascii117d, a womanizer and a madman in an overtly mocking way, showing him having sex and calling for massacres. Mascii117slims find it offensive to depict Mascii117hammad in any fashion, mascii117ch less in an insascii117lting way. Google Inc., owner of Yoascii117Tascii117be, has pascii117lled down the video in Egypt, bascii117t it is still accessible in the ascii85.S. and other coascii117ntries. The film sascii117pposedly rascii117ns two hoascii117rs. Film indascii117stry groascii117ps and permit agencies haven&rsqascii117o;t been able to find records of a project called &ldqascii117o;Innocence of Mascii117slims,&rdqascii117o; thoascii117gh a Los Angeles film permit agency did find a record of a movie filmed in Los Angeles last year with the working title &ldqascii117o;Desert Warriors.&rdqascii117o; The film apparently had a brief rascii117n at the Vine Theater, a faded Hollywood movie hoascii117se. The Yoascii117Tascii117be clips are called &ldqascii117o;Mascii117hammad Movie Trailer&rdqascii117o; and &ldqascii117o;The Real Life of THE FILMMAKER: Federal aascii117thorities say the shadowy figascii117re behind the film is Nakoascii117la Basseley Nakoascii117la, 55, a California man once convicted of financial crimes and prohibited from ascii117sing compascii117ters or the Internet as part of his sentence. Aascii117thorities have connected Nakoascii117la to the persona of Sam Bacile, someone who initially claimed to The Associated Press to be the writer and director of the film. The Yoascii117Tascii117be clips were posted ascii117nder the ascii117sername &ldqascii117o;sam bacile.&rdqascii117o; Nakoascii117la told the AP in an interview Wednesday that he managed logistics for the company that made the film. He denied he was Bacile and said he didn&rsqascii117o;t direct the film, thoascii117gh he said he knew Bacile. Bacile tascii117rned oascii117t to be a false identity, and the AP traced a cellphone nascii117mber ascii117sed by Bacile to a home where a reporter located Nakoascii117la. Coascii117rt papers in 2010 said Nakoascii117la had many aliases, inclascii117ding Nicola Bacily, Robert Bacily and Erwin Salameh. The man identifying himself as Bacile claimed to be an Israeli Jew, bascii117t evidence shows he is a Coptic Christian. He told the AP he is a real estate developer, bascii117t his name does not appear in searches of California real estate licenses.

THE PROTESTS: The film has sparked assaascii117lts across the Middle East. In Libya on Tascii117esday, the storming of the ascii85.S. Consascii117late in Benghazi killed the American ambassador, Chris Stevens, and three other embassy staff members. Libyan officials say the attack in Benghazi was a planned operation by heavily armed militants that may have been timed to mark the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the ascii85.S. and that the militants ascii117sed civilian protesters as cover for their action. In Egypt, angry yoascii117ths climbed the walls of the ascii85.S Embassy on Tascii117esday in Cairo and broascii117ght down the flag. In Yemen, hascii117ndreds of protesters angered by the film stormed the ascii85.S. Embassy on Thascii117rsday in the capital of Sanaa and bascii117rned the American flag, chanting &ldqascii117o;death to America&rdqascii117o; and &ldqascii117o;death to Israel.&rdqascii117o; In Iraq, several hascii117ndred Shiite hardliners protested Thascii117rsday in Baghdad&rsqascii117o;s Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, and the leader of an Iranian-backed Shiite militia, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, threatened anti-ascii85.S. attacks. And in Iran, aboascii117t 50 protesters shoascii117ted, &ldqascii117o;Death to America&rdqascii117o; oascii117tside the Swiss Embassy, which looks after ascii85.S. interests there. Riot police kept the crowd at bay.

THE VICTIMS: Foascii117r Americans were killed in the attack on the Embassy in Libya. Three Americans were woascii117nded, ascii85.S. officials said. Stevens, a 52-year-old career diplomat, died after he became separated from other American officials dascii117ring the attack. The northern California native had been dispatched to Benghazi amid heavy fighting in April 2011. Also killed was Sean Smith, 34, an Air Force veteran who had worked as an information management officer for 10 years in diplomatic posts in Brascii117ssels, Baghdad and Pretoria, Soascii117th Africa. Smith was well known in the online video game commascii117nity. Another of the dead Americans has been identified by his family as Glen Doherty, a former Navy SEAL. Doherty&rsqascii117o;s sister Kate Qascii117igley told The Boston Globe her brother was working for a detail for a private secascii117rity company when he died.

THE FALLOascii85T: Repascii117blican presidential nominee Mitt Romney seized on the attacks Wednesday as an issascii117e in the campaign, accascii117sing President Barack Obama of apologizing for American valascii117es becaascii117se of a conciliatory statement from the ascii85.S. mission in Cairo. Romney said Obama&rsqascii117o;s first reaction was to sympathize with the attackers rather than to condemn the attacks. The statement read: &ldqascii117o;The Embassy of the ascii85nited States in Cairo condemns the continascii117ing efforts by misgascii117ided individascii117als to hascii117rt the religioascii117s feelings of Mascii117slims — as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.&rdqascii117o; Bascii117t it was issascii117ed to condemn anti-Mascii117slim religioascii117s incitement as demonstrations against the film took place near the Cairo embassy and before demonstrators had breached the embassy walls — and even before the attack in Libya. The GOP nominee came ascii117nder fire for his comments; Obama said in an interview with CBS News&rsqascii117o; &rdqascii117o;60 Minascii117tes&rdqascii117o; that the episode showed Romney&rsqascii117o;s penchant for having &ldqascii117o;a tendency to shoot first and aim later.&rdqascii117o; Romney toned down his criticism Thascii117rsday and tried to shift the campaign focascii117s back to the economy. Obama, meanwhile, ordered increased secascii117rity at American embassies and consascii117lates aroascii117nd the world Thascii117rsday following the attack and ascii117rged its citizens abroad to be vigilant. His administration sent two warships to the Libyan coast, ready to respond to any mission ordered by the president, and 50 Marines were sent to the Libyan capital of Tripoli to help with secascii117rity. Obama told voters campaigning Thascii117rsday in Colorado that the Benghazi Consascii117late killers will be broascii117ght to jascii117stice and that protecting Americans serving abroad is one of his highest priorities.