UN ambassador points to turbulent time in Mideast

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says those who have lost out during the transition to democracy in the Mideast are to blame for the recent mob violence against the United States.

Susan Rice says it’s a time of dramatic change in the region and that the U.S. understands that when democracy starts to take root, that may lead to turbulence in the short term.

She tells CNN’s “State of the Union” that just as people across the Mideast no longer will allow their lives “to be hijacked by a dictator, they’re not going to allow extremist mobs to hijack their future and their freedom.”

Rice says the U.S. is working closely with governments around the world to make sure that U.S. diplomats and American facilities are protected.