President Barack Obama praised the lives of the four American citizens killed during protests in Libya. Joined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, the president said that the United States will “never stop working for the dignity and freedom that every person deserves." He added that the four who were killed were working for that goal.

They were killed on Tuesday in Benghazi in an attack on the American consulate.

Protests broke out September 11 over a movie made in the United States seen as insulting Islam. Among those killed in the protest were Chris Stevens, the ambassador to Libya.

Speaking at Andrews Air Force Base, the president praised Stevens' commitment to his job.

“Chris Stevens was everything America could want in an ambassador, as the whole country has come to see,” Obama said. “How he first went to the region as a young man in the Peace Corps; how during the revolution he arrived in Libya on that cargo ship; how he believed in Libya and its people, and how they loved him back. And there in Benghazi he laid down his life for his friends, Libyan and American -- and for us all.”

Along with Stevens, the dead include Sean Smith, as well as Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, two former Navy SEALs working on security details for diplomats.

With the protests in their fourth day, the president noted that not all Libyans are a part of the demonstrations.

“But amid all the images of this week, I also think of the Libyans who took to the streets with homemade signs expressing their gratitude to an American who believed in what we could achieve together,” Obama said. “I think of the man in Benghazi with a sign in English, a message he wanted all of us to hear. It said, 'Chris Stevens was a friend to all Libyans. Chris Stevens was a friend.'”

The controversial film behind the protests was produced by a Coptic Egyptian-American named Nakoula Basseley Nakoula.

Secretary Clinton spoke out against the movie, calling it "an awful Internet video that we had nothing to do with," the Huffington Post said.

After protests started on Tuesday, the White House asked Youtube to see if the film met the site's terms of use policy. The video remains on the website.

The Libyan government said that it arrested four people as part of its probe into the violence, according to Al Jazeera English. Obama said the government is working with Libya to bring the killers to justice.

“To you, their families and colleagues, to all Americans, know this: their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Obama said. “We will bring to justice those who took them from us. We will stand fast against the violence on our diplomatic missions. We will continue to do everything in our power to protect Americans serving overseas, whether that means increasing security at our diplomatic posts, working with host countries which have an obligation to provide security, and making it clear that justice will come to those who harm Americans.”

Protests started today at the American embassy in Yemen and in other embassies in Sudan and Tunisia, Al Jazeera English reported. Demonstrations continue in Libya and Egypt.

See more Neon Tommy coverage on the anti-American protests here.

Reach Executive Producer Nicholas Slayton here.