Here's what the state department said, seems fairly strong ins the defense of freedom of speech and the press to me. State Dept. Daily Briefing for Feb 03, 2006
Our response is to say that while we certainly don't agree with, support, or in some cases, we condemn the views that are aired in public that are published in media organizations around the world, we, at the same time, defend the right of those individuals to express their views. For us, freedom of expression is at the core of our democracy and it is something that we have shed blood and treasure around the world to defend and we will continue to do so. ....
No. I think I made it very clear that our defense of freedom of expression and the ability of individuals and media organizations to engage in free expression is forthright and it is strong, you know. This is -- our First Amendment rights, the freedom of expression, are some of the most strongly held and dearly held views that we have here in America. And certainly nothing that I said, I would hope, would imply any diminution of that support.
Then the next day, the White issued a statement that said:
We stand in solidarity with Denmark and our European allies in opposition to the outrageous acts in Syria today.
Then on Monday the state department official spokesman, assistant secretary of state Scott McCormack, "clarified" the mistaken impression some MSM reports had promulgated earlier :
QUESTION: Can I just follow up on that? I mean, you have -- am I right in saying -- condemned the publication, criticized the publication of the cartoons, but what about free speech and --
MR. MCCORMACK: I'm not sure that that's what was said, Jonathan. I think we've said that we understood why many Muslims found the cartoons offensive. We found -- we talked about the fact that we found, on Friday, the cartoons offensive. But we also spoke out very clearly in support of freedom of the press. As to what appears in newspapers, what is broadcast over the air waves, those are decisions in free countries for a free media to make, for journalists as well as editors to make. So just you can finish your question but I just wanted to make clear what it is that we said on Friday.
QUESTION: I mean, is there anything that you can do to support countries like Denmark that are facing these acts of violence?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, we put -- the White House put out a statement over the weekend talking about our support for the Danish Prime Minister and the statements that he has made on the subject. Secretary Rice has also spoken with the Danish and Norwegian foreign ministers over the weekend in the wake of the attacks on their embassy as well. What we can do is to speak out very clearly in support of freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and urge understanding and tolerance, tolerance not violence. And I think that is what you're hearing from many quarters around the world concerning this issue.
Perhaps it was the uhs and ums that made the statements seem wishy washy, but I still think they were exactly that - wishy washy.