The United States has been clear about how it thinks leaders should react to the anti-American violence in Libya, Yemen and Egypt this week. The chaos has been spurred on in part by a movie posted on YouTube that unflatteringly portrays Islam's Prophet Mohammed.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday there should be no debate that bloodshed in response to speech is not acceptable.

"Any responsible leader should be standing up now and drawing that line," she said.

But is it really that simple?

Here's a look at the reactions from key regional leaders since the violence started -- and what their words could really signify.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy: Morsy initially focused his criticism on the film as an unacceptable insult to Islam.

"The presidency condemns in the strongest terms the attempt of a group to insult the place of the Messenger, the Prophet Mohammed ... and condemns the people who have produced this radical work," Morsy said in a statement posted on his Facebook page. "The Egyptian people, both Muslims and Christians, refuse such insults on sanctities."

But after speaking with President Barack Obama in what the White House described as a review of the "strategic partnership between the United States and Egypt," Morsy directly criticized the attacks for the first time Thursday.

"Those who are attacking the embassies do not represent any of us," he said in comments from Brussels, Belgium, where he was visiting the headquarters of the European Union.

What Morsy may be saying: The Egyptian leader's modified statement came a day after Obama hinted at where things stand between the countries. "I don't think we would consider Egypt an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy," Obama said. (Learn more about the tenuous Egypt-U.S. relationship)

Morsy, who took over as Egyptian president in June, had to do two things in order to appease the Islamists who voted him into power and to seem sensitive to the United States' loss, said Omar Ashour, the director of Middle East Studies at the University of Exeter in the U.K.

"Morsy is skating on thin ice already with Islamists," he said, referring to an already tense domestic situation involving a continuing effort with Israel to beef up security of the Sinai Peninsula, a move Islamists do not like.

"It's already tense because of that, and Islamists have been asking -- what is the difference between Mubarak and Morsy. This is a way to show that difference.

"This is a president who won by the Islamist vote," Ashour added. "If he started losing them, he likely won't be the president of Egypt after the next election."

Ashour thinks it would be have best if Morsy added an explanation that the film is merely an expression guaranteed by the First Amendment and that it isn't a message the U.S. has anything to do with, nor does it represent how the vast majority of Americans feel.

"But I would say he's probably afraid that if he starts to say that -- the media in Egypt is very ideological and they would twist or misrepresent his words as a defense," Ashour said. "He probably thought he couldn't take that risk."

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai: While Obama said he and Karzai are committed to preventing similar violence in Afghanistan. Karzai's statement about the violence wasn't focused on condemning the violence as much as condemning the movie. He called it a "heinous" and "evil act" that has created "outrage and anxiety for all peace-loving humans who back up the idea of peaceful coexistence."

Karzai accused the movie's alleged producer, a mystery man using the name Sam Bacile, and American pastor Terry Jones of committing an act of "desecration" which is "not a part of the freedom of expression, but a criminal act that has now badly affected the righteous sentiments of 1.5 billion Muslims all over the globe."

But, Karzai noted, the men represent a "radical minority."

"Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) was the greatest prophet of Islam, a prophet sent to guide mankind, a pacifist and promoter of truth and honesty in the world," Karzai said. "In fact, insult to the greatest Prophet of Islam means insult to high values of 1.5 billion Muslims across the world."

"This offensive act has stoked inter-faith enmity and confrontation and badly impacted the peaceful coexistence between human beings."

Kazai demanded that the film not be released.

What Karzai might be saying: His statement didn't ask for peace and it didn't denounce the killings, and Karzai's focus on the film could spark protests in Afghanistan, analysts say. "People are boiling with anger with the United States because they hosted the director of the movie," said Abdel Bari Atwan, author of "The Secret History of al Qaeda."

The U.S.-Afghan relationship is complex. At times, it seemed to be highly cooperative but there is also a history of anti-American protest in Afghanistan. In February, the country plunged into chaos after American troops mistakenly burned copies of the Quran at Bagram air base.

At the time, Obama apologized to Karzai, calling the burning an inadvertent error.