U.S. Embassy Attacks

[Bonnie]

News article regarding the recent U.S. embassy attacks and murders...very disturbing if it's true that our State Dept. had credible info 48 hrs. before the attack, and also disturbing about the security breach regarding the "safe" house there in Libya.

THE INDEPENDENT - London

Revealed: inside story of US envoy's assassination
Exclusive: America 'was warned of embassy attack but did nothing'

Kim Sengupta Friday 14 September 2012

The killings of the US ambassador to Libya and three of his staff were likely to have been the result of a serious and continuing security breach, The Independent can reveal.

American officials believe the attack was planned, but Chris Stevens had been back in the country only a short while and the details of his visit to Benghazi, where he and his staff died, were meant to be confidential.

The US administration is now facing a crisis in Libya. Sensitive documents have gone missing from the consulate in Benghazi and the supposedly secret location of the "safe house" in the city, where the staff had retreated, came under sustained mortar attack. Other such refuges across the country are no longer deemed "safe".

Some of the missing papers from the consulate are said to list names of Libyans who are working with Americans, putting them potentially at risk from extremist groups, while some of the other documents are said to relate to oil contracts.

According to senior diplomatic sources, the US State Department had credible information 48 hours before mobs charged the consulate in Benghazi, and the embassy in Cairo, that American missions may be targeted, but no warnings were given for diplomats to go on high alert and "lockdown", under which movement is severely restricted.

Mr Stevens had been on a visit to Germany, Austria and Sweden and had just returned to Libya when the Benghazi trip took place with the US embassy's security staff deciding that the trip could be undertaken safely.

Eight Americans, some from the military, were wounded in the attack which claimed the lives of Mr Stevens, Sean Smith, an information officer, and two US Marines. All staff from Benghazi have now been moved to the capital, Tripoli, and those whose work is deemed to be non-essential may be flown out of Libya.

In the meantime a Marine Corps FAST Anti-Terrorism Reaction Team has already arrived in the country from a base in Spain and other personnel are believed to be on the way. Additional units have been put on standby to move to other states where their presence may be needed in the outbreak of anti-American fury triggered by publicity about a film which demeaned the Prophet Mohamed.

A mob of several hundred stormed the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday. Other missions which have been put on special alert include almost all those in the Middle East, as well as in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Burundi and Zambia.

Senior officials are increasingly convinced, however, that the ferocious nature of the Benghazi attack, in which rocket-propelled grenades were used, indicated it was not the result of spontaneous anger due to the video, called Innocence of Muslims. Patrick Kennedy, Under-Secretary at the State Department, said he was convinced the assault was planned due to its extensive nature and the proliferation of weapons.

There is growing belief that the attack was in revenge for the killing in a drone strike in Pakistan of Mohammed Hassan Qaed, an al-Qa'ida operative who was, as his nom-de-guerre Abu Yahya al-Libi suggests, from Libya, and timed for the anniversary of the 11 September attacks.

Senator Bill Nelson, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "I am asking my colleagues on the committee to immediately investigate what role al-Qa'ida or its affiliates may have played in the attack and to take appropriate action."

According to security sources the consulate had been given a "health check" in preparation for any violence connected to the 9/11 anniversary. In the event, the perimeter was breached within 15 minutes of an angry crowd starting to attack it at around 10pm on Tuesday night. There was, according to witnesses, little defence put up by the 30 or more local guards meant to protect the staff. Ali Fetori, a 59-year-old accountant who lives near by, said: "The security people just all ran away and the people in charge were the young men with guns and bombs."

Wissam Buhmeid, the commander of the Tripoli government-sanctioned Libya's Shield Brigade, effectively a police force for Benghazi, maintained that it was anger over the Mohamed video which made the guards abandon their post. "There were definitely people from the security forces who let the attack happen because they were themselves offended by the film; they would absolutely put their loyalty to the Prophet over the consulate. The deaths are all nothing compared to insulting the Prophet."

Mr Stevens, it is believed, was left in the building by the rest of the staff after they failed to find him in dense smoke caused by a blaze which had engulfed the building. He was discovered lying unconscious by local people and taken to a hospital, the Benghazi Medical Centre, where, according to a doctor, Ziad Abu Ziad, he died from smoke inhalation.

An eight-strong American rescue team was sent from Tripoli and taken by troops under Captain Fathi al- Obeidi, of the February 17 Brigade, to the secret safe house to extract around 40 US staff. The building then came under fire from heavy weapons. "I don't know how they found the place to carry out the attack. It was planned, the accuracy with which the mortars hit us was too good for any ordinary revolutionaries," said Captain Obeidi. "It began to rain down on us, about six mortars fell directly on the path to the villa."

Libyan reinforcements eventually arrived, and the attack ended. News had arrived of Mr Stevens, and his body was picked up from the hospital and taken back to Tripoli with the other dead and the survivors.

Mr Stevens' mother, Mary Commanday, spoke of her son yesterday. "He did love what he did, and he did a very good job with it. He could have done a lot of other things, but this was his passion. I have a hole in my heart," she said.

Global anger: The protests spread

Yemen

The furore across the Middle East over the controversial film about the Prophet Mohamed is now threatening to get out of control. In Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, yesterday around 5,000 demonstrators attacked the US embassy, leaving at least 15 people injured. Young protesters, shouted: "We sacrifice ourselves for you, Messenger of God," smashed windows of the security offices and burned at least five cars, witnesses said.

Egypt

Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi yesterday condemned the attack in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador. In a speech in Brussels, Mr Morsi said he had spoken to President Obama and condemned "in the clearest terms" the Tuesday attacks. Despite this, and possibly playing to a domestic audience, President Obama said yesterday that "I don't think we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy".

Demonstrators in Cairo attacked the mission on Tuesday evening and protests have continued since.

Iraq

Militants said the anti-Islamic film "will put all the American interests Iraq in danger" and called on Muslims everywhere to "face our joint enemy", as protesters in Baghdad burned American flags yesterday. The warning from the Iranian-backed group Asaib Ahl al-Haq came as demonstrators demanded the closure of the US embassy in the capital.

Bangladesh

Islamists warned they may "besiege" the US embassy in Dhaka after security forces stopped around 1,000 protesters marching to the building. The Khelafat Andolon group called for bigger protests as demonstrators threw their fists in the air, burned the flag and chanted anti-US slogans.

Others

There was a Hamas-organised protest in Gaza City, and as many as 100 Arab Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv. In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai postponed a trip to Norway, fearing violence. Officials in Pakistan said they "expected protests". Protesters in Tunis burnt US flags.

[flo]

Will be interesting to see what media outlets pick this story up. Thanks for posting it, Bon.

My heart goes out to Ambassador Stevens' family and the loved ones of the other 3 Americans murdered. What a black day.

[Bonnie]

Is the Arab Spring turning into a nightmare for Israel and America? The expression, "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't," comes to mind seeing what is happening now in Egypt. Is this what the Egyptian people had in mind when they ousted Mubarak...the Muslim Brotherhood? I've been watching the news stories, some people, like John McCain, think we shouldn't give up on democracy in the Middle East, others think we should withdraw from that part of the world and withdraw all our financial aid. Is democracy realistic for the Middle East and these other Muslim countries, or, are we just kidding ourselves?

What do you think?

[Tyburn]

Originally Posted by Bonnie

Is the Arab Spring turning into a nightmare for Israel and America? The expression, "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't," comes to mind seeing what is happening now in Egypt. Is this what the Egyptian people had in mind when they ousted Mubarak...the Muslim Brotherhood? I've been watching the news stories, some people, like John McCain, think we shouldn't give up on democracy in the Middle East, others think we should withdraw from that part of the world and withdraw all our financial aid. Is democracy realistic for the Middle East and these other Muslim countries, or, are we just kidding ourselves?

What do you think?

Well...most of us dont understand President Barack Obama over Egypt certainly.

Hosni Mubarack was an allied force to the United States, and whilst he was also a dictator, the administration quite literally left him to the mob. Now they have an Islamic Brotherhood in power in Egypt with a boarder to Israel...thats just...real clever isnt it?

The one thing that the west havent realized yet is that, firstly, Democracy only amounts to "ellected dictatorship" and secondly, They dont realize that sometimes people DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR THEM...sometimes the Will of the People is really not a wise thing to indulge

I NEVER understood why America and England allowed what became of poor Hosni I really dont.

The best rule of thumb is a benign and well loved dictatorship, it has to be said. It is stable, everyone knows the state of play, everyone is fine with the state of play. Sometimes "Revolutions" just give birth to other monsters, no better then the monsters they decapitated.

There are two things to note about this attack...firstly, I concure that this was a planned event, and that it was to do with marking 9/11 and not to do with the film. HOWEVER, I think the general mood has everything to do with the film, and its a case of "any excuse"

This is going to turn shockingly bad for Barack Obama, who must know what Israel will do in the next two months...and how do we think that will go down in the arab world? Not well...Egypt and Jordan provided safety for Israel when she angered the arabs because they WERE relatively liberal...Egypt getting a more conservative form of Islam is not going to be so relaxed when their better friends the Iranians get an airstrike up the arse....

I dont really see how Barack Obama can hope to win the ellection now...embassies bombed, ambassidors dead, and Israel about to go AWOL over Iran....and all when Obama should be talking the talk and walking the walk....if he says its wrong, he will anger the islamists and it will get worse, if he says its okay and does nothing, the Americans will think he has no bottle...if he aggrees with Israel, the rest of the world are going to roll their eyes at the Americans flippent foreign policy and say it has more exceptions then rules...if he condemns Israel he can say good bye to his cherished Jewish Vote.

Lets see him talk himself out of this one....all Romney has to do is stand back and watch...I think the Democrat campaign is about to come crashing down, and GOD willing, it will take the current administration with it.

[rearnakedchoke]

Originally Posted by Tyburn

Lets see him talk himself out of this one....all Romney has to do is stand back and watch...I think the Democrat campaign is about to come crashing down, and GOD willing, it will take the current administration with it.

LOL .. this election is all but over for romney ... he was the worst possible choice for the republicans ... for all the talk of tea party this, tea party that over the last few years .. the GOP goes and nominates Mitt? at first i thought this was gonna be a close election but i think the gap will be bigger this time than in 08

[huan]

Originally Posted by rearnakedchoke

LOL .. this election is all but over for romney ... he was the worst possible choice for the republicans ... for all the talk of tea party this, tea party that over the last few years .. the GOP goes and nominates Mitt? at first i thought this was gonna be a close election but i think the gap will be bigger this time than in 08

lol, a bigger gap than in 08? if you mean in the GOP's favor, you're probably right. the most accurate electoral college prediction model heavily favors romney. and it has a track record of being 100% correct since its inception in 1980.

[flo]

Originally Posted by rearnakedchoke

LOL .. this election is all but over for romney ... he was the worst possible choice for the republicans ... for all the talk of tea party this, tea party that over the last few years .. the GOP goes and nominates Mitt? at first i thought this was gonna be a close election but i think the gap will be bigger this time than in 08

Nice try, rnc. I love it how the looney left just announces "the election is all but over", hoping that delusional statement will somehow keep people from voting for Romney in November. I can't wait for Nov. 6th!!

BTW, Obama's convention bounce is gone and once again, Romney is leading in the presidential match-up according to the latest Rasmussen polls.

[NateR]

It's also disturbing that our President is skipping his security briefings during these attacks so that he can stay on the campaign trail.

[Bonnie]

Originally Posted by NateR

It's also disturbing that our President is skipping his security briefings during these attacks so that he can stay on the campaign trail.

Oh, didn't you hear, unlike Bush, he doesn't "need" to be briefed every day by his intelligence advisers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...4e1_story.html

Obama alone: This president does not need intel briefers

By Marc A. Thiessen, Published: September 13The Washington Post

How long had it been since President Obama attended his daily intelligence meeting in the lead-up to the Sept. 11 attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Egypt and Libya? After all, our adversaries are known to use the anniversary of 9/11 to target the United States.

According to the public schedule of the president, the last time the Obama attended his daily intelligence meeting was Sept. 5 — a week before Islamist radicals stormed our embassy in Cairo and terrorists killed our ambassador to Tripoli. The president was scheduled to hold the intelligence meeting at 10:50 a.m. Wednesday, the day after the attacks, but it was canceled so that he could comfort grieving employees at the State Department — as well he should. But instead of rescheduling the intelligence briefing for later in the day, Obama apparently chose to skip it altogether and attend a Las Vegas fundraiser for his re-election campaign. One day after a terrorist attack.

When I asked National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor if the president had attended any meetings to discuss the Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) since Sept. 5, he repeatedly refused to answer. He noted that Obama had attended a principals meeting of the National Security Council on Sept. 10 and reiterated that he reads the PDB. “As I’ve told you every time you ask, the President gets his PDB every day,” Vietor told me by e-mail, adding this swipe at Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush: “Unlike your former boss, he has it delivered to his residence in the morning and not briefed to him.” (This new line of defense was echoed this morning by my Post colleague, Dana Milbank, who writes that Bush was briefed every day by his intelligence advisers because he “decided he would prefer to read less.”)

Vietor’s reply is quite revealing. It is apparently a point of pride in the White House that Obama’s PDB is “not briefed to him.” In the eyes of this administration, it is a virtue that the president does not meet every day with senior intelligence officials. This president, you see, does not need briefers. He can forgo his daily intelligence meeting because he is, in Vietor’s words, “among the most sophisticated consumers of intelligence on the planet.”

Truly sophisticated consumers of intelligence don’t see it as a sign of weakness to “be briefed” by the experts. Most of us, if we subscribed to a daily report on, say, astrophysics, would probably need some help interpreting it. But when it comes to intelligence, Obama is apparently so brilliant he can absorb the most complicated topics by himself in his study. He does not need to sit down for up to an hour a day with top intelligence officials, or hold more than 100 “deep dives” in which he invites CIA analysts into the Oval Office and gives them direct access to the commander in chief to discuss their areas of expertise. Such meetings are crutches this president does not need. Written briefings, questions and comments are enough. Obama has more important things to do — such as attend Las Vegas fundraisers.

No doubt the intelligence community has adapted to its diminished access to the commander in chief and is finding a way to get the president the intelligence he needs. Members of the community have endured a lot these past 3 1/2 years — accusations of torture from the Oval Office; more than 100 criminal investigations from the Obama Justice Department that resulted in zero — zero — criminal charges being filed; a president who is quick to claim credit for killing Osama bin Laden while denying credit to the CIA interrogators who made the mission possible. They’ll survive not being invited more frequently into the Oval Office.

But the hubris of a president who believes he does not need to meet regularly with them is astounding. When President John F. Kennedy gathered every living American Nobel laureate for dinner at the White House in 1962, he declared it “the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” Apparently, in this administration’s view, Kennedy had it wrong — the most extraordinary collection of talent and knowledge ever gathered in the White House is when Barack Obama reads his daily intelligence brief alone.

Marc A. Thiessen, a fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, writes a weekly online column for The Post.

[rearnakedchoke]

very sad ...... thoughts and prayers to the victims families ...