Libya Officials, Past Attacks Contradict US Benghazi Attack Narrative
September 18th, 2012
(HigginsBlog) – Libyan officials and intelligence assets on the ground say the US embassy attack was planned by Al Qaeda and the US was warned.
As time passes more and more details reveal that the US government narrative claiming the attack on the Benghazi Embassy in Libya was spontaneous outrage over an anti-Musim film is false.
Several foreign policy experts have offered explanations on why Obama would spin the narrative ranging from political damage for backing the extremists in the first place to an absolute failure of the administration to protect the consulate despite clear warnings prior to the attack.
As Canada’s Sun News details the US was given clear specific warnings.
Al Qaeda issued a warning on September 10th they would attack the US embassy in Egypt and “burn it to the ground” and diplomatic cables warned of a potential attack there as well.
Much of the corporate media attention has focused on if Obama was given a warned of the possibility of an attack in Libya in the 72-48 hours prior to the assassination of the Ambassador.
Several top level officials in the U.S. government and the Libyan government have stated that certainly is the case.
Libyan security officials tell the Independent the U.S. was warned three days prior to the attack.
The Independent cited top level U.S. diplomatic sources in a prior report who revealed they where warned 48 hours in advance and an alert issued by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security but was never made made public.
The February 17th Brigade, the armed militia group in control of security, also told CNN US diplomats were warned of a rapidly deteriorating security situation in Benghazi three days before the attack.
Almost Monthly Attacks on Diplomats
Perhaps more telling when each of these specific warnings is considered in context with several previous attacks on US consulate offices and diplomatic assets in the area prior to the 9/11 attack that claimed ambassador Stevens life.
Despite these attacks occurring on a nearly monthly basis it appears the Obama administration was grossly negligent in not taking measures to hardened the consolute or increase the security around the compound or for staff in Libya.
Instead, the consulate services at the Benghazi office was opened to for limited paper work processing just a little more than 2 week prior to the attack.
August 6, 2012 - U.S. Embassy personnel were attacked by armed assailants in a possible carjacking (Tripoi)
June 11, 2012 - Armed attack on a UK diplomatic convoy in Benghazi in which two individuals sustained injury.
This incident is a reminder of the fluid security situation in Libya and is the latest in a series of attacks in Benghazi against diplomatic and international installation.
June 6, 2012 – IED attack against the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi on June 6
This incident is a reminder of the fluid security situation in Libya and is the latest in a series of attacks in Benghazi against diplomatic and international installations, including the IED attack against the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi on June 6. U.S. citizens in Libya are urged to exercise caution.
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Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. U.S. citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations.
Source: Official US Libya Embassy Website
More on the attack from Reuters
May 22, 2012 – RPG attack on Red Cross Buildings in Bengazi
On May 22, a rocket-propelled grenade hit the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Benghazi, leaving a small hole in the side of the building but causing no casualties.
Source: Reuters
April, 2012 – Attack on UN Convoy carrying UN mission to Libya.
A month earlier, a bomb was thrown at a convoy carrying the head of the U.N. mission to Libya. That attack was the first of its kind targeting a foreign mission since last year’s revolt overthrew Gaddafi.
Source: Reuters
March 17, 2012 – Clashes between security forces and protestors,
There are reports of violent clashes between protesters and security forces in various cities in eastern Libya including in Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Al-Bayda, Al Marj, Derna and Tobruk. Spontaneous demonstrations and violence are possible throughout the next several days.
[...]
Demonstrations have degenerated on several occasions into violent clashes between security forces and protesters, resulting in injuries.
February 17, 2012 – Warning of large scale public demonstrations
The U.S. Embassy notes the possibility of large-scale public demonstrations throughout Libya on February 17. As a result, there may be increased inconvenience and security risk to U.S. citizens that day. Protests in Libya have previously included celebratory gunfire and attacks on government buildings.
Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. U.S. citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations.
June 10, 2011 - Risk of Attacks Against Hotels and Public Buildings in Benghazi
U.S. Department of State Warden Message – Risk of Attacks Against Hotels and Public Buildings in Benghazi
This Warden Message is being issued to alert U.S. citizens in Libya of the risk of attacks against hotels and public buildings in Benghazi. Official U.S. government personnel have been moved from the Hotel Tibesti, due to a bombing that occurred there on June 1, 2011.
July 19, 2011 - The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens against travel to Libya
The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens against travel to Libya, and recommends that U.S. citizens in Libya depart immediately due to the ongoing fighting between opposition and government forces throughout Libya. Currently, there is a risk of attacks against hotels and other public buildings in Benghazi and other opposition-held areas in Libya. This Travel Warning supersedes the Travel Warning dated February 25, 2011.
April 15, 2011 - Risk of Attacks Against Public Buildings
This Warden Message is being issued to alert U.S. citizens in Libya of the risk of attacks against public buildings, including hotels, in opposition-held towns in Libya such as Benghazi and Misratah.
Click here for the complete list of more repeated warnings about clashes, violent protests that have resulted in attacks on government buildings and other alerts.
Libya Officials Say Attacks Were Planned
Libyan security officials have arrested several people and identified at least 50 more who have played a role in the attack.
According to the officials, the attack on the Benghazi compound was in fact a planned by Al Qaeda.
More from RT:
RT – One week after an assault in Benghazi left an US ambassador and three fellow Americans dead, conflicting reports into the details surrounding their passing from both the White House and Libyan officials leave the facts of the raid uncertain.
Tuesday marks one week since Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed after a US consulate in Benghazi was destroyed on September 11, but reports describing the events that led up to his death differ depending on the source. The Obama administration insists that a mob stormed the consulate to show their contempt with an American-made film that mocked the Islamic prophet Mohammad, but overseas the explanation is much different.
Some authorities in Libya say the attack on the consulate that killed Ambassador Stevens had roots with al-Qaeda, and that the White House has whitewashed the facts in order to make the explanation more favorable for American audiences on the eve of a presidential election.
On Tuesday this week, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters, “We have provided information about what we believe was the precipitating cause of the protest and violence based on the information that we have had available,” and that the US stands by the claim that “spontaneous” attacks on the consulate resulted in the loss of four Americans.
“[W]e do not have any indication at this point of premeditation or pre-planned attacks,” said Carney, adding, however, that “we’re not making declarations ahead of the facts here.”
In the American media, the story has largely been the same: protests erupted over an anti-Islamic film leaked to the Arab World called ‘Innocence of Muslims,’ and outrage in Cairo quickly spread to Libya. It’s there, though, that officials disagree with the White House’s explanation.
“The way these perpetrators acted and moved, and their choosing a specific date for this so-called demonstration, I think that this leaves us with no doubt that this was pre-planned, pre-determined,” Libyan parliament chief Mohammad Magarief, the head of the Libyan National Congress, said Sunday, McClatchy reports.
According to a report by Radio Free Europe, Magarief went on to explain the raid as “definitely” planned, and not the spontaneous storming of the consulate that American authorities claim. Additionally, Magarief believes that the assaults were planned by Islamic extremists, mostly foreigners, some of whom he considers “affiliates and sympathizers” with al-Qaeda.
To Fox News, an intelligence source on the ground in Libya told the outlet on condition of anonymity that the “spontaneous” protest claims were incorrect, and the attack “was planned and had nothing to do with the movie.”
An al-Qaeda led assault on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks doesn’t seem unlikely, but could significantly hinder US President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign if true. The president has relied heavily on the execution of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to drum up support, and showing that the US failed to act on a premeditated strike targeting its own citizens could show that the War on Terror is far away from over.
To Fox News, a senior White House official remarked anonymously that Magarief’s comments shouldn’t be consider factual because “he doesn’t have the information” the Obama administration does.
Meanwhile, both federal and private investigators alike have opened a probe into ‘Innocence of Muslims” and the filmmaker behind the flick in order to see if the amateur producer had intended to provoke mass protests, which continue one week later. Researchers have so far uncovered a trove of information about the filmmaker, identified as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula of Los Angeles, perhaps most significant being that he cooperated with federal prosecutors to serve as a government informant during a check fraud investigation as recently as 2010.
After serving time for his role in a check scheme himself, Nakoula told prosecutors in 2010, “I decided to cooperate with the government to retrieve some of these mistakes or damage happened. I want to cooperate with the government so that they can catch with this other criminals who is their involvement.”
Source: Higgins Blog
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