A deadly mix in Benghazi

[viper37]

http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/benghazi/?hp

A boyish-looking American diplomat was meeting for the first time with the Islamist leaders of eastern Libya's most formidable militias.
It was Sept. 9, 2012. Gathered on folding chairs in a banquet hall by the Mediterranean, the Libyans warned of rising threats against Americans from extremists in Benghazi. One militia leader, with a long beard and mismatched military fatigues, mentioned time in exile in Afghanistan. An American guard discreetly touched his gun.
"Since Benghazi isn't safe, it is better for you to leave now," Mohamed al-Gharabi, the leader of the Rafallah al-Sehati Brigade, later recalled telling the Americans. "I specifically told the Americans myself that we hoped that they would leave Benghazi as soon as possible."
Yet as the militiamen snacked on Twinkie-style cakes with their American guests, they also gushed about their gratitude for President Obama's support in their uprising against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. They emphasized that they wanted to build a partnership with the United States, especially in the form of more investment. They specifically asked for Benghazi outlets of McDonald's and KFC.
The diplomat, David McFarland, a former congressional aide who had never before met with a Libyan militia leader, left feeling agitated, according to colleagues. But the meeting did not shake his faith in the prospects for deeper involvement in Libya. Two days later, he summarized the meeting in a cable to Washington, describing a mixed message from the militia leaders.
[...]

[Razgovory]

Months of investigation by The New York Times, centered on extensive interviews with Libyans in Benghazi who had direct knowledge of the attack there and its context, turned up no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault. The attack was led, instead, by fighters who had benefited directly from NATO's extensive air power and logistics support during the uprising against Colonel Qaddafi. And contrary to claims by some members of Congress, it was fueled in large part by anger at an American-made video denigrating Islam.

They are in on it!  The New York Times is part of the conspiracy to "Reduce American standing in the world".

[Admiral Yi]

Sounds like the name of a Combat Mission scenario.

[viper37]

Sounds like the name of a Combat Mission scenario.

C'mon.  I know you.  You can read the article, understand it, and comment it, if you want to

[Josquius]

They emphasized that they wanted to build a partnership with the United States, especially in the form of more investment. They specifically asked for Benghazi outlets of McDonald's and KFC.

[Admiral Yi]

I don't see much in the article to comment on Veep.  Maybe you can try to start the ball rolling.

[Razgovory]

I don't see much in the article to comment on Veep.  Maybe you can try to start the ball rolling.

Republican narrative is false, full of claims they had no evidence of and have now been revealed to be untrue.  It was not an Al-Qaeda thing, it was not planed to coincide with 9-11, it was provoked by that anti-Muslim film that sparked riots in other countries.

[Admiral Yi]

  Reading comprehension.

[Razgovory]

Elaborate.

[Admiral Yi]

Pointless.

[Ed Anger]

 

[Razgovory]

Pointless.

Oh, I fully understand that.  But the article explicitly states that it was not an Al-Qaeda operation, that it was provoked in large part by a video produced in the US, and that it was not planned to coincided with 9/11.  The article also states this contrary to the GOP narrative.

The other, favored by Republicans, holds that Mr. Stevens died in a carefully planned assault by Al Qaeda to mark the anniversary of its strike on the United States 11 years before. Republicans have accused the Obama administration of covering up evidence of Al Qaeda's role to avoid undermining the president's claim that the group has been decimated, in part because of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

The violence, though, also had spontaneous elements. Anger at the video motivated the initial attack. Dozens of people joined in, some of them provoked by the video and others responding to fast-spreading false rumors that guards inside the American compound had shot Libyan protesters. Looters and arsonists, without any sign of a plan, were the ones who ravaged the compound after the initial attack, according to more than a dozen Libyan witnesses as well as many American officials who have viewed the footage from security cameras.

[viper37]

For once, I tend to side with Raz.  He got the summary quite right.

[Admiral Yi]

For once, I tend to side with Raz.  He got the summary quite right.

The Republican narrative was that the attack was planned ahead of time and did not form on an impromptu basis in response to the Mohammed video.  I never heard mention of any al Qaeda connection, so that's a straw man.  This article asserts the planned attack was joined spontaneously by a crowd angered by the Mohammed video.

[Sheilbh]

I never heard mention of any al Qaeda connection, so that's a straw man.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/29/house-intelligence-chair-benghazi-attack-al-qaeda-led-event/

The 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya was an "Al Qaeda-led event" according to multiple on-the-record interviews with the head of the House Intelligence Committee who receives regular classified briefings and has access to the raw intelligence to make independent assessments.

"I will tell you this, by witness testimony and a year and a half of interviewing everyone that was in the ground by the way, either by an FBI investigator or the committee: It was very clear to the individuals on the ground that this was an Al Qaeda-led event. And they had pretty fairly descriptive events early on that lead those folks on the ground, doing the fighting, to the conclusion that this was a pre-planned, organized terrorist event," Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., told Fox News in a November interview.
...
In the same interview,  Rogers also suggested there were attempts to connect between the assailants and the Al Qaeda senior leadership in Pakistan. "I can tell you we know the participants of the event were clearly Al Qaeda affiliates, had strong interest and desire to communicate with Al Qaeda core and others, in the process -- we believe before and after the event."