Posted on 09/13/2012 7:10:53 PM PDT by barryobi
While Washington vacationed in August, the non-partisan Congressional Research Service issued a now prescient-sounding report warning that Libya's security concerns were an "immediate priority" that might require far more attention and resources than the United States had given it.
That self-restraint broke down severely this week as, according to U.S. officials, an apparently coordinated attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi emerged from a crowded protest, leading to the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and others. It was the apex of a string of concerning violent incidents dating back months.
The author of the report, Christopher Blanchard, specialist in Middle Eastern affairs, on Thursday told the E-Ring, "Security has deteriorated since the election [in July] and the government has not appeared able to stop attacks on religious buildings or an ongoing string of assassination attacks on former regime security officials. The attacks on the U.S. offices in Benghazi were the latest and most severe in a series of attacks on foreign diplomatic facilities and international organizations in Libya."
"This incident underscores what the State Department itself said in its late August travel warning: militia groups outside of state control are active in Libya and pose a direct threat to Libyans and foreigners."
(Excerpt) Read more at e-ring.foreignpolicy.com ...
good question.
Pathetic. The Administration, not Congress, oversees the State Department. As usual, the gutless media will not hold 0’s feet to the fire for his incompetence
Obama has set a leadership and experience example that the entire Congress now follows.....
Any attempts to hold this administration accountable for lapses in judgment resulting in the death of our servants in Libya will be promptly labeled as a political witch hunt, just like Fast and Furious.
And he probably is still not interested in the daily intelligent briefing. Might interfere with his fund raising and golf game.
Thanks barryobi.
This is such a cluster-blank it has to be Bush’s fault.
“...and the government has not appeared able to stop attacks on religious buildings”
Ding, ding...whose “religious buildings” - emptychair code word for CHURCHES? One doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist or have a team of specialists to know that the radicals are around when Christian Churches are being burned or blown up.
Has nothing to do with the film.
Heck we all saw this coming 3 1/2 year ago.
Now that all depends on who is talking. Our perfumed prince and his secretary are doing their best to make this murderous rampage all about a movie.
The House needs to hold hearings on this NOW.
Going back to June 06, 2012: US Embassy in Libya comes under attack
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/us-embassy-in-libya-comes-under-attack/story-fn3dxity-1226386750563
“The group was reportedly trying to gain information about its missing leader.”
Interesting that documents went missing with the 9/11/12 attack.
“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.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/revealed-inside-story-of-us-envoys-assassination-8135797.html
It is also interesting to read through Canadian travel reports and warnings.
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/index-eng.asp
Especially considering that the Canadians kicked out all Iranian diplomats and closed the Canadian embassy in Iran. The report of this came out Sept 6th and Canada gave the Iranians 5 days to leave.
yes and Congressman Devin Nunes interviewed on the John Batchelor Show (radio) earlier this evening (13 Aug 2012) said that the Department of State refused to meet with The Select Committee on Intelligence about warnings and will not meet to discuss the current crises.
Congressman Devin Nunes is a member of The Select Committee on Intelligence
The House intelligence committee used to be "one of the meanest snake pits in Congress" but lately the members have cooperated at least -- at the same time the Obama Administration (apparently) has been telling the Committee to pound salt.
I cannot source this. There is nothing on the Internet yet so I have only my memory. I did not check the Congressman's web site -- he may have commented on the problem before tonight.
Concern Grows Over Jihadist Numbers in Eastern Libya (May 2012, all we needed to know)
Assyrian International News Agency ^ | May 15, 2012 | AINA
Posted on Wed Sep 12 2012 20:40:03 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time) by barryobi
http://www.aina.org/news/20120515160214.htm
Diplomats and other observers in Libya say that with elections one month away, the National Transitional Council is struggling to exert control over various militia prominent in the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi.
One source briefed by Western intelligence officials said that of particular concern is the city of Derna on the Mediterranean coast some 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of the Egyptian border.
The source told CNN that hundreds of Islamist militants are in and around the town, and there are camps where weapons and physical training are provided to militants. He said one official had described the area as “a disaster zone.”
Tensions have grown between local people and the militants. Last month, a number of Derna residents went to a camp on the outskirts of the city, according to the source, and forced militants to leave.
There have also been a number of car bomb explosions in Derna in recent months, apparently as rival Islamist factions compete for supremacy in the area. One is said to have targeted Abdel Hakim al Hasadi, a former member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group who spent time in Afghanistan in the 1990s.
He told reporters last year he had been handed over to the Americans and sent back to Libya, where he was jailed for six years. The LIFG formally repudiated al Qaeda in 2009 and disbanded shortly afterward.
The source said that groups sympathetic to al Qaeda as well as former members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group had converged on Derna, and the presence of one man was especially worrying: senior al Qaeda operative Abdul Basit Azuz. He had been sent to the area last spring by al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and had some 300 men under his command, the source said.
The State Dept was given a copy of the report as well. As this report was given to Congress, no way the Admin can hide this.
Blood on their hands.
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