It was planned alright in my opinion, but the plan went bad when some CIA guys living up to their oath as SEALS spoiled the kidnapping soup.
Don’t y’all remember that right before this attack, that the major scandal story starting to brew was the reports from inside State that they were working on a way to release the Blind Sheik to the very group that claimed responsibility for this attack?
The fact that the story breaking may have led some to want to delay the deal until the story was buried but Ansar al-Sharia was having none of it. Hence the Turkish envoy holding a somewhat covert meeting with the Ambassador on 911 in an unprotected location. That meeting could not have been held at the Embassy in Tripoli just because of its nefarious nature.
The game was for the terror types to take Stevens alive and trade him for the blind sheik. Some say he was taken alive, tortured,dragged through the street, sodomized and then dumped at the hospital.I think all that happened "after" he was dead.Just makes sense.If he was still alive he would have been a hostage.
I think he died of smoke inhalation as the autopsy revealed on purpose. I don't think he wanted to be a hostage for the blind sheik and he purposely let himself die of smoke inhalation. We will never know.Either way we lost some really brave,patriotic, ready to die for their country, Americans that fateful night.
As for the blind sheik he may still be traded, You can't trust this regime to do anything right. Only whatever is the most politically expedient.