Hubris is what got William F Buckley kidnapped ,tortured, and killed.
The thing that counters your thoughts are the writings of Stevens in a planted diary where he outlines that he thinks he is a target.
He might have felt the threats, but too late to take corrective action.
Stevens was known to drive solo to meetings with Libyans. That tells me almost everything. Other reports lead me to believe he had “gone native,” and believed that most Libyans loved him.
This is borne out by the angry mobs storming the militia bases over the past few days. Most Libyans probably DID love “Lawrence of Libya.” But this left him totally exposed to attack by any group ruthless enough to want to poke a sharp stick in Uncle Sam’s eye on 9-11.