The Effort to Disappear Benghazi

[Draggingtree]

21Jun

Trail of Benghazi security lapses leads to State Department senior leadership, records show

 

The decision to keep U.S. personnel in Benghazi with substandard security was made at the highest levels of the State Department by officials who have so far escaped blame over the Sept. 11 attack, according to a review of recent congressional testimony and internal State Department memos by Fox News.

 

Nine months before the assault that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others, State Department Under Secretary Patrick Kennedy signed off on an internal memo that green-lighted the Benghazi operation.

 

The December 2011 memo from Jeffrey Feltman — then-Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) — pledged “to rapidly implement a series of corrective security measures.” However, no substantial improvements were made, according to congressional testimony to the House oversight committee from Regional Security Officer Eric Nordstrom.

 

Nordstrom said the Benghazi operation never met the rigid standards set out by the Overseas Security Policy Board – which according to the State Department website “is an interagency body created to assist the secretary” in carrying out security obligations under a 1986 law. http://floppingaces.net/most_wanted/trail-of-benghazi-security-lapses-leads-to-state-department-senior-leadership-records-show/

[Draggingtree]

Libya’s Ansar al Shariah, expelled after Ambassador Chris Stevens’ death, is back in Benghazi

 

By Nancy A. Youssef | McClatchy Foreign Staff

 

BENGHAZI, Libya — The September death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans was supposed to mark the end of Ansar al Shariah, the extremist militia suspected of being behind the attack and that had controlled the streets of this city for months beforehand, demanding that an Islamist country emerge from the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

 

Three days after the popular ambassador’s death, hundreds of outraged Libyans stormed Ansar al Shariah’s headquarters, routing everyone inside and setting the building ablaze. Members of Ansar al Shariah disappeared, “like sugar in water,” as one Libyan explained. The militant group’s checkpoints came down around the city and its threats against residents that its members

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/06/21/194620/libyas-ansar-al-shariah-expelled.html

[Valin]

Fox: Kennedy signed off on Benghazi post despite substandard security

Ed Morrissey

6/22/13

 

Remember when the ironically-named Accountability Review Board assigned blame for the Benghazi debacle on low-level employees at the State Department? When challenged by Congress as to why the ARB never interviewed Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy, ARB co-chair Thomas Pickering replied that they had already concluded that blame for the unprotected diplomatic facility rested below his level. Whistleblower Eric Nordstrom told Congress, however, that the decisions that left the consulate defenseless against the terrorist attack on the anniversary of 9/11 came from Kennedys level at least.

 

A new report from Fox vindicates Nordstrom, although it might not be quite that new:

 

(Snip)

 

Nordstrom sent a series of e-mails after this decision up the chain of command at State expressing concern over the failure of the facility to meet OSPB requirements for security. As he later testified, Kennedy and other senior decision makers at State decided that they wouldnt spend the resources to bring Benghazi into compliance, even after an escalating series of terrorist attacks in the city pushed other Western nations to close their own outposts. Hillary Clinton wanted a permanent constituent post in Benghazi as a mark of progress after the coup detat conducted against Moammar Qaddafi in 2011, which meant that the consulate needed to remain open.

 

The question is whether Kennedy signed off on this himself, or did so under the direction of his superiors. The State Department told Fox that this memo was essentially old news:

 

(Snip)

 

A new report from Fox vindicates Nordstrom, although it might not be quite that new:

[Draggingtree]

Benghazi: The Unanswered Question

Posted on | June 25, 2013

Last week, American Spectator editor R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. called and asked me to take a look at a Wall Street Journal op-ed column by Kevin G. Norton, “Benghazi’s Record of Broken Trust.”

Tyrrell asked me to contact Norton, which I did. Tyrrell explained he was curious about a question: Where was Obama? You may remember Chris Wallace asked this last month on Fox News:

 

Strange to say, we still have no answer to that question:

Unlike Chris Wallace, most in the press corps have been willing to accept the administration’s non-answers, so that we are left with what Rich Lowry has called “a blank spot” in Obama’s presidency. And to invoke the famous words of the former Secretary of State, what difference at this point does it make? Perhaps not much to civilians stateside,

http://theothermccain.com/2013/06/25/benghazi-the-unanswered-question/

[Valin]

@Draggingtree

 

Trust in the Obama administration nowadays is nearly non-existent, as what was once promised as “the most transparent administration in history”

Heard that one before, from William 'Willard' Clinton.

 

 

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

 

The thing is (and discounting for the moment what lead up to this attack) if they had come out right away and admitted they screwed up...two- three week story...at most.

[Draggingtree]

@Draggingtree

 

Trust in the Obama administration nowadays is nearly non-existent, as what was once promised as “the most transparent administration in history”

Heard that one before, from William 'Willard' Clinton.

 

 

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

 

The thing is (and discounting for the moment what lead up to this attack) if they had come out right away and admitted they screwed up...two- three week story...at most.

 

I agree but they didn't and still deny the facts as we know them.

[Valin]

 

@Draggingtree

 

Trust in the Obama administration nowadays is nearly non-existent, as what was once promised as the most transparent administration in history

Heard that one before, from William 'Willard' Clinton.

 

 

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

 

The thing is (and discounting for the moment what lead up to this attack) if they had come out right away and admitted they screwed up...two- three week story...at most.

 

I agree but they didn't and still deny the facts as we know them.

 

They are (rightly sad to say) depending on the Media to stop paying attention and move on to the next Bright Shiny Thing. We see this going on with the IRS and the TEA Party. If the NY Times does publish a story on Benghazi it will most likely be on page 5 2 paragraphs.

It's always on to the next new thing, and often covered in only the most superficial way. Three reasons for this 1. Its the nature of the business 2. Most reporters just are not that bright (particularly TV "journalists) 3. The average American does not have a long attention span.

 

We see this today with Edward Snowden and the NSA. It's all over the news now, in two-three weeks? Also 90% of the people and media types don't know a damn thing about the NSA, or what should be done...if anything. I've been asking this question "What Do You Want To Do?" for the last week....nothing..zip...nada. Rants against Barack Obama, can't swing a dead cat without hitting one...Huge Major Breaking News Flash...by 6:00 PM Jan. 20 2017 Barack Obama will no longer be President Eric Holder will no longer be AG, Valerie Jarrett will be back living under the rock she crawled out from under. And the NSA will still be there, so What Do People Want To Do?

/rant.

[Draggingtree]

Is Benghazi Catching up to Hillary?

 

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Steven Ahle

 

Despite the best efforts by Thomas Pickering and Cheryl Mills, Benghazigate is hot on Hillary’s heels. Pickering, close confidante to radical Muslim extremists, was hand picked by Obama to investigate Benghazi. At the time, myself and many others, felt that they would cover up what really happened and we were right.

 

Pickering came to conclusions on Benghazi that Inspector Clouseau would have been proud of. It helped that he avoided questioning either Hillary or Patrick Kennedy, whom Pickering later put the blame on. Kennedy was not responsible for security, but he is unable to tell his side of the story while he is suspended from his job at the State Department.

 

Gregory Hicks testified that Pickering acted in order to let people off the hook, and indeed, Pickering’s report did not look to assign blame where it belonged, preferring to blame low level officials who did not have the power to act. Pickering and his assistant stooge, Admiral Mullen, decided early on to place the blame at the lower echelon in order to protect those in charge. http://dcclothesline.com/2013/06/26/is-benghazi-catching-up-to-hillary/#more-11196

[Draggingtree]

All You Ever Wanted To Know About Benghazi Investigator, But Liberals Were Afraid To Answer

October 27, 2012 by Steven Ahle

 

This is Thomas R Pickering. He is Obama’s man to investigate Benghazi. I don’t know if any of you are familiar with him, but I certainly am. He has strong ties to CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood and is a long time apologist for terrorists. Just the perfect point man for a president who doesn’t want the truth to come out. He is also the head of the George Soros group, International Crisis Group who has ties to other Islamic organizations as well, including the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), which has been described as pro-Iran “front group.” http://redstatements.co/all-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-benghazi-investigator-but-liberals-were-afraid-to-answer/

[Draggingtree]

Amb. Chris Stevens' Benghazi Journal to Be Published

Wednesday, 26 Jun 2013 04:00 AM

By Melanie Batley

The complete journal of former U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, one of four Americans killed during the Sept. 11 terrorist attack last year on the American compound in Benghazi, Libya, will be published in its entirety for the first time on Wednesday.

 

Brandon Webb, editor-in-chief of SOFREP, the news site covering U.S. and Coalition special operations news, has decided to publish the journal, which details the ambassador's final days, for the value it may add in understanding the factors that led to the attack.

 

"Some will be shocked that we'd post U.S. Ambassador Stevens' journal. However, we'd like to point out that this is not a classified diary;

CNN found the diary in the days following the attack, but didn't publish it in full at the time.

 

But, Webb said, his website "made a [conscious] decision to post the diary because the professional journal has clear journalistic value" and contains important information, which he charged is related "to a clear and intentional cover up" by the Obama administration.

http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/stevens-benghazi-journal-published/2013/06/25/id/511896?promo_code=F492-1&utm_source=Test_Newsmax_Feed&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1

[Valin]

Gen. Carter Ham Says He Was Not Consulted on 9/11 Security Review

John Sexton

26 Jun 2013

 

The House Armed Services Committee held a closed door hearing Wednesday and took testimony from three men involved in the response to the attack on the Benghazi consulate. General Carter Ham reportedly told lawmakers that he was not consulted about security arrangements prior to 9/11.

 

The Associated Press has published an account of the testimony based on a summary released by House Republicans. According to the summary, presidential adviser John Brennan did a worldwide review of security in advance of the 9/11 anniversary. However, Gen. Ham "the combatant commander responsible for one of the most volatile threat environments in the world, stated that neither he nor anyone working for him was consulted as part of the Brennan 9/11 planning process."

 

The AP also reports that Lt. Col. S.E. Gibson told the committee he was never ordered to stand down as had been previously reported. He says his team was told to await people arriving at Tripoli airport.

 

(Snip)

 

 

[Geee]

I believe Fox is going to have another updated special on Bengazi this weekend or even tonight. Tried to find it on their website but could not.

[Draggingtree]

Libyan Intelligence Confirms Egyptian President, Muslim Brotherhood Involved in Benghazi

 

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Tim Brown

 

Just two days after the attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, reports were already coming out that the Muslim Brotherhood led Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was somehow involved in the attacks. At the beginning of June, journalist Cynthia Farahat, linked Morsi to Benghazi from the same video in the link above and recently one of Egypt’s politicians was caught on a hot mic discussing war with their enemies, namely Israel and the United States. Now, according to a Libyan Intelligence document, the Muslim Brotherhood, including Egyptian President Morsi, were involved in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, where several Americans, including U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, were killed.

 

http://youtu.be/lVC-cpoR4Mg

 

Raymond Ibrahim reports:

 

On Wednesday, June 26, several Arabic websites, including Veto Gate, quoted the intelligence report, which apparently was first leaked to the Kuwaiti paper, Al Ra’i.

http://dcclothesline.com/2013/06/28/libyan-intelligence-confirms-egyptian-president-muslim-brotherhood-involved-in-benghazi/

[righteousmomma]

Fox is having the special called "Truth aboutBenghazi" tonight, Friday, June 28 at 10 EST.

They also have an interview with the video maker falsely accused of causing the " disturbance"

[Valin]

Libyan Intelligence Confirms Egyptian President, Muslim Brotherhood Involved in Benghazi

 

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Tim Brown

 

Just two days after the attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, reports were already coming out that the Muslim Brotherhood led Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was somehow involved in the attacks. At the beginning of June, journalist Cynthia Farahat, linked Morsi to Benghazi from the same video in the link above and recently one of Egypt’s politicians was caught on a hot mic discussing war with their enemies, namely Israel and the United States. Now, according to a Libyan Intelligence document, the Muslim Brotherhood, including Egyptian President Morsi, were involved in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, where several Americans, including U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, were killed.

 

http://youtu.be/lVC-cpoR4Mg

 

Raymond Ibrahim reports:

 

On Wednesday, June 26, several Arabic websites, including Veto Gate, quoted the intelligence report, which apparently was first leaked to the Kuwaiti paper, Al Ra’i.

http://dcclothesline.com/2013/06/28/libyan-intelligence-confirms-egyptian-president-muslim-brotherhood-involved-in-benghazi/

 

River Wars II

[Valin]

Fox is having the special called "Truth aboutBenghazi" tonight, Friday, June 28 at 10 EST.

They also have an interview with the video maker falsely accused of causing the " disturbance"

Fox! You can't believe anything they say. They hate President Obama because he's black. You don't have to belive me, just ask Chris Mathews.

[Geee]

 

Fox is having the special called "Truth aboutBenghazi" tonight, Friday, June 28 at 10 EST.

They also have an interview with the video maker falsely accused of causing the " disturbance"

Fox! You can't believe anything they say. They hate President Obama because he's black. You don't have to belive me, just ask Chris Mathews.

 

Oh dear, Obama is black - Chris Stephens and his assistant were rumored to be gay. Which side do I take? Signed, Radical Right Winged Hater

[Valin]

 

 

Fox is having the special called "Truth aboutBenghazi" tonight, Friday, June 28 at 10 EST.

They also have an interview with the video maker falsely accused of causing the " disturbance"

Fox! You can't believe anything they say. They hate President Obama because he's black. You don't have to belive me, just ask Chris Mathews.

 

Oh dear, Obama is black - Chris Stephens and his assistant were rumored to be gay. Which side do I take? Signed, Radical Right Winged Hater

 

In my considered opinion your best move would be to hate them both. Remember we hate filled hating hateful haters can always find a reason to hate.

[Geee]

 

 

 

Fox is having the special called "Truth aboutBenghazi" tonight, Friday, June 28 at 10 EST.

They also have an interview with the video maker falsely accused of causing the " disturbance"

Fox! You can't believe anything they say. They hate President Obama because he's black. You don't have to belive me, just ask Chris Mathews.

 

Oh dear, Obama is black - Chris Stephens and his assistant were rumored to be gay. Which side do I take? Signed, Radical Right Winged Hater

 

In my considered opinion your best move would be to hate them both. Remember we hate filled hating hateful haters can always find a reason to hate.

 

I just HATE when your right

[Draggingtree]

10Jul

As Benghazi Cover-Up Continues Vanity Fair Reports On The Last Few Minutes Of Ambassador Stevens’ Life

By: Curt

 

As our government continues to hide a key witness to the Benghazi cover-up Vanity Fair released a fascinating article detailing the attack.

First it lays out the situation in Libya:

 

After the fall of Colonel Qaddafi, in 2011, Libya had become an al-Qaeda-inspired, if not al-Qaeda-led, training base and battleground. In the northeastern city of Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city, men in blazers and dark glasses wandered about the narrow streets of the Medina, the old quarter, with briefcases full of cash and Browning Hi-Power 9-mm. semi-automatics—the classic killing tool of the European spy. Rent-a-guns, militiamen with AK-47s and no qualms about killing, stood outside the cafés and restaurants where men with cash and those with missiles exchanged business terms.

 

It was a le Carré urban landscape where loyalties changed sides with every sunset; there were murders, betrayals, and triple-crossing profits to be made in the post-revolution. The police were only as honest as their next bribe. Most governments were eager to abandon the danger and intrigue of Benghazi. By September 2012 much of the international community had pulled chocks and left. Following the kidnapping in Benghazi of seven members of its Red Crescent relief agency, even Iran, one of the leading state sponsors of global terror, had escaped the city.

http://floppingaces.net/2013/07/10/as-benghazi-cover-up-continues-vanity-fair-reports-on-the-last-few-minutes-of-ambassador-stevens-life/

[Valin]

10Jul

As Benghazi Cover-Up Continues Vanity Fair Reports On The Last Few Minutes Of Ambassador Stevens Life

By: Curt

 

As our government continues to hide a key witness to the Benghazi cover-up Vanity Fair released a fascinating article detailing the attack.

First it lays out the situation in Libya:

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.

 

What is it about politicians that they have such a problem admitting they screwed up? They know[/] its the cover up that gets them, yet so often (way to often) they insist on trying.

[Valin]

Victoria Nuland Questioned About Benghazi Attack Talking Points

Republicans criticize former State Department spokeswoman

Adam Kredo

7/11/13

 

Former State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland faced tough questions from senators on Thursday about her role in the White Houses efforts to alter public talking points about the Sept. 11, 2012, terror attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans.

 

Nuland faced the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ahead of a confirmation vote on her nomination as the next assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs, a promotion that critics say Nuland does not deserve.

 

Nuland faced criticism from Republican lawmakers for her behind-the-scenes efforts to erase al Qaeda references from the White House talking points that were issued in the wake of the attacks.

 

(Snip)

_________________________________________________________________

 

[Draggingtree]

They all lied…and this one picture* is the proof

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Diane Sori

 

As new information is finally starting to leak out about what really happened in Benghazi on that fateful night of September 11, 2012, NOTHING is more telling than this one single photograph…for this photograph proves that Ambassador Christopher Stevens did NOT die of smoke inhalation in the embassy compound as was claimed by the Obama administration, but was taken alive, raped, sodomized, and God only knows what else…and Barack HUSSEIN Obama, Hillary Clinton, and all those in their vile orbit knew this from day one and all bold-faced lied.

http://dcclothesline.com/2013/07/01/they-all-liedand-this-one-picture-is-the-proof/

[Draggingtree]

Ex-State Department Spokeswoman Admit/Denies Editing Benghazi Talking Points

 

July 14, 2013 By Daniel Greenfield

 

State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, who helped shape the Benghazi talking points is being kicked upstairs as a reward for her loyal service to Hillary 2016. But she would like the senate to know that she did not edit the talking points, but did “edit” the talking points.

 

To reconcile these statements, you need the mind of a Clinton.

 

Victoria Nuland on Thursday denied having any role in crafting the talking points used to discuss the Benghazi terrorist attack.

 

Nuland, nominated to be assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs, had come under fire after raising concerns with an early draft of the talking points.

 

“I never edited these talking points,” she told Congress. “I never made changes.”

 

No, she just pointed out specifically which changes she wanted made to protect the election prospects of her bosses. http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/state-department-spokeswoman-admitdenies-editing-benghazi-talking-points/

[Draggingtree]

Do not be deceived. You are being played Benghazi, the Muslim Brotherhood Connection & the Libyan Intelligence Report

By Marinka Peschmann (Bio and Archives) Tuesday, July 16, 2013

 

About two weeks ago new information came out that claimed the Muslim Brotherhood and recently deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi were involved in the September 11, 2012 Benghazi attack that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

 

The new information, a Libyan Intelligence document, was reportedly prepared by Mahmoud Ibrahim Sharif, Director of National Security for Libya, and was addressed to the nation’s Minister of Interior. The Obama administration did not release the report. Neither did the various Republican Committees who are investigating Benghazi. It became public in the West thanks to prolific author, Middle East and Islam expert, Raymond Ibrahim. Ibrahim reported the intelligence document came from Arabic websites, and was leaked to the Kuwaiti paper, Al Ra’i. It has since been authenticated by the Libyan government’s chief of the Department of Security in Tripoli.

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/56559