American killed in attack on US Consulate in Libya, security official says, following Egyptian protest at US embassy

[Valin]

Copts Flee Homes in Egypt, Authorities Shrug Shoulders

9/29/12

 

Reuters reports some disturbing news from Egypt:

 

Most Christians living near Egypt’s border with Israel are fleeing their homes after Islamist militants made death threats and gunmen attacked a Coptic-owned shop, a priest said on Friday.

(Snip)

 

In a separate incident in the town of Assiut on the Nile, heavily armed and masked gunmen stormed the apartment of a local Coptic man who fled with his family. He returned to find his apartment damaged and his family’s valuables stolen. When he asked a police officer for help, this was the response: ”I can’t do anything for you, reconcile with them and end the problem.”

 

(Snip)

UPDATE: In the latest press reports, the spokesman for Egyptian President Morsi responds to the news from the Sinai:

 

“The Coptic families quit their homes pre-emptively but the governor of North Sinai has given orders to return them to their homes and this is being carried out now”

 

(Snip)

(Snip)

[Valin]

Premature exoneration, Part 2: More questions from former CIA Director Mike Hayden

Marc Thiessen

October 2, 2012

 

Yesterday, I raised a number of questions about the statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that its initial assessment of the attack on our diplomatic facilities in Libya was that “the attack began spontaneously following protests earlier that day at our embassy in Cairo” but later “revised our initial assessment to reflect new information indicating that it was a deliberate and organized terrorist attack carried out by extremists.” The statement has been used by the White House to rebut charges of a cover-up. The problem with that is the DNI does not say when it revised that assessment.

 

This morning, former CIA director Mike Hayden has a must-read op-ed in the Washington Post raising even more questions about the DNI’s statement — including why the DNI entered the political debate in the first place:

 

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

Power Line: Libya for dummies

Scott Johnson

10/3/12

 

It’s difficult to keep up with the crush of news related to the 9/11 assault on the American consulate in Benghazi that took the life of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Reader Martin Karo offers the following brief summary:

 

After the latest Libya shoe dropped — the letter of House Oversight Committee Chairman Darryl Issa to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — I felt a need to summarize events for low-information voters, starting with myself. There are so many different pieces floating around, most of which have been written about in detail, but no soup-to-nuts summary that I know of, and we’re losing the forest view among the trees. So, in roughly chronological order:

 

1. As terrorist/militia activity in Benghazi becomes more bold — with at least 13 security deterioration episodes documented, including several attacks on the US Consulate itself — the local mission, over a span of months, repeatedly begs the Obama Administration for better security. Requests denied.

(Snip)

 

(Snip)

 

 

[Valin]

[SrWoodchuck]

Power Line: Libya for dummies

Scott Johnson

10/3/12

 

It's difficult to keep up with the crush of news related to the 9/11 assault on the American consulate in Benghazi that took the life of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Reader Martin Karo offers the following brief summary:

 

After the latest Libya shoe dropped — the letter of House Oversight Committee Chairman Darryl Issa to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — I felt a need to summarize events for low-information voters, starting with myself. There are so many different pieces floating around, most of which have been written about in detail, but no soup-to-nuts summary that I know of, and we're losing the forest view among the trees. So, in roughly chronological order:

 

1. As terrorist/militia activity in Benghazi becomes more bold — with at least 13 security deterioration episodes documented, including several attacks on the US Consulate itself — the local mission, over a span of months, repeatedly begs the Obama Administration for better security. Requests denied.

(Snip)

 

(Snip)

 

@Valin!

 

I would suggest that UBL is actually alive in 1.8 billion muslims [so they said on the parapets of our Cairo embassy]

......and....GM is NOT actually alive.....but appears so.....as a Gubmint Zombie would........

[Valin]

Power Line: Libya for dummies

Scott Johnson

10/3/12

 

It's difficult to keep up with the crush of news related to the 9/11 assault on the American consulate in Benghazi that took the life of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Reader Martin Karo offers the following brief summary:

 

After the latest Libya shoe dropped — the letter of House Oversight Committee Chairman Darryl Issa to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — I felt a need to summarize events for low-information voters, starting with myself. There are so many different pieces floating around, most of which have been written about in detail, but no soup-to-nuts summary that I know of, and we're losing the forest view among the trees. So, in roughly chronological order:

 

1. As terrorist/militia activity in Benghazi becomes more bold — with at least 13 security deterioration episodes documented, including several attacks on the US Consulate itself — the local mission, over a span of months, repeatedly begs the Obama Administration for better security. Requests denied.

(Snip)

 

(Snip)

 

@Valin!

 

I would suggest that UBL is actually alive in 1.8 billion muslims [so they said on the parapets of our Cairo embassy]

......and....GM is NOT actually alive.....but appears so.....as a Gubmint Zombie would........

 

 

Short answer...No. Last time I checked (a couple of years ago) the number of jihadist/islamists/salafists, was 10-16 % of the worlds Muslims. Remember the majority of the victims of Islamic terrorism are Muslims. Do yourself a favor..stay away of Robert Spencer and his gang of morons.

 

If I have given you the impression that I have no use for Spencer and his followers....Good! Because I don't. They are part of the reason I left TOS.

 

 

[SrWoodchuck]

Power Line: Libya for dummies

Scott Johnson

10/3/12

 

It's difficult to keep up with the crush of news related to the 9/11 assault on the American consulate in Benghazi that took the life of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Reader Martin Karo offers the following brief summary:

 

After the latest Libya shoe dropped — the letter of House Oversight Committee Chairman Darryl Issa to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — I felt a need to summarize events for low-information voters, starting with myself. There are so many different pieces floating around, most of which have been written about in detail, but no soup-to-nuts summary that I know of, and we're losing the forest view among the trees. So, in roughly chronological order:

 

1. As terrorist/militia activity in Benghazi becomes more bold — with at least 13 security deterioration episodes documented, including several attacks on the US Consulate itself — the local mission, over a span of months, repeatedly begs the Obama Administration for better security. Requests denied.

(Snip)

 

(Snip)

 

@Valin!

 

I would suggest that UBL is actually alive in 1.8 billion muslims [so they said on the parapets of our Cairo embassy]

......and....GM is NOT actually alive.....but appears so.....as a Gubmint Zombie would........

 

 

Short answer...No. Last time I checked (a couple of years ago) the number of jihadist/islamists/salafists, was 10-16 % of the worlds Muslims. Remember the majority of the victims of Islamic terrorism are Muslims. Do yourself a favor..stay away of Robert Spencer and his gang of morons.

 

If I have given you the impression that I have no use for Spencer and his followers....Good! Because I don't. They are part of the reason I left TOS.

Unfortunately, @Valin, the majority of those 1.8 billion, seem to be "under the sword" of the 10-16% of jihadist Muslims that have gained control during Arab Spring. [ 180 to 300 million?]

 

BTW- It's great that you can stay away from Robert Spencer & his morons. My take is that as Bob Spencer & his morons function the same way as the cudgel in the story about encouraging a Missouri Mule..... requiring a clubbing to the bean, just to get it's attention. If we had a vigorous & unbiased 4th Estate.....I might feel different.

[Valin]

@SrWoodchuck

 

Question: If someone keeps putting out the same simplistic view even after 11 years, and calling anyone who disagrees with them a traitor, (as your humber servant has been called on any number of occasions) is there any reason to take them seriously? What is the difference between Say Jihad Watch & (say) Pro-Con? Here is the problem, and I believe it is a serious problem, way to many people on our side take Robert Spencer's view of the Who, What, Why of this war as coming down written on tablets of stone. If it is on Jihad Watch it must be 100% true. You provided a classic example..."I would suggest that UBL is actually alive in 1.8 billion muslims", This is Robert Spencers view...ie the enemy is Islam and the war will not be won until Islam is destroyed. Think about that, I mean really think about that, and what it means. One small thing it means is going to Hamtramck Mi. and "dealing" with a large part of the population there, and if the government can do that, what is to stop them from "dealing" with other groups?

This goes to who we are as a nation, and what kind of country do we want to be...big stuff.

[Valin]

Al Qaeda Responsible for 4 Attacks on U.S. Embassies in September

THOMAS JOSCELYN

Oct 3, 2012

 

On and around September 11, 2012, al Qaeda attacked multiple American assets around the world. The attack that has received the most attention is the deadly attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. But the U.S. consulate in Libya was not the only diplomatic facility assaulted by al Qaeda-affiliated groups in September. Terrorists with ties to al Qaeda’s senior leaders, including al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri, were involved in at least three other U.S. embassy sieges in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, and possibly elsewhere.

 

A timeline of these assaults is presented below.

 

(Snip)

 

From the perspective of al Qaeda and affiliated groups, Saeed’s comments are likely what this was all about. They want to show that al Qaeda’s ideology has not been defeated, that the terror network still has street muscle, and that they can kill American diplomats.

[SrWoodchuck]

@SrWoodchuck

 

Question: If someone keeps putting out the same simplistic view even after 11 years, and calling anyone who disagrees with them a traitor, (as your humber servant has been called on any number of occasions) is there any reason to take them seriously? What is the difference between Say Jihad Watch & (say) Pro-Con? Here is the problem, and I believe it is a serious problem, way to many people on our side take Robert Spencer's view of the Who, What, Why of this war as coming down written on tablets of stone. If it is on Jihad Watch it must be 100% true. You provided a classic example..."I would suggest that UBL is actually alive in 1.8 billion muslims", This is Robert Spencers view...ie the enemy is Islam and the war will not be won until Islam is destroyed. Think about that, I mean really think about that, and what it means. One small thing it means is going to Hamtramck Mi. and "dealing" with a large part of the population there, and if the government can do that, what is to stop them from "dealing" with other groups?

This goes to who we are as a nation, and what kind of country do we want to be...big stuff.

Respectfully disagree with some of your positions. Not everyone, like you, can cerebrally dissect & determine the absolute best path to get a handle on our problem with Islam. Yes, I said it. We have a problem with Islam. Not 10-16% of Muslims, but with a religion that contends that all must bow before Allah/Mohammad, or they must take your head. Dar-al-Harb or Dar-al-Islam, @Valin! You say..."simplistic view"....but from where I sit, it seems the entire Mid-East is on fire, and you would have us semantically finesse how we can best tolerate the totally intolerant. Christianity had a Reformation......Islam is essentially unchanged for 1,400 years. I respect the Rudi Jasser's & want them to worship as they will, and be good citizens. The difference between the Jasser's & the majority of Muslims is their degree of belief in Salafist Islam. This is a clash of civilizations, and death by degree, or slow loss of liberty......is facilitated by someone that is more concerned with semantics & concession. No, a million times......1.8 billion times....No. If their belief in Islam & Allah requires them to have a different system of law or government......they can't be American citizens. Islam means "submission." Not theirs.....Yours! Sharia is not compatible with the Constitution. Under Obama we have a "state religion" in so much as we have a government & a people conceding, apologizing & accepting bad and/or "special" behavior from Muslims. America is not made for enclaves of religious non-citizens. You have every right to advocate for Muslims....I don't consider you a traitor....nor have I ever called you one. I think you may be blindered by intellect, but you have every right....as I do....to have an opinion & be wrong. Robert Spencer & Michele Gellar are criers in a wilderness of political correctness.....Geert Wilders, too. That they may have some bombast, and report every instance of Muslim intolerance & terror.....is something that people must see & hear.....just as your studied & carefully thought out reflections, laced with sarcasm.....should be seen & heard. I don't always agree with what you say, but I like your style & wit. I have no doubt you've studied the problems in depth. I've also read & studied the Quran, and know that the turmoil in Europe is the next thing for America, unless some lines are drawn. You don't always have the luxury of time, and our government under this administration, is riddled with Muslims that have allegiance first to Islam. From the White House, to State, to the Department of Injustice [Feebs especially] are compromised. Everything has it's place. Maybe Salafist Islam's place is not America....I sure as hell hope not.

 

Edited to add: The 1.8 billion figure was because the rioting Muslims actually said so.....should we just move along & not believe what comes out of their mouths?

Edited October 3, 2012 by SrWoodchuck

[Valin]

 

Edited to add: The 1.8 billion figure was because the rioting Muslims actually said so.....should we just move along & not believe what comes out of their mouths?

 

Well of course they said that! What did you expect to hear...that they were supported by a minority of Egyptians? This may come as a shock but our enemies lie...they lie a lot. They particularly lie about the support they have. If a salafist tells you its September...double check a calender.

[SrWoodchuck]

Edited to add: The 1.8 billion figure was because the rioting Muslims actually said so.....should we just move along & not believe what comes out of their mouths?

 

Well of course they said that! What did you expect to hear...that they were supported by a minority of Egyptians? This may come as a shock but our enemies lie...they lie a lot. They particularly lie about the support they have. If a salafist tells you its September...double check a calender.

Sure, it's taqiyyah, and, they were sent by Morsi, [now the ruling party president,] and some were even paid to be there.....and yet, it seems the "Muslim" Brotherhood has already dealt with the only stabilizing force, the Egyptian Army, and Salafist's continue to slaughter Coptic Christians & other minorities with impunity. That's just in Egypt.

 

Here in America, do we have already have honor killings, genital mutilation, disfigurations & "work-place violence?" We do. The laws of the Republic, state & cities must be observed & respected by all citizens, or they can't be citizens. No exceptions. No one above or outside of the law.

 

Having respect for another faith, or culture depends on equal respect for your faith & culture....or it's just a unilateral exercise.

 

The United States fought a civil war in the 19th century, to preserve the Union. The Union won, and the South was defeated, bringing a great change to the United States.....and resulting in many things, including the abolition of slavery. Lot's of people died & the US was changed, forever. We are going through a similar cultural struggle on a number of fronts. I'm advocating for keeping the US a Republic, under Constitutional law.....which protects all who would accept it's premise, and live under it's tenets. It may not be all inclusive & multi-cultural......that's up to the citizens. I don't believe everything I see & hear.....I check it a couple of different ways & study it, but if your religion gives you a pass for lying to me......I'm going to believe the worst, until you prove yourself, or I find the truth myself. As to the other 84-90% of Muslims that are not actively engaged in what their religion advocates.........I don't even hear crickets....

[Valin]

Drip...Drip...Drip...Drip

 

Despite Threats, U.S. Cut Security in Libya Before Attacks

Even as American outposts in Benghazi appeared to be at risk, the State Department trimmed the number of security guards on the ground. Eli Lake reports on the latest allegations.

Eli Lake

10/4/12

 

In the six months leading up to the assault on the United States consulate in Benghazi, the State Department reduced the number of trained Americans guarding U.S. facilities in Libya, according to a leading House Republican investigating the Sept. 11 anniversary attacks. The reduction in U.S. security personnel increased America’s reliance on local Libyan guards for the protection of its diplomats.

 

The State Department on Wednesday didn’t respond to requests for comment. However, a senior State Department official said an independent review panel was examining the charge. This official said it was routine to reduce the number of U.S. personnel serving in new diplomatic posts such as Benghazi over time. When the U.S. established its official presence in Benghazi in 2011, it was the middle of a war, and even routine jobs such as drivers were handled by U.S. personnel, this official said.

 

The allegation from Chaffetz, who is the chairman of the oversight committee’s subcommittee that handles national security, is important in light of recent reports that some Libyans who provided security for U.S. missions were working with insurgents and, in one case, allegedly attacked the consulate in Benghazi in April with a homemade explosive.

(Snip)

[Valin]

[media]

[/mrdia]

[Valin]

House panel: State Dept. confirmed Libya threats

 

WASHINGTON A House committee says a State Department officer told panel members there were 13 threats made against the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya during the six months before the Sept. 11 attack on the facility.

 

(Snip)

 

The panel adds that the officer told it the U.S. mission had made repeated requests for increased security.

 

(Snip)

 

Separately, The Washington Post[/ur] says one of its reporters found "sensitive documents" that were "only loosely secured" in the burned-out remains of the consulate Wednesday. The newspaper says the discovery "further complicates efforts by the Obama administration to respond to what has rapidly become a major foreign-policy issue just weeks before the election."

 

(Snip)

 

 

One wonders what was taken out of the consulate?

OTOH I'm sure nothing of any consequence was taken.

[Valin]

[Valin]

Revolt of the Spooks

Intelligence officials angered by Obama administration cover up of intelligence on Iranian, al Qaeda surge in Egypt and Libya

Bill Gertz

October 5, 2012

 

Weeks before the presidential election, President Barack Obama’s administration faces mounting opposition from within the ranks of U.S. intelligence agencies over what career officers say is a “cover up” of intelligence information about terrorism in North Africa.

 

Intelligence held back from senior officials and the public includes numerous classified reports revealing clear Iranian support for jihadists throughout the tumultuous North Africa and Middle East region, as well as notably widespread al Qaeda penetration into Egypt and Libya in the months before the deadly Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

 

“The Iranian strategy is two-fold: upping the ante for the Obama administration’s economic sanctions against Iran and perceived cyber operations against Iran’s nuclear weapons program by conducting terror attacks on soft U.S. targets and cyber attacks against U.S. financial interests,” said one official, speaking confidentially.

 

(Snip)

 

[Valin]

Long read but good.

 

Reports of al Qaeda's Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

The terrorist group may be headless, but its tentacles still pack a mean punch.

DAVEED GARTENSTEIN-ROSS

OCTOBER 3, 2012

 

Al Qaeda is returning to the shadows. The experiment by al-Shabab, al Qaeda's Somali affiliate, of attempting to govern a broad area in Somalia's south officially came to a close this weekend when its fighters fled from their final stronghold, the port city of Kismayo. Its fate in this regard mirrors that of the jihadi group's Yemeni affiliate, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which also saw its more limited experiment in governance draw to a close in the middle of the year. In contrast, the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens suggests the group's North African affiliate, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), is taking advantage of the chaos in Libya to hone its capabilities.

 

This isn't just a tale of three different organizations moving in different directions. Rather, al-Shabab and AQAP's failures, along with AQIM's apparent success, are related to the unique weaknesses and strengths of global jihadi efforts: Al Qaeda and its affiliates have been able to control territory at times but have not found much success in doing so. Their rigidity makes them ineffective governors, unable to truly win the sympathies of populations forced to endure their harsh, dystopian brand of Islamic law. Al Qaeda's retreat from governance, however, does not render it irrelevant. The jihadi organization remains comfortable as an insurgent actor, adept at moving in the shadows and carrying out occasional, devastating strikes.

 

(Snip)

 

The United States must be on alert as these al Qaeda affiliates move into a new phase of their evolution. These groups are done with the business of trying to govern, at least for now, and are back to doing what they do best: operating in the shadows, fighting as insurgents, and engaging in terrorist attacks.

 

[Valin]

Egypt’s president pledges to ease up on crackdown in restive Sinai, not pursue fugitives

10/5/12

 

EL-ARISH, Egypt — Egypt’s new Islamist president on Friday pledged to ease up on the crackdown in the country’s restive Sinai Peninsula and not pursue hundreds of fugitives from the lawless region that has seen a surge in militancy and cross-border attacks on Israel.

 

Mohammed Morsi’s comments came during a visit to the northern Sinai city of el-Arish, where he prayed at its main mosque and met with tribal leaders and top ultraconservative Salafi clerics. He also met with Christian families who were lately forced to leave their homes in the area after getting death threats from Islamic militants.

 

Troops were on high alert, deployed at entrances and exits of the city as Morsi gave a speech, assuring tribal elders that “sons of Sinai” will not be pursued and that that the judiciary would review many of the cases from the region.

 

(Snip)

 

 

[Valin]

Well you just knew This Was Coming!

[Valin]

Congress to probe security flaws for Libya diplomats

Sharyl Attkisson

10/5/12

 

(CBS News) WASHINGTON - CBS News has learned that congressional investigators have issued a subpoena to a former top security official at the US mission in Libya. The official is Lt. Col. Andy Wood, a Utah National Guard Army Green Beret who headed up a Special Forces "Site Security Team" in Libya.

 

The subpoena compels Lt. Col. Wood to appear at a House Oversight Committee hearing next week that will examine security decisions leading up to the Sept. 11 Muslim extremist terror assault on the U.S. compound at Benghazi. U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three of his colleagues were killed in the attack.

 

Lt. Col. Wood has told CBS News and congressional investigators that his 16-member team and a six-member State Department elite force called a Mobile Security Deployment team left Libya in August, just one month before the Benghazi assault. Wood says that's despite the fact that US officials in Libya wanted security increased, not decreased.

 

(Snip)

 

(Video at link)

 

H/T The Right Scoop

[Valin]

[Valin]

On a Related note....


CBS reporter blasts Obama claim that AQ “on its heels”
Ed Morrissey

(Snip)Nor is the Weekly Standard the only media outlet reporting on this. CBS’ Lara Logan, a 60 Minutes correspondent who was sexually assaulted while reporting on the protests in Tahrir Square in February 2011, told a Chicago audience over the weekend that not only is AQ not “on its heels,” it’s making a comeback, along with the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan — and that those saying otherwise are propagating a “major lie” (via Katie Pavlich):
(Snip)

Get ready for tomorrow.

[Valin]

White House Comes Clean: No Protest Outside Libya Consulate


H/T CGP: samurai007

More Here (Many Links

On eve of House hearings, State Department finally admits: No, there was never any protest outside the Benghazi consulate before the attack
Allahpundit
October 9, 2012 8:41 pm

[Draggingtree]

 

White House Comes Clean: No Protest Outside Libya Consulate

 

 

H/T CGP: samurai007

 

More Here (Many Links

 

On eve of House hearings, State Department finally admits: No, there was never any protest outside the Benghazi consulate before the attack

Allahpundit

October 9, 2012 8:41 pm

 

Come clean on the Benghazi cover-up

By U-T San Diego Editorial Board

 

6 p.m., Oct. 8, 2012

 

 

When will President Obama and his administration come clean about the events surrounding the deaths of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other Americans? For nearly a week after the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, the White House insisted the killings of Stevens, security contractors Glen Doherty, 42, of Encinitas, and Tyrone Woods, 41, of Imperial Beach, and information officer Sean Smith were the result of a spontaneous uprising triggered by an anti-Muslim video posted on the Internet.

But on Monday, several reports raised doubts about the administration’s honesty and competence. Their findings:

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/oct/08/come-clean-on-the-benghazi-cover-up/