Doubts surface over e-mail on claim of responsibility for Benghazi attack
By CNN's Tim Lister and Paul Cruickshank
The often fiercely political debate over who knew what - and when - about the September 11 assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi has taken another turn with the disclosure of a series of e-mails sent from the State Department on the night of the attack.
But the most explosive of the e-mails - which were released late Tuesday - may have been inaccurate, a "spot report" on a rapidly evolving and highly confusing situation.
The disclosure of the e-mail has given new life to the already fevered debate over when the Obama administration learned that the attack was more than a protest that turned deadly but was the work of terrorists.
The e-mail carried the subject line: "Update 2: Ansar al Sharia Claims Responsibility For Benghazi Attack." The message said: "Embassy Tripoli reports the group has claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli."
That message was sent to a wide range of federal offices, including the FBI, from the State Department at 6:07 p.m. ET on September 11 - seven minutes into September 12 in Libya. At that time, the attack on the consulate was ongoing, and the subsequent assault on the annex building, in which two more Americans would be killed, had not begun.
Also: Some Bengazi attackers connected to al Qaeda in Iraq
Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, and two other Republicans in the Senate wrote Wednesday to Obama, saying: "These emails make clear that your Administration knew within two hours of the attack that it was a terrorist act and that Ansar al-Sharia, a Libyan militant group with links to Al-Qaeda, had claimed responsibility for it."
However, an examination of the known Facebook and Twitter accounts of Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi reveals no such claim of responsibility. Aaron Zelin, a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, tracks dozens of jihadist websites and archives much of what they say. He told CNN he was unaware of any such claim having been posted on the official Facebook page or Twitter feed of Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi.
Zelin, who said his RSS feed sends him any new statement from the group, provided CNN with a copy of that feed. It shows no Facebook update between September 8 and September 12, when a posting late that afternoon first referenced the attack. Zelin notes that the posting referred to a news conference the group had held earlier that day in Benghazi in which it denied any role in the assault on the consulate, while sympathizing with the attackers.
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Accompanying a posting of the news conference on YouTube, a commentary says that the attack on the consulate was "a wave of rage for Allah and his Prophet, it came from the Muslim youths."
The posting continues: "Ansar al-Sharia brigade did not officially participate as a military body, nor received any orders directed from the brigade."
The group's Twitter feed tells the same story. The account, @anssarelshariea, bears the group's logo and a tweet on September 8 - and then nothing until four days later. And at no point is there a claim of involvement in or responsibility for the attack on the U.S. Consulate compound.
Perhaps the person who reported the claim of responsibility - and the threat against the consulate - was viewing another Ansar al-Sharia site, or one supportive of the group.
In the hours following such incidents, it is not unusual for "spot reports" from agencies and overseas posts to pour in to the State Department. They typically include intercepts, what's picked up on social media, witness accounts and what's being said by local officials. They often contain raw, unfiltered information that is then analyzed for clues, patterns and contradictions.
In the case of the Benghazi attack, there were plenty of contradictions. Such situations are frequently chaotic, with claim and counter-claim by witnesses unsure of what happened when, according to U.S. officials. Building a complete picture without access to first-hand-accounts and little visual evidence can be a major challenge to government experts working from thousands of miles away.
So too have been the attempts to pin down who represents Ansar al-Shariah and their movements on the night of the attack.
Wings of Ansar al-Sharia, which means "partisans" or "supporters of Islamic law," are based not only in Benghazi but in the Libyan town of Derna, east of Benghazi. The group's leaders in Derna are thought to include Abu Sufyan bin Qumu, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee.
A different Ansar al-Sharia is affiliated with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen, and budding franchises are said to exist in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt.
As Zelin wrote last month in Foreign Policy, the groups "lack a unified command structure or even a bandleader like the central al Qaeda command....They are fighting in different lands using different means."
Wherever they may be, members of Ansar al-Shariah are united by a shared outlook, one that is implacably anti-Western and in favor of the imposition of Shariah law across the Muslim world.
The description on the Ansar al-Sharia (Benghazi) Twitter feed proclaims: "The goals of Ansar al-Sharia brigade is to implement the laws of Allah on the land, and reject the human implemented laws and earthly made constitutions. There will be nothing ruling in this country other than the laws of Allah."
Zelin said he believes that the rise of the groups heralds the end of the dominance of global jihad by a single hierarchical organization such as al Qaeda - and returns the state of jihad to the jumble that characterized it during the 1990s.
"One key difference, however, is that jihadi groups are now more ideologically homogenous," Zelin wrote in Foreign Policy.
"In the 1990s, jihadis thought locally and acted locally, while many now talk globally and act locally."
CNN's Pam Benson contributed to this report
@natlsecuritycnn on Twitter
As Senator McCain knows, those e-mails were evidence in a huge rapid stream of simultaneous contradictory evidence which is always received during incidents like this. Terror groups, for example, *often* take credit for actions they had nothing to do with. That's one reason they call them terrorists – they enjoy instilling fear in the enemy. Obviously this evidence had to be evaluated first before putting it into the hands of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States of America.
C'MON people, it's 2 weeks before one of the closest elections in history; perceive when you're being manipulated in order to try to snag your vote.
C'MON TIm, Prezzy was asleep at the wheel once again while a 7 hour long attack slaughtered Americans. Then he lied about it.
Interesting how you interpret the story in a way which prevents you from realizing that the candidate you plan to vote against probably wasn't at fault for this. I suppose you feel the war in Iraq didn't go horribly wrong because Bush was at the wheel.
And he's the President of the United States of America and your Commander-in-Chief during a time of war, not "Prezzy." One of the reasons anything many Republicans are saying lately is falling on dead ears from square one with me is because of the utter disrespect you've shown the freely-elected President of the United States of America. You're starting off with an unsupportable argument from square one because your lack of respect for your opponent defines you right from the get-go.
Absolutely concur. I wish more Republicans would stand up and say no to the behavior that has now become our calling card. It disgusts me and to the current administration and to those who label themselves as Democrats, I can only say that not everyone backs that childish, common behavior. It is as if we cannot disagree on fact and argue civilly.
people like to jump the gun without all the facts.This just validates the slow response since this is not CSI where it can be solved in 45 minutes
I think people expect science-fictional calibre responses from a candidate as long as it's not the one they're rooting for. 😉
I'm with G W Bush on this one. You're either with us, or you're against us. McCain and these political flagellants needs to be arrested on charges of giving comfort and aid to the enemy. I'm not kidding. This isn't just politics as usual. This is the intentional dismantling of the office of "commander in chief" by treasonous opportunists.
OBAMA IS TELLING HIS PEOPLE THERE ARE NO DIFFERENCES - HE DISGUSTS ROMNEY FOR MANY REASONS -SOME NOT MENTIONABLE HERE - OBAMA IS STEALING ROMNEY'S IDEAS AS HIS OWN WHICH IS WHY ROMNEY DID NOT OFFER MANY DETAILS -OBAMA IS A THEIF OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. OBAMA CAN BELIEVE WHAT THEY WANT - OBAMA CANNOT BE TRUSTED –HE STEALS (AND NOT BECAUSE HE IS BLACK IDIOTS). OBAMA HAS NO SELF CONFIDENCE. HE WAS CONDITIONED BEFORE THE LAST 2 DEBATES. OBAMA STOLE FROM ROMNEY BUT CNN KNOWS DIFFERENCES IN FOREIGN POLICY BETWEEN OBAMA AND ROMNEY. ASK CNN TO SHOW YOU IF YOU CARE –OTHER WISE JUST SHUTUP.
Obama steals from Romney? Seriously? And in all caps. My, my...
Four words: Get your facts straight!
As clarification, my previous reply was intended for REDFIRESTORM.....the post in ALL CAPS.
CNN knows what i am talking about - you are the ones in the dark like obama
CNN MANAGEMENT: MANY PEOPLE OVERLOOKED THE ARTICLES WHERE YOU EXAMINED THE DIFFERENT NUIANCES BETWEEN OBAMA AND ROMNEY ON FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES - PLEASE HIGHLIGHT THEM AGAIN FOR THE PEOPLE –ALL THEY THINK WAS THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE –NOT TRUE –YOU FOUND DISTINCT DIFFERENCES. –ROMNEY WAS TOO SLICK FOR OBAMA TO LET HIM NOTICE AND USE AS HIS OWN OUT ON THE END TRAIL TO ELECTION –ROMNEY WAS SMART -OBAMA GOT OUT-FOXED -TELL THE PEOPLE CNN -TELL THEM LMFAO
People hear but dont listen - that's romney's advantage and obama's disadvantage –obama does not attend intelligence briefings and avoids bad outdated info– obama stated in debate he would know when israel attacked iran -romney said he would know when israel was planning to attack iran before it happened. many distinct diffs between obama and romney that obama was hoping would be overlooked - but CNN has examind the transcript carefully and detected those diffs - i know, i read the articles. so CNN knows - CNN knows what i am talking about but wants others to figure it out also to better accept what CNN knows it has to do and soon despite strong feelings for obama.
So, explain why you put so much stock in that analysis of the two policies but none in this article? Is CNN only accurate when they agree with you and engaging in coverups otherwise?
Ambassador Stevens requested better security "several times" and was denied. He's now dead. Sorry there is just no justification for this epic failure.
And who denied the funding for the increased security? Right, the Republican Tea Partiers. Save your outrage. As a life-long Rep, I am disgusted that we can only see the blame when it falls on someone else. Start worrying about our COUNTRY and not whether someone is labeled R or D. Shameful.
You're reaching. That's the problem with progressives...they're always try to blame someone else.
And there's no excuse for George Bush failing to provide adequate security for the U.N. Compound in Iraq, which led directly to the death of Sergio Vierro De Mello, which led directly to the attack on the Golden Mosque, which caused the civil war to break out in Iraq, which led directly to the death of thousands and serious injury of ten of thousands of U.S. troops. All Presidents are human and they make mistakes. Increased security could have made things worse at that time by antagonizing the populace. It's not our country.
consider this also: while osama bin laden is dead RIP - look how long it took to find him
10 years...a span covering two Presidents.
See "How top US governemt officials got hacked" CNNMoneyTech 06/03/11 - chinese hackers penetrated our outdated systems - US dept of Justice -US fed Online Security website - on and on and on - how safe are we REALLY? some hackers caught were smart kids who boast "it was real easy to do"
Any system can be hacked. It is how long it takes that is the question.
Redfirestorm, it is obvious that you desire to vent about something....anything. Yet, your statements are baseless and without merit. At this point in the game, some would rather continue to believe any of the myriad of ploys that have been tried and subsequently, failed. If you have time, it may be better suited to focus that wealth of energy on factual and proven issues...rather than agonize yourself over trivial and dishonest intentions. Nevertheless, have a wonderfully, blessed day.
People have recently hacked the WH and other government agency systems -shows how outdated the systems are.
what is the annual rate of abortions to pregnancies these days anyway? obama keeps running his mouth off about "male politicians telling a women what she cannot do with her body blah blah blah" he looked so pretty tonight 🙂 would american seriously be willing to trade a stronger economy, more jobs and stronger security systems for total freedom to abort a fetus?
Being able to plan a child for when you are ready IS economics.
Surely you are not implying that to "plan a child for when you are ready" means you PLAN to get pregnant and murder an innocent life. Seems the pro-choice argument has more to do with not planning. The "un" in unplanned pregnancy is what forces the issue of choice. There should be no "right to choose" to kill. It's not a civil right, a woman's right, or a man's right to kill a human life. Obama claims "rape is rape" but it has nothing to do with rape. A LIFE IS A LIFE.
Even though i hate obama, i will do him a favor and assume he is NOT guilty of the benghazi murders. He is just guilty of being unable to find intelligent people highly-trained in cyber security high-tech information systems willing to work for him. Romney will not have that problem.
Seriously? You do a disservice to the intelligence community who have largely kept us safe the past 4 years. But here is a tip for everyone–the intelligence community of Bush became the intelligence community of Obama which will become the intelligence community of Romney. Same people doing the same work and getting the same partisan BS.
The way i see it at this point –Obama has one of two choices: (1) stay and have our intelligence and security systems completely examind inside out in front of his face or (2) leave and let the better man develop what we now need in terms of more-adanced cybertech and counter tech measures before things get worse in the mideast tinderbox. obama has repeatedly said "i will know when iran developed missiles" –yeah when israel tells us after she bombed iran. -israel may not so quick to let obama in the loop anyway. this is way too much to even imagine - we do need romney in here quick folks
Really? By what I saw the other night, Romney's foreign policy is identical to Obama's so, please share how the same policies would get us different results.
way too numerous to list here -romney would know before israel bombed iran - obama would not know until it happened. ask CNN to pull up the aerticle it wrote examining the differences.
6:00 pm – Ansar al-Sharia played Fallafalville
6:17 pm – Ansar al-Sharia guess "Baby" by Justin Bieber on SongPop
6:23 pm – Ansar al-Sharia said "Why is NCIS a repeat again this week? I declare a Jihad on summer reruns!"
6:40 pm – Ansar al-Sharia checked in at Fetwa Freds Gun Grenades and Gyros
6:45 pm – Ansar al-Sharia said "Gotta go...take care of something...brb"
7:15 pm – Ansar al-Sharia checked in at The American Consulate in Benghazi
Romney will make our country and posts overseas more secure by bringing in a team with more advanced knowledge of cyber tech security systems with the help of israel -- israel does know more than us about iran and obama knows it -romney knows it also -i think i am beginning to figure it all out now -what about you CNN???? 🙂
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
Prevarication will not serve you well.
Hmmm...what sticks me about that phrase...ANNIVERSARY of 9/11...to call the deaths of 4 people a failure, what do we call the original event which resulted in the deaths of thousands killed not just at the WTC but at the Pentagon–our military HQ.
@ Kate –
We call it the direct result of Bill "BJ" Clinton being more interested in Monica than responding after the first WTC attack in 1993.
Too funny...Obama is responsible on his watch...Clinton is responsible on Bush's. And people think tap dancing is a lost art.
Yeah, I guess I got that from Obozzo when he referenced Bush about 1,000 times for the problems of today.
You're wrong, among other things. He has no foreign policy experience, he is prone to foot in mouth disease, and he's in bed with the Chinese. How many jobs has he sent overseas, to China especially, with Bain? Did you see him salivating at the idea of having virtual slaves in bunkhouses that could be called to work at a moment's notice and paid pennies for their labor?
You type and type and type of things you sort of heard, or think you know, or read somewhere that is unsourced because it fits what you WANT to be true. This is anti-American, plain and simple. While you may hate Obama, you would be wise to start looking at BOTH sides, including the cult priest running for our party this year.
Romney will have greater access to high-tech venues owing to previous extensive networking with international companies - including long-term tight friendship with netanyeha– compared to obama and his intelligence team. our networks are outdated and obama knows it - romney and israel know it. - obama is too scared, embarrassed and jealous to admit it. hillary will take the fall for something way beyond her responsibility if it involves counter-cybertech failure.
He can't do anything without funding. Just like the current administration. Could you stop typing long enough to think? Or does the Mormon cult pay you by the word?
Lewis, thank you. We all know with a Repub President the Repub Congress will stop saying no, no, and fillibuster like they have been doing for the past 4 years at the expense of our country.
RED-So this is the same counter-cybertech failure the Geo Dubya used to start wars based on lies that killed thousands of our soldiers and thousands of innocent people. Would you like to blame President Obama for this also? Republican desperation is monumental at this point.
OBAMA CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS - EITHER OUR CYBER AND IFO TECH SECURITY SYSTEM IS MORE ADVANCED AND OBAMA WAS INCOMPETENT, OR OUR SECURITY SYSTEM IS OUTDATED AND HE WAS OUT-CYBERTECHED BY THE TERRORISTS. WHICH ONE IS IT OBAMA??????
If our cybertech and info tech security is outdted then that gives as a major underlying reason to bring romney is –he is tight with netanyehu - if israel has higher technology then it would share it with romney - not obama. period!
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
If you think Israel bases its sharing of intelligence on Netanyahu you are dumber than most Republicons. These two countries share intelligence at a very high level directly between agencies and have done so for years. And the former head of Israeli Intelligence is the one who is on the record as saying Obama has been a better ally than any other American president.
republicons? if you're going to call someone stupid.... never mind.
bull crap - romney knows better
CNN is like Valerie Jarrett's washing machine; it's always set on spin-cycle.
If our information tech security system is outdated and obama's inteligence force is incompetent, then maybe romney knows how to build a more-advanced trained team. perhaps israel does have more advanced systems than the US so knows more about iran than we do. perhaps that's why israel is disappointed with obama and prefers romney now. something going on underneath most people do not know and understand.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
You should stick to the facts. It was called a terrorist attack from the beginning. You should also ask yourself who declined to fund the additional security requested. Your hatred of anything Dem (or black) is killing our country. Stop it before we destroy ourselves.
I love how so many folk spew out all this so much s**t as though everything is so straight forward. It is never that way. be fair and at least wait for all the facts until you start ripping some one apart. You'd want it that way if it was you. How would you like it if it was a Republican president. would you be doing the same–and do try to be honest for once.
Absolutely John!!
You mean wait till after the election right...?
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
Your facts, I suppose? You have no point here. None.
There are things going on in Libya than are not public because of the intelligence implications, not as a cover-up. Romney was briefed on this which is why he avoided it at the debate. Anyone who thinks the CIA and State reveal their actions in the press are naive.
We know the facts. What more do we need?
I guarantee if it was a republican president, it would have been top news every minute. It would have been the new watergate and the dimocrats would have been dancing in the street. Mitt Romney makes a statement on the 47% and it was top news for 5 days. Benghazi isn't even mentioned except for damage control articles like this. This was the real deal and it shows how pathetic Obama truly is. The facts speak for themselves.
Who cares – the bottom line is that the only reports out of Benghazi on the very night of the attacks said it was a terrorist attack, and later that a known terrorist group took responsibility. At no point did ANYONE characterize it as a 'protest against a YouTube video' – yet the Obama Administration ignored its own State Department and FBI operatives, deciding instead to make up a story so that Obama wouldn't have to deal with a terrorist attack during an election... For 2 weeks they claimed an official position that it was a 'protest about a video', but America new right away and is positive now, that it was a cover-up by Obama, Clinton, Rice, Carney and everyone else at the White House.
For Hillary Clinton to publicly discredit the reports of her own people on the ground is DISGUSTING and proof positive that she and the rest of the Obama Administration chose to lie to Congress and the American people in order to protect the president during the eleciton. Shame on you Hillary. Shame on you Susan Rice. Shame on you Jay Carney.
But most of all......SHAME ON YOU PRESIDENT OBABMA – your cover-up only goes to show that you and your administration have zero respect for the American people and zero respect for the lives lost during this tragic event!
Maybe obama's intelligence community isn't as intelligent as the terorists. Maybe romney can bring in a higher-trained crew to develop more-sophicated communication counter measures. obama is too embarrassed to admit he is not as smart as romney, and will let hillary take the fall to get re-elected.
The sick Right wing is out tonight I see. The American Intelligence community is the most sophisticated on earth by far. Their communications intercept capability would blow your mind. At the time of 9/11 they did lack linguists and people on the ground in the right places, but that has been remedied. That is how they found Bin Laden. And it is how they will find the perpetrators of the Benghazi fiasco. What this article does is point out that the "facts" in the email you were all bent out of shape over was false. Like everything else you believe about that attack.
I consider myself Right Wing and Republican, but I'm neither sick nor blind. This hatred of one "side" for the other is destroying our nation and we have to stop. You are right, there is plenty of blame to go around on Libya, starting with the Tea Party and their puppets in Congress that denied increased funding for security. It's as if they were hoping this would happen so they'd have a foreign debacle to lay at the feet of the current administration. Anyone who says it would have been different under anyone else is essentially saying that this Congress withheld funding ONLY because the admin is Democratic. That is more shameful than anything they can say about any other failure in Libya or elsewhere.
This is just obvious political gotcha. Nobody was covering up. Just a load of B.S. from the Republicans again. Old news.
I still want to know why Romney is hiding his tax returns. Been Cheating on Taxes?
Why don't the math add up in his plans?
Why is he always changing his position on everything?
Why does he suddenly love pretty much all of Mr. Obama's foreign policies?
Where's Obama's school records? His passport records? This is supposed to be a discussion about the FACT that the White House Knew in two hours that this was a terrorist attack......and lied.
Really transcripts? Only people that think that's an issue is you and Donald Trump
You're asking him to do something no other president has been asked to do. Why? Because he's black? Because YOU want them? What will they tell you? Do you seriously believe he's a terrorist? It's just insane and a smoke cloud you've been sold so that our country is weakened from the inside. You may as well put a sign in your front lawn that says you're ready to help the Chinese take over. And that's what you need to worry about, btw. The Middle East has enough problems of their own. A terror strike here or there, perhaps, but they have neither the organization nor the means to destroy us, while the Chinese own our debt and are best buddies with the good Mormon priest your seem so excited to support.
Go ahead and try the liberal tactic of steering clear of the issue in defense of Obama's failed Presidency. It only proves that you people will stop at nothing to keep the creepy, negative, name calling and failed President in office to screw up our country for another 4 years. Guess what – Americans will not let it happen!
From your lips to God's ear.
question: are the terrorists using information technology more sophisticated than ours?
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
Comments closed? Or did CNN just exercise editorial license?
What difference do the e-mails make as far as the President blaming the murders on a video.Anything to take away the fact that they lied about a video.
"Acts of Terror" . Please remember that he was addressing two issues at the time. One was the attack and the other was the protests.
Feeble attempt to justify what Obama and his disgusting Administration did.... I'm pity this failure, and the people who are in denial as they attempt to justify his actions.
No matter how many liberals come here and try to scream over the facts, it is what it is. The White House knew in two hours, but diluted and deceived for two weeks.
You obviously didn't pick up on the full gist of the article. The email the White received reported that the Facebook and Twitter feeds for a terrorist group had claimed responsibility for the attack. There were no such Facebook postings or Twitter feeds.
Thank you. That's right.
THE EMAILS WERE WRONG. THERE WERE NO SUCH TWITTER OR FACEBOOK STATEMENTS. AND ANSAR AL SARIA ALSO POSTED ON YOUTUBE DENYING THE ALLEGATIONS THEY WERE INVOLVED.
Really? I mean SERIOUSLY – really?
If, as you claim, there were not Twitter and Facebook posts, then I guess your explanation is that State Department and FBI sources made these things up and sent the news in emails to the Obama situation room and senior managment at the State Department. So what is your point? Either its true and the Obama Administration covered it up, or its false and members of the Obama Administration lied in their emails.. Either way, it stinks.
You do realize there is an option to delete posts after you write them right. Did they save a screen shot? Or did CNN just look at the live feed and see nothing there before writing this?
So McAngry is again attacking President Obama. McAngry would have attacked Canada if a email claimed Canada was responsible.
Why wait to attack and invade? So you get the Wrong people. It didn't slow Bush down. And he even had Advance notice that bin Laden was going to Attack America using Aircraft, but still got it wrong, in addition to doing Nothing to prevent the attack that Killed over 3,000 americans.
And America is safer because Sarah Palin did not get elected. We don't need her in Washington, we need her in Alaska, keeping her eyes on the Ruskies.
Let's talk about them e-mails.
Good red herring post, nobody but you talking about attacking anybody. Nobody but you ranting about Sarah Palin, the question is "what did the administration know and when did they know it" If they did not know for a full two weeks that it was a terrorist attack they aretoo inept to fremain in office. If they did know early on but lied about it for two weeks they are too corrupt to remain in office. Grunts like you apparently don't mind being lied to but responsible American adults do not like being lied to by their government. It becomes difficult to know kif they are lying or not any time they speak.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
Actually, the question is "what did the administration know and how can FOX News exploit it".
FOX has been floating potential "scandals" for weeks, desperately hoping that one will stick. I'm curious cactus, were you as outraged and vocal when President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Condi Rice, and a boat load of inept neo-cons lied us into war that killed more than 4,000 Americans? Do you remember how they brought forth bright and shiny new lies every few weeks? First it was weapons of mass destruction. After that lie was exposed, the new lie was that Saddam Hussein had ties to al Qaeda. Then it became, Saddam Hussein is despot that gassed his own people, and all of Iraq will be so happy for regime change that they will greet us with flowers and candy.
Those are real lies. Lies that are directly responsible for the death of over 4,000 Americans and the death of more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians. The deaths in Benghazi are tragic, and we should find and prosecute those responsible for it, but trying to make story out of who knew what and exactly when the White House labeled the attack "terrorism", and then place blame for the attack based on some Facebook and Twitter posts is ridiculous and irresponsible. Also, I remember when President Obama commented too quickly, and without all of the facts when he said that the Cambridge Police acted "stupidly" when they arrested Henry Louis Gates. Many of your ilk sharply criticized Obama for speaking out before he knew all of the facts. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Interesting, although we all know it'll be lost on Conservative ears. They've proven they care nothing for facts and little for history. To have McCain stand there and talk about credibility after the Iraq fiasco is laughable. That crazy old man just needs to retire. His thinking, ideologies, and philosophies are completely polluted from years as politician and useless to our democratic system. Sorry, John. Hang it up. Retire and leave the final chapter on your life on a high note. 😉
I think you're right, but what was it that you were saying? I didn't hear you.
You didn't hear him cause your are up to your ears in Repuglican BS.
Here in lies the irony...Your illustrious leader was brought up in the Chicago political system, everything this "new" and "young" politician learned prior to becoming Commander in Chief, he learned from one of the most politically corrupt regions in America
stick to the topic at hand, and stop denying the truth. sorry that your guy screwed up, but it is what it is....
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
It is sad how all of you are so caught up in insuring that your President gets re-elected that you can't face facts. Wake up. Buy a clue. Catch a hint. Do whatever it takes to regain your senses, but please do regain your senses soon. This President has broken every promise he's made. Every promise. Yet, all of you continue to make excuses for him. He's has changed the narrative so many times on this story that his contradictions have contradicted each other. Please, do the research.
Is this really what WINEP is saying? If WINEP actually gave this quote, why is there nothing about it on their website. Why are they not publicly stating this to be the case? Why have they not come out with this evidence?
It seems to me that is time for the news media to stop being fluffer's for Obama and go back to doing their jobs.
Buy a clue.. Get a hint. Although it was mentioned in an email to the state dept that word had it a terrorist group had claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter.. low and behold no trace of it was ever to be found. Its called the rumor mill which is precisely why there wasn't a knee jerk reaction to run to the cameras to pass along a .. rumor. Is that so very hard to understand or are you so blinded by your party glasses you can't see the difference. We knew there were protests taking place over that Youtube video. We knew that for fact and that was mentioned. Obama the day following the attack said it was an act of terrorism. He just didn't knee jerk and potentially give the actual terrorists cover by turning attention to a mere claim of maybe maybe-not.
Obama did precisely the right thing. He didn't feed the rumor mill much to the apparent chagrin of the GOP. Who would have held his feet to the fire even if he had mentioned the supposed 'claim' once it was found to not exist. Obama called for it to be investigated. Which is exactly the right step. Knee jerk doesn't work unless your over-anxious to go in guns blazing and enter our members of the American military into a new war. Does anyone give a minutes thought to the reaction to incidents such as this must be handled very carefully? Its easy to sit behind screens and narrow the beam of woulda, coulda, shoulda at the person you obviousely want to crucify.
The more I ear reactions such as yours, the more I pray the GOP loses not only the Presidency but its majority in the House. Sandra Day O'Conner was precisely right in her comment as she left the Supreme Court building for the last time on her day of retirement.
Before you jump into the oh but your just a socialist communist liberal koolaid drinker.. I'm an Independent after 30+++ years as a died in the wool Republican. I don't recognize in todays Republican party the party I so staunchly supported for the vast majority of my adult life.
Whether it was a rumor or not, it cant be ignored!! Especially by the Presient!! Four Americans were killed and all you people want to do is talk down upon each other. As a Soldier, fighting for our countries freedom, I want the truth!!
whatever dope – then explain why the Clinton State Department claimed that the FBI could not get to the site to secure it and preserve evidence because it was 'too dangerous'.....lol
Of course it was, the epic failure of the Obama Administration got people killed, and their cover-up was a bold faced lie to Congress and all Americans to protect Obama during the election.
just admit it.....
Well, it sure does seem like a cover up as everyday passes. I wont jump to conclusions and say it was tho. I've heard lots of things on the radio about memo's and so forth. If it was known what was going on and nothing was done, action needs to be taken!!!
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
So this is how it goes. Right after the attack the State Department gets the usual hundreds of conflicting emails from all over the place telling bits and pieces of things that officials were picking up from Facebook, Twitter, anybody who saw or heard anything. Things are chaotic, and the State Department has to sort out all of this information.
One of these communications says Ansar Al Sharia said on Facebook it was taking responsibility, but then later that same day there was Ansar Al Sharia on Youtube and Twitter totally denying they had anything to do with the attack.
And now we are sitting around our living rooms trying to indict the State Department for not paying attention to that one email, which contradicted a concurrent Youtube video on the date of the atttack, as though we knew better than the State Department?
I say we should just keep our traps shut and let them do their job.
They have been doing a heck of a good job, killing Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders. Who cares about Republicans and what they say? They are constantly playing political gotcha, trying to get into office and power despite being miserably poor on governing, letting the Twin Tower attack happen, letting Bin Laden go free for 9 years, ATTACKING THE WRONG COUNTRY FOR 9/11, thus killing 6000 American Soldiers and plunging the country into MASSIVE DEBT. Anyone would be FOOL to pay attention to the incompetent, power hungry, bloodthirsty republicans.
Ok...so on President Obama's first day in office he corrected this by doing what again...oh yeah, continue military action in the Middle East...
so, now CNN believes what a terrorist organization says and cast doubt on what a US official sends in to brief his/her bosses in Washington! great job CNN!
Such venom. This is invariably the way the far left communicates when they are feeling the heat. The facts are plain: Obama is a liar, and he will go as low as it takes to win.
You have it exactly right and all those on here protesting and trying to take things out of context are liars too. I can't believe anybody wants our country to become this way. Remember this one basic universal truth, "What goes around comes around". When Romney replaces the liar in chief just keep your mouthes shut on anything he says, remember you like being lied to.
Wow, you act like an expert on the events that follow an attack on 9/11 at our embassy in Libya that resulted in 4 Americans killed, including our ambassador. Unfortunately, your stupid opinion and talking points are completely without merit.
Lazy Wolf, you are on almost ever comment. Talk about a tool. You are the definition of a tool. How much are you paid to be a tool for Obama? Too funny!
Obama? What the hell are you reading?
On the evening of 911 I was on facebook and saw a lot of item written in Arabic calling for the destruction of the USA...I didnt really want to read them but I clicked on the translate button. Dont know what country they were coming from; at first I dismissed it as hate but it continued to bother me; Later I called my local Dallas FBI and told him what I saw and he gave me a webpage to report it; When I got to the webpage I was most shocked that the webpage was nothing more than a consumer complaint report. I filled it out anyway and have never heard another word. I am upset and shocked that my call to the FBI wasn't taken a bit more seriously, who know where it stemmed from and what threat they could have been upon our nation. I just pray it had nothing to do with Libya. Shame on the President and Clinton. I knew the minute they spoke they were lying and trying to coverup and cya. DISGUSTING!
Well, if the FBI drops the ball on national security, you can always count on the TSA!
So, let me get this straight...
While the attacks were still going on, Obama and Hilary got an email that said Ansar al-Sharia was using Facebook and Twitter to claim responsibility for the attacks in Libya. They realized immediately that you can't trust stuff from the internet. Four people died. Then, after careful analysis they decided to blame the whole thing on a video from YouTube.
Why would anyone question THAT story?
So this is how it goes. Right after the attack the State Department gets the usual hundreds of conflicting emails from all over the place telling bits and pieces of things that officials were picking up from Facebook, Twitter, anybody who saw or heard anything. Things are chaotic, and the State Department has to sort out all of this information.
One of these communications says Ansar Al Sharia said on Facebook it was taking responsibility, but then later that same day there was Ansar Al Sharia on Youtube and Twitter totally denying they had anything to do with the attack.
And now we are sitting around our living rooms trying to indict the State Department for not paying attention to that one email, which contradicted a concurrent Youtube video on the date of the atttack, as though we knew better than the State Department?
I say we should just keep our traps shut and let them do their job.
They have been doing a heck of a good job, killing Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders. Who cares about Republicans and what they say? They are constantly playing political gotcha, trying to get into office and power despite being miserably poor on governing, letting the Twin Tower attack happen, letting Bin Laden go free for 9 years, ATTACKING THE WRONG COUNTRY FOR 9/11, thus killing 6000 American Soldiers and plunging the country into MASSIVE DEBT. Anyone would be FOOL to pay attention to the incompetent, power hungry, bloodthirsty republicans.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
After Obama's "sleepy" first debate, one of his biggest $Million donors said he thought Obama had spent his $Million on pot.
That appears to be what happened with Benghazi. Obama just escaped the stress, toked out, went to sleep, and waited for all the unpleasantness to go away. Then denied it was anything more than a local riot.
I'll bet the Secret Service is aware of the Commander-in-Chief's habit, but they don't dare squeal. And I expect the armed forces are Furious, since some of their people lost their lives, apparently because the Commander In Chief was wasted on pot. Obama has a long history with pot, since his college days, or before. Coke too, according to a recent
Tell All.
Goodness! Can't we do better than this?
I'm willing to try Romney. He couldn't be any worse, and might be a whole lot better.
Paul the Librarian
http://www.MgWater.com
We know a hell of a lot more about him than Obama. That's a good start.
the folks that let 9/11 happen (the real one in 2001), then screwed up after Katrina, and needed 7 years NOT to catch Ossama Bin Laden, now are climbing mirrors to pretend that the administration made a huge mistake in Libia.
They should be too ashamed to even open their mouth.
For the people who are listening to them: please try to reminder past last week-end: who kept reading my pet goat looking dumbstruck until his handlers took him out of public sight (for security reasons or to save face?)?, who send troops to the middle east without armored trucks or bullet-proof vests? who cut veterans' benefits? who privatized the occupation and rebuilding of Iraq (sure was great business for Halliburton and his foreign employees – in case you are outraged about government money going abroad 🙂 )
..who took $750 billion from Medicare to pay for healthcare plan, who borrowed $1 trillion from China to have 79% go to foreign owned companies, who decreased the requirements for government assistance living, who talks bad about the "rich people of America" yet is estimated to be worth $25 MILLION...and I could continue
Welcome, President Mitt Romney.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
I love how everyone is so quick to back the guy that lost to the guy that lost to obama four years ago and the guy that beat clowns for the nomination this year and the guy who until obama messed up in the first debate was behind about 10 points. The people didn't even want him, Santorum out polled him, the delegates wanted him because they knew they could changes his message. This guy agreed with Obama basically praised him on foriegn policy on Monday. He is also on the liberal side of birth control and immigration. This is not the guy you really want, you are just mad with Obama.
Look just like Romney said the government doesn't create jobs, which also means they are not responsible for the lack of jobs. There is policy that can be put in place that is going to help a company that "anit got it" just suddenly "get it". Think about your company and the layoffs they had to do thanks to Bush policies, now what could be done that would immediately put money in the companies pocket aside from more cuts? exactly!
Regarding the first debate, Mr. Obama was busy with running the country while Romney was furiously prepping for the lies he was going to spew for the first debate. When he saw how easily some Americans fell for Romney's lies, he focused more on the last 2 debates and wiped the floor with Mr. Romney.
It was nice to see Mr. Romney change his positions to agree with everything Mr. Obama said about foreign policy.
As for terrorist attacks, Benghazi was only the second during Mr. Obama's entire first term. During Mr. GW Bush's term there were TWELVE TERRORIST ATTACKS ON US EMBASSIES. The Democrats did not try to take advantage of any of these for political gain. Romney and the Republicans have been dragging on this blame game on Benghazi for political gain. The administration is trying to do its best to protect us, and so far they have done a prettty good job, killing Bin Laden and most other Al Qaeda leaders. Let them sort this problem out.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
09/12/2012
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Every day, all across the world, American diplomats and civilians work tirelessly to advance the interests and values of our nation. Often, they are away from their families. Sometimes, they brave great danger.
Yesterday, four of these extraordinary Americans were killed in an attack on our diplomatic post in Benghazi. Among those killed was our Ambassador, Chris Stevens, as well as Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith. We are still notifying the families of the others who were killed. And today, the American people stand united in holding the families of the four Americans in our thoughts and in our prayers.
The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack. We're working with the government of Libya to secure our diplomats. I've also directed my administration to increase our security at diplomatic posts around the world. And make no mistake, we will work with the Libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people.
Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. But there is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence. None. The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts.
Already, many Libyans have joined us in doing so, and this attack will not break the bonds between the United States and Libya. Libyan security personnel fought back against the attackers alongside Americans. Libyans helped some of our diplomats find safety, and they carried Ambassador Stevens’s body to the hospital, where we tragically learned that he had died.
It's especially tragic that Chris Stevens died in Benghazi because it is a city that he helped to save. At the height of the Libyan revolution, Chris led our diplomatic post in Benghazi. With characteristic skill, courage, and resolve, he built partnerships with Libyan revolutionaries, and helped them as they planned to build a new Libya. When the Qaddafi regime came to an end, Chris was there to serve as our ambassador to the new Libya, and he worked tirelessly to support this young democracy, and I think both Secretary Clinton and I relied deeply on his knowledge of the situation on the ground there. He was a role model to all who worked with him and to the young diplomats who aspire to walk in his footsteps.
Along with his colleagues, Chris died in a country that is still striving to emerge from the recent experience of war. Today, the loss of these four Americans is fresh, but our memories of them linger on. I have no doubt that their legacy will live on through the work that they did far from our shores and in the hearts of those who love them back home.
Of course, yesterday was already a painful day for our nation as we marked the solemn memory of the 9/11 attacks. We mourned with the families who were lost on that day. I visited the graves of troops who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan at the hallowed grounds of Arlington Cemetery, and had the opportunity to say thank you and visit some of our wounded warriors at Walter Reed. And then last night, we learned the news of this attack in Benghazi.
As Americans, let us never, ever forget that our freedom is only sustained because there are people who are willing to fight for it, to stand up for it, and in some cases, lay down their lives for it. Our country is only as strong as the character of our people and the service of those both civilian and military who represent us around the globe.
No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done.
But we also know that the lives these Americans led stand in stark contrast to those of their attackers. These four Americans stood up for freedom and human dignity. They should give every American great pride in the country that they served, and the hope that our flag represents to people around the globe who also yearn to live in freedom and with dignity.
We grieve with their families, but let us carry on their memory, and let us continue their work of seeking a stronger America and a better world for all of our children.
Thank you. May God bless the memory of those we lost and may God bless the United States of America.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=74XXzhBMeHs
"No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. "
END OF STORY!
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
So... this whole thing centers around what a terrorist group may or may not have posted on Facebook or Twitter the days after the attack? Now i know the world is on the brink of apocalypse. Has anyone checked their Instagram?
Where do you people come from? For the last time: THEY KNEW ALL IN TWO HOURS!
Don't bother dude, they still have not given up about the birth certificate
They did not *know* for two hours. After attacks like this the State Department usually receives a torrent of contradicting, raw, unfiltered “spot reports” from agencies that include intercepts, social media, witness accounts, accounts by local officials. It takes time to filter such accounts to build an accurate picture of what happened.
It is sad how all of you are so caught up in insuring that your President gets re-elected that you can't face facts. Wake up. Buy a clue. Catch a hint. Do whatever it takes to regain your senses, but please do regain your senses soon. This President has broken every promise he's made. Every promise. Yet, all of you continue to make excuses for him. He's has changed the narrative so many times on this story that his contradictions have contradicted each other. Please, do the research.
Is this really what WINEP is saying? If WINEP actually gave this quote, why is there nothing about it on their website. Why are they not publicly stating this to be the case? Why have they not come out with this evidence?
It seems to me that is time for the news media to stop being fluffer's for Obama and go back to doing their jobs.
"Build an accurate picture..." live time video of what happened does not need to be processed...it doesn't matter who claims the action...the fact remains a protracted engagement was occuring on U.S. sovereign territory (see U.N embassy statement) military security forces already on alert needed only 1 to 2 hours to be within the embassy compound...nothing was done for these diplomats, assistants, CIA operatives, and prior Navy Seals...sleep under that blanket of freedom tonight.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
I shudder to think that McCain might have been President. I mean, the guy swallowed whole a HEARSAY line ABOUT, not even FROM, a terrorist group! If he was President, he probably would have ordered an air strike based on this kind of lunatic thinking. Boy am I glad that McPalin didn't get anywhere the nuclear codes.
Again, really?
Gary must be able to predict alternative realities in a parallel universe where McCain won. Get a grip Gary
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
From The Press Release The Day After The Bengazi Attack:
"REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE DEATHS OF U S EMBASSY STAFF IN LIBYA"
Speaking at the White House concerning the deaths of U.S. Embassy Staff in Libya on September 12, the day after the Benghazi attack President Obama told the American people:
"No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done."
On September 13, at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Obama vowed to bring the killers to justice. He then added, "No act of terror will dim the light of the values that we proudly shine on the rest of the world, and no act of violence will shake the resolve of the United States of America."
That is a cheap reply and you know as everyone else does, it was not related to Benghazie, but regardless, we'll let you have this one. Please then explain why he went on for two weeks or more blaming it on a video and all hi administration including in front of the UN. You'd think if he believed it was a terroist attack, he might of mentioned it 6 times in his UN speech rather than blame it on a video. So, please explain the video scam?
You are attempting to make an issue out of one that doesn't exist. This is politics at their ugliest and nothing more.
No, politics at its ugliest is when four Americans die and the current administration doesn't want to admit what happened because it might undermine their narrative about terrorism being on the decline and damage their hopes for re-election.
He made that expansive statement after spending ten minutes describing what happened as a degenerated social protest.........they knew in two hours what really happened.
You're probably use to FOX news, they generally spew out things they read off facebook like they're confirmed facts.
I expect more from the white house.
Until more information comes (and it always does) it can just as easily be assumed that accusing any group of something like this in front of the world requires more than a claim on facebook. Feel free to make your own assumptions if facts aren't a big deal to you.
I find the amount of time the info took to come out as pretty typical. More importantly it's the over all military response to this I'm more concerned about, not the press release...
Your argument would be more compelling if the administration had not been giving any information during that time, but it was repeating the "bad movie review" over and over. If they didn't have good intel, why this strange fiction??
^ @Dallas
White had "eyes" on Bengahzi Consulate and watched the murders of 4 Americans! http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-864724
"No acts of terror"
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
McCain should know better than to jump on unverified allegations, especially claims by a terrorist group that may just want the publicity, and may not really be involved. I shudder to think that this man could have been President. When will the Republican party find actual leaders worthy of being commander-in-chief?
Really?
I don't think that will happen in our lifetime. This is what you get from a party that mocks and scorns public service, yet wants to be elected to public office. They have no leadership.
A stalk of celery would have done a better job than Obama.
All Mitt has to do at this point is appear presidential as, more and more, Obama doesn't.
Also, someone should investigate that Naco, Az Border Patrol shooting; the other cover up that Janet handled. Same language (tell) was used: "It appears to be...." Got to have that wiggle room for later. I'm thinking' more fast and furious guns involved.
Enjoying the game from the cheap seats?
Hide and watch....... I live on the border.
How convenient of them to play stupid when the truth could hurt their campaign.
I actually think this has Hillary Clinton's finger prints all over it.
From The Press Release The Day After The Bengazi Attack:
"REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE DEATHS OF U S EMBASSY STAFF IN LIBYA"
Speaking at the White House concerning the deaths of U.S. Embassy Staff in Libya on September 12, the day after the Benghazi attack President Obama told the American people:
"No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done."
On September 13, at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Obama vowed to bring the killers to justice. He then added, "No act of terror will dim the light of the values that we proudly shine on the rest of the world, and no act of violence will shake the resolve of the United States of America."
"No acts of terror"
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
I'm surprised Bill allowed her to commit political suicide for the socialist.
Hillary wants to look like the tough responsible type, but doesnt want to grab all of the heat for this one, as several politcal analysts believe she's gonna make a run in 2016
She said she accepted responsibility, that is a too-often used term that normally is intended to move the subject aside. She did not actually accept responsibility, she said it was the fault of her security people.. She did not know what was going on in her Dept, she has spent the majority of her time traveling around the world.
Question:
Since when do we care what terrorists claim credit for?
In the history of ever.
These clowns always claim credit for anything they can. Frequently multiple groups claim credit when attacks are made.
And that is supposing the email even existed to begin with, which no one has presented evidence that it did.
Conservatives are getting desperate. And as usual will go to any ends, including capitalizing on American deaths, to secure a hold on their coveted power.
We care when their claims, or lack of claims, invalidate what one political part is using as fodder to denigrate another. If the email is an erroneous report then the use of it by the GOP becomes invalid. Plus, it helps to know the truth of a situation, which means investigating claims, or lack of claims.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
I think what many people - mostly Republicans - are missing here is that a claim of responsibility doesn't mean they actually did it. After September 11th happened, a number of groups immediately claimed responsibility, while al Qaeda didn't and acted like they had no idea. These emails, even if they're true, only go to show the dissemination of information that the intelligence community gets and has to process in order to find the truth. The truth might very well have taken hours, days, or weeks to verify. It's as simple as that.
Everything you say may be true but then why release a silly, also unconfirmed story about a youtube video being the cause of this? Why didn't Obama just tell everyone they were sifting through all the information and would let the public know as soon as they had confirmed reports? His response to the incident makes no sense. It can only be interpreted as intentional lying done for the purpose of hiding the true genesis of the attack.
Actually, the question is "what did the administration know and how can FOX News exploit it".
FOX has been floating potential "scandals" for weeks, desperately hoping that one will stick. I'm curious Dee, were you as outraged and vocal when President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Condi Rice, and a boat load of inept neo-cons lied us into war that killed more than 4,000 Americans? Do you remember how they brought forth bright and shiny new lies every few weeks? First it was weapons of mass destruction. After that lie was exposed, the new lie was that Saddam Hussein had ties to al Qaeda. Then it became, Saddam Hussein is despot that gassed his own people, and all of Iraq will be so happy for regime change that they will greet us with flowers and candy.
Those are real lies. Lies that are directly responsible for the death of over 4,000 Americans and the death of more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians. The deaths in Benghazi are tragic, and we should find and prosecute those responsible for it, but trying to make story out of who knew what and exactly when the White House labeled the attack "terrorism", and then place blame for the attack based on some Facebook and Twitter posts is ridiculous and irresponsible. Also, I remember when President Obama commented too quickly, and without all of the facts when he said that the Cambridge Police acted "stupidly" when they arrested Henry Louis Gates. Many of your ilk sharply criticized Obama for speaking out before he knew all of the facts. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
I think you're missing one key element...the drone coverage of the entire event is fed live time to the Situation Room...nothing to follow-up...no emails to track, no calls to confirm...Just a president with excuses instead of straightforeward answers.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
Lousy reporting. What are the doubts? That the email is real or the report that was sent by Benghazi during the attack may not have been accurate. When I read the headline my initial thought was that it was being reported that the email was fake. This is just a smokescreen to keep the true story away from the public until after the election. The big question is how come Obama in Chief did not immediately send one of those new fangled helicopters with the Marines who no longer use bayonets to help out in Benghazi.
More importantly, is the question of regardless of when they knew, why did they attribute the attack to a video. I personally think that everyone doubted that from the beginning. Really, a video, I asked myself. And the challenge is why did they keep doing it and keep doing it and keep doing it. And Obama even did it after Clinton stated it was terrorists. And now, even at this point, he is hiding and in most cases, one would expect the president to address the nation, but I think he is too busy on Leno or MTV or ... to deal with us.
Unfortunately, a steady diet of one-hour police procedurals (CSI Anytown) that a lot of people expect neat and clean investigations of difficult situations. The fact that the question " why do we still not know who knew what and when" is troubling. Ron, you don't think it is possible to stay in touch with advisers and investigators while campaigning? We've got things called phones and even smartphones and the President even knows how to use one. This was a tragedy, but we are a strong enough country to continue with our democratic election process even after this horrible thing. Those who hate the US would love to see us suspend campaigning over a bunch of thugs murdering some American diplomats.
Every news article states the White House was getting mixed reports of the account. Remember embassies being stormed the same day over the protests http://mashable.com/2012/09/13/youtube-protests-spread/ . Any one that believes the Obama administration thought they could hide the accounts of the Libyan attack for two months is delusional. The day after the Libyan attach Romney was lying about Obama apologizing to the museums after the attack. Romney got corrected during the second debate while lying about where Obama was and what he said. http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/romneys-libya-problem/ Romney has shown he has not problem lying to America and is sick how he is using the death of Americans to try to gain political points. We are in big trouble if a man with this little integrity and lack of character actually gets elected.
Republicans have never been interested in FACTS, if they had been, perhaps they would have been harder on 43 and his crew who used FALSIFIED info to attack Iraq. They didn't mind all the wasted money spent getting our guys killed while our educational system and infrastructure crumbled either. Charlie Rose had an excellent program last night about our declining power due to Bush Doctrine.
Romney did not lie about anything...you are confused. Our embassy in Egypt, which is representative of the administration, released statements apologizing for the American made video, as though we deserved to be attacked for it. Also, Obama truly did go to a Las Vegas fundraiser the next day, knowing that our ambassador and three others had been murdered the night before after receiving no help or support from this administration. Where is the lie?
I'm still wondering why Egypt's Embassy thought it was a video, haven't actually seen any news about that. Were they burning effigies of the film maker, no, they were effigies of president obama.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
This whole article smells fishy....The intelligence committee would not send an email to The State Department, Department of Defense, and The White House unless they knew that their report was accurate. It makes ZERO sense for them to send a false email, especially since checking Facebook isn't exactly hard (neither is deleting posts). This is just more of the cover-up spread by the white house. This whole lie is getting ridiculous.
Being notified after an attack is much different than in 9/11 when Bush was notified weeks before and using it to destroy America.
Bush was conveniently on vacation at the time and then entertained Osama's family at the White House, drinking mint juleps until they could arrange a flight for them out of the country... Where's the outrage about that?
Really? What an odd thing to say when Obama invited the Muslim Brotherhood over to drink a couple 40's......lol
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
That's as much an urban legend as this scenario has become. Bush knew of chatter weeks in advance. Bases in Europe and ME were notified to strengthen security. The intelligence community misjudged. The problem is not Bush and it is not Obama...it is a misunderstanding of intelligence and what we are able to do with it.
What a pathetic attempt at to proffer up excuses for the Obama administration. "However, an examination of the known Facebook and Twitter accounts of Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi reveals no such claim of responsibility" Just because 3rd parties cannot find PUBLIC evidence of these claims ONLINE does not mean that the US's intelligence did not receive this information from other channels. The FACT of the matter is that our intelligence community told the White House within hours of the attack that a terrorist organization was claiming responsibility. Did any later emails refute that initial intelligence? No. Trying to externally find a source for the email's intelligence is totally pointless. Do you think that is what the Obama administration did? When they read a report that a terrorist organization claimed responsibility, do you think Obama jumped on Facebook and Twitter to see if he could find more information before he could believe the email? Of course not.
Who owes you any real time intelligence about anything? Who died and made you Conturds God?
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE DEATHS OF U S EMBASSY STAFF IN LIBYA"
Speaking at the White House concerning the deaths of U.S. Embassy Staff in Libya on September 12, the day after the Benghazi attack President Obama told the American people:
"No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done."
On September 13, at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Obama vowed to bring the killers to justice. He then added, "No act of terror will dim the light of the values that we proudly shine on the rest of the world, and no act of violence will shake the resolve of the United States of America."
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
This actually looks more like a pathetic attempt to influence voters with misinformation days before the election. And considering it was released via Fox News, it just makes that thought all the more plausible.
You are totally correct, the attack on the Benghazi mission has been politicized by President Obama's political opposition in a naked attempt to score political points from this tragedy. But I don't think the American people are going to fall for the right wing deception.
Mike the issue is that Obama lied to the citizens of the U.S.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
well if that's true, it's a pretty ingenious attempt, isn't it?
Indeed, note that what's interesting about these emails is that the "approximately 20 armed people" matches almost exactly the "roughly 20 militants" that this independent analysis from Britain identified on the morning of September 12 (Washington time):
quilliamfoundation.org/press-releases/the-attack-on-the-us-consulate-was-a-planned-terrorist-assault-against-us-and-libyan-interests/
Implication? Some of the details in this Quilliam assessment, which stated on September 12 that the attack "should not be seen as part of a protest against a low budget film which was insulting Islam" checked out on Day 1 with what the State Depart Ops Centre said, and accordingly could have and should have been taken seriously by the administration from Day 1. (CNN took it seriously, at least, calling attention to this analysis, and shortly thereafter Hillary's spin doctor Philippe Reines attacked CNN, denouncing the network for alleged violations of the late ambassador's privacy (privacy considerations that WaPo media watcher Erik Wemple dubbed "bogus")).
From The Press Release The Day After The Bengazi Attack:
"REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE DEATHS OF U S EMBASSY STAFF IN LIBYA"
Speaking at the White House concerning the deaths of U.S. Embassy Staff in Libya on September 12, the day after the Benghazi attack President Obama told the American people:
"No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done."
On September 13, at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Obama vowed to bring the killers to justice. He then added, "No act of terror will dim the light of the values that we proudly shine on the rest of the world, and no act of violence will shake the resolve of the United States of America."
"No acts of terror"
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
Obama is doing a great job and needs no excuses. However, I'm still waiting for the REAL Mitt Rmoney to please stand up!
Only a paid Obama shill would say he is doing a great job. Either that or the Muslim Brotherhood, Russia, or China
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
The GOP is running ads in Florida with these photos of Ambassador Stevens dead body being drug through the street and one of him getting raped.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/09/islamists-drag-dead-body-of-us-ambassador-in-the-streets/
http://www.southfloridagaynews.com/news/local-news/7582-gay-gop-ad-showing-ambassadors-body-is-inflammatory-says-spj-ethics-expert.html
Why do you
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
Anyone with an ounce of sense knew that this was NOT a spontaneous reaction to some stupid Youtube video. Spontaneous rioters do not have with them rocket-propelled grenades, pinpoint-targeted mortars that are pre-registered on secret safe-houses, and incendiary grenades and breeching charge explosives.
Obama lied and 4 people died. The cover-up and continual lies are insulting and simply beyond the ridiculous as far as credibility – and these emails completely disprove their claims of not knowing.
From The Press Release The Day After The Bengazi Attack:
"REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE DEATHS OF U S EMBASSY STAFF IN LIBYA"
Speaking at the White House concerning the deaths of U.S. Embassy Staff in Libya on September 12, the day after the Benghazi attack President Obama told the American people:
"No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done."
On September 13, at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Obama vowed to bring the killers to justice. He then added, "No act of terror will dim the light of the values that we proudly shine on the rest of the world, and no act of violence will shake the resolve of the United States of America."
No one lied. You must remember in that part of the world those terrorist carry those types of weapons with them when they shower or get groceries. Re-read the e-mails. The second one stated the safe house was cleared out. You just want to believe that the President mislead the American people, because you have an agenda like Mitch McConnell. The President is succeeding in spite of the GOP trying to block everything President Obama is doing to move this country forward. People like Romney are bankrupting this country making millions in the United States then hiding it in the Caymans. I know he took part in the tax amnesty program for the money he was hiding in UBS, that's why he won't release any tax returns prior to 2010. He helped his Staples buddy beat his ex-wife out of her divorce settlement lying under oath. I wouldn't trust this man with my dog. I see how he treated his. He will say anything to pander to the crowd he's speaking to. I can't wait until he loses. He promised to go away. I hope he keeps that one.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
I've got a question, how does Mitt Romney get away with laundering billlions of unreported income in the Caymans through a bank owned by his church?
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
Wrong thread idiot, stay on topic
Obscure the issue, well done.
What's your real name Mr Obscurity?
Rub two unanswered questions together then claim it's news and insight.
What part of confusion do people not understand. The reason we have diplomats there was because this place was and is in a state of confusion. That is also the reason that we are getting conflicting and confusing information. Some interpret this as the fault of the administration. We are not running that show over there.
It is very clear that the administration is doing their best with a difficult situation. If we went in there with guns blazing, we could easily undo all of the good we have done getting rid of Ghadaffi.
Where did you buy your rose-colored glasses? You will need to keep wearing them if you continue your support of the Obama administration.
Probably borrowed from the Bush era when no one could see their way to blame Bush for the intelligence/security flaws that led to 9/11, Tora Bora, and Iraq.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
Bad news for Jake Tapper over at ABC. He's been pushing this crap for weeks. Guess he'll have to find a new way to audition for a Fox News job.
Here lies the question. Why do we still not know who knew what and when? Why has this shirade been allowed to go on for so long? Why aren't reporters demanding answers from the Obama administration? If this were a Republican administraion, the news feed would be non-stop and reporters would be bombarding officals demanding answers. It's time to take off the partisan caps and find out the truth. We owe it to the four brave Americans that lost their lives while serving our country.
You can't spell. Were you educated in Utah public schools? You spent too much time in religious studies.
Because the official investigations by the FBI and the U.S. Department of State are ongoing.
True, so why did President and Secretary of State quickly make claims but the attack was due to a video and then repeat that claim for more than a week. how to make judgements to make judgements on what happened before the end of the investigation, then why did the President and Secretary of State make such comments. .
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
Does it really matter who "claimed" reponsibility for the attacks? More to the point, culpability is on the White House for watching the events in live-time, not truly responding, going to bed that night knowing what was happening, and then leaving the next moring on a campaign trip! Wake up America!
The Libyan government arrest 50 people. The Libyan civilians ousted the militias and killed 11 people... What do you want, another preemptive war ala Bush?
Quite frankly, I believe it is time for the US to get out of the Middle East, shut off the $billions in economic/military/social aid, secure our own country, feed our own starving, shelter our homeless, care for our sick, promote individual responsibility, develop domestic energy resources(fossil and renewable), improve our education standards, and in general take the steps necessary to be respected on the world stage again.
I agree, Ron. We need to focus on us for a change.
You don't seem to have the facts, there have been dozens of articles written about this attack. The U.S. military was moving assets to engage the attackers, but there was simply not enough time.
My father was a pilot in the Air Force. A plane could have been there in an hour. The confrontation lasted for seven hours. When I think of those two special forces men fighting and no one coming to help for seven hours I feel sick.
Read my comment again, I didn't mention military engagement.
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
OK, if it will shut everybody up regarding this subject, I confess, it was my fault, I'm terribly sorry! I pray for the families who lost their loved ones! (The last part is true!)
Mit Romney ordered the attacs in order to try to discredit President Obama, and hence win the election. It's obvious!
Our embassy in Benghazi was attacked on the anniversary of 9/11, the Ambassador and 3 other Americans were killed, security was lax, and the Obama Administration lied about the cause of the tragedy. Stick to the facts.
Do you have a stuttering problem, or perhaps it's short term memory loss?
sbsdd, like all liberals is in complete denial. pray for the poor in spirit...
Bill Murphy--How sad for you to say such a thing about anyone ordering attacks....Shame on you!