We Were Warned About Embassy Attack?

[Townhallsavoy]

According to this UK article, we were. 

The killings of the US ambassador to Libya and three of his staff were likely to have been the result of a serious and continuing security breach, The Independent can reveal.

American officials believe the attack was planned, but Chris Stevens had been back in the country only a short while and the details of his visit to Benghazi, where he and his staff died, were meant to be confidential.

The US administration is now facing a crisis in Libya. Sensitive documents have gone missing from the consulate in Benghazi and the supposedly secret location of the "safe house" in the city, where the staff had retreated, came under sustained mortar attack. Other such refuges across the country are no longer deemed "safe".

Some of the missing papers from the consulate are said to list names of Libyans who are working with Americans, putting them potentially at risk from extremist groups, while some of the other documents are said to relate to oil contracts.

According to senior diplomatic sources, the US State Department had credible information 48 hours before mobs charged the consulate in Benghazi, and the embassy in Cairo, that American missions may be targeted, but no warnings were given for diplomats to go on high alert and "lockdown", under which movement is severely restricted.

Mr Stevens had been on a visit to Germany, Austria and Sweden and had just returned to Libya when the Benghazi trip took place with the US embassy's security staff deciding that the trip could be undertaken safely.

Eight Americans, some from the military, were wounded in the attack which claimed the lives of Mr Stevens, Sean Smith, an information officer, and two US Marines. All staff from Benghazi have now been moved to the capital, Tripoli, and those whose work is deemed to be non-essential may be flown out of Libya.

In the meantime a Marine Corps FAST Anti-Terrorism Reaction Team has already arrived in the country from a base in Spain and other personnel are believed to be on the way. Additional units have been put on standby to move to other states where their presence may be needed in the outbreak of anti-American fury triggered by publicity about a film which demeaned the Prophet Mohamed.

A mob of several hundred stormed the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday. Other missions which have been put on special alert include almost all those in the Middle East, as well as in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Burundi and Zambia.

Senior officials are increasingly convinced, however, that the ferocious nature of the Benghazi attack, in which rocket-propelled grenades were used, indicated it was not the result of spontaneous anger due to the video, called Innocence of Muslims. Patrick Kennedy, Under-Secretary at the State Department, said he was convinced the assault was planned due to its extensive nature and the proliferation of weapons.

There is growing belief that the attack was in revenge for the killing in a drone strike in Pakistan of Mohammed Hassan Qaed, an al-Qa'ida operative who was, as his nom-de-guerre Abu Yahya al-Libi suggests, from Libya, and timed for the anniversary of the 11 September attacks.

Senator Bill Nelson, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "I am asking my colleagues on the committee to immediately investigate what role al-Qa'ida or its affiliates may have played in the attack and to take appropriate action."

According to security sources the consulate had been given a "health check" in preparation for any violence connected to the 9/11 anniversary. In the event, the perimeter was breached within 15 minutes of an angry crowd starting to attack it at around 10pm on Tuesday night. There was, according to witnesses, little defence put up by the 30 or more local guards meant to protect the staff. Ali Fetori, a 59-year-old accountant who lives near by, said: "The security people just all ran away and the people in charge were the young men with guns and bombs."

Wissam Buhmeid, the commander of the Tripoli government-sanctioned Libya's Shield Brigade, effectively a police force for Benghazi, maintained that it was anger over the Mohamed video which made the guards abandon their post. "There were definitely people from the security forces who let the attack happen because they were themselves offended by the film; they would absolutely put their loyalty to the Prophet over the consulate. The deaths are all nothing compared to insulting the Prophet."

Mr Stevens, it is believed, was left in the building by the rest of the staff after they failed to find him in dense smoke caused by a blaze which had engulfed the building. He was discovered lying unconscious by local people and taken to a hospital, the Benghazi Medical Centre, where, according to a doctor, Ziad Abu Ziad, he died from smoke inhalation.

An eight-strong American rescue team was sent from Tripoli and taken by troops under Captain Fathi al- Obeidi, of the February 17 Brigade, to the secret safe house to extract around 40 US staff. The building then came under fire from heavy weapons. "I don't know how they found the place to carry out the attack. It was planned, the accuracy with which the mortars hit us was too good for any ordinary revolutionaries," said Captain Obeidi. "It began to rain down on us, about six mortars fell directly on the path to the villa."

Libyan reinforcements eventually arrived, and the attack ended. News had arrived of Mr Stevens, and his body was picked up from the hospital and taken back to Tripoli with the other dead and the survivors.

Mr Stevens' mother, Mary Commanday, spoke of her son yesterday. "He did love what he did, and he did a very good job with it. He could have done a lot of other things, but this was his passion. I have a hole in my heart," she said.

Global anger: The protests spread

Yemen

The furore across the Middle East over the controversial film about the Prophet Mohamed is now threatening to get out of control. In Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, yesterday around 5,000 demonstrators attacked the US embassy, leaving at least 15 people injured. Young protesters, shouted: "We sacrifice ourselves for you, Messenger of God," smashed windows of the security offices and burned at least five cars, witnesses said.

Egypt

Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi yesterday condemned the attack in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador. In a speech in Brussels, Mr Morsi said he had spoken to President Obama and condemned "in the clearest terms" the Tuesday attacks. Despite this, and possibly playing to a domestic audience, President Obama said yesterday that "I don't think we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy".

Demonstrators in Cairo attacked the mission on Tuesday evening and protests have continued since.

Iraq

Militants said the anti-Islamic film "will put all the American interests Iraq in danger" and called on Muslims everywhere to "face our joint enemy", as protesters in Baghdad burned American flags yesterday. The warning from the Iranian-backed group Asaib Ahl al-Haq came as demonstrators demanded the closure of the US embassy in the capital.

Bangladesh

Islamists warned they may "besiege" the US embassy in Dhaka after security forces stopped around 1,000 protesters marching to the building. The Khelafat Andolon group called for bigger protests as demonstrators threw their fists in the air, burned the flag and chanted anti-US slogans.

Others

There was a Hamas-organised protest in Gaza City, and as many as 100 Arab Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv. In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai postponed a trip to Norway, fearing violence. Officials in Pakistan said they "expected protests". Protesters in Tunis burnt US flags.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/revealed-inside-story-of-us-envoys-assassination-8135797.html

[AUJarhead]

http://www.redstate.com/2012/09/13/the-american-media-beclowned-themselves-yesterday/

The American Media Beclowned Themselves Yesterday

Yesterday, as the American consulate in Libya was smoking and the rioters were returning in Egypt, the President of the United States flew off to Las Vegas for a fundraiser while his spokesman was telling the American press corps that yesterday wasn’t really a normal political day. Had it been George W. Bush, the media would, right now, be marching on the White House with pitch forks and torches. Remember, on 9/11, as events were unfolding in Washington, the American media was crying for President Bush to return to Washington. They wanted Daddy at home in the White House where he could tuck them in bed, damn the security issues of getting him there.

I get that Chuck Todd is a former Democrat hill staffer. I get that the Politico is riddled with Democrats, some former activists and a former staffer for Debbie Wasserman Schultz. I get that Michael Scherer from Time magazine is a left wing reporter for Mother Jones and Salon.com turned respectable, “objective” journalist. I get that Ben Smith, leading up Buzz Feed, is a leftwing journalist paraded about as if he is some sort of objective reporter at a trendy site full of cat photos. [Editor's Note: Totally forgot to include Journolist and have updated to include it] I get that precious Ezra Klein started Journolist so reporters and political operatives could collaborate on the news and narrative and now he sits at the Washington Post and gets trotted out as a fact checker. What I really get is that the American media runs with a herd mentality, leans left, and yesterday collectively fell over their group think as they leaned so far left to focus on Mitt Romney and not President Obama. Yesterday, the American media beclowned itself in ways I didn’t really even think was possible, even knowing how in the tank for Barack Obama they are.

Yesterday, we learned that there were no Marines protecting our Ambassador to Libya despite State Department warnings about violence and kidnappings in the Benghazi. We already knew Al Qaeda was coming on strong there. But we relied on locals for support and now we know the locals betrayed us as they have in the past in Afghanistan and Iraq too.

But the media wanted to focus on Mitt Romney.

Night before last, the President condemned Mitt Romney in harsher tones than he condemned the rioters. It took him until sun up yesterday to condemn them.

But the media wanted to focus on Mitt Romney.

Yesterday, the media spent much time condemning the Coptic Christians for their movie, but we now know the movie had been out for months and we also know the riots were orchestrated in advance. We also know the attack on the American consulate in Libya used the riots as cover for the attack.

But the media wanted to focus on Mitt Romney.

Yesterday, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a man who swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America, called an American civilian to ask him to stop exercising his first amendment rights.

But the media wanted to focus on Mitt Romney.

We also now know that the President, close to 60% of the time, has opted for printed intelligence briefings, which this White House thinks are as useful as an intelligence officer in the room who the President can probe, prod, challenge, and question.

But the media wanted to focus on Mitt Romney.

And in focusing on Mitt Romney, finally, of all the places, Slate and Dave Weigel finally point out that Mitt Romney’s gaffe was no gaffe, it was a consistent view of foreign policy foreign to the ears of the political press. He, I, and many others really do think Barack Obama is an apologist. We really do think his speech to Cairo after his entrance to the White House was part of a world apology tour. And we sure as hell think his actions in the past year to foster the Arab Spring were the actions of a naive fool.

But then the media has been playing the naive fool for him.

——————————

UPDATE: A friend points out that what the news media is doing here is roughly what they did after Trayvon Martin’s killing. They rushed to judgment, got basic facts wrong, and then sensationalized it with audio experts and what not only to have to beat a path to retreat later.

[AUJarhead]

http://www.redstate.com/2012/09/13/president-obama-skipped-his-intel-brief-the-day-after-the-u-s-ambassador-to-libya-was-murdered/

President Obama Skipped His Intel Brief the Day After the U.S. Ambassador to Libya was Murdered by Terrorists

Marc Thiessen provides a shocker in his Washington Post column: the day after America’s embassy in Cairo was assaulted and the consulate in Benghazi, Libya fell victim to an armed attack that killed four, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, the president once again skipped his intelligence briefing, choosing instead to fly off to Las Vegas to fundraise while the world continued to burn.

This after being inexcusably unprepared for, and unaware of the threat of, violent protests and, in the case of Libya, a terrorist attack against the official representatives of the United States of America in two North African nations. Since those attacks, protests have taken place in Yemen, Tunisia, and Kuwait, with State Department warnings having been issued for several more countries.

Also since those attacks, President Obama has criticized Mitt Romney for “shooting first and aiming later” by speaking about international situation – a statement that is doubly galling considering the fact that Obama himself, rather than learn about facts and threats, blew off his own intel briefing to go fundraise in Las Vegas.

Thiessen writes:

    According to the public schedule of the president, the last time the Obama attended his daily intelligence meeting was Sept. 5 — a week before Islamist radicals stormed our embassy in Cairo and terrorists killed our ambassador to Tripoli. The president was scheduled to hold the intelligence meeting at 10:50 a.m. Wednesday, the day after the attacks, but it was canceled so that he could comfort grieving employees at the State Department — as well he should. But instead of rescheduling the intelligence briefing for later in the day, Obama apparently chose to skip it altogether and attend a Las Vegas fundraiser for his re-election campaign. One day after a terrorist attack.

Thiessen’s take on this is excellent, and it is worth quoting more here (and even more worthwhile reading the whole column yourself). He continues:

    When I asked National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor if the president had attended any meetings to discuss the Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) since Sept. 5, he repeatedly refused to answer. He noted that Obama had attended a principals meeting of the National Security Council on Sept. 10 and reiterated that he reads the PDB. “As I’ve told you every time you ask, the President gets his PDB every day,” Vietor told me by e-mail, adding this swipe at Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush: “Unlike your former boss, he has it delivered to his residence in the morning and not briefed to him.” (This new line of defense was echoed this morning by my Post colleague, Dana Milbank, who writes that Bush was briefed every day by his intelligence advisers because he “decided he would prefer to read less.”)

    Vietor’s reply is quite revealing. It is apparently a point of pride in the White House that Obama’s PDB is “not briefed to him.” In the eyes of this administration, it is a virtue that the president does not meet every day with senior intelligence officials. This president, you see, does not need briefers. He can forgo his daily intelligence meeting because he is, in Vietor’s words, “among the most sophisticated consumers of intelligence on the planet.”

    Truly sophisticated consumers of intelligence don’t see it as a sign of weakness to “be briefed” by the experts. Most of us, if we subscribed to a daily report on, say, astrophysics, would probably need some help interpreting it. But when it comes to intelligence, Obama is apparently so brilliant he can absorb the most complicated topics by himself in his study. He does not need to sit down for up to an hour a day with top intelligence officials, or hold more than 100 “deep dives” in which he invites CIA analysts into the Oval Office and gives them direct access to the commander in chief to discuss their areas of expertise. Such meetings are crutches this president does not need. Written briefings, questions and comments are enough. Obama has more important things to do — such as attend Las Vegas fundraisers.

He concludes with an apt jab at the president’s absurdly high opinion of his own intelligence and knowledgeability:

    When President John F. Kennedy gathered every living American Nobel laureate for dinner at the White House in 1962, he declared it “the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” Apparently, in this administration’s view, Kennedy had it wrong — the most extraordinary collection of talent and knowledge ever gathered in the White House is when Barack Obama reads his daily intelligence brief alone.

The current president’s actions and failure to plan in any way at all resulted in a Libya and an Egypt in which radical elements are far more free to act, and in which foreign diplomats and property lack even a modicum of reasonably expected security.

The world is burning – and while it does, the President of the United States can’t even be bothered to Fiddle. Instead, he’s too busy fundraising.

[GH2001]

Good articles Jarhead.

Now.....I have promptly reported you to attack watch for posting them. And I also reported myself for saluting you for posting them. The Pharoah is not hapy with us.

[AUJarhead]

I hope the reeducation centers have a beer tent.

[Saniflush]

The more and more I think about this the more and more pissed off I get!

[GH2001]

The more and more I think about this the more and more pissed off I get!

You can look at his face and tell that he died of smoke inhalation. Poor guy.

[AUJarhead]

The more and more I think about this the more and more pissed off I get!

Agreed.

Especially if we knew about it 2 days prior.

And if this is true (attached link), then this goes beyond incompetence, and into the realm of treason.

http://www.beaufortobserver.net/Articles-NEWS-and-COMMENTARY-c-2012-09-13-262662.112112-Reports-U-S-Marines-guarding-Egyptian-Embassy-denied-live-ammo-to-use-in-the-weapons-if-needed.html

Reports: U. S. Marines guarding Egyptian Embassy denied live ammo to use in the weapons if needed

Although the Obama Administration is trying to deny it, there are numerous reports emerging that U. S. Marines assigned to provide security at the American Embassy in Egypt were denied live ammo in their weapons. The news comes not from the Elite Media (wouldn't you figure) but from blogs that Marines and others close to them posted on various outlets. It is now being reported that the decision was the American Ambassador to Egypt.

Adam Kredo, reporting for the Washington Free Beacon that:A Marine spokesperson at the Pentagon denied reports that U.S. Marines defending the American embassy in Egypt were not permitted by the State Department to carry live ammunition in a statement to Fox News Thursday.

Pentagon Lt. Col. Chris Hughes told the outlet: "The ambassador and RSO (Regional Security Officer) have been completely and appropriately engaged with the security situation. No restrictions on weapons or weapons status have been imposed. This information comes from the Det Commander at AMEMB (American Embassy) Cairo."

The statement came in response to open-source reporting that U.S. Marines defending the American embassy in Egypt were not permitted by the State Department to carry live ammunition.

Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson "did not permit U.S. Marine guards to carry live ammunition," according to multiple reports on U.S. Marine Corps blogs spotted by Nightwatch. "She neutralized any U.S. military capability that was dedicated to preserve her life and protect the US Embassy."

Time magazine's Battleland blog also reported Thursday that "senior U.S. officials late Wednesday declined to discuss in detail the security at either Cairo or Benghazi, so answers may be slow in coming."

If true, the reports indicate that Patterson shirked her obligation to protect U.S. interests, Nightwatch states.

"She did not defend U.S. sovereign territory and betrayed her oath of office," the report states. "She neutered the Marines posted to defend the embassy, trusting the Egyptians over the Marines."

While Marines are typically relied on to defend U.S. territory abroad, such as embassies, these reports indicate that the Obama administration was relying on Egypt's new Muslim Brotherhood-backed government to ensure American security, a move observers are questioning as violence in Cairo continues to rage. Click here to read the rest of the story which contains active links to background information on this issue.

Commentary

If true this is a serious breach of security at one of our most important embassies. It should be investigated to determine if true and if so who is responsible for the decision.

But regardless of the accuracy of the information, the damage has already been done. If there is doubt created in the minds of the Islamists who want to destroy America that we will defend our embassies then we are surely headed for another hostage situation. It is only a matter of time.

[GH2001]

Agreed.

Especially if we knew about it 2 days prior.

And if this is true (attached link), then this goes beyond incompetence, and into the realm of treason.

http://www.beaufortobserver.net/Articles-NEWS-and-COMMENTARY-c-2012-09-13-262662.112112-Reports-U-S-Marines-guarding-Egyptian-Embassy-denied-live-ammo-to-use-in-the-weapons-if-needed.html

But the media is worried about dissecting Romney's every little word since this happened.   

[Saniflush]

You can look at his face and tell that he died of smoke inhalation. Poor guy.

Hillary claims that picture is of him being taken to the hospital.

[Snaggletiger]

The forewarning of these obviously orchestrated attacks, is mind blowing considering the timing (9-11) and the total lack or response to protect our people.  And the media....well, let's just say my blood was boiling and I don't normally get caught up in that kind of thing.  Night before last, I was flipping channels and came across coverage of the "protests" going on in Egypt.  There were the obligatory shots of thousands of sand-gars setting fire to everything.  But what struck me was the back and forth between the reporter and the lady in studio.

They were talking about how the new regime in Egypt was stopping just short of encouraging these riots and how they really have every right to feel and act this way because of a Youtube video.  Then they switched back to the studio and I saw that the lady was that Rachel Maddow, who now was talking about Romney and how he should be ashamed of his comments.  I had no words...

Now, a bigger problem to me is what I keep hearing about the debate over cutting off aid to these countries who are attacking our embassies and killing American citizens.  First off, we have a deficit of 80 skwabazzillion dollars...and we're sending aid to Egypt?  To Libya?  To Pakistan?  To Syria? Is there any country in the world we're not dolling out billions to every year?  For what reason?  And they burn our flag and kill our citizens?  What the hell is wrong with THIS country?     

[Kaos]

And yet Obama still leads in the polls. 

If this were 1952, 1962, 1972 or pretty much any 2 in US history this assclown would be run out of office. Go back far enough and hed be executed. 

The fact that he still has a chance of being elected says more about us than it does him.

[Saniflush]

What the hell is wrong with THIS country?

I don't know but I am getting ready to hunker down.  We are past the precipice of returning IMO.

[Kaos]

I don't know but I am getting ready to hunker down.  We are past the precipice of returning IMO.

If we just run more veer plays we will be ok. 

[Snaggletiger]

If we just run more veer plays we will be ok.

Don't you think the inverted veer would work better with press man coverage?

[GH2001]

The forewarning of these obviously orchestrated attacks, is mind blowing considering the timing (9-11) and the total lack or response to protect our people.  And the media....well, let's just say my blood was boiling and I don't normally get caught up in that kind of thing.  Night before last, I was flipping channels and came across coverage of the "protests" going on in Egypt.  There were the obligatory shots of thousands of sand-gars setting fire to everything.  But what struck me was the back and forth between the reporter and the lady in studio.

They were talking about how the new regime in Egypt was stopping just short of encouraging these riots and how they really have every right to feel and act this way because of a Youtube video.  Then they switched back to the studio and I saw that the lady was that Rachel Maddow, who now was talking about Romney and how he should be ashamed of his comments.  I had no words...

Now, a bigger problem to me is what I keep hearing about the debate over cutting off aid to these countries who are attacking our embassies and killing American citizens.  First off, we have a deficit of 80 skwabazzillion dollars...and we're sending aid to Egypt?  To Libya?  To Pakistan?  To Syria? Is there any country in the world we're not dolling out billions to every year?  For what reason?  And they burn our flag and kill our citizens?  What the hell is wrong with THIS country?   

here is the kicker....Mohammed WAS a womanizer. Fucker married 11 times in 14 years. Many of them underage by our standards. He even took his son's wife. It really explains a lot about their current culture of degrading women, martyrdom in exchange for virgins in heaven, etc. The truth hurts them to see. And they are pissed about it.

And of course the media is doing anything they can to cover for this President's blunder. They know we are weak as a country, they know he is weak. These idiots didn't fuck with Reagan this way because they knew he had actual balls.

[AUJarhead]

they really have every right to feel and act this way because of a Youtube video. 

But yet, if someone takes a crucifix, puts it in a bucket of Urine, I'm supposed to be tolerant, because it's "art."

And don't kid yourself, this wasn't about a video.  This was calculated.  400 attackers armed with RPGs attack the Libyan embassy?  That's not people pissed off at a video.

[GH2001]

But yet, if someone takes a crucifix, puts it in a bucket of Urine, I'm supposed to be tolerant, because it's "art."

And don't kid yourself, this wasn't about a video.  This was calculated.  400 attackers armed with RPGs attack the Libyan embassy?  That's not people pissed off at a video.

Correct. Its a cop out. And a planned cop out. And the American media and liberal establishment will point to their lame ass "excuse" as a reason to be tolerant of them, because they only hate us because we hate them....right Ron Paul? 1400 years of this shit.....yeah, thats the US doing it. Got it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquests

[Townhallsavoy]

The fact that he still has a chance of being elected says more about us than it does him.

Yep.

A guy I work with told me that last night at the middle school football game, five women and three guys sitting in front of him had a thirty minute conversation about how funny the Honey Boo Boo show is.  They knew all about little details of the episodes.  He decided to do a little experiment, and he asked them about the situation in Benghazi (he only used the city, no other context clues), and they had no clue what he was talking about.

When he clarified that he meant the situation in Libya where the US ambassador was killed, they said that it was terrible, but that was about it.

He's an ex-marine.  He's enthralled and flabbergasted that we could allow anyone to surge, kill, and occupy a US embassy and not be shouting from the rooftops about it being an act of war. 

[Kaos]

Yep.

A guy I work with told me that last night at the middle school football game, five women and three guys sitting in front of him had a thirty minute conversation about how funny the Honey Boo Boo show is.  They knew all about little details of the episodes.  He decided to do a little experiment, and he asked them about the situation in Benghazi (he only used the city, no other context clues), and they had no clue what he was talking about.

When he clarified that he meant the situation in Libya where the US ambassador was killed, they said that it was terrible, but that was about it.

He's an ex-marine.  He's enthralled and flabbergasted that we could allow anyone to surge, kill, and occupy a US embassy and not be shouting from the rooftops about it being an act of war.

SHHHHHH. Dammit I'm trying to watch Breaking Amish and I can't hear it over your taking. 

This Egypt shit is boring. Don't they ride camels and shit anyway?  This Amish girl is about to put on a bikini!!  Why would I care about some damn egypts?