BENGHAZI, Libya — Three weeks after the attack that killed four Americans in this city, the investigation of its causes remains in its initial stages, with just a handful of suspects detained, the crime scenes minimally secured and Walid Faraj waiting for a phone call from someone, anyone, asking him what he saw on the night he was injured while protecting the U.S. diplomatic post here.
Faraj, a member of the militia that local officials tasked with securing Americans in Benghazi, said he saw the attack nearly from start to finish. But neither American nor Libyan investigators have paid him a visit, even as he fears that the perpetrators know who he is.
Meanwhile, an FBI team flown into Libya remains in Tripoli, hundreds of miles from Benghazi. A Libyan official involved in the inquiry said Tuesday that he was aware of only three suspects in custody. Meanwhile, members of the militant group suspected of playing a primary role in the attack have gone underground, apparently taking their weapons with them.
| We're giving them time to get underground, take their weapons, girlfriends, mothers, and Playstations, bring a box-lunch, liquidate their 401K and turn them into Roth IRAs, and rent vacation condos in Yemen... |
Faraj said he wondered whether anyone was trying to find out what happened the evening that U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was killed along with three other Americans.
| Not before the election. If Obama wins he'll bury the investigation, and if Romney wins it will be racist to ask around further... |
“Since that day, nobody has called, nobody cared,” said Faraj, 28, who lost a tooth in the attack and whose legs are peppered with small wounds from the firefight. “How is it the Americans didn’t anticipate anything?”
| You don't know us very well, do you... |
Witnesses are scattered across Benghazi, but many say they havenÂ’t heard from investigators.
The U.S. and Libyan governments have not finalized a deal to allow American investigators to collaborate with Libyans in Benghazi, said Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel Aziz following a meeting in Tripoli with Elizabeth Jones, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, Reuters reported.
Deal? DEAL? DEAL?
Here's the deal: you let our people in, help us find the perps and hand them over, or we ensure that a new government gets installed very shortly in Tripoli, and you meet the fate of the last dear leader. That's the best 'deal' you're going to get... |
“We are getting ready for the FBI team to go to Benghazi and meet with our team and start joint investigations together and also visit the site,” he said.
Jones talked to Libyans about ensuring “that we are collaborating, that we are being transparent, that we are sharing information,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. outpost remained deserted on Tuesday, with no guards posted at its front or rear entrances. Although its gates are now locked, the crime scene was unsecured for several days after the assault, allowing looters and others
| Like, for example, the perps and their friends... |
to cart away evidence.
A top prosecutor in Benghazi who is on a committee investigating the incident said on Tuesday that only three suspects have been detained in Benghazi in connection with the attack.
“We are still collecting evidence,” said Salah Adam, the prosecutor. “You can’t arrest anybody unless you have evidence.” He said the investigation probably will take months.
| Salah clearly was trained by Carla del Ponte... |
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