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| Africa North |
| No evidence found of Al Qaeda role in Libya attack |
| 2012-10-20 |
| The assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi last month appears to have been an opportunistic attack rather than a long-planned operation, and intelligence agencies have found no evidence that it was ordered by Al Qaeda, according to U.S. officials and witnesses interviewed in Libya. The circumstances of the Sept. 11 attack have become a matter of heated political debate, with President B.O. and Republican nominee Willard MittRomney ...former governor of Massachussetts, currently the Publican nominee for president. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney has a record as a successful businessman, heading Bain Capital, and he rescued the 2002 Winter Olympics from the midst of bribery and mismanagement scandals. More to the point, he isn't President B.O... clashing in their debate Tuesday about when Obama termed the assault an act of terrorism. But the emerging picture painted by intelligence officials and witnesses differs from the assertions of both sides. Republicans have zeroed in on possible Al Qaeda ties to the Sept. 11 attack that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, and have criticized the B.O. regime for not saying early on that it was an act of terrorism. But after five weeks of investigation, U.S. intelligence agencies say they have found no evidence of Al Qaeda participation. The attack was "carried out following a minimum amount of planning," said a U.S. intelligence official, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a matter still under investigation. "The attackers exhibited a high degree of disorganization. Some joined the attack in progress, some did not have weapons and others just seemed interested in looting." A second U.S. official added, "There isn't any intelligence that the attackers pre-planned their assault days or weeks in advance." Most of the evidence so far suggests that "the attackers launched their assault opportunistically after they learned about the violence at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo" earlier that day, the official said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #13 re #7: Sorry, but I fully expect Mittens to leave that meat on the tableas he has the other two debates. Could have made a meal of the stimulus and all the green energy that is titzup, the Gm bailout and how much that continues to coest, but for whatever reason, i pulls his punches. i fear the next one will be more of the same. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2012-10-20 21:43 |
| #12 "No evidence" - except for that pesky Al Qaeda flag that the attackers erected over the conquered Consulate. But - that was a pretty subtle point, so I can understand how they might overlook that ....... not. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2012-10-20 19:18 |
| #11 Just can't get their stories straight. As I mentioned yesterday, you will never get a straight answer from an analyst. Now consider some chair-warming CIA bureaucrat trying to curry favor with the press. The 'possibly' becomes 'probably'. Factor in multiple members of the administration and State attempting to deflect/disguise/deny, and you have a classic Charlie-Foxtrot. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2012-10-20 18:54 |
| #10 In ref to Raider's #8. Had selected strikes been undertaken as he mentioned, the resulting chatter would have necessitated the immediate erection of tentage and a huge expansion of dedicated 24x7 analytic support at Fort Meade. We never miss an opportunity, to miss an opportunity. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-10-20 16:49 |
| #9 Gee, this doesn't mesh with the MinTruth story. "The White House now says the attack probably was carried out by an al Qaida-linked group,..". Just can't get their stories straight. Time beyond hinting that if the Trunks win, the WH Press office will be a might smaller since there is no need for multiple Donks with Bylines to have access. Time to play the Chicago game! |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2012-10-20 16:23 |
| #8 I agree with Pappy .. it's hard to believe that Iranian agents did not have a link to this. And I am still skeptical about the lack of ties to AQ. But ... suppose the USA had started hitting AQ targets in N. Africa as SOON as the embassy was destroyed. What could possibly be wrong with that response - we may as well use the incident as a trigger to get some AQ bases removed. It could only have helped. The lack of response afterwards has seriously damaged our standing on the streets of Arab countries. |
| Posted by: Raider 2012-10-20 15:54 |
| #7 WaPo is pushing the same drool except the print version of the article on the front page this morning suggested Romney is a dolt for believing it was not spontaneous. Krauthammer, however, says Mittens is ready to hammer O on the subject of Libya at the next debate. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2012-10-20 14:27 |
| #6 Yes, we've had something of a bad run with Iran and US missions abroad over the years. Glad we gave the Qods (or whomever) ample time to leave the AO. Wouldn't want to upset any.... |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-10-20 14:16 |
| #5 My revised list, in order of probability and capability: Iran (Al Qods or proxies) Egypt Syria Pakistan Russia Organized crime |
| Posted by: Pappy 2012-10-20 14:11 |
| #4 Yes, and my guess, just a wild guess mind you, is Iranian Intelligence. Note the delay in FBI investigation ? Bad guys given plenty of time to scram. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-10-20 14:05 |
| #3 Still doesn't address why the safe house came under mortar attack. I still go with 'sponsored by an intel agency'. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2012-10-20 14:01 |
| #2 No attribution, no documents, just a blending of what is known and surmised in a manner that makes Champs stupid deceit seem plausible. Gee what were the odds that this twaddle would appear just in time to be spread arounf by the MSM to prop up the worst, most corrupt and foolish President in the history of the Republic? |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2012-10-20 13:54 |
| #1 American officials now say there was no protest in Benghazi, only the attack, which began at 9:40 p.m. and continued at a second facility into the next morning. Not Al Qaeda, boy scouts then? Who cares! Appears to have been plenty of time available for a relief force to arrive. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-10-20 13:52 |