Benghazi
What Have I Done? Lot of Watergate Under a Bridge
Scene from Gov. Christie’s morning staff meeting?
Alas, Poor GOP: 3 D.C. Scandals That Weren't
The three scandals roiling Washington and the 24-hour cable news channels have one thing in common: They’re shrinking steadily as more information dribbles out.
Chuck Hagel Will Get Senate Vote by Friday
Senate Democrats filed a motion on Wednesday to end debate on the nomination of Chuck Hagel as President Barack Obama’s new secretary of defense after Republicans refused to allow a vote, setting up a showdown vote by Friday.
Chuck Hagel Wins Committee Approval on Party-Line Vote
A U.S. Senate panel approved Chuck Hagel as President Barack Obama’s new secretary of defense on Tuesday, setting the stage for a vote on his confirmation by the full Senate as soon as later this week.
GOP Senator Vows To Filibuster Chuck Hagel
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday threatened to block votes on President Barack Obama’s nominees for CIA director and defense secretary until the administration gives more information about the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Romney Stumbles on Libya Attack in Debate
President Barack Obama scored a hit on Mitt Romney when the challenger stumbled over the attack in Benghazi, Libya in the second presidential debate, while the GOP candidate tried to raise the issue of relations with Israel.
Clinton: U.S. Must Back Arab Spring Reforms
The United States must look past the violence and extremism that has erupted after the “Arab Spring” revolutions and boost support for the region’s young democracies to forge long-term security, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday.
Analyst: Al-Shariah Jihad Militia behind Libya Consulate Attack and US Ambassador's Murder
The murder of four senior American diplomats in Benghazi, including their Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, may have been a pre-planned operation. Independent international analysts believe a Jihad militia may have taken advantage of the chaos outside the US consulate and committed the strike. Emile Hokayem of International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS): “It looks as though as this was a pre-planned attack, that was pretty opportunistic. Ansar al-Shariah, which is a shadowy Jihadi outfit that is very anti-American, anti-Western, just took advantage of a demonstration outside the consulate that was protesting the movie that slandered the prophet Muhammad, to mount its attack. But the firepower deployed, the number of fighters on the ground, the sophistication of the attack, really point to a pre-planned operation.” The US attorney general has also now confirmed that the FBI has opened an investigation into the four deaths, raising further questions about the deadly attack outside the US consulate. Emile Hokayem of International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS): “Will it have lasting impact? I mean, looking at previous crises - the burning of the Quran and the impact on Afghanistan and Pakistan and other places, the Danish cartoons before etcetera - I would say that, if well managed, perhaps the worst can be avoided. And I think it will be avoided.” An amateur video which depicted the Muslim Prophet Mohammad has led to wild protests and riots throughout the …
US Ambassador to Libya Killed in Strike on US Consulate in Benghazi: American Film Mocks Muhammad
The US ambassador to Libya has died after being attacked by terrorists who stormed the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi. The ambassador was said to be among four US officials killed in a protest over an American film which ridicules the prophet Muhammad. Thousands also gathered outside the US embassy in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Protestors breached the US embassy walls and tore down the United States flag, which was flying at half-mast to mark the 9/11 attacks, and replaced it with an Islamist banner. The film that sparked the demonstration is said to have been produced by a Jewish Israeli citizen named Sam Bacile. Bacile has reportedly gone into hiding. A trailer of the low-budget movie has appeared on YouTube translated into Arabic. There are fears that the film could trigger further violence much like the deadly riots that left 30 people dead which followed from the publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons which depicted Mohammed in an unflattering light.
Watch: Slain Envoy Saw Al Qaeda Take Root in Libya
Rachel Maddow opened her MSNBC show this evening with a fascinating piece about a small city just east of Benghazi called Derna, which was reported several years ago by the late Chris Stevens, then a junior U.S. diplomat in Libya to be a hotbed of Islamic radicals and Al Qaeda wannabes. According to a 2008 memo by Stevens that was published last year by Wikileaks, Al Qaeda identified Derna some years ago as a major source of terrorist recruits in Iraq and deliberately built it into a new hub of terrorist recruitment and training. She also shows several films taken by Derna-based radicals of earlier attacks they had launched against Western targets in Benghazi.