U.S. Seeking al Qaeda Terrorist Linked to Benghazi Attack
Egyptian sought in Egypt, Yemen
Charred vehicle at the entrance of the U.S. Conulate, in Benghazi, Libya / AP
The U.S. government is trying to apprehend an al Qaeda terrorist wanted for his role in the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack that killed four Americans.
The suspect, Muhammad Jamal, was imprisoned in Egypt last fall and in September was being held by the Egyptian government. His current whereabouts could not be confirmed, said U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. One official said Jamal remains in Egyptian custody, contrary to reports that he was in Yemen.
Jamal was labeled a designated terrorist by the United Nations Oct. 18, identifying him and the group he formed, the Muhammad Jamal Network, as linked to the Sept. 11, 2012, Benghazi attack.
Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, were killed during an assault on a diplomatic compound and a nearby CIA facility in the Libyan port city.
The identification of Jamal as an al Qaeda member linked to the Benghazi attack contradicts a recent New York Times investigative report that concluded there was no evidence al Qaeda or foreign terrorists were behind the Benghazi attack that is currently the subject of several congressional inquiries.
A CIA spokesman declined to comment when asked if al Qaeda is linked to the Benghazi attack.
A FBI spokesman declined to comment. An Egyptian Embassy spokesman declined to comment on whether Jamal remained in Egyptian government custody and referred to a State Department press release of Oct. 7 that said that Jamal had been arrested by Egyptian authorities in November 2012.
The Benghazi attack was carried out by dozens of jihadists on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.
Investigators said the attack involved planning by terrorists who were observed photographing the diplomatic compound shortly before the attack. The attackers were armed with assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars.
The Obama administration for several weeks claimed the attack was the result of a spontaneous demonstration against an anti-Muslim video posted on the Internet.
Jamal has a Yemeni wife and U.S. and Egyptian authorities recently contacted the Sanaa government seeking information about him, according to a Yemeni newspaper report.
Unidentified Yemeni security sources disclosed to the Aden-based Al Umana newspaper on Tuesday that U.S. intelligence agencies recently intercepted communications between Jamal and al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri.
The report said that Jamal was wanted for his role in killing Stevens.
Details of Jamal’s role in the Benghazi attack are being kept secret, said one U.S. official. Jamal is not listed on the FBI website as one of the most wanted terrorists or among suspects listed on the FBI’s “seeking terror information” page.
Yemen has emerged as a front line in the war against al Qaeda. U.S. and allied military forces conducted on Tuesday a drone strike in southern Yemen that killed two members of the group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, according to Yemen’s Interior Ministry. The ministry said in a statement that the drone strike had “targeted al Qaeda-owned cars in the Sahara area of Al-Mahfad district.”
The Obama administration is considering the transfer to Yemen of dozens of Yemeni terrorists currently held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The possible transfer is raising concerns that the terrorists would be freed, or allowed to escape, as has occurred in the past.
Several al Qaeda terrorists imprisoned in Yemen for their role in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Aden harbor escaped during the 2000s.
The Times in its controversial Dec. 28 report stated that “months” of investigation and interviews with people with direct knowledge of the attack “turned up no evidence that al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault.”
The Times report quoted Libyan jihadist Ahmed Abu Khattala, who was described as mentally unstable, as a prime suspect in the Benghazi attack. Abu Khattala was quoted as denying involvement in the attack and asserting he had no connection to al Qaeda.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Sunday that the Times report was wrong in dismissing al Qaeda links to the attack.
“There was some level of preplanning. We know that,” Rogers said on Fox News Sunday. “There was aspiration to conduct an attack by al Qaeda and their affiliates in Libya. We know that.”
Rogers said Ansar al-Sharia is affiliated with al Qaeda, although it has differences with central al Qaeda leaders.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) also said intelligence information “indicates that al Qaeda was involved” in the Benghazi attack, along with other Islamist militias.
The United Nations al Qaeda sanctions committee identified Jamal as an Egyptian, age 49, who was born in Cairo, is married to a Yemeni, and holds a Yemeni passport.
He was trained as an explosives expert by al Qaeda in Afghanistan during the late 1980s and is a former senior military commander of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad group.
Jamal set up the Muhammad Jamal Network around 2011 and the group operates “terrorist training camps in Egypt and Libya,” the U.N. said in its designation.
Jamal and the network conducted terrorist activities “with support from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” and is “reported to be involved in the attack on the United States mission in Benghazi, Libya, on 11 Sept. 2012,” the U.N. said.
Jamal headed a terrorist cell in Nasr City in Egypt in 2012 and has been linked to al Qaeda leader Zawahiri.
He is also connected to the North African al Qaeda affiliate known as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Jamal has been arrested and imprisoned several times by Egyptian authorities since 2000. He was released in 2011 and rearrested in November 2012.
His current whereabouts are not known and it could not be confirmed that he was released by the Muslim Brotherhood government of Mohamed Morsi last fall. The United Nations, in its statement on Jamal, said as of September he was awaiting trial in Egypt.
The U.N. designation, largely symbolic, requires all U.N. members to freeze financial assets and ban travel and arms sales to designated al Qaeda members and affiliates.
Along with Jamal, the U.N. designated the Muhammad Jamal Network as a sanctioned entity.
The MJN was described as a “terrorist and paramilitary group” operating in Egypt, Libya, and Mali.
The group is “linked to al Qaeda, Ayman al Zawahiri, and the leadership of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Organization of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.”
The network is funded and backed by the Arabian Peninsula group and has multiple terrorist training camps in Egypt and Libya.
The group is said to be “acquiring weapons, conducting training, and establishing terrorist groups in the Sinai, Egypt.”
It is also “training suicide bombers, foreign fighters and planning terrorist attacks in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere as of Sept. 2013.”
“MJN members were reported to be involved in the attack on the United States mission in Benghazi, Libya, on 11 Sept. 2012,” the U.N. said.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf was asked Thursday if the al Qaeda threat is increasing in the Middle East.
In response, she said that in several locations, al Qaeda affiliates or groups that share its ideology “have taken advantage of the security situation to perpetrate terrorist attacks.”
“That’s certainly what we’ve seen in Iraq,” she said. “We’ve seen it in Lebanon. It’s a theme we’re concerned about. I think it’s not as simple as saying ‘al Qaeda.’ Each of these groups is a little bit different. And that’s important because when you’re trying to figure out how to combat them and fight them, it actually matters who they take guidance from and who’s giving them orders and who’s planning these attacks.”
Syria’s ongoing civil war is fueling the terrorist violence that has spilled over into Iraq, she said, adding, “We are very concerned about it.”
CNN reported Dec. 28 that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is a key element of al Qaeda’s resurgence in the region.
The cable outlet said recently that intercepted messages between senior al Qaeda operatives in Yemen revealed the group was engaged in active plotting for attacks.
“There are multiple indications that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is plotting attacks both within Yemen, against U.S. and Western structures, and overseas,” Rand Corp. analyst Seth Jones told the network.
U.S. officials disclosed to the Washington Free Beacon in August that al Qaeda-linked terrorists behind the Benghazi attack were involved in training terrorists for the Syrian conflict in camps in Benghazi and Darnah, Libya.
The group Ansar al-Sharia, the al Qaeda-affiliated militia that U.S. officials say took part in Benghazi attack, operates several training camps that were set up since May and are part of a network that funnels jihadists to Syria’s Islamist rebels.
The camps were cited by U.S. officials as another sign that Libya, following the ouster Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, has rapidly become a major base for al Qaeda terrorist activity in North Africa.
CNSNews.com)
- On August 16, 2012--a little less than a month before the terrorist
attacks on the U.S. State Department and CIA facilities in Benghazi,
Libya--Amb. Chris Stevens sent a cable to State Department headquarters
in Washington, D.C. stating that a CIA officer on the ground in
Benghazi had briefed a State Department officer in that city the day
before “on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ
training camps within Benghazi."
This information was released today in a report issued by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
"AQ," the initials for al Qaeda, are used in intelligence documents quoted in the report to indicate a tie to al Qaeda. For example, a Defense Intelligence Agency report refers to "al Qa'ida (AQ) regional nodes;" a Pentagon Joint Chief's intelligence report refers to "AQ associates;" and a CIA report entitled "Libya: Al Qa'ida Establishing Sanctuary," refers to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as "AQAP" and al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Magreb as "AQIM."
The CIA officer’s discussion of the "AQ training camps" in Benghazi occurred at an “Emergency Action Committee” meeting convened August 15, 2012 by the State Department’s principal officer in Benghazi.
“In an August 16, 2012, cable to State headquarters, Stevens raised additional concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi following an Emergency Action Committee (EAC) meeting held on August 15, 2012, in Benghazi,” says a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on Benghazi that was released today.
“The EAC is an interagency group convened periodically in U.S. embassies and other facilities in response to emergencies or security matters,” says the report. “In this case, the head State Department officer in Benghazi, called the Principal Officer, convened the meeting ‘to evaluate Post’s tripwires in light of the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi.'"
The cable that Stevens sent to State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., the next day “summarizing this EAC,” according to the committee's report, “included the following points:
“(1) The Principal Officer ‘remarked that the security situation in Benghazi was “trending negatively”’ and “that this daily pattern of violence would be the 'new normal' for the foreseeable future, particularly given the minimal capabilities of organizations such as the Supreme Security Council and local police."’
“(2) A CIA officer ‘briefed the EAC on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ [Al Qaeda] training camps within Benghazi,’” continued the committee’s summary of Stevens’s cable.
“(3) The Principal Officer and a CIA officer ‘expressed concerns with the lack of host nation security to support the U.S. Mission [facility]."
“(4) A CIA officer ‘expressed concerns with Post’s relationship with the [redacted] [local militia], particularly in light of some of the actions taken by the brigade’s subsidiary members.”
“(5) The Regional Security Officer ‘expressed concerns with the ability to defend Post in the event of a coordinated attack due to limited manpower, security measures, weapons capabilities, host nation support, and the overall size of the compound."
The Senate report concludes that people affiliated with al Qaeda-related terrorist groups did in fact participate in the attack on the U.S. facilities in Benghazi less than a month after the CIA officer on the ground in Benghazi had provided the State Department with the information Stevens had relayed in his cable to State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., on August 16, 2012..
“Individuals affiliated with terrorist groups, including AQIM [Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb], Ansar al-Sharia, AQAP [Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula], and the Mohammed Jamal Network, participated in the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks," says the Senate report.
The CIA officer’s statements at the August 15, 2012 EAC in Benghazi was not the only warning the CIA issued about the threat from terrorists--including al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists--in Benghazi before the Sept. 11, 2012 attack.
The Defense Department, like the CIA, was also sounding warnings about the growing threat from terrorists and al Qaeda in Libya, and particularly in eastern Libya, according to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report.
A June 12, 2012, Defense Intelligence Agency report was titled: “Libya: Terrorists Now Targeting U.S. and Western Interests.”
“The report noted recent attacks against the U.S. mission compound in Benghazi and growing ties between al-Qaida (AQ) regional nodes and Libya-based terrorists,” says the committee's report.
This DIA report said: “We expect more anti-U.S. terrorist attacks in eastern Libya [redacted], due to the terrorists' greater presence there…. This will include terrorists conducting more ambush and IED [improvised explosive device] attacks as well as more threats against [redacted.].”
Six days later, on June 18, 2012, according to the committee's report, the Pentagon’s Joint Staff included a slide in its daily intelligence report: ‘Terrorism: Conditions Ripe for More Attacks, Terrorist Safe Haven in Libya.”
The slide said: “[Redacted] support will increase Libyan terrorist capability in the permissive post-revolution security environment. Attacks will also increase in number and lethality as terrorists connect with AQ associates in Libya. Areas of eastern Libya will likely become a safe have by the end of 2012 [redacted].”
A CIA report on July 6, 2012, according to the committee report, was entitled, “Libya: Al-Qa’ida Establishing Sanctuary.” This report described Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups as already training in a “safe haven in parts of eastern Libya.”
“Al-Qa’ida-affiliated groups and associates are exploiting the permissive security environment in Libya to enhance their capabilities and expand their operational reach. This year, Muhammad Jamal’s Egypt-based network, al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and al-Qa’ida in the Lands of the Islamic Magreb (AQIM) have conducted training, built communication networks, and facilitated extremist travel across North Africa from their safe haven in parts of eastern Libya.”
Three days after Amb. Stevens sent his cable to Washington advising State Department headquarters that a CIA officer had "briefed the EAC on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ training camps within Benghazi," the daily intelligence report from the Pentagon’s Joint Staff predicted that in the coming months terrorists would strengthen their position in Libya.
According to the Senate report, the Joint Staff’s daily briefing slide was titled: “Libya: Terrorists to Increase Strength During Next Six Months.”
“There are no near-term prospects for a reversal in the trend towards a terrorist safe haven in Libya, and areas of eastern Libya will likely become a broader safe haven by the end of 2012,” said the slide. “The conditions in Libya will allow terrorists to increase attacks against Western and Libyan interests in the country, as well as attempt attacks in the region and possibly Europe in the next six months.”
Even with these warnings from the Defense Department and even with the CIA officer’s first-hand statements at the August 15 meeting in Benghazi, the State Department did not take "significant actions" to improve the security at its Benghazi facility before Amb. Stevens visited there on Sept. 11, 2012, according to the new report from Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
“Despite the clearly deteriorating security situation in Benghazi and requests for additional security resources, few significant improvements were made by the State Department to the security posture of the Temporary Mission Facility” says the committee’s report.
“Although the Mission facility met the minimum personnel requirements for Diplomatic Security agents as accepted by the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli at the time of the August 15 EAC meeting (specifically, the three Diplomatic Security agents were assigned to guard the Mission compound), the committee found no evidence that significant actions were taken by the State Department between August 15, 2012, and September 11, 2012, to increase security at the Mission facility in response to the concerns raised in that meeting.”
When Amb. Stevens went to Benghazi almost a month after sending his cable to Washington, he brought two additional Diplomatic Security agents with him, bringing the total number of State Department security agents in Benghazi to five.
“On the night of the attack, there were five DS agents present at the Mission compound, two of whom came from Tripoli with the Ambassador,” says the Senate report.
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/stevens-cabled-washington-cia-says-aq-al-qaeda-training-camps-within#sthash.TurE7nrb.dpuf
This information was released today in a report issued by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
"AQ," the initials for al Qaeda, are used in intelligence documents quoted in the report to indicate a tie to al Qaeda. For example, a Defense Intelligence Agency report refers to "al Qa'ida (AQ) regional nodes;" a Pentagon Joint Chief's intelligence report refers to "AQ associates;" and a CIA report entitled "Libya: Al Qa'ida Establishing Sanctuary," refers to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as "AQAP" and al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Magreb as "AQIM."
The CIA officer’s discussion of the "AQ training camps" in Benghazi occurred at an “Emergency Action Committee” meeting convened August 15, 2012 by the State Department’s principal officer in Benghazi.
“In an August 16, 2012, cable to State headquarters, Stevens raised additional concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi following an Emergency Action Committee (EAC) meeting held on August 15, 2012, in Benghazi,” says a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on Benghazi that was released today.
“The EAC is an interagency group convened periodically in U.S. embassies and other facilities in response to emergencies or security matters,” says the report. “In this case, the head State Department officer in Benghazi, called the Principal Officer, convened the meeting ‘to evaluate Post’s tripwires in light of the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi.'"
The cable that Stevens sent to State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., the next day “summarizing this EAC,” according to the committee's report, “included the following points:
“(1) The Principal Officer ‘remarked that the security situation in Benghazi was “trending negatively”’ and “that this daily pattern of violence would be the 'new normal' for the foreseeable future, particularly given the minimal capabilities of organizations such as the Supreme Security Council and local police."’
“(2) A CIA officer ‘briefed the EAC on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ [Al Qaeda] training camps within Benghazi,’” continued the committee’s summary of Stevens’s cable.
“(3) The Principal Officer and a CIA officer ‘expressed concerns with the lack of host nation security to support the U.S. Mission [facility]."
“(4) A CIA officer ‘expressed concerns with Post’s relationship with the [redacted] [local militia], particularly in light of some of the actions taken by the brigade’s subsidiary members.”
“(5) The Regional Security Officer ‘expressed concerns with the ability to defend Post in the event of a coordinated attack due to limited manpower, security measures, weapons capabilities, host nation support, and the overall size of the compound."
The Senate report concludes that people affiliated with al Qaeda-related terrorist groups did in fact participate in the attack on the U.S. facilities in Benghazi less than a month after the CIA officer on the ground in Benghazi had provided the State Department with the information Stevens had relayed in his cable to State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., on August 16, 2012..
“Individuals affiliated with terrorist groups, including AQIM [Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb], Ansar al-Sharia, AQAP [Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula], and the Mohammed Jamal Network, participated in the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks," says the Senate report.
The CIA officer’s statements at the August 15, 2012 EAC in Benghazi was not the only warning the CIA issued about the threat from terrorists--including al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists--in Benghazi before the Sept. 11, 2012 attack.
The Defense Department, like the CIA, was also sounding warnings about the growing threat from terrorists and al Qaeda in Libya, and particularly in eastern Libya, according to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report.
A June 12, 2012, Defense Intelligence Agency report was titled: “Libya: Terrorists Now Targeting U.S. and Western Interests.”
“The report noted recent attacks against the U.S. mission compound in Benghazi and growing ties between al-Qaida (AQ) regional nodes and Libya-based terrorists,” says the committee's report.
This DIA report said: “We expect more anti-U.S. terrorist attacks in eastern Libya [redacted], due to the terrorists' greater presence there…. This will include terrorists conducting more ambush and IED [improvised explosive device] attacks as well as more threats against [redacted.].”
Six days later, on June 18, 2012, according to the committee's report, the Pentagon’s Joint Staff included a slide in its daily intelligence report: ‘Terrorism: Conditions Ripe for More Attacks, Terrorist Safe Haven in Libya.”
The slide said: “[Redacted] support will increase Libyan terrorist capability in the permissive post-revolution security environment. Attacks will also increase in number and lethality as terrorists connect with AQ associates in Libya. Areas of eastern Libya will likely become a safe have by the end of 2012 [redacted].”
A CIA report on July 6, 2012, according to the committee report, was entitled, “Libya: Al-Qa’ida Establishing Sanctuary.” This report described Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups as already training in a “safe haven in parts of eastern Libya.”
“Al-Qa’ida-affiliated groups and associates are exploiting the permissive security environment in Libya to enhance their capabilities and expand their operational reach. This year, Muhammad Jamal’s Egypt-based network, al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and al-Qa’ida in the Lands of the Islamic Magreb (AQIM) have conducted training, built communication networks, and facilitated extremist travel across North Africa from their safe haven in parts of eastern Libya.”
Three days after Amb. Stevens sent his cable to Washington advising State Department headquarters that a CIA officer had "briefed the EAC on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ training camps within Benghazi," the daily intelligence report from the Pentagon’s Joint Staff predicted that in the coming months terrorists would strengthen their position in Libya.
According to the Senate report, the Joint Staff’s daily briefing slide was titled: “Libya: Terrorists to Increase Strength During Next Six Months.”
“There are no near-term prospects for a reversal in the trend towards a terrorist safe haven in Libya, and areas of eastern Libya will likely become a broader safe haven by the end of 2012,” said the slide. “The conditions in Libya will allow terrorists to increase attacks against Western and Libyan interests in the country, as well as attempt attacks in the region and possibly Europe in the next six months.”
Even with these warnings from the Defense Department and even with the CIA officer’s first-hand statements at the August 15 meeting in Benghazi, the State Department did not take "significant actions" to improve the security at its Benghazi facility before Amb. Stevens visited there on Sept. 11, 2012, according to the new report from Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
“Despite the clearly deteriorating security situation in Benghazi and requests for additional security resources, few significant improvements were made by the State Department to the security posture of the Temporary Mission Facility” says the committee’s report.
“Although the Mission facility met the minimum personnel requirements for Diplomatic Security agents as accepted by the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli at the time of the August 15 EAC meeting (specifically, the three Diplomatic Security agents were assigned to guard the Mission compound), the committee found no evidence that significant actions were taken by the State Department between August 15, 2012, and September 11, 2012, to increase security at the Mission facility in response to the concerns raised in that meeting.”
When Amb. Stevens went to Benghazi almost a month after sending his cable to Washington, he brought two additional Diplomatic Security agents with him, bringing the total number of State Department security agents in Benghazi to five.
“On the night of the attack, there were five DS agents present at the Mission compound, two of whom came from Tripoli with the Ambassador,” says the Senate report.
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/stevens-cabled-washington-cia-says-aq-al-qaeda-training-camps-within#sthash.TurE7nrb.dpuf
Stevens Cabled Washington: CIA Says ‘AQ [Al Qaeda] Training Camps Within Benghazi’
January 15, 2014 - 8:04 PM
Then-Special Envoy Chris Stevens in Benghazi, Libya, on April 11, 2011. (AP Photo)
This information was released today in a report issued by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
"AQ," the initials for al Qaeda, are used in intelligence documents quoted in the report to indicate a tie to al Qaeda. For example, a Defense Intelligence Agency report refers to "al Qa'ida (AQ) regional nodes;" a Pentagon Joint Chief's intelligence report refers to "AQ associates;" and a CIA report entitled "Libya: Al Qa'ida Establishing Sanctuary," refers to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as "AQAP" and al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Magreb as "AQIM."
The CIA officer’s discussion of the "AQ training camps" in Benghazi occurred at an “Emergency Action Committee” meeting convened August 15, 2012 by the State Department’s principal officer in Benghazi.
“In an August 16, 2012, cable to State headquarters, Stevens raised additional concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi following an Emergency Action Committee (EAC) meeting held on August 15, 2012, in Benghazi,” says a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on Benghazi that was released today.
“The EAC is an interagency group convened periodically in U.S. embassies and other facilities in response to emergencies or security matters,” says the report. “In this case, the head State Department officer in Benghazi, called the Principal Officer, convened the meeting ‘to evaluate Post’s tripwires in light of the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi.'"
The cable that Stevens sent to State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., the next day “summarizing this EAC,” according to the committee's report, “included the following points:
“(1) The Principal Officer ‘remarked that the security situation in Benghazi was “trending negatively”’ and “that this daily pattern of violence would be the 'new normal' for the foreseeable future, particularly given the minimal capabilities of organizations such as the Supreme Security Council and local police."’
“(2) A CIA officer ‘briefed the EAC on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ [Al Qaeda] training camps within Benghazi,’” continued the committee’s summary of Stevens’s cable.
“(3) The Principal Officer and a CIA officer ‘expressed concerns with the lack of host nation security to support the U.S. Mission [facility]."
“(4) A CIA officer ‘expressed concerns with Post’s relationship with the [redacted] [local militia], particularly in light of some of the actions taken by the brigade’s subsidiary members.”
“(5) The Regional Security Officer ‘expressed concerns with the ability to defend Post in the event of a coordinated attack due to limited manpower, security measures, weapons capabilities, host nation support, and the overall size of the compound."
The Senate report concludes that people affiliated with al Qaeda-related terrorist groups did in fact participate in the attack on the U.S. facilities in Benghazi less than a month after the CIA officer on the ground in Benghazi had provided the State Department with the information Stevens had relayed in his cable to State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., on August 16, 2012..
“Individuals affiliated with terrorist groups, including AQIM [Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb], Ansar al-Sharia, AQAP [Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula], and the Mohammed Jamal Network, participated in the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks," says the Senate report.
The CIA officer’s statements at the August 15, 2012 EAC in Benghazi was not the only warning the CIA issued about the threat from terrorists--including al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists--in Benghazi before the Sept. 11, 2012 attack.
The Defense Department, like the CIA, was also sounding warnings about the growing threat from terrorists and al Qaeda in Libya, and particularly in eastern Libya, according to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report.
A June 12, 2012, Defense Intelligence Agency report was titled: “Libya: Terrorists Now Targeting U.S. and Western Interests.”
“The report noted recent attacks against the U.S. mission compound in Benghazi and growing ties between al-Qaida (AQ) regional nodes and Libya-based terrorists,” says the committee's report.
This DIA report said: “We expect more anti-U.S. terrorist attacks in eastern Libya [redacted], due to the terrorists' greater presence there…. This will include terrorists conducting more ambush and IED [improvised explosive device] attacks as well as more threats against [redacted.].”
Six days later, on June 18, 2012, according to the committee's report, the Pentagon’s Joint Staff included a slide in its daily intelligence report: ‘Terrorism: Conditions Ripe for More Attacks, Terrorist Safe Haven in Libya.”
The slide said: “[Redacted] support will increase Libyan terrorist capability in the permissive post-revolution security environment. Attacks will also increase in number and lethality as terrorists connect with AQ associates in Libya. Areas of eastern Libya will likely become a safe have by the end of 2012 [redacted].”
A CIA report on July 6, 2012, according to the committee report, was entitled, “Libya: Al-Qa’ida Establishing Sanctuary.” This report described Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups as already training in a “safe haven in parts of eastern Libya.”
“Al-Qa’ida-affiliated groups and associates are exploiting the permissive security environment in Libya to enhance their capabilities and expand their operational reach. This year, Muhammad Jamal’s Egypt-based network, al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and al-Qa’ida in the Lands of the Islamic Magreb (AQIM) have conducted training, built communication networks, and facilitated extremist travel across North Africa from their safe haven in parts of eastern Libya.”
Three days after Amb. Stevens sent his cable to Washington advising State Department headquarters that a CIA officer had "briefed the EAC on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ training camps within Benghazi," the daily intelligence report from the Pentagon’s Joint Staff predicted that in the coming months terrorists would strengthen their position in Libya.
According to the Senate report, the Joint Staff’s daily briefing slide was titled: “Libya: Terrorists to Increase Strength During Next Six Months.”
“There are no near-term prospects for a reversal in the trend towards a terrorist safe haven in Libya, and areas of eastern Libya will likely become a broader safe haven by the end of 2012,” said the slide. “The conditions in Libya will allow terrorists to increase attacks against Western and Libyan interests in the country, as well as attempt attacks in the region and possibly Europe in the next six months.”
Even with these warnings from the Defense Department and even with the CIA officer’s first-hand statements at the August 15 meeting in Benghazi, the State Department did not take "significant actions" to improve the security at its Benghazi facility before Amb. Stevens visited there on Sept. 11, 2012, according to the new report from Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
“Despite the clearly deteriorating security situation in Benghazi and requests for additional security resources, few significant improvements were made by the State Department to the security posture of the Temporary Mission Facility” says the committee’s report.
“Although the Mission facility met the minimum personnel requirements for Diplomatic Security agents as accepted by the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli at the time of the August 15 EAC meeting (specifically, the three Diplomatic Security agents were assigned to guard the Mission compound), the committee found no evidence that significant actions were taken by the State Department between August 15, 2012, and September 11, 2012, to increase security at the Mission facility in response to the concerns raised in that meeting.”
When Amb. Stevens went to Benghazi almost a month after sending his cable to Washington, he brought two additional Diplomatic Security agents with him, bringing the total number of State Department security agents in Benghazi to five.
“On the night of the attack, there were five DS agents present at the Mission compound, two of whom came from Tripoli with the Ambassador,” says the Senate report.
(CNSNews.com)
- On August 16, 2012--a little less than a month before the terrorist
attacks on the U.S. State Department and CIA facilities in Benghazi,
Libya--Amb. Chris Stevens sent a cable to State Department headquarters
in Washington, D.C. stating that a CIA officer on the ground in
Benghazi had briefed a State Department officer in that city the day
before “on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ
training camps within Benghazi."
This information was released today in a report issued by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
"AQ," the initials for al Qaeda, are used in intelligence documents quoted in the report to indicate a tie to al Qaeda. For example, a Defense Intelligence Agency report refers to "al Qa'ida (AQ) regional nodes;" a Pentagon Joint Chief's intelligence report refers to "AQ associates;" and a CIA report entitled "Libya: Al Qa'ida Establishing Sanctuary," refers to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as "AQAP" and al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Magreb as "AQIM."
The CIA officer’s discussion of the "AQ training camps" in Benghazi occurred at an “Emergency Action Committee” meeting convened August 15, 2012 by the State Department’s principal officer in Benghazi.
“In an August 16, 2012, cable to State headquarters, Stevens raised additional concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi following an Emergency Action Committee (EAC) meeting held on August 15, 2012, in Benghazi,” says a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on Benghazi that was released today.
“The EAC is an interagency group convened periodically in U.S. embassies and other facilities in response to emergencies or security matters,” says the report. “In this case, the head State Department officer in Benghazi, called the Principal Officer, convened the meeting ‘to evaluate Post’s tripwires in light of the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi.'"
The cable that Stevens sent to State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., the next day “summarizing this EAC,” according to the committee's report, “included the following points:
“(1) The Principal Officer ‘remarked that the security situation in Benghazi was “trending negatively”’ and “that this daily pattern of violence would be the 'new normal' for the foreseeable future, particularly given the minimal capabilities of organizations such as the Supreme Security Council and local police."’
“(2) A CIA officer ‘briefed the EAC on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ [Al Qaeda] training camps within Benghazi,’” continued the committee’s summary of Stevens’s cable.
“(3) The Principal Officer and a CIA officer ‘expressed concerns with the lack of host nation security to support the U.S. Mission [facility]."
“(4) A CIA officer ‘expressed concerns with Post’s relationship with the [redacted] [local militia], particularly in light of some of the actions taken by the brigade’s subsidiary members.”
“(5) The Regional Security Officer ‘expressed concerns with the ability to defend Post in the event of a coordinated attack due to limited manpower, security measures, weapons capabilities, host nation support, and the overall size of the compound."
The Senate report concludes that people affiliated with al Qaeda-related terrorist groups did in fact participate in the attack on the U.S. facilities in Benghazi less than a month after the CIA officer on the ground in Benghazi had provided the State Department with the information Stevens had relayed in his cable to State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., on August 16, 2012..
“Individuals affiliated with terrorist groups, including AQIM [Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb], Ansar al-Sharia, AQAP [Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula], and the Mohammed Jamal Network, participated in the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks," says the Senate report.
The CIA officer’s statements at the August 15, 2012 EAC in Benghazi was not the only warning the CIA issued about the threat from terrorists--including al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists--in Benghazi before the Sept. 11, 2012 attack.
The Defense Department, like the CIA, was also sounding warnings about the growing threat from terrorists and al Qaeda in Libya, and particularly in eastern Libya, according to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report.
A June 12, 2012, Defense Intelligence Agency report was titled: “Libya: Terrorists Now Targeting U.S. and Western Interests.”
“The report noted recent attacks against the U.S. mission compound in Benghazi and growing ties between al-Qaida (AQ) regional nodes and Libya-based terrorists,” says the committee's report.
This DIA report said: “We expect more anti-U.S. terrorist attacks in eastern Libya [redacted], due to the terrorists' greater presence there…. This will include terrorists conducting more ambush and IED [improvised explosive device] attacks as well as more threats against [redacted.].”
Six days later, on June 18, 2012, according to the committee's report, the Pentagon’s Joint Staff included a slide in its daily intelligence report: ‘Terrorism: Conditions Ripe for More Attacks, Terrorist Safe Haven in Libya.”
The slide said: “[Redacted] support will increase Libyan terrorist capability in the permissive post-revolution security environment. Attacks will also increase in number and lethality as terrorists connect with AQ associates in Libya. Areas of eastern Libya will likely become a safe have by the end of 2012 [redacted].”
A CIA report on July 6, 2012, according to the committee report, was entitled, “Libya: Al-Qa’ida Establishing Sanctuary.” This report described Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups as already training in a “safe haven in parts of eastern Libya.”
“Al-Qa’ida-affiliated groups and associates are exploiting the permissive security environment in Libya to enhance their capabilities and expand their operational reach. This year, Muhammad Jamal’s Egypt-based network, al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and al-Qa’ida in the Lands of the Islamic Magreb (AQIM) have conducted training, built communication networks, and facilitated extremist travel across North Africa from their safe haven in parts of eastern Libya.”
Three days after Amb. Stevens sent his cable to Washington advising State Department headquarters that a CIA officer had "briefed the EAC on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ training camps within Benghazi," the daily intelligence report from the Pentagon’s Joint Staff predicted that in the coming months terrorists would strengthen their position in Libya.
According to the Senate report, the Joint Staff’s daily briefing slide was titled: “Libya: Terrorists to Increase Strength During Next Six Months.”
“There are no near-term prospects for a reversal in the trend towards a terrorist safe haven in Libya, and areas of eastern Libya will likely become a broader safe haven by the end of 2012,” said the slide. “The conditions in Libya will allow terrorists to increase attacks against Western and Libyan interests in the country, as well as attempt attacks in the region and possibly Europe in the next six months.”
Even with these warnings from the Defense Department and even with the CIA officer’s first-hand statements at the August 15 meeting in Benghazi, the State Department did not take "significant actions" to improve the security at its Benghazi facility before Amb. Stevens visited there on Sept. 11, 2012, according to the new report from Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
“Despite the clearly deteriorating security situation in Benghazi and requests for additional security resources, few significant improvements were made by the State Department to the security posture of the Temporary Mission Facility” says the committee’s report.
“Although the Mission facility met the minimum personnel requirements for Diplomatic Security agents as accepted by the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli at the time of the August 15 EAC meeting (specifically, the three Diplomatic Security agents were assigned to guard the Mission compound), the committee found no evidence that significant actions were taken by the State Department between August 15, 2012, and September 11, 2012, to increase security at the Mission facility in response to the concerns raised in that meeting.”
When Amb. Stevens went to Benghazi almost a month after sending his cable to Washington, he brought two additional Diplomatic Security agents with him, bringing the total number of State Department security agents in Benghazi to five.
“On the night of the attack, there were five DS agents present at the Mission compound, two of whom came from Tripoli with the Ambassador,” says the Senate report.
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/stevens-cabled-washington-cia-says-aq-al-qaeda-training-camps-within#sthash.b8vFpcKX.dpuf
This information was released today in a report issued by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
"AQ," the initials for al Qaeda, are used in intelligence documents quoted in the report to indicate a tie to al Qaeda. For example, a Defense Intelligence Agency report refers to "al Qa'ida (AQ) regional nodes;" a Pentagon Joint Chief's intelligence report refers to "AQ associates;" and a CIA report entitled "Libya: Al Qa'ida Establishing Sanctuary," refers to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as "AQAP" and al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Magreb as "AQIM."
The CIA officer’s discussion of the "AQ training camps" in Benghazi occurred at an “Emergency Action Committee” meeting convened August 15, 2012 by the State Department’s principal officer in Benghazi.
“In an August 16, 2012, cable to State headquarters, Stevens raised additional concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi following an Emergency Action Committee (EAC) meeting held on August 15, 2012, in Benghazi,” says a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on Benghazi that was released today.
“The EAC is an interagency group convened periodically in U.S. embassies and other facilities in response to emergencies or security matters,” says the report. “In this case, the head State Department officer in Benghazi, called the Principal Officer, convened the meeting ‘to evaluate Post’s tripwires in light of the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi.'"
The cable that Stevens sent to State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., the next day “summarizing this EAC,” according to the committee's report, “included the following points:
“(1) The Principal Officer ‘remarked that the security situation in Benghazi was “trending negatively”’ and “that this daily pattern of violence would be the 'new normal' for the foreseeable future, particularly given the minimal capabilities of organizations such as the Supreme Security Council and local police."’
“(2) A CIA officer ‘briefed the EAC on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ [Al Qaeda] training camps within Benghazi,’” continued the committee’s summary of Stevens’s cable.
“(3) The Principal Officer and a CIA officer ‘expressed concerns with the lack of host nation security to support the U.S. Mission [facility]."
“(4) A CIA officer ‘expressed concerns with Post’s relationship with the [redacted] [local militia], particularly in light of some of the actions taken by the brigade’s subsidiary members.”
“(5) The Regional Security Officer ‘expressed concerns with the ability to defend Post in the event of a coordinated attack due to limited manpower, security measures, weapons capabilities, host nation support, and the overall size of the compound."
The Senate report concludes that people affiliated with al Qaeda-related terrorist groups did in fact participate in the attack on the U.S. facilities in Benghazi less than a month after the CIA officer on the ground in Benghazi had provided the State Department with the information Stevens had relayed in his cable to State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., on August 16, 2012..
“Individuals affiliated with terrorist groups, including AQIM [Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb], Ansar al-Sharia, AQAP [Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula], and the Mohammed Jamal Network, participated in the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks," says the Senate report.
The CIA officer’s statements at the August 15, 2012 EAC in Benghazi was not the only warning the CIA issued about the threat from terrorists--including al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists--in Benghazi before the Sept. 11, 2012 attack.
The Defense Department, like the CIA, was also sounding warnings about the growing threat from terrorists and al Qaeda in Libya, and particularly in eastern Libya, according to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report.
A June 12, 2012, Defense Intelligence Agency report was titled: “Libya: Terrorists Now Targeting U.S. and Western Interests.”
“The report noted recent attacks against the U.S. mission compound in Benghazi and growing ties between al-Qaida (AQ) regional nodes and Libya-based terrorists,” says the committee's report.
This DIA report said: “We expect more anti-U.S. terrorist attacks in eastern Libya [redacted], due to the terrorists' greater presence there…. This will include terrorists conducting more ambush and IED [improvised explosive device] attacks as well as more threats against [redacted.].”
Six days later, on June 18, 2012, according to the committee's report, the Pentagon’s Joint Staff included a slide in its daily intelligence report: ‘Terrorism: Conditions Ripe for More Attacks, Terrorist Safe Haven in Libya.”
The slide said: “[Redacted] support will increase Libyan terrorist capability in the permissive post-revolution security environment. Attacks will also increase in number and lethality as terrorists connect with AQ associates in Libya. Areas of eastern Libya will likely become a safe have by the end of 2012 [redacted].”
A CIA report on July 6, 2012, according to the committee report, was entitled, “Libya: Al-Qa’ida Establishing Sanctuary.” This report described Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups as already training in a “safe haven in parts of eastern Libya.”
“Al-Qa’ida-affiliated groups and associates are exploiting the permissive security environment in Libya to enhance their capabilities and expand their operational reach. This year, Muhammad Jamal’s Egypt-based network, al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and al-Qa’ida in the Lands of the Islamic Magreb (AQIM) have conducted training, built communication networks, and facilitated extremist travel across North Africa from their safe haven in parts of eastern Libya.”
Three days after Amb. Stevens sent his cable to Washington advising State Department headquarters that a CIA officer had "briefed the EAC on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ training camps within Benghazi," the daily intelligence report from the Pentagon’s Joint Staff predicted that in the coming months terrorists would strengthen their position in Libya.
According to the Senate report, the Joint Staff’s daily briefing slide was titled: “Libya: Terrorists to Increase Strength During Next Six Months.”
“There are no near-term prospects for a reversal in the trend towards a terrorist safe haven in Libya, and areas of eastern Libya will likely become a broader safe haven by the end of 2012,” said the slide. “The conditions in Libya will allow terrorists to increase attacks against Western and Libyan interests in the country, as well as attempt attacks in the region and possibly Europe in the next six months.”
Even with these warnings from the Defense Department and even with the CIA officer’s first-hand statements at the August 15 meeting in Benghazi, the State Department did not take "significant actions" to improve the security at its Benghazi facility before Amb. Stevens visited there on Sept. 11, 2012, according to the new report from Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
“Despite the clearly deteriorating security situation in Benghazi and requests for additional security resources, few significant improvements were made by the State Department to the security posture of the Temporary Mission Facility” says the committee’s report.
“Although the Mission facility met the minimum personnel requirements for Diplomatic Security agents as accepted by the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli at the time of the August 15 EAC meeting (specifically, the three Diplomatic Security agents were assigned to guard the Mission compound), the committee found no evidence that significant actions were taken by the State Department between August 15, 2012, and September 11, 2012, to increase security at the Mission facility in response to the concerns raised in that meeting.”
When Amb. Stevens went to Benghazi almost a month after sending his cable to Washington, he brought two additional Diplomatic Security agents with him, bringing the total number of State Department security agents in Benghazi to five.
“On the night of the attack, there were five DS agents present at the Mission compound, two of whom came from Tripoli with the Ambassador,” says the Senate report.
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/stevens-cabled-washington-cia-says-aq-al-qaeda-training-camps-within#sthash.b8vFpcKX.dpuf
No comments:
Post a Comment