State Dept Hired Al-Qaeda To Defend Diplomatic Mission In Benghazi

Dean Garrison May 4, 2013

Treason is a crime which is unforgivable. Americans died in Benghazi and we have received nothing but lies from this administration. Why would the Obama administration put money into the hands of those who proudly displayed the Al Qaeda flag on their Facebook page?

Today Newsmax reported:

The Libyan militia group that the State Department hired to defend its embattled diplomatic mission in Benghazi had clear AL-Qaida sympathies, and had prominently displayed the AL-Qaida flag on a Facebook page for some months before the deadly attack.

This is the original cover photo of the Facebook Page maintained by the “February 17th Martyrs Brigade” which flies an Al Qaeda flag.

That organization, the February 17th Martyrs Brigade, was paid by the U.S. government to provide security at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. But there is no indication the Martyrs Brigade fulfilled its commitment to defend the mission on Sept. 11, when it came under attack.

The assault claimed the lives of four Americans: Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, information officer Sean Smith, and former Navy Seals Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. Stevens was the first U.S. ambassador killed in the line of duty since 1979.

This story surfaced back in October with The Daily Beast, which details the political fallout tied to the hiring of the Martyrs Brigade in a cable sent by Ambassador Stevens:

Just two days before the 9/11 anniversary attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, two leaders of the Libyan militias responsible for keeping order in the city threatened to withdraw their men.

The brinksmanship is detailed in a cable approved by Ambassador Chris Stevens and sent on the day he died in the attack, the worst assault on a U.S. diplomatic mission since the 1979 hostage crisis in Iran. The dispatch, which was marked "sensitive" but not "classified," contained a number of other updates on the chaotic situation on the ground in post-Gaddafi Libya.

The cable, reviewed by The Daily Beast, recounts how the two militia leaders, Wissam bin Ahmed and Muhammad al-Gharabi, accused the United States of supporting Mahmoud Jibril, the head of the Libyan transitional government, to be the country's first elected prime minister. Jibril's centrist National Forces Alliance won the popular vote in Libyan elections in July, but he lost the prime minister vote in the country's Parliament on Sept. 12 by 94 to 92. Had he won, bin Ahmed and al-Gharabi warned they "would not continue to guarantee security in Benghazi, a critical function they asserted they were currently providing," the cable reads. The man who beat Jibril, Mustafa Abushagur, lost a vote of no-confidence Sunday, throwing Libyan politics back into further uncertainty.

The threat from the militias underscores the dangers of relying on local Libyan forces for security in the run-up to the 9/11 military-style assault.  The U.S. consulate in Benghazi employed a militia called the "February 17 Martyrs Brigade" for security of the four-building compound. In addition, there were five Americans serving as diplomatic security and a group of former special operations forces that acted as a quick reaction force on the day of the 9/11 attack. Members of the militias led by bin-Ahmed and al-Gharabi overlapped with the February 17 militia, the cable says.

The same article from The Daily Beast notes:

Jason Chaffetz, the Republican lawmaker who has led the House Oversight and Government Reform committee's investigation into the 9/11 attack, says the State Department actually decreased U.S. diplomatic security personnel in the months leading up to the attack.

The Wikipedia listing on The February 17th Martyrs Brigade is as follows:

The Martyrs of 17 February Brigade are considered to be the biggest and best armed militia in eastern Libya. The brigade is financed by the Libyan defence ministry. The brigade consists of at least 12 battalions and possesses a large collection of light and heavy weapons in addition to training facilities. Its membership is estimated at between 1,500 and 3,500. The group has carried out various security and law and order tasks in eastern Libya and Kufra in the south. Some of its members are also believed to be fighting the Assad regime in Syria. ^[1]

The February 17th Martyrs Brigade also flies the al-Qaeda flag on their Facebook page, and have been al-Qaeda sympathizers for a very long time. ^[2]

There is also evidence that The February 17th Martyrs Brigade disbanded after the Benghazi attacks:

A few hours after the attack, Martyrs of February 17, together with Bou Salim Martyrs brigade, allegedly agreed to disband,^[18] however about 150-200 militiamen moved from Benghazi to Jebel Akhdar area.^[19]

Of course they disbanded. Their work was done. Do you smell an Al Qaeda set up?

This whole set up stinks of treason. Not only were we putting money into the hands of Al Qaeda, we were quite possibly arming Syrian rebels in the process. More and more it is starting to look like the U.S. was inviting these attacks on Benghazi and Americans deserve to know the truth.

Why would any American leader hire an organization with the word "Martyrs" in its name? I know my thinking is somewhat simplistic but I think it is a fair question. It makes zero sense. Zero. I understand the significance of the February 17th date. This is the date of the Libyan liberation.

But the term "Martyr" strongly implies those who died or are willing to die for Allah. Is this the kind of security force we want defending our embassies, missions and consulates? Of course they are tied to Al Qaeda. How could anyone not see this possibility? Any organization who flies an Al Qaeda flag on their Facebook page is more than tied to Al Qaeda. In my mind, if you fly the flag then you are Al Qaeda.

The Obama Administration has a lot of explaining to do. If the American people knew that this organization was being paid to defend our foreign interests there would be hell to pay in America. For some reason this story has been very much hidden behind all of the other hype and rhetoric.

So now, as the truth comes out, there is hell to pay in America.

We want answers and we want accountability. Impeachment will not be enough.

An offense of this magnitude cries of treason and demands prosecution. That's a fact.

Here is a legal definition of treason:

The betrayal of one's own country by waging war against it or by consciously or purposely acting to aid its enemies.

So what do you think? Would sending money to those known to support our enemies qualify as treason? Unfortunately that is an argument to be had by legal scholars and legislators, but I know how the American people would answer that question.

Get angry America.

What is it going to take for you to get angry?

Don't forget to Like Freedom Outpost on Facebook, Google Plus, Tea Party Community & Twitte