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Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Hill Democrats MIA on Obama's trade agenda
The problem isn’t just Obama’s trade policy but also its execution, sources say. | AP Photo
President Barack Obama threw a trade party and almost no Democrats showed up.
His
administration is pushing for legislation to ease the passage of a pair
of massive trade deals, but the White House can’t even find a
Democratic co-sponsor in the House. Meanwhile, the bill’s main
Democratic backer in the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus,
is on his way out, and key senior Democrats on the committee, including
its incoming chairman, say they either don’t support the bill or want to
change it. Continue Reading
Take what Democratic Reps. George Miller of California,
Louise Slaughter of New York and Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut said of
the measure, introduced last week: “Our constituents did not send us to
Washington to ship their jobs overseas, and Congress will not be a
rubber stamp for another flawed trade deal that will hang the middle
class out to dry.”
Their comments echoed those of dozens of Democrats who greeted the
bill with a raft of complaints, saying that advancing huge trade deals
is out of step with their party’s more populist election-year message of
economic inequality.
(Also on POLITICO: Full trade policy coverage)
The free-trade push joins a growing list of policies Obama has
championed that are unpopular with Democrats, not the least of which
have been agreeing to steep fiscal cuts, using drones abroad, failing to
rein in eavesdropping on Americans by the National Security Agency and
abandoning the public option in the landmark 2010 heath care overhaul,
for which the president has bled support.
The problem isn’t just Obama’s trade policy but also its execution, congressional sources said.
A case in point is the trade promotion authority bill, which would
require up-or-down votes with no amendments on trade pacts, including a
pair of blockbuster deals the United States is negotiating with
Asia-Pacific countries and the European Union.
The legislation allows Congress to weigh in on the direction of the
trade talks by including a list of negotiating objectives that lawmakers
would like to see the administration pursue. But leading up to last
week’s introduction of the bill, members of both parties complained that
the Obama administration’s outreach on trade has been disorganized.
(Also on POLITICO: Massive trade bill hits Hill)
The first blow came in August, when the top Democrat on the House
Ways and Means Committee, Sander Levin of Michigan, backed out of
negotiations on what to include in the bill, leaving Baucus, Senate
Finance ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and the House panel’s
chairman, Dave Camp (R-Mich.), short a House Democratic co-sponsor.
House Republicans left it to the White House to find a replacement
for Levin. But several sources said obvious targets, such as Rep. Ron
Kind (D-Wis.), a pro-trade Ways and Means member and the chairman of the
New Democrat Coalition, were not even asked.
The situation is the latest example of the administration’s struggles
to corral Democrats who are “driven to distraction” by many of his
policies, said Norm Ornstein, a political scientist and resident scholar
at the American Enterprise Institute.
“He has been embarrassed by members of his own party in a number of
votes in the House, including most recently some votes on Obamacare,
where dozens of Democrats defected,” Ornstein said.
“The most significant thing that the president needs to do in this
case is to convince enough of his Democrats in a party that is growing
less pro-trade, but also with a real challenge that always occurs for a
second-term president, which is that your own base really begins to get
unhappy and pushes back,” Ornstein said.
Another Democratic complaint is that the negotiations on one of the
trade deals that the bill is designed to advance, the 12-country
Trans-Pacific Partnership, are already too far along for lawmakers to
play a meaningful role in their outcome. Five influential Senate
Democrats told U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman that they won’t
support the trade promotion authority bill without assurances that
Congress can hold U.S. trade negotiators “more accountable” during the
talks, rather than after a deal is finished and lawmakers can only cast
up-or-down votes.
To the likely next Senate Finance Committee chairman, Ron Wyden of
Oregon, whose support will be critical for the bill’s passage, the
letter from his five colleagues is evidence of “broad frustration” over
the administration’s “lack of consultation and information-sharing with
the Congress and the public,” he told POLITICO in an emailed statement.
The problem isn’t just Obama’s trade policy but also its execution, sources say. | AP Photo
Further, after months of delays, the bill was introduced in an
election year, complicating the politics on both sides of the aisle as
tea partiers work to deny Obama various elements of his agenda and
Democrats seek ways to attack their conservative opponents.
Democrats
have used pro-trade votes to blast GOP presidential candidate Mitt
Romney and House Republicans in Rust Belt states and elsewhere as
supporters of outsourcing, and the chairman of the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Steve Israel of New York, has
said he is skeptical about trade promotion authority. Continue Reading
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In response to the criticisms, Froman said the
administration has largely left the legislative process to Baucus, Hatch
and Camp, but the White House has been trying to rally Democratic
support.
“We’re doing our part,” Froman said. “We’re working with House
Democrats, we’re working with Senate Democrats. We’re laying the
groundwork, making sure they understand what’s at stake.”
Froman stressed that the bill’s introduction is just a first step, and its shape could change in the weeks ahead.
“We understand that this is a process where a number of people want
to have input, and we’re listening,” Froman said. “We want to see a bill
that has as broad bipartisan support as possible.”
Given Obama’s political problems within his own party, House
Republicans are insisting that Democrats deliver at least 50 votes in
support of the bill, including at least one from the party’s leadership,
before they’ll bring it to the floor, a GOP leadership aide said.
As part of the White House’s effort to lobby the left, chief of staff
Denis McDonough will meet with the 53-member New Democrat Coalition on
Wednesday, while congressional sources said Froman has been a fixture at
Hill meetings on the trade bill, focusing especially on moderate House
Democrats.
It’s not clear how the administration might try to woo Democratic
support, however. The White House could go along with congressional
Democrats’ demands that the bill be packaged with Trade Adjustment
Assistance, a program that provides benefits to workers displaced by
globalization. Or it could push to include strong provisions to crack
down on currency manipulation or improve environmental standards — key
issues for Democrats. And members of both parties want more consultation
with trade negotiators before deals are finalized.
“I think there was always an intention on the parts of the drafters
that this would become a bigger trade bill,” said Scott Miller, the
former global trade policy director for Procter & Gamble who is now a
senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in
Washington. “There are a number of other measures that are often
included in TPA, like trade adjustment assistance. There are also a
number of other matters that are waiting for a bigger vehicle, like
[Generalized System of Preferences] renewal,” referring to tariff-free
treatment for certain imports from developing countries.
For now, House leaders have not taken a strong stance on the
legislation. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) brought the
bill up at a caucus meeting last week, sources said; while she didn’t
endorse the bill, she did urge the caucus to hold its fire. Democratic
Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland suggested at the gathering that the measure
might fit in the party’s “Make it in America” agenda for boosting
manufacturing.
On the Senate side, Majority Leader Harry Reid refused on Tuesday to
commit to bringing the bill to the floor even if the Finance Committee
reports it out.
“There’s a lot of controversy on that, and I’m going to see how that
plays out with my caucus and with the Senate,” the Nevada Democrat said
at a news conference after his party’s weekly caucus lunch.
Whatever path the White House pursues, every concession to the left
will drain support from the right, where conservative groups like
Heritage Action and Club for Growth oppose add-ons that Democrats favor
and GOP presidential hopefuls are looking for any chance to hammer
liberal policies going into 2016.
“This thing will have a lot of twists and turns,” Miller said. “It’s very difficult to forecast at this point.” Doug Palmer contributed to this report.
Canada Free Press – by Sher Zieve
On 14 January 2014, Dictator-in-Chief Barack Hussein Obama
all but announced his dictatorship to the world. At a Presser
photo-op, Obama announced the irrelevancy of Congress when he stated
firmly:
“One of the things I’ll be emphasizing in this meeting is
the fact that we are not just going to be waiting for legislation in
order to make sure that we’re providing Americans the kind of help that
they need.”
“I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone and I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward…”
Our US Congress (you know…the House Representatives and Senators we
elected to keep our country’s foundational structure intact) have
betrayed the people almost as badly as has Obama. Obama betrayed
Americans by lying about virtually everything he told them before his
second term “election.” Congress has betrayed us by utilizing their
3-Monkey policy: ‘See nothing…Hear nothing…Say nothing‘.
I have been writing that Obama planned his dictatorship well before
he was elected and in 2008 when I wrote in my column “Is the USA Ready
for an American Stalin?”: “After Obama is elected, all of his programs
and people to keep him in power indefinitely — and to rid him of any
and all opposition — will be firmly in place. You will not be able to
vote him out of office. By the time he assumes the position of President
of the United States it will already be too late. A democratic republic will last only so long as people of good will allow and fight for it. After they are gone — or removed — it is ended.”
I firmly believe that, without almost immediate action, we are almost to that point of irreversibility.
For some time now, Obama has been methodically nullifying the power of Congress and SCOTUS as co-equal branches
of the US Federal Government. Now, he appears to be very close to
making it official. Since Obama took the office as US President, he has
been actively diminishing both the Legislative and Judicial branches of
the federal government. He bypasses Congress with his own Executive
Orders (many of which are patently illegal as they contradict the US
Constitution and other US laws) and he and his Department of [In]
Justice now regularly and often refuse to follow decisions rendered by
the Supreme Court of the United States if they disagree with them. The
Obama syndicate members also refuse to follow and uphold any and all
laws they don’t like…and those that thwart their ongoing criminal
activities. Note: A President’s refusal to follow the US
Constitution and other US laws is an illegal use of his power. Said
POTUS must first go through a series of analyses to determine if said
law in unconstitutional.
Since the tyrant took office, he has been quietly (except to some of
us) preparing his rise to power from which he will not allow himself to
be removed. Yesterday, he
floated his trial balloon to see how the country would accept it.
Reliably, the media largely ignored it. Will you? Will we?
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may
be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand”—Ephesians 6:10-23
———
Sher Zieve is an author and political commentator. Zieve’s op-ed
columns are widely carried by multiple internet journals and sites, and
she also writes hard news. Her columns have also appeared in The Oregon
Herald, Dallas Times, Sacramento
Sun, in international news publications, and on multiple university
websites. Sher is also a guest on multiple national radio shows.
Sher can be reached at sherzieve@bajabb.com http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/60483#.UtcrXBBdWSp
Stevens Cabled Washington: CIA Says ‘AQ [Al Qaeda] Training Camps Within Benghazi’ January 15, 2014 - 8:04 PM By Terence P. Jeffrey Subscribe to Terence P. Jeffrey RSS 2 8
Chris Stevens
Then-Special Envoy Chris Stevens in Benghazi, Libya, on April 11, 2011. (AP Photo)
(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.
More Islamic terror –bombings at the heavily trafficked railway
station in Stalingrad (Volgograd), followed by a homicide bus bombing in
the same town, two days later six bodies with gunshot wounds were found
in bomb-rigged car, and then this weekend’s arrest of a jihad cell
found with bombs, grenades and ammunition — comes this:
“Seven die in shootout during pre-Olympic Russia militant sweep,” NBC News, January 15, 2013
By Ludmila Danilova, Reuters
MOSCOW, Russia — Three Russian servicemen
and four gunmen were killed in a shootout in southern Russia on
Wednesday during a sweep for militants ahead of next month’s Sochi
Winter Olympics.
Russia’s National Anti-terrorism
Committee (NAC) said the dead gunmen included a man accused of carrying
out a car bomb attack in the city of Pyatigorsk late last year which
killed three people.
Russia is on high alert following two
suicide bombings in southern Russia last month that fueled security
concerns before the Olympics, which Islamist militants waging an
insurgency in the North Caucasus have threatened to attack.
President Vladimir Putin has staked a lot
of personal and political prestige on the success of the Games, which
open on February 7, and has put security forces on combat alert in
Sochi.
The NAC said in a statement that a group
of militants had been trapped in a house in the village of Karlanyurt in
the Dagestan region of the North Caucasus. Five officers were also
wounded in what a spokesman called a special operation.
Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala, is about
385 miles east of Sochi. The mostly Islamic region is plagued by
bombings and shootings that mainly target police and state officials as
part of the militants’ fight to create an Islamist state.
At least 34 people were killed last month
in suicide bombings in the southern city of Volgograd. Putin ordered
safety measures to be beefed up nationwide after the attacks.
About 37,000 personnel are now in place
to provide security in Sochi, which is on the Black Sea and on the
western edge of the Caucasus mountains, and the International Olympic
Committee has expressed confidence the Games will be safe.
But, underlining the danger of attacks,
security forces said on Saturday they had arrested five members of a
banned militant group in southern Russia and defused a homemade bomb
packed with shrapnel.
The main spokesman for Russia’s
Investigative Committee, whose responsibilities include looking into
bombings and other attacks, appealed to civilians on Tuesday to be more
vigilant and help avert the threat of “terrorist” attacks.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
When
can President Barack Obama use military force against Libyans without
prior authorization from Congress and when can he not?
In response to a question from Rep. Michael Conaway (R.-Texas), Gen.
Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a closed
session of a House Armed Services subcommittee in October that the
military cannot kill the terrorists who attacked the State Department
and CIA compounds in Benghazi, Libya, because Congress has not
authorized the use of force against those terrorists.
"Therefore, they will have to be captured," Dempsey said in a transcript of the testimony released this week.
In 2011, by contrast, Obama did not defer to Congress — which
represents the American people and is vested with the constitutional
power to authorize the use of military force — when he ordered the U.S.
military to intervene in Libya's civil war. Instead he invoked the
authority of the United Nations Security Council — where Russia and the
People's Republic of China have veto power.
"[T]he writ of the international community must be enforced," Obama said then.
Ten years before Obama unilaterally ordered the U.S. military to
intervene in Libya's civil war, President George W. Bush secured
congressional authorization to use military force against the
perpetrators of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the American
homeland.
The Authorization for Use of Military Force — enacted Sept. 14, 2001
— said: "The president is authorized to use all necessary and
appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he
determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist
attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such
organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of
international terrorism against the United States by such nations,
organizations or persons."
As Congress expected, Bush used this authorization to invade
Afghanistan, overthrow the Taliban and drive al-Qaida from that
country.
Twelve years later, Obama was still invoking this same authorization
to justify using drones to kill terrorists far outside Afghanistan.
"Nearly 400 drone strikes, in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, have been
launched by the CIA and U.S. military forces during Obama's
presidency," the Washington Post reported last year.
"America's actions are legal," Obama said in a speech in May. "We
were attacked on 9/11. Within a week, Congress overwhelmingly
authorized the use of force. Under domestic law, and international law,
the United States is at war with al-Qaida, the Taliban and their
associated forces."
"Beyond the Afghan theater, we only target al-Qaida and its
associated forces," Obama continued. "And even then, the use of drones
is heavily constrained. America does not take strikes when we have the
ability to capture individual terrorists; our preference is always to
detain, interrogate and prosecute. America cannot take strikes wherever
we choose; our actions are bound by consultations with partners, and
respect for state sovereignty."
Theoretically, then, when Obama targets an enemy with a drone that
enemy is among "those nations, organizations, or persons he determines
planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that
occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or
persons."
On Sept. 11, 2012, in post-Gadhafi Benghazi, terrorists attacked a
temporary State Department facility and a CIA compound. They killed
four Americans.
In May 2012, the chairmen of five house committees published an
interim report based on their investigation of the attack. "The
attackers were members of extremist groups, including the Libya-based
Ansar al-Sharia (AAS) and al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb
(AQIM)," said the report.
Would Obama, with a history of unilaterally ordering military force
in Libya, and a history of using the 2001 AUMF to go after al-Qaida
outside Afghanistan, order drones to take out the Benghazi terrorists —
or at least the al-Qaida affiliates among them?
According to Gen. Dempsey, that would not be legal.
"Well, first of all, the individuals related in the Benghazi attack,
those that we believe were either participants or leadership of it are
not authorized [for] use of military force," Dempsey told the
subcommittee.
"In other words, they don't fall under the AUMF authorized by the
Congress of the United States," said Dempsey. "So we would not have the
capability to simply find them and kill them, either with a
remotely-piloted aircraft or with an assault on the ground. Therefore,
they will have to be captured, and we would, when asked, provide capture
options to do that."
At a press conference on Aug. 9, Ed Henry of Fox News asked Obama
about his vow to "bring to justice the killers who attacked our people"
in Benghazi.
"[W]e have informed, I think, the public that there is a sealed
indictment," Obama said. "It's sealed for a reason. But we are intent
on capturing those who carried out this attack. And we are going to
stay on it until we get them."
If the al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists in Libya had been allied with
Gadhafi, would Obama have ordered the military to go after them?
If Obama asked Congress for an authorization to do so now, would Congress deny it?
Does Obama care that under our Constitution he can only use force
without congressional authorization if it is necessary to repel a
sudden attack?
Several Al Qaeda members emerged as “leaders of the pack” in
last year’s Benghazi attack, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the ranking
Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Fox News following
release of a bipartisan report blowing apart claims the assault was the
work of local extremists with no formal terrorist connections.
The former Guantanamo detainee Sufian bin Qumu, first identified by
Fox's Bret Baier as a suspect 16 months ago, at the very least helped
lay the groundwork for the operation.
"Certainly Qumu was involved in planning in this...he is a member of a
group that is affiliated with Al Qaeda so in my mind that makes him Al
Qaeda," said Chambliss, R-Ga.
The report, which took 16 months to complete, has teeth because the
findings were agreed to by both Republican and Democrats on the powerful
Senate Intelligence Committee.
It concludes that the Benghazi attackers came from two official Al
Qaeda affiliates, bin Qumu's Ansar al-Sharia, and a fourth group, the
Jamal network, whose leader is connected to the Al Qaeda leadership in
Pakistan.
"Individuals affiliated with terrorist groups including AQIM, Ansar
al-Sharia, AQAP and the Mohammad Jamal Network participated in the
September 11, 2012 attacks,” the report said.
The committee sought a State Department classified cable, first
reported by Fox News, that summarized an emergency meeting in Benghazi
one month before the attack warning that Al Qaeda training camps were
operating, and the consulate could not sustain a coordinated assault.
"They resisted for a long time in providing it to us, but at the end of the day, we did secure the cable," Chambliss said.
Chambliss said that was part of a pattern – in which the State
Department continues to block access to witnesses and documents. He said
the committee also wanted to know whether a White House meeting on the
day of the assault – believed to include then-Defense Secretary Leon
Panetta,Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the vice president and,
briefly, President Obama - set the marching orders for explaining the
attack.
"We'd been stonewalled on that question. We've asked time and again
who was in the meeting and what was the substance of that meeting and we
have not gotten answers on that," Chambliss said.
The administration continues to hang its hat on a very narrow
definition of Al Qaeda that encompasses the leadership in Pakistan --
known as the "core."
"We still have no indications that core Al Qaeda was involved in
directing or planning this attack," State Department spokeswoman Marie
Harf told reporters. "And I think you're generalizing a little bit
about the warnings."
There were seven reports from the CIA and defense intelligence agency
between June 12 and September 7, 2012 about the growing cooperation
between Al Qaeda's regional affiliates and terrorists on the ground in
Libya.
While the CIA ramped up security, the State Department did not.
Republicans and Democrats on the committee agreed the attack could have
been prevented and four Americans -- Ambassador Chris Stevens, foreign
service officer Sean Smith, and former Navy Seals Tyrone Woods and Glen
Doherty -- would still be alive today.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who leads the committee, said she
hopes the report will put to rest the conspiracy theories and political
accusations.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the findings reinforce
what other investigations have found, but Carney failed to address one
of the most significant findings: that Benghazi was an Al Qaeda-led
event.
Catherine Herridge is an award-winning Chief
Intelligence correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC) based in
Washington, D.C. She covers intelligence, the Justice Department and the
Department of Homeland Security. Herridge joined FNC in 1996 as a
London-based correspondent.
Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York
SECURITY COUNCIL Al-Qaida sANCTIONS COMMITTEE Adds
two entries TO ITS SANCTIONS LIST
On 18 October 2013, the
Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and
1989 (2011) approved the addition of the entries specified below to its
Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the
assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of
Security Council resolution 2083 (2012) adopted under Chapter VII of the
Charter of the United Nations.
A. Individuals associated with Al-Qaida
QI.A.318.13 Name: 1: MUHAMMAD 2: JAMAL 3: ABD-AL RAHIM AHMAD 4: AL-KASHIF Name (original script):محمد جمال عبدالرحيم أحمد الكاشف Title: na Designation: na DOB: a) 1 Jan. 1964 b) 1 Feb. 1964 POB: Cairo, Egypt Good quality a.k.a.: a) Muhammad Jamal Abdo Al-Kashif b) Muhammad Jamal Abdo Al Kashef c) Muhammad Jamal Abd-Al Rahim Ahmad Al-Kashif d) Muhammad Jamal Abd-Al Rahim Al-Kashif e) Muhammad Jamal Abdu f) Muhammad Jamal Low quality a.k.a.: a) Muhammad Jamal Abu Ahmad (nom de guerre) b) Abu Ahmad (nom de guerre) c) Abu Jamal (nom de guerre) d) Muhammad Gamal Abu Ahmed e) Mohammad Jamal Abdo Ahmed (nom de guerre) f) Muhammad Jamal Abduh (nom de guerre) g) Muhammad Jamal Ahmad Abdu (nom de guerre) h) Riyadh (nom de guerre) Nationality: Egyptian Passport no.: a) Egyptian passport number 6487, issued 30 Jan. 1986, under name Muhammad Jamal Abdu b) Egyptian passport issued in 1993, under name Muhammad Jamal Abd-Al Rahim Ahmad Al-Kashif c) Yemeni passport number 388181, under name Muhammad Jamal Abd-Al Rahim Al-Kashif National identification no.: na Address: Egypt Listed on: 21 Oct. 2013 Other information:
Trained in Afghanistan in the late 1980s with Al-Qaida (QE.A.4.01) to
make bombs. Former top military commander of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad
(QE.A.3.01). Since 2011, established Muhammad Jamal Network (MJN)
(QE.M.136.13) and terrorist training camps in Egypt and Libya. Conducted
MJN’s terrorist activities with support from Al-Qaida in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP) (QE.A.129.10). Reported to be involved in the attack on
the United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya, on 11 Sep. 2012. Headed
Nasr City terrorist cell in Egypt in 2012. Linked to Aiman al-Zawahiri
(QI.A.6.01) and the leadership of AQAP and the Organization of Al-Qaida
in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) (QE.T.14.01). Arrested and imprisoned
multiple times by Egyptian authorities since ca. 2000. Released in 2011
but re-arrested by Egyptian authorities in Nov. 2012. Imprisoned in
Egypt pending trial as of Sep. 2013. Wife’s name is Samah ‘Ali
Al-Dahabani (Yemeni national).
B. Entities and other groups and undertakings associated with Al-Qaida
QE.M.136.13 Name: MUHAMMAD JAMAL NETWORK (MJN) Name (original script):شبكةمحمدجمال A.k.a.: a) Muhammad Jamal Group b) Jamal Network c) Abu Ahmed Group d) Al-Qaida in Egypt (AQE) F.k.a.:naAddress: Operates in Egypt, Libya and Mali Listed on: 21 Oct. 2013 Other information: Terrorist and paramilitary group established by Muhammad Jamal al Kashif (QI.A.318.13) in 2011 and linked to Al-Qaida (QE.A.4.01), Aiman al-Zawahiri
(QI.A.6.01), and the leadership of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula
(AQAP) (QE.A.129.10) and the Organization of Al-Qaida in the Islamic
Maghreb (AQIM) (QE.T.14.01). Funded and supported by AQAP. Multiple
terrorist training camps in Egypt and Libya. Reportedly acquiring
weapons, conducting training and establishing terrorist groups in the
Sinai, Egypt. Training suicide bombers, foreign fighters and planning
terrorist attacks in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere as of Sep. 2013. MJN
members were reported to be involved in the attack on the United States
Mission in Benghazi, Libya, on 11 Sep. 2012.
The Committee’s Al-Qaida
Sanctions List is updated regularly on the basis of relevant information
provided by Member States and international and regional
organizations. This is the twenty-eighth update of the List in 2013.
An updated List is accessible on the Committee’s website at the
following URL: http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/aq_sanctions_list.shtml.
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 Timesinvestigative 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
Stevens Cabled Washington: CIA Says ‘AQ [Al Qaeda] Training Camps Within Benghazi’
Then-Special Envoy Chris Stevens in Benghazi, Libya, on April 11, 2011. (AP Photo)
(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.
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(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
Canada Free Press – by Sher Zieve
