Yahoo.com : US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens killed in consulate attack in Benghazi

[AsburySkinsFan]

We helped liberate them and armed them, now they are free so we fight. This system has worked for a long time. Get on board.

And what a great system it is.

[JimboDaMan]

That definitely seems like the best course of action that and continue to work with the Libyan government to work against extremist groups like Ansar al-Sharia. There really isn't much else productive we can do. Unfortunately the right wing seems to want to make this a heavily politicized issue (not the posters on this board) with ****heads like Reince Priebus tweeting that "Obama sympathizes with attackers in Egypt. Sad and Pathetic" I hope the backlash for both Mitt Romney and people like this is enormous,

I'm hoping that gutless wonder Romney just get buried by this indefensible opportunism. Sad and pathetic correctly describes this weak little man. No excuse for this.

[jpyaks3]

I'm hoping that gutless wonder Romney just get buried by this indefensible opportunism. Sad and pathetic correctly describes this weak little man. No excuse for this.

The press conference he is having right now where he continues to attack Obama is disgusting even more so because he gets the basic facts and timeline wrong.

[USS Redskins]

Whats messed up about this is that the video in question has been on youtube for months.

Some cleric there picked up on it and riled up his crew and had them believing it was a major movie about the be broadcast nationwide on television.

[Dictator]

Can someone on the right please let me know what was so wrong with Obama's statement? I don't get Romney's outrage.

[jpyaks3]

Whats messed up about this is that the video in question has been on youtube for months.

Some cleric there picked up on it and riled up his crew and had them believing it was a major movie about the be broadcast nationwide on television.

Well apparently an Egyptian network picked it up and showed it on Monday I believe, which led to it be being broadcast all over and that started the reaction.

[alexey]

It is a delicate balancing act between freedom of speech and putting in danger people who have to work with dangerous animals.

[@DCGoldPants]

After Romney's statements of a few min ago, I kind of worry this thread is going to fall apart. I'm going to try asking folks to move the politics of this in the proper threads in at least our way to show respect for those who were murdered.

I'm not a Mod (duh), but kind of felt it needed to be said.

[gbear]

I think the best we can do is support the government there to the point where they become strong enough to be their own effective police force.

As I read about this, I try to imagine what the goal was in drumming up this attack, and what was the actual attack supposed to accomplish. Was it to hurt the U.S.? I doubt it. We lose an ambassador which is a shame but hardly much of a global loss of stature or power. The ones most hurt in the attack are the leaders of the new government because the attack shows their lack of power to provide security, and it threatens a partnership they need. Heck, some here would even have us attack in response.

My general reaction to small scale terrorism is to continue on previous path. I still remember the British on the buses after their bout of terrorism saying they would not be intimidated as the French were. It's almost like a therapist visit. The point of emotional resistance is right where one needs to continue if one is to make changes in thinking. I chalk this up as a sad, regrettable milestone in a country's march towards a freedom previous unknown.

[The 12th Commandment]

It should be pointed out that the version of the video being shown in the ME has been dubbed in Arabic. Not that it isn't incendiary enough, I would imagine, but the translation was probably done to make it more so.

I'm at a loss as to think of how we could ever avoid these things. Uneducated, religious nut jobs of all kinds are always going to have this ammunition because our very way of life ensure that we will produce it. Even though the vast majority of us disapprove, that doesn't seem to be enough. Why is that?

To answer my own question, I guess there will always be those who take ammunition like this and run with it just as there will always be those who give it to them. Certainly those doing the killing are worse.

[Riggo-toni]

First, we set Terry Jones inbred moustache on fire; then we hunt down and beat these SOBs to a pulp.

[Prosperity]

How spontaneous were these demonstrations? Where did the killers get rocket propelled grenades to do the killing? Where was Libyan law enforcement or security forces during these protests and attacks? Were they present? Did they make any effort to control the mob? Did they stand idly by? Answers to those questions will help inform the U.S. response.

The country was just in a civil war, I don't think it's hard to imagine how a bunch of guys got RPGs or that the govt was slow to respond, but tried to.

Terrible situation, might be best to close the embassy.

[China]

Protesters also stormed the US embassy in Cairo, but the local security forces were able to eventually restrain the protesters before things got too far out of hand as they did in Libya:

Angry protesters climbed the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday and tore down the American flag, apparently in protest of a film thought to insult the Prophet Mohammed.

A volley of warning shots were fired as a large crowd gathered around the compound, said CNN producer Mohammed Fahmy, who was on the scene, though it is not clear who fired the shots.

Egyptian police and army personnel have since formed defensive lines around the facility in an effort to prevent the demonstrators from advancing farther, but not before the protesters affixed their standard atop the embassy.

The black flag, which hangs atop a ladder inside the compound, is adorned with white characters that read, "There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is his messenger," an emblem often used in al Qaeda propaganda.

Link

[The 12th Commandment]

Along with the condemnation by most Libyan officials, we have this nugget of brilliance. Idiots in politics is a universal given.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/09/20129112108737726.html

Two other staff were injured, El-Dressi reported. The deaths were confirmed by Wanis al-Sharif, the Libyan deputy interior minister, to the AFP news agency.

Addressing a press conference, Sharif blamed loyalists of former Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi for the attack, while stressing that the US should have removed its personnel from the country when news of the film's release broke.

"They are to blame simply for not withdrawing their personnel from the premises, despite the fact that there was a similar incident when [al-Qaeda second-in-command and Libyan citizen] Abu Yahya al-Libi was killed. It was necessary that they take precautions. It was their fault that they did not take the necessary precautions," he said.

Sharif said that those who attacked the consulate were more heavily armed that the Libyan security services tasked with protecting the embassy.

- continued at link

[EersSkins05]

I know cultural differences prevent me from having the mindset of these fanatics. I know that I'll never understand why anyone would get so outraged as to kill over their religion being denigrated in a cartoon or youtube video.

But the one thing I think I can safely say without fear of any ethnocentrism on my part is that attacking an embassy of a government that had absolutely nothing to do with the creation or distribution of the offending material is completely moronic.

[Jumbo]

Sometimes I wonder, "what would Sarge's view of this be"...then twa shows up. It's just like having Sarge back.

They're not even close---in many ways. And all those ways are why one's here and the other is a long-gone bad joke in most forum memory.

I'm impressed the thread had proceeded as well as it has---when I saw the article this morning, my emotional reactions went from sad to angry to frustrated as I started think about "well, what is the best response."

And then I had my (typical in such circumstances) "oh jeeeez, what kind of mess will this be in the 'gate" thought.

Always happy to be pleasantly surprised. Appreciated how jay & KAOS communicated effectively.

ASF, I hear ya brother, and I really feel it and agree with the argument intellectually in many ways, but it's still hard for me not to go with a "track and eliminate" course, too, given how I see reality and being pragmatic.

I have yet to check either Romney or Obama's comments (too early for more anger plus nausea).

There was one ejection, however, and not a first-time offender:

Nuke them with pork grease covered bacon bombs.

There's the comparison, you were looking for, Dictator. Not all thoughts should be posts. My posts are much more acceptable than some of my thoughts.

The saddest thing is no matter what we or "they" do, the violent episodes aren't going to end (anywhere) in my sad but best analysis.

Just like a clinician said to me a half hour ago about stories like this---"it's like working with abused women and children, you keep wondering when we're going to get past this kind of stuff as a culture."

But neither she nor I suggest giving up.

---------- Post added September-12th-2012 at 08:51 AM ----------

I know cultural differences prevent me from having the mindset of these fanatics. I know that I'll never understand why anyone would get so outraged as to kill over their religion being denigrated in a cartoon or youtube video.

But the one thing I think I can safely say without fear of any ethnocentrism on my part is that attacking an embassy of a government that had absolutely nothing to do with the creation or distribution of the offending material is completely moronic.

Agreed in spirit with an addition that there are fanatics everywhere and all are hard to understand for most non-fanatics, which is not to suggest all places or all fanatics are "equal", in anything.

And, right or wrong, foreign embassies are commonly regarded as representative of that nation and all that means. If the U.S. had a centuries-long history of Asian interventions and war on our soil (regardless of the "whys") and Asian nations were conducting current warfare on "Christian nations", then Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese embassies in the U.S. would be regarded differently by many.

I feel a little sad I think I need to say this, but none of this is to excuse or minimize the unacceptable. I would be fine with droning the attackers given the opportunity (sorry ASF). I'm just painting a very small part of the big picture. I do like the tone of the Prime Minister's stablemen that SHF posted.

[visionary]

First of all, the attack in Benghazi is looking more and more suspicious the more I hear about it.

It seems to have been done by a terrorist group, most likely the same ****s who keep running around and destroying Sufi shrines. Now yesterday my twitter timeline was flooded with angry Libyans (and Syrians and Egyptians)...complaining about the film? Nope, pissed off about the attacks. Today anger seems to have turned to sadness as the number of deaths has increased.

Two things to think about in this:

A number of Libyans died as well giving their lives to protect the US personal there.

I would not rule out some inside involvement from the interior ministry perhaps even the head of it.

They have been very suspect in not going after people for destroying shrines and pretty much saying they won't do anything to stop the extremists in the past.

By the way, there are now protests across Libya condemning the attack.

https://twitter.com/ChangeInLibya

Emotionally draining day. We lost a great man that did his best to help Libya, to support its people and to undo 42 years of destruction.

11:53 AM

10 Libyan security guards were killed by the extremist mob that attacked the US Embassy. Let it be known that these heroes tried.

12:03 PM

Breaking: Zintan joins Tripoli and Benghazi in anti-extremism and anti-US embassy attack demonstrations. If you know other cities tweet me

12:12 PM

By the way, it is nice to see people care about what's going on around the world once in a while.

A shame it takes something like this to open people's eyes up a little.

http://e-ring.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/09/12/libya_pentagon_sending_elite_anti_terrorism_marines

LIBYA: Pentagon sending elite anti-terrorism Marines

The U.S. is deploying elite Marine counterterrorism teams to Libya in response to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

The Pentagon is sending Fleet Anti-Terrorism Teams, known as FAST teams, a U.S. defense official has confirmed to the E-Ring.

The official was unsure if the teams were actually en route to Libya yet.

"Make no mistake, justice will be done," President Obama said, in a statement in the Rose Garden early Wednesday. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is not expected to appear on camera today.

https://twitter.com/BreakingNews

Report: US sources tell CNN attack in Libya was planned in advance, that attackers used protest as diversion - @eliselabottcnn via @LisaDCNN

12:20 PM

https://twitter.com/acarvin

US officials familiar with Benghazi investigation tell NPR they don't believe ambassador was dragged & that it was ppl trying to help him.

12:28 PM

[mcsluggo]

So... the ass-hat that made the video now has a mini-erection because of all the attention that is being showered on him, and the ass-hats that led (fromthe rear, i am certain) the assault on the compound alos have little stiffies because of the blow they have dealt the oppressors...

the two clowns are carbon copies of each other. they are the exact same effin person, they just wrap their turbans differently. I am so tired of how quickly boogar eating morons are willing to line up their outrage on one side of the fence or the other (ie glaring OVER the fence at the other side, or shooting, or launching firebombs..whatever) . Hate the asshats that thrive on promoting this type of crap, pity the dumbass moronic zombie sheep that lap the divel up (well.. and heap scorn on THEM as well) but don't ever defend the turds on your side of the fence (zombie OR asshats) that perpetuate this crap.

[Jumbo]

Good post, vis.

The nature of the issues we all face in matters like this isn't just in our differing political or cultural roots. It's in our shared human roots. And progress there is not linear and is often glacier-paced at best.

[Bliz]

Good piece by Glenn Greenwald today

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/12/tragic-consulate-killings-libya

Particularly this:

4) The two political parties in the US wasted no time in displaying their vulgar attributes by rushing to squeeze these events for political gain. Democratic partisans immediately announced that "exploiting US deaths" – by which they mean criticizing President Obama – "is ugly, unwise".

That standard is as ludicrous as it is hypocritical. Democrats routinely "exploited US deaths" – in Iraq, Afghanistan, and 9/11 – in order to attack President Bush and the Republican party, and they were perfectly within their rights to do so. When bad things happen involving US foreign policy, it is perfectly legitimate to speak out against the president and to identify his actions or inaction that one believes are to blame for those outcomes. These are political events, and they are inherently and necessarily "politicized".

It's one thing to object to specific criticisms of Obama here as illegitimate and ugly, as some of those criticisms undoubtedly were (see below). But trying to impose some sort of general prohibition on criticizing Obama – on the ground that Americans have died and this is a crisis – smacks of the worst debate-suppressing tactics of the GOP circa 2003. (To his credit, one of the Democrats making those claims today subsequently acknowledged his error and wrote: "Obviously there's nothing wrong with criticizing the president, even during a crisis.")

But in this case, what the GOP and Mitt Romney did is substantially worse. As the attacks unfolded, Romney quickly issued a statement, based on the response of the US embassy in Egypt, accusing Obama of "sympathiz[ing] with those who waged the attacks" (the Obama White House repudiated the statement from the embassy in Cairo). The chairman of the GOP, Reince Preibus, unloaded on the world this disgusting tweet: "Obama sympathizes with attackers in Egypt. Sad and pathetic".

These accusations were all pure fiction and self-evidently ugly; they prompted incredulous condemnations even from media figures who pride themselves on their own neutrality.

But this is the story of the GOP. Faced with a president whose record is inept and horrible in many key respects, they somehow find a way to be even more inept and horrible themselves. Here, they had a real political opportunity to attack Obama – if US diplomats are killed and embassies stormed, it makes the president appear weak and ineffectual – but they are so drowning in their own blinding extremism and hate-driven bile, so wedded to their tired and moronic political attacks (unpatriotic Democrats love America's Muslim enemies!), that they cannot avoid instantly self-destructing. Within a matter of hours, they managed to turn a politically dangerous situation for Obama into yet more evidence of their unhinged, undisciplined radicalism.

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/Reem_Abdellatif

Egypt arrested four people today for breaching the US Embassy in Cairo, acc to state news.

12:39 PM

By the way it is interesting that the Egyptian crowd included both Zawahiri's brother and the Ultras (local soccer fans in Cairo)

https://twitter.com/BreakingNews

Report: US to fly unmanned spy drones over eastern Libya to look for jihad camps tied to attack on embassy - @barbarastarrcnn via @LisaDCNN

12:44 PM

https://twitter.com/evanchill

To everyone reading CNN's (great) live updates: there have been drones over east Libya since last year. Isn't new. http://ow.ly/dF27D

12:50 PM

https://twitter.com/MatogSaleh

Big demonstration infront of Tibesty Benghazi and the chants heard are .. " Sorry Sorry .. USA .. Sorry Sorry .. USA "

12:40 PM

[HBnotBlades]

Bliz, thanks for posting that Greenwald article. I think he nailed it.

[DjTj]

Secretary Clinton's remarks on the victims:

Chris Stevens fell in love with the Middle East as a young Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in Morocco. He joined the Foreign Service, learned languages, won friends for America in distant places, and made other people’s hopes his own.

In the early days of the Libyan revolution, I asked Chris to be our envoy to the rebel opposition. He arrived on a cargo ship in the port of Benghazi and began building our relationships with Libya’s revolutionaries. He risked his life to stop a tyrant, then gave his life trying to help build a better Libya. The world needs more Chris Stevenses. I spoke with his sister, Ann, this morning, and told her that he will be remembered as a hero by many nations.

Sean Smith was an Air Force veteran. He spent 10 years as an information management officer in the State Department, he was posted at The Hague, and was in Libya on a brief temporary assignment. He was a husband to his wife Heather, with whom I spoke this morning. He was a father to two young children, Samantha and Nathan. They will grow up being proud of the service their father gave to our country, service that took him from Pretoria to Baghdad, and finally to Benghazi.

The mission that drew Chris and Sean and their colleagues to Libya is both noble and necessary, and we and the people of Libya honor their memory by carrying it forward.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/09/197654.htm

[visionary]

Some more details and updates on what happened and what is being done:

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/12/u-s-ambassador-to-libya-3-others-killed-in-rocket-attack-witness-says/

[updated at 12:23 p.m. ET] A grenade attack created a fire in the U.S. consulate building in Benghazi, which created a very complicated and complex situation for those inside, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with the details of what happened.

"Folks inside were fighting the fire inside and the attackers outside. It was a cascading casualty, and Amb. Chris Stevens and the others got separated trying to escape to the roof of the building, ultimately succumbing to smoke inhalation," the U.S. official told CNN's Jill Dougherty. "There will be more details as we go forward, but there were several valiant attempts to re-enter the burning building to find and save the ones we lost. Valiant but unsuccessful."

Another senior official with the State Department confirmed the details as well.

[updated at 12:23 p.m. ET] A senior U.S. official tells CNN that U.S. unmanned surveillance drones are expected to begin flying over Benghazai and other locations in eastern Libya to look for jihadi encampments and targets that may be tied to the attack on U.S. State Department personnel.

The proposal for use of drones is expected to be approved shortly by the Pentagon and the White House, CNN's Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr reported. The official said the plan is for U.S. surveillance drones to gather the intelligence and then hand it off to the Libyans to strike the targets.

[DjTj]

A number of Libyans died as well giving their lives to protect the US personal there.

Libyan officials have said 10 guards killed or injured, and Obama referenced them in his speech.

Libya's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Ibrahim Dabbashi, said up to 10 Libyan security personnel were also killed or wounded in the violence.

Obama paid tribute to the Libyans who had given their lives.

"Libyan security personnel fought back alongside Americans. Libyans helped some of the diplomats find safety and carried Ambassador Stevens's body to the hospital where we tragically learned that he had died," the US president said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jtSzM1-24EQAbHs3yP0vkyOUvbuA?docId=CNG.497e614aeca24eef8dd48ac8abcecab0.261

Libyan officials have also vowed to bring the killers to justice.

Libyan authorities will bring the killers of the U.S. ambassador and three other personnel to justice, the head of the national assembly, Mohammed Magarief, said on Wednesday

"We confirm that no one will escape from punishment and questioning," Magarief told a news conference broadcast live on Al Jazeera television.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/12/us-libya-usa-magarief-idUSBRE88B0OH20120912

This really all shows that our greatest enemies today are not other countries or other religions, but violent extremists. It is difference between those who are capable of advocating for their beliefs through civil means and those who do so with violence and terrorism. If we can clearly draw the lines in that way, the governments of places like Egypt and Libya, and the majority of their people, will be on our side. Hopefully incidents like this will encourage them to build their governments more like ours, and less like the extremist policies that the terrorists may want to see.