We’ve been seeing some interesting “scoops” about Benghazi on the eve of the foreign policy debate. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reported that there’s “no evidence” al-Qaeda had any ties to the consulate attack. No evidence? That’s funny, considering the group behind the attack, Ansar al-Sharia, is viewed as al-Qaeda’s face in Libya, according to a Library of Congress report from this summer. Also, the intelligence community reportedly intercepted phone calls in which Ansar al-Sharia leaders bragged to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb leaders after the attack. Also, the State Department has designated Ansar al-Sharia a new alias for al-Qaeda in Yemen, etc.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post‘s David Ignatius reported yesterday on CIA “talking points” that supposedly back up the administration’s initial “spontaneous reaction” story. But this isn’t much of a scoop or a story; these talking points were actually reported on weeks ago, and, according to Reuters, didn’t appear to match the actual intelligence.
At the Weekly Standard, Thomas Joscelyn writes:
Other press accounts have fingered additional suspects with links to al Qaeda as well. And there is substantial evidence that al Qaeda has built a substantial network inside of Libya.
Even though no one disputes that AQIM members were in contact with the attackers, however, it will take time to sort through all of the precise details.
But these latest accounts are not intended to comb through the evidence carefully. They are intended to provide political cover ahead of the final presidential debate.
Exactly. And the journalists aren’t just being used as mouthpieces for White House spin, they’re also allowing the administration to keep its hands clean while doing it. It doesn’t matter for the administration if the stories are false and misleading, as long as enough people believe them going into tonight’s debate.
This is balderdash, the attack was led by AQ… My five year old daughter could have seen this. UBL is dead but AQ is not.
The White House seems worried about the resurgence of Al Qaeda, yet the reality is that it doesn't matter either way. Let's say that the attack in Libya was Al Qaeda then the killing of Osama bin Laden, while necessary, was clearly not sufficient to squash Al Qaeda. Fine, so we still have to fight and defeat Al Qaeda. Anyone with a brain knows this. n nBut let's say the Bengazi attack was perpetuated by another terrorist group and not Al Qaeda. So what? Then there is this other terrorist group that is attacking the United States. So, we now have to deal with this "new" group. n nIn either case the United States still faces terrorism and our embassies and citizens are still in danger. Frankly, the name is a mere label but the acts of terror continue. Whether it's group "A" or group B, the United States is still not safe and we must continue to fight these groups. n nKilling bin Laden was great, but it's not enough. There are others out there ready to take his place. And these threats are ones that we must now face, and have needed to face all along. Calling the threats Al Qaeda or something else makes them no less lethal nor less dangerous.
The WH and its lapdog media is coming apart at the seams trying to keep up to O's rapid-fire of silly whoppers. First it was the video that was at fault, then at the debate O always said it was terrorism and when that got blown to smithereens, we're told that yeah, ok, but it's not Al Qaida! Yeah, yeah, sure, that's the ticket, yeah.
Bin Laden is dead and so are the minds of too many Obama supporters.
Bathhouse Barry & Co. don't seem to understand that winning a battle (killing UBL) is not the same thing as winning a war.
The timeline – Sean Smith alerted Washington, DC at 12:54 PM EDT that there was a serious threat – then Smith was killed. About 3PM Washington has a predator drone overhead and the White House, State Dept & CIA begin live monitoring on TV. The attack starts at about 4 PM EDT. By 5 PM the President & SECDEF are briefed on what's happening. In Sciacca, Italy we had transport aircraft, assault aircraft and special forces. That's a 1 hour flight from Benghazi. Were they dispatched to help? NO! About 8 PM EDT, two other Americans including our Ambassador were killed. So why did the Obama Administration sit on its hands and watch while known al-Qaeda terrorists attacked and killed 4 Americans at a CIA compound in Benghazi, Libya? You heard it, we had no "consulate" in Benghazi. This whole scenario STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN!