.
10/3/12, "Sensitive documents left behind at U.S. diplomatic post in Libya," Washington Post, Michael Birnbaum, Benghazi, Libya
"More than three weeks after attacks in this city
killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans, sensitive
documents remained only loosely secured in the wreckage of the U.S.
diplomatic post on Wednesday, offering visitors easy access to delicate
information about American operations in Libya.
Documents detailing weapons collection efforts, emergency
evacuation protocols, the full internal itinerary of Ambassador J.
Christopher Stevens’s trip and the personnel records of Libyans who were
contracted to secure the mission were among the items scattered across
the floors of the looted compound when a Washington Post reporter and a
translator visited Wednesday.
The discovery further complicates
efforts by the Obama administration to respond to what has rapidly
become a major foreign-policy issue just weeks before the election.
Republicans have accused Obama of having left U.S. diplomatic compounds
in Muslim-majority nations insufficiently protected on the anniversary
of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and have questioned the security preparations ahead
assaults on embassies in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and Sudan. Capitol Hill
critics have also pressed for an explanation for the slow pace of the investigation that has followed the attack in Benghazi.
Although
the gates to the Benghazi compound were locked several days after the
attacks, looters and curiosity-seekers were free to roam in the initial
chaotic aftermath, and many documents may already have disappeared.
No
government-provided security forces are guarding the compound, and
Libyan investigators have visited just once, according to a member of
the family who owns the compound and who allowed the journalists to
enter Wednesday....
None of the documents were marked classified, but this is not the
first time that sensitive documents have been found by journalists in
the charred wreckage of the compound. CNN discovered a copy of the
ambassador’s journal last month and broadcast details from it, drawing
an angry response from the State Department. Unlike the journal, all of
the documents seen by The Post were official.
At least one
document found amid the clutter indicates that Americans at the post
were discussing the possibility of an attack in early September, just
two days before the assault took place. The document is a memorandum
dated Sept. 9 from the U.S. mission’s security office to the 17th
February Martyrs Brigade, the Libyan-government-sanctioned militia that
was guarding the compound, making plans for a “quick reaction force,” or
QRF, that would provide security.
“In the event of an attack on
the U.S. Mission,” the document states, “QRF will request additional
support from the 17th February Martyrs Brigade.”
Other documents
detail — with names, photographs, phone numbers and other personal
information — the Libyans contracted to provide security for the post
from a British-based private firm, Blue Mountain. Some of those Libyans
say they now fear for their lives, and the State Department has said it
shares concerns about their safety.
“The guys with beards may
endanger my life,” said one Libyan contractor, referring to the people
who attacked the U.S. post. He spoke on the condition of anonymity, but
his photograph, phone number, birthday, age, religion, English-language
skills, Libyan national identity number, marital status, method of
transport to work and first date of employment at the mission were all
listed in a document found at the site, along with similarly detailed
information about 13 others and basic information about dozens more....
Concerns about safety in Benghazi have confined a team of FBI
investigators to the Libyan capital, Tripoli, which is hundreds of miles
away, and local security officials say they cannot guarantee that
Americans would be safe here.
“We don’t have institutions,” said
Col. Salah bin Omran, the newly appointed military head of Rafallah
al-Sehati, a government-backed militia that is one of the main groups
providing security in Benghazi. “The security for normal people is fine.
But I don’t know. If the Americans come, I’m not sure they’ll be
completely safe.”
FBI spokesman Paul Bresson would not comment
Wednesday on the agents’ location. “We’re continuing with our
investigation, and we have not commented on the specific location of our
agents or resources,” Bresson said.
The delays may have
significantly complicated efforts to interview or detain members of
Ansar al-Sharia, the militant Islamist militia that the U.S. government
suspects played an important role in the attack. Late last month, the
militia’s compound was stormed by angry protesters, and its members have
gone underground, taking their weapons with them after living openly in
Benghazi for more than a week after the attack on the U.S. post.
Many
of the Libyan contractors, as well as some members of the brigade once
tasked with guarding the compound, say they have not been contacted by
the Libyan or U.S. governments about their safety concerns. Some say
they have tried to contact the Americans but have not received a
response.
The Blue Mountain contractors were intended to
complement the armed members of the militia. Both groups were present on
the night of Sept. 11.
In the unsigned memorandum from the U.S.
post to the militia, which appears to be a draft, guards “are required
to acquire and maintain their own weapons and ammunition,” the document
states.
The security presence appears to have been bare-bones, with three or
more armed militia members on the compound any time the “principal
officer” was present — either the head of the outpost or the ambassador.
A somewhat larger group of unarmed contractors was also hired to guard
the site but was not mentioned in the memorandum with the militia.
When
the principal officer was not present, a single militia member was
instructed to be at the front gate between 8 a.m. and midnight. Between
midnight and 8 a.m., one militia member was scheduled to be on roving
patrol. The militia members were supposed to work a minimum of eight
hours a day and were to be paid a stipend of about $28 a day, a
relatively standard wage. They were housed on the U.S. compound.
The
memorandum tells the militia security force to summon more guards from
its nearby base if the post is attacked, suggesting that the Americans
there were concerned that the regular guard force would be inadequate in
an emergency.
The itinerary of Stevens’s trip to Benghazi
includes a near-full accounting of his planned movements during what was
supposed to be a visit that lasted from Sept. 10 until Sept. 15. It
includes names and phone numbers of Libyans who were scheduled to meet
with him. Some of those Libyans have not made their contact with Stevens
public and could be at risk if it were publicly known.
The
meetings include briefings with U.S. officials, a private dinner with
influential local leaders, and meetings with militia heads,
businesspeople, civil society activists and educators. The highlight of
the visit was the opening of the American Space, a center intended to
serve as a hub for U.S. culture and education.
Several copies of
the itinerary were scattered across multiple rooms of the compound. One
appears to be a page from the ambassador’s personal copy; it was on the
floor, next to a chair in the bedroom where he had been sleeping.
The
compound still reeked of smoke Wednesday, and all of the buildings had
been looted. Overturned furniture, broken glass and strewn documents
were everywhere. Chandeliers lay on the floor. In kitchens, food was
rotting."...via Hot Air
=====================================
The problem isn't Islamic terrorism. It's the US Ruling Class's close relationship with governments that produce Islamic terrorists:
3/3/2006, "Q&A With Congress: It’s OK to Lobby for Foreign Governments," Human Events, Amanda Carpenter
"The proposed deal to allow foreign-government-owned Dubai Ports World to manage some U.S. port facilities has highlighted another aspect of the Washington lobbying scene: Foreign governments can and do hire former members of Congress and former high-ranking U.S. officials to be their paid advocates."...
.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment