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

[visionary]

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaN...gn=newsinlibya

INTERVIEW-Libyan brigade warns of "inferno" if U.S. intervenes

A Libyan Salafi group which has denied it was involved in a deadly assault on the American consulate in Benghazi said on Tuesday Libya would turn into "an inferno for U.S. troops" if the U.S. military retaliated.

Yousef Jehani, a senior member of Ansar al-Sharia, told Reuters that the armed group, which espouses an austere form of Islam, wanted to avoid confrontation but was ready for a showdown if Washington acted "foolishly".

Any U.S. military intervention could push Libyans to wage a holy war, or "jihad", to defend their nation, said Jehani, whose group is a powerful force in Benghazi, a stronghold for Islamists and cradle of the revolution which toppled Muammar Gaddafi last year.

"If one U.S. soldier arrives, not for the purpose of defending the embassy, but to repeat what happened in Iraq or Afghanistan, be sure that all battalions in Libya and all Libyans will put aside all their differences and rally behind one goal of hitting America and Americans," Jehani said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19638582

Meeting Mohammad Ali al-Zahawi of Libyan Ansar al-Sharia

Mr Zahawi confirmed in the interview that his brigade had demolished and desecrated Sufi shrines in Benghazi, which they regard as idolatrous.

"It is a religious duty to remove these shrines because people worship the deceased and this is prohibited. It is not me who says so but rather our religion."

Mr Zahawi believes that the United States has an agenda.

The US consulate in Benghazi was set on fire last week, killing Ambassador Stevens "Make no mistake, there is a massive American onslaught on Muslim countries. The crusaders want to occupy our countries and act as our guardians. They do not respect our sovereignty," he said.

His brigade was not linked to al-Qaeda though he thoroughly approves of its strategy, he said.

"Al-Qaeda's strategy is aimed at weakening US hegemony on the Muslim nation," he said.

Asked what he thinks of recent statements made by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Mr Zahawi said: "Such statements are a wake-up call for Muslims.

"They help galvanise the Muslim nation, maintain its dignity and pride.

"Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri is keen on safeguarding Muslim rights."

Mr Zahawi reiterated his brigade was not behind the attack on 12 September on the US consulate in Benghazi.

But he stopped short of condemning the death of the US ambassador.

"Do you think that the killing of the US ambassador is more heinous than the several insults made about the Prophet, peace be upon him?" he asked.

Crazy nutbags. This group needs to be dismantled and the leaders need to be in prison now.

[USS Redskins]

So what is the real story here - its an obscure Youtube video online for months or a planned attack?

also - what does the white house think about the bin laden movie they gladly helped create, now?

I know the movie wont be anti-muslim, more anti-terrorist or whatever, but I cant see those rioting being real understanding about the point of the movie.

[LadySkinsFan]

These radical Muslims don't see themselves as terrorists, they believe that they are defenders of their faith. Not the use of the word "crusaders" a word that was used by Bush. No wonder they are inflamed.

They are inviting us out of their countries. We should take them up on it. Develop our own forms of energy, have the President call on all in the US to practice conservation, which we should be doing with regard to water anyway.

[twa]

you;re saying they are like teenagers>....send money,but leave me alone?

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/JomanaCNN

Libyan official 2 CNN: Libyan officials held meetings in Tripoli wth US diplomats& security officials 2 assess what went wrong in Benghazi
12:01 PM

Libyan official: Libya leadership urged US to not take any military action after Benghazi attack
12:03 PM

Official: “we felt, assumed & suspected” an increase in U.S. drone activity & were v concerned the US could take mil action.
12:04 PM

Libya official: they were very worried the Obama administration would be “pushed to do something crazy” by domestic political consideration
12:05 PM

cause of “strategic objectives for both of us & understanding our enemy,” he says any military action would create “absolute chaos"
12:08 PM

[LadySkinsFan]

you;re saying they are like teenagers>....send money,but leave me alone?

Did I say give them money? No, I didn't. I don't think we should spend any more of our money on these people who don't appreciate it. And that includes giving them money to buy US weapons either.

We should be spending this money on OUR infrastructure and to strengthen our economy. I'm sick of the US being the arms suppliers of the world, even if only by supplying the money to buy those arms. We are not being very successful in buying their loyalty or allegience.

[visionary]

http://www.libyaherald.com/?p=14638

US Embassy thanks Libyans for help following ambassador death

Tripoli, 18 September:

The US Embassy has issued a brief statement thanking Libyans for the help they provided in the aftermath of the 11 September attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi.

Several Libyans were wounded in the assault, which left four Americans dead including US Ambassador Chris Stevens.

“We thank all the Libyans in Benghazi and Tripoli who helped us in our most difficult moments last week, and a special heartfelt thank you to those in Benghazi who participated in the rescue attempt”, the US Embassy said, in a statement issued in Arabic on its official Facebook page.

The rescue attempt refers to an effort by a group of Libyan men to rescue Ambassador Stevens from the burned-out consulate, captured in an amateur video.

Since last Tuesday, Libyans both at home and abroad have staged protests and vigils in memory of the dead, and have called on the government to bring those responsible to justice.

[Stadium-Armory]

Did I say give them money? No, I didn't. I don't think we should spend any more of our money on these people who don't appreciate it. And that includes giving them money to buy US weapons either.

We should be spending this money on OUR infrastructure and to strengthen our economy. I'm sick of the US being the arms suppliers of the world, even if only by supplying the money to buy those arms. We are not being very successful in buying their loyalty or allegience.

Part of our strategic interest in the region is the support of Israel. We can debate whether or not that makes sense, but I don't see it changing any time soon.

[visionary]

http://www.tunisia-live.net/2012/09/...unisia+Live%29

Tunisian Government to Cover Costs of Damage to US Embassy and American School

Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs Rafik Abdessalem stated today in a press conference that Tunisia is to cover the physical damage done to both the US Embassy and the American Cooperative School in Tunis, following incidences of vandalism and arson at both facilities last Friday, September 14.

The press conference comes after Abdessalem met with US Ambassador to Tunisia Jacob Walles yesterday in the presence of other foreign ambassadors.

“We [the Tunisian government] expressed our regret and condemnation of what happened on Friday to Ambassador Walles… We are committed to cover the physical damage caused by the protest,” he stated. Abdessalem emphasized the government’s commitment to providing the necessary protection to American citizens and facilities.

“It is a one time incident… It is painful and saddening. But it does not reflect Tunisia’s true image to the world,” he added.

According to Abdessalem, the vandalism that took place on Friday was an “organized crime.” An investigative committee has been created in order to make sense of the incident and hold those responsible for it accountable. Additionally, he stated that the shortcomings of Tunisian security forces were undeniable, yet asserted that the law will be strictly applied to looters, regardless of their ideological background.

[Jumbo]

I thought Stewie did a good job, actually, of jabbing at the whole of Islam as a religion last night. He backed up his jabs with citing how The Life of Brian has been aorund 30 years and hasn't generated Christians attacking (British comedians I guess) and how another film (can't remember the name) that maligns Jews hasn't evoked a Hebrew version of retaliation. He was saying Islam needs to "grow up" and "find adult ways to express their viewing displeasure." There was more.

John Oliver then rebuts, saying Islam wasn't an adult yet and was still young: "Islam is like a teenager because it is ony 14 hundred years old. Remember what Christianity was doing when it was only 1400 years old? Crusades, Inquisitions, oppressing women. C'mon, John!"

[Koala]

you;re saying they are like teenagers>....send money,but leave me alone?

Comeon you're smarter than that, twa. Money buys influence, and this is a region we want to influence for a number of reasons. Money also buys bombs, but influence is more effective than bombs in some situations, dont you think? Its worked out pretty well with the Sunni Iraqi's didnt it?

I dont think the Libyans really want an expanded Al-Qaeda influence. But Al-Qaeda seems to have learned from its lessons in Iraq and has refocused its efforts on the West while being more careful not to raise the ire of the locals. Libyans however, are about to get a tough lesson in the fact that there is no such thing as a benign Al-Qaeda presence. At best, they still attract negative attention, possibly bombs, and do things that embarass an entire nation like the killing of the ambassador.

On our end, we remain the adults in this situation. Libya is still a country in turmoil with no security apparatus in place, they are just now discovering that freedom and responsibility go hand-in-hand. Give them a couple elections to put in place a government that makes security a high priority, THEN judge them.

But Libya is also now the country with the highest % of pro-American views according to polls, behind only Israel, in the middle-East. Lets not walk RIGHT into the extremists hands and throw that burgeoning friendship out the window. No doubt, the extremists are more bothered by those pro-American polls than they ever were about the movie, so lets keep taking the one thing away from them they cant stand to lose: the hearts of the Libyan people.

[visionary]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...8db_story.html

FBI arrives in Libya to probe deaths of four Americans

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that a team of FBI agents has arrived in Libya to investigate the deaths of four Americans who were killed when the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was overrun last week.

The FBI’s arrival had been delayed by concerns about continued violence in the eastern Libyan city. Clinton did not provide any details of how many agents were involved or whether the team has arrived in Benghazi yet.

“The FBI has joined the investigation on the ground in Libya and we will not rest until the people who orchestrated this attack are found and punished,” Clinton told reporters after a meeting with Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa at the State Department.

Hopefully this will move things along a bit.



http://www.nydailynews.com/news/poli...icle-1.1161454

Ambassador Chris Stevens was still breathing as video emerges showing Libyans trying to rescue him

[visionary]

http://wires.univision.com/english/a...up-security-at

France steps up security at embassies

France has stepped up security at its embassies in countries where there could be a hostile reaction to a French magazine's publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Wednesday.

"I have obviously issued instructions so that special security measures are taken in all the countries where this could pose a problem," Fabius said, admitting that he was "concerned" by the potential for a backlash to satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo's printing of the cartoons.

https://twitter.com/mpoppel

REU: FRANCE TO CLOSE EMBASSIES, SCHOOLS IN 20 COUNTRIES ON FRIDAY BECAUSE OF PROPHET MOHAMMAD FILM AND CARTOONS - FOREIGN MINISTRY
5:43 AM

[visionary]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

Hope Yet for Libya

But my impression, after three weeks traveling from the country's far west coast to the far east, is that while Libya may be on the verge of being a failed state, many if not most of its cities are working. The eastern port city of Derna, population somewhere between 85,000 and 120,000, is a case in point.

Just about every English-language news article on Derna refers to it as a hotbed of Islamic extremism. It's true that more foreign suicide bombers in Iraq over the last decade came from Derna than from any other city—perhaps because the city has been economically moribund for generations. It's true that everyone knows a local boy or two fighting in Syria. And during Ramadan in August, Wahhabists blew up an ancient shrine in the center of the town's main mosque.

But scarcely a month later, the shrine had already been rudely reconstructed using the same stones. A foreigner walking through the mosque and around the old town center—skillfully renovated under the auspices of Unesco just before the revolution—gets friendly greetings and endless questions: "What do you think of Derna?"

Libya's elections in July tell some of the story. Derna is represented by two women and three men in the newly seated National Assembly. Derna's local council doesn't include any women, but two women were among the 90 candidates who vied for the 23 neighborhood representative positions.

Randa el Goudary, a Libyan-American from Ashburn, Virginia, readily admits that there is a fashion among some of Derna's youth for the garb of Islamic extremists. "But I am going everywhere like this"—she points to her diaphanous headscarf and contemporary slacks and shirt. "I am driving myself, and no one says anything. Do you think if Qaeda is here that I will be here?"

[Redskins Diehard]

Part of our strategic interest in the region is the support of Israel. We can debate whether or not that makes sense, but I don't see it changing any time soon.

I think that debate needs to happen. I think what you lay out there is more than a part of our strategic interest in the region. It is about half of our strategic interest. The other half being the role that oil plays in our economy....no matter who the President is.