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Analyst's note:  Here we see yet more details associated with "the smartest woman in the world" involved in what can only be called "murder in Benghazi," followed by evidence of a coverup and the continued Obama administration stonewalling that followed. The facts read like a movie script, but we are talking here about the Obama Administration, who is believed to be "in tight" with Hollywood.  But then again Benghazi happened “a long time ago,” after all. What difference, at this point, does it make? 

Please read on and find out. Just a hint -- Now even CNN is reporting that several Yemeni men belonging to AQ took part in, and were possibly sent in to instigate, the attack, according to several sources.  This may well indicate further evidence of a new level of co-operation among jihadist groups throughout the Middle East and North Africa.  You will also want to consider Clarity for Obama Redline? Defecting Syrian General Admits Ordered to Use Chemical Weapons

 

 

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Chair of Hillary's Indy Accountability Review Board is Her 'Close Friend' Bill's Appointee, Now Panel is Under Review

Last December, the Accountability Review Board report on the happenings surrounding the terror attack in Benghazi concluded that “systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels” (but still below then-Secretary Hillary Clinton) and “inadequate” security measures were to blame for the lack of preparedness, the muddled response, and the deaths of four Americans — and ever since, Clinton and other administration officials have regularly referred lingering questions on the attack to the board’s report. Just yesterday, Jay Carney insisted that “the Accountability Review Board which investigated this matter — and I think in no one’s estimation sugarcoated what happened there or pulled any punches when it came to holding accountable individuals that they felt had not successfully executed their responsibilities — heard from everyone and invited everyone. So there was a clear indication there that everyone who had something to say was welcome to provide information to the Accountability Review Board.”
Now, however, Congress is getting ready for more hearings on Benghazi with self-proclaimed whistleblowers, which House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa has suggested will “expose new facts” that the Obama administration has deliberately “tried to suppress.” So... does that mean that the ARB panel perhaps conspicuously neglected to interview some of those key witnesses? The State Department’s Office of Inspector General is investigating just that, reports Fox News:
The IG’s office is said by well-placed sources to be seeking to determine whether the Accountability Review Board, or ARB — led by former U.N. Ambassador Thomas Pickering and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen failed to interview key witnesses who had asked to provide their accounts of the Benghazi attacks to the panel.
The IG’s office notified the department of the “special review” on March 28, according to Doug Welty, the congressional and public affairs officer of the IG’s office.
This disclosure marks a significant turn in the ongoing Benghazi case, as it calls into question the reliability of the blue-ribbon panel that then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton convened to review the entire matter. Until the report was concluded, she and all other senior Obama administration officials regularly refused to answer questions about what happened in Benghazi.
For months, the administration’s constant refrain was that “this is an ongoing investigation” and that they had to wait for the results, and then they switched gears and directed everyone’s attention to the conclusions of a report that might itself turn out to be — how shall I put this delicately — incomplete? Faulty? Intentionally half-assed?
But, meh, whatever — 
Update: To answer my own/Clinton’s question about what difference, at this point, the administration’s handling in the run-up to and fallout from the Benghazi terror attack makes: Kind of a big one. CNN is reporting that several Yemeni men belonging to AQ took part in, and were possibly sent in to instigate, the attack, according to several sources:
One senior U.S. law enforcement official told CNN that “three or four members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” or AQAP, took part in the attack.
Another source briefed on the Benghazi investigation said Western intelligence services suspect the men may have been sent by the group specifically to carry out the attack. But it’s not been ruled out that they were already in the city and participated as the opportunity arose.
The attack on the compound and subsequently on a “safe-house” to which Americans had been evacuated left four U.S. citizens dead, including the ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens.
If the AQAP members were dispatched to Benghazi, it would be further evidence of a new level of co-operation among jihadist groups throughout the Middle East and North Africa, counterterrorism analysts say.
Thomas Pickering

Reminder: Chair of Hillary's 'Independent' Accountability Review Board (ARB) is Her "Close Friend," Bill's Appointee

With Benghazi whistleblowers beginning to surface and offer to go under oath in exchange for judicial protection from the menace of the U.S. government, I have already heard Democrats decry the attacks on Hillary Clinton specifically because she was exonerated by her own Accountability Review Board (ARB). It was her review board, headed by Thomas Pickering, and Thomas Pickering to Hillary means "old friend." Bill Clinton appointed Pickering to U.S. Ambassador to Russia. He was the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 1997 - 2001. Neither Hillary or her staff were interviewed by the Board. Hillary personally appointed four members of the Board and the DNI chose the fifth member. Look at the connections below.
Thomas Pickering
...Thomas Pickering was appointed to to the third ranking position in the State Department by Madeleine Albright, who was appointed by Bill Clinton. Pickering is a member of the advisory board of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) – left-leaning according to Judicial Watch...
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC):
...that opposes the imposition of economic sanctions against Iran and that, in the estimation of national security expert Kenneth Timmerman, “has been lobbying Congress to win support for an agenda that mirrors the goals of the Tehran regime.”
In 2009, former FI counterterrorism agent Kenneth Piernick reported that the group “may be lobbying n behalf of Iranian government interests...
In her 2009 paper Rise of the Iran Lobby, published by the Center for Security Policy, former CIa officer clare Lopez wrote that “Ambassador Pickering’s positions on Iran include calls for bilateral talks without preconditions and a plan for a multinational uranium enrichment consortium in Iran.
Uzra Zeya
Also on the Board was Uzra Zeya, who served as the Executive Secretary. She has served as Deputy Executive Secretaries to Hillary Clinton and Condoleeza Rice. Uzra Zeya is a staff member of the American Educational Trust specializing in Islamic affairs. This article by Zeya shows a mission to clear up unattractive images of the prophet Muhammad – things like the the Koran placing men above females. Not so according to Ms. Zeya. She also authored “How US Islamic Financial Institutions Provide Interest-Free Servic... She ‘produced’ this video (or something – it’s presented as Islam in America – by Uzra Zeya) of a pretty blonde California girl who converted to Islam, never leaves her home without being properly covered, and runs a school for Muslim children.
Enraging that Congress let Secretary Hillary Clinton get away with this. She was not investigated by this willfully biased "Accountability Review Board." Where are our Defending Fathers.

 

Militia Hired by State Dept. Warned It Wouldn’t Protect Stevens’ Movements in Benghazi

Reposted from NCRenegade
Amb. Chris Stevens, Benghazi
Amb. Chris Stevens, Benghazi
The February 17th Martyrs Brigade, a Benghazi-based militia with Islamist elements that the State Department hired as a “quick reaction force” (QRF) to protect the department’s mission in Benghazi, warned the State Department that it would not protect the movements of Amb. Chris Stevens when he visited there last September.
That warning was relayed to the regional security officer (RSO) at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli–the top security adviser to the ambassador–in an internal State Department email dated Sept. 9, 2012.
That was one day before Stevens departed Tripoli for Benghazi–for what was scheduled to be a five-day visit.
[O]n September 8, 2012, just days before Ambassador Stevens arrived in Benghazi, the February 17 Martyrs Brigade told State Department officials that the group would no longer support U.S. movements in the city, including the Ambassador’s visit,” said a report on Benghazi released last week by the chairmen of the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, Oversight, Judiciary and Armed Services committees.
 

al-Quaida Was Hired to "Protect" Benghazi Compound

Posted by Gunner Panobscot
The Libyan militia group that the State Department hired to defend its embattled diplomatic mission in Benghazi had clear al-Qaida sympathies, and had prominently displayed the al-Qaida flag on a Facebook page for months before the deadly attack.

That organization, the February 17th Martyrs Brigade, was paid by the U.S. government to provide security at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. But there is no indication the Martyrs Brigade fulfilled its commitment to defend the mission on Sept. 11, when it came under attack.

The assault claimed the lives of four Americans: Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, information officer Sean Smith, and former Navy Seals Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. Stevens was the first U.S. ambassador to be killed in the line of duty since 1979.

Several entries on the militia’s Facebook page openly profess sympathy for Ansar al-Sharia, the hardline Islamist extremist group widely blamed  for the deadly attack on the mission.
The U.S. State Department did not respond to a Newsmax request for an explanation as to why the February 17th Martyrs Brigade was hired to protect the mission.

On April 23, House Republicans released an interim progress report on its investigation into the Benghazi killings. It cited “numerous reports” that “the Brigade had extremist connections, and it had been implicated in the kidnapping of American citizens as well as in the threats against U.S. military assets.”

The report also stated that just a few days before Ambassador Stevens arrived in Benghazi, the Martyrs Brigade informed State Department officials they would no longer provide security as members of the mission, including Stevens, traveled through the city.

From June 2011 to July 2012, Eric Nordstrom, the Regional Security Officer for Libya at the time, documented over 200 security threats and violent incidents threatening to U.S. personnel in Libya. Some 50 of those incidents occurred in Benghazi.

Yet despite those threats, repeated requests for additional security from the mission went unheeded by the State Department, for reasons that remain unclear.

But perhaps the biggest question is why the State Department would hire a group that openly displayed its admiration for al-Qaida, and ask it to participate in the defense of its diplomatic mission.

The banner, or “cover photo” of one of the group’s Facebook pages, shows an Islamic fighter or mujahid with a portable rocket launcher resting on his shoulder.

The distinctive black flag of al-Qaida can be seen fluttering to the man’s left, attached to the vehicle in which he is riding. The mujahid also wears a headband based on the design of the al-Qaida flag. The flag in question features the shahada or Islamic declaration of faith, and a white circle that is sometimes described as the “seal of Mohammed.”

The flag was made famous by the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s Iraqi al-Qaida affiliate, commonly known as “al-Qaida in Iraq.” The flag originally used by al-Qaida was a plain black flag with the shahada written on it in white. Both flags are widely used by contemporary jihadist groups.

   
The original cover photo on Facebook page of the February 17th Martyrs Brigade, displaying the al-Qaida banner.    

An Arabic inscription written over the photo reads: “Allah, his prophet and Libya and that’s it.” The cover photo was posted by the site administrator on June 10, 2012. It represents the first activity on the Facebook page.

The photo was presumably taken at a massive rally in support of the sharia, or Islamic law, that was held in Benghazi three days earlier, on June 7.
The rally included a military parade featuring units from a large cross-section of the Eastern Libyan militias that spearheaded the 2011 rebellion against Moammar Gadhafi.

Video of the event posted by local sources shows several al-Qaida flags being flown at the event. Al-Qaida-inspired accessories, such as headbands and decals, were widely displayed as well. One of the sponsoring organizations of the rally was none other than Ansar al-Sharia. The term Ansar al-Sharia means “supporters of the sharia.” Sharia is Islamic law and regulations.

On June 15, five days after the photo was posted, the February 17th Martyrs Brigade updated the cover photo on the Facebook page, replacing the image by a photo montage featuring its own logo and a masked commando sporting the colors of the new Libyan national flag on a shoulder patch.

The cover photo has been further updated several times since then. It is clear, however, that the group has repudiated neither al-Qaida nor its violent ideology.

On June 28, for example, the brigade posted a second graphic bearing a headline title that translates to: “The bearded [man] is suspect until he proves he is not a Muslim!!!”

The graphic features two rows of pictures. The top row consists of bearded Muslim men. The images include some of the leading figures of modern-day jihadism, including al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden, and the founder of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The Arabic text on the graphic states the Muslims are accused of various faults, including “terrorism” and “extremism.”

The second row shows bearded non-Muslims (including the likes of Tolstoy, Che Guevara and George Bernard Shaw). The caption suggests the Western world sees the bearded non-Muslims as intelligent, and holds them in high esteem.

To drive home the point,  the graphic includes a quotation from the Quran: “Then will we treat Muslims like criminals? What is the matter with you? How do you judge?”

The implication is that the Muslims in the top row, including Osama bin Laden, have been unfairly labeled.


Graphic from Facebook page of the February 17th Martyrs Brigade

Several entries on the Facebook page make clear the brigade’s sympathies for the Ansar al-Sharia militia, which allegedly has al-Qaida ties.
In the Western media, Ansar al-Sharia has been widely accused of having perpetrated the September 11 Benghazi attacks.

An entry posted a few days after the deadly Benghazi attacks, on Sept. 19, laments the death of an Ansar al-Sharia member. It asks God to “receive him amongst the martyrs” and to receive him “into his wide paradise.” The entry points out that the deceased, one Adham al-Falastini, was previously a member of the February 17th Martyrs Brigade.

Another revealing entry, posted on June 25, 2012, shows a graphic from a now defunct Ansar al-Sharia Facebook page. It carries a warning from Ansar al-Sharia about the distribution of pens bearing an image of the Virgin Mary.  The graphic cautions against propagating beliefs that Muslims should scorn.

A warning from Ansar al-Sharia about “Virgin Mary pens.” Graphic reproduced on a Facebook page of the February 17th Martyrs Brigade.


At least two recent entries on the February 17th Martyrs Brigade site feature the Ansar al-Sharia logo. One of these, dated Jan. 29, suggests that Ansar al-Sharia is the target of a “treacherous” plot to get the brigade blamed for various attacks and assassination attempts.
The other, dated Jan. 20, announces that Ansar al-Sharia has begun guarding the western gate of Benghazi “in the service of our religion and...of the Libyan people.”

This news, which is corroborated by other sources, is highly notable in light of Western news reports claiming Ansar al-Sharia was driven out of the city following the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. mission.


Ansar al-Sharia logo on Facebook page of February 17th Martyrs Brigade



A more recent entry, dated March 2, features a graphic celebrating Jabhat al-Nusra, the offshoot of Al-Qaida in Iraq that has played a leading role in the Syrian insurrection against the rule of Bashar al-Assad.


Late last year, Jabhat al-Nusra was designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

In defiance of the U.S. designation, the Arabic on the graphic declares, “We are all Jabhat al-Nusra.”

The accompanying Facebook entry repeats this sentiment, and recites the exploits of the al-Qaida linked brigade in the Syrian war, including “more than 40 martyrdom operations.The phrase “martyrdom operations” is used by jihadist groups to refer to suicide bombings.

“We are all Jabhat al-Nusra.” Graphic from a Facebook page of the February 17th Martyrs Brigade


The U.S. State Department had hired the February 17th Martyrs Brigade to provide security at the U.S. mission in Benghazi. A document recovered from the mission two days after the attack indicated the State Department had arranged for the Martyrs Brigade to act as a “Quick Reaction Force” to protect the mission. The Memorandum of Agreement states that “in the event of an attack on the U.S. mission, QRF will request additional support from the 17th February Martyrs Brigade.”

Throughout the summer leading up to the attack, embassy officials repeatedly asked the State Department for additional security. But the State Department actually reduced security, pulling out a military detachment that had been tasked with defending diplomats in Libya.

One reason the requests for additional security may have been denied:
They did not fit into the administration narrative that al-Qaida elements no longer posed a threat to U.S. interests.

One diplomatic cable to the mission indicated that the U.S.-based deputy assistant secretary for diplomatic security was “reluctant to ask for [additional security] apparently out of concern that it would be embarrassing to the [State Department] to continue to have to rely on [Defense Department] assets to protect our mission.”

When the mission’s regional safety officer expressed an interest in July 2012 asking State Department official to permit the military security team to continue to protect the mission, Charlene Lamb, the deputy assistant secretary in charge of diplomatic security, sent an e-mail that responded: “NO, I do not [I repeat] not want them to ask for the [military security] team to stay!”

Republicans have complained in recent weeks that the Obama administration has been stonewalling their investigation. According to Fox News, four career officials at the State Department and the CIA have retained counsel, as they prepare to provide Congress with inside information on the attacks.

Victoria Toensing, an attorney representing one of the whistleblowers, said they have been threatened by CIA and State Department officials with repercussions if they talk to Congress about what happened in Benghazi. But President Obama said earlier this week he was “unaware” of anyone being discouraged from coming forward to tell Congress their side of the story.

House Republican Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, issued a statement on Tuesday that: “Over the past two weeks, I have sent four letters requesting that this administration make information available about how lawyers -- who already have security clearances and are representing Benghazi whistleblowers -- can be cleared to fully hear their clients’ stories. I have yet to receive any responses from the Obama administration.

The House Republicans’ Interim Progress Report concludes with an ominous warning that states: “This singular event will be repeated unless the United States recognizes and responds to the threats we face around the world, and properly postures resources and security assets to counter and respond to those threats.

Until that time, the United States will remain in a reactionary mode and should expect more catastrophes like Benghazi, in which U.S. personnel on the ground perform bravely, but are not provided with the resources for an effective response,” the report stated.

Newsmax Senior Editor David A. Patten contributed to this report.

John Rosenthal is a European-based journalist who writes on EU politics and transatlantic security issues. His new book is The Jihadist Plot: The Untold Story of Al-Qaeda and the Libyan Rebellion. Translations from Arabic provided by Maureen Millington-Brodie. Newsmax Senior Editor David A. Patten also contributed to this report.

 

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