Perhaps overlooked is the CIA’s role in purportedly using the Benghazi mission to coordinate U.S. aid to Syrian opposition groups and information those same insurgents include jihadists openly acting under the al-Qaida umbrella.
Petraeus on Friday night announced his resignation, citing an extramarital affair, and it was reported he will no longer testify.
Patraeus resigned at a time when the U.S. intelligence community is facing criticism over both its response to the assault in Benghazi and whether it had early warnings of al-Qaida plans to attack the U.S. mission in that country.
The White House and multiple State Department officials had immediately blamed a crude film about the Islamic figure Mohammad for what they claimed were popular protests that preceded the attacks on the U.S. mission.
According to new, vivid accounts provided by the State Department and intelligence officials, no such popular demonstration took place the night of the attack. Instead, video footage from Benghazi reportedly shows an organized group of armed men attacking the compound, the officials said.
That Benghazi compound is repeatedly referred by the news media to as a “consulate.”
However,
as WND reported, the building was not a consulate and at no point functioned as one, according to informed Middle East security officials.
Instead, the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi
served as a meeting place to coordinate aid for the rebel-led insurgencies in the Middle East, the security officials said.
Among the tasks performed inside the building was collaborating with Arab countries on the recruitment of fighters – including jihadists – to target Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.
The distinction may help explain why there was no major public security presence at what has been described as a “consulate.”
Such a presence would draw attention to the shabby, nondescript building that was allegedly used for such sensitive purposes.
U.S. officials have since been more careful in their rhetoric, while not contradicting the media narrative that a consulate was attacked.
[]
Stevens played a central role in recruiting jihadists to fight Assad’s regime in Syria
Connect With Us