Dark Forces: The Truth About What Happened in Benghazi (45 page)

  
6
  March 2014 UN Panel of Experts report, 89.

  
7
 
Al Akhbar
daily in Arabic, May 4, 2012. A similar account appeared the same day in the more balanced
Al-Jumhuriya
daily, which mentioned 100 Stingers and 30 French-made MILAN antitank missiles, whereas the Lebanese authorities said they had found just 2 MILANs and 19 Russian-made antitank missiles of various sorts.

  
8
  “N. Lebanon man arrested for selling arms to Syrian rebels,”
Daily Star
, Sept. 9, 2013.

  
9
  March 2013 UN Experts report, §180.

10
  Interview with U.S. official in Libya, September 2013.

11
  Interview with Selim Raad, July 9, 2013.

12
  “From Libya to the world: Egypt makes its biggest arms bust ever,”
Russia Today
, May 20, 2012; “Egyptian intercepts Libyan weapons heading for Gaza,”
Libya Herald
, July 1, 2012.

13
  “Iran funding smuggling of Libyan Arms into Sinai—Source,”
Al Sharq al Awsat
, May 9, 2012.

14
  Interviews and email exchanges with John Maguire, October–November 2013. On the Qayed brothers, see Walid Shoebat blog post, “Libya Leaks: More Secret Documents Reveal Obama’s Failure in Libya,” Nov. 3, 2012; Human Rights Watch, “Delivered into Enemy Hands: U.S.-led Abuse and Rendition of Opponents in Qaddafi’s Libya,” 26.

15
  View the photo and other supporting documents at http://kentimmerman.com/darkforces.htm.

16
  Jack Murphy and Brandon Webb,
Benghazi: The Definitive Report
.

17
  U.S. Department of Treasury, “Treasury Targets Key Al-Qa’ida Funding and Support Network Using Iran as a Critical Transit Point,” July 28, 2011.

18
  U.S. Department of State, “Briefing on New Rewards for Justice Reward Offer,” Dec. 22, 2011.

11. OBAMA’S AMBASSADOR

  
1
  Issa and Chaffetz to Obama, 99: “Report of Security Incidents since June 2011” from the Tripoli Embassy Regional Security Office.

  
2
  Adam Entous, Siobhan Gorman, and Margaret Coker, “CIA Takes Heat for Role in Libya,”
Wall Street Journal
, Nov. 1, 2012.

  
3
  Interview with Lieutenant Colonel Andy Wood, Sept. 23, 2013, U.S. Embassy, Tripoli, Press Release, May 21, 2012, http://libya.usembassy.gov/ne_052112.html.

  
4
  Interview, Sept. 23, 2013. Wood went over this in detail in his congressional testimony as well. “General Ham made it very clear to Ambassador Cretz that he could have the SST as long as he needed them,” he told the House Oversight and Governmental Affairs Committee on Oct. 10, 2012. “It was also made clear to Joan Polaschik, who took over as charge d’affaires in between Ambassador Cretz and Ambassador Stevens. He came personally and told her that.” HOGR hearing transcript, 67.

  
5
  Eric Nordstrom, “Security Incidents Since June 2011,” 44. See also Joe Sterling, “In Libya, militias ‘running the show,’ analyst says,” CNN, Sep
t.
13, 2012.

  
6
  Issa and Chaffetz to Obama, 5, citing transcribed interview of Assistant Regional Security Officer David Oliveira, Oct. 9, 2012.

  
7
  Conversation with Representative James Lankford (R-OK-5), Oct. 9, 2013.

  
8
  Email chain between Ambassador Chris Stevens and John Moretti, June 7, 2012, 3:34 AM, Subject: MSD/Tripoli. Cited in
Interim Report
, 8.

  
9
  Douglas Jehl, “C.I.A. Officers Played Role in Sheik Visas,”
New York Times
, July 22, 1993.

10
  Dugald McConnell and Brian Todd, “Egyptian lawmaker met U.S. officials despite affiliation with terrorist group,” CNN, June 23, 2012.

11
  “Shariah Guardians Reviving Islamic Revolution in Libya,”
PressTV
, June 8, 2012. Watch this extraordinary two-minute report at http://kentimmerman.com/darkforces.htm.

12
  Hannah Draper blog, “The Slow Move East.” This particular post, dated June 10, 2012, is titled, “Hello from Sunny Tripoli!,” http://hannahdraper.blogspot.com/2012/06/hello-from-sunny-tripoli.html.

13
  Hannah Draper blog, “Tripoli: the good, the bad, and the sandy,” Aug. 14, 2012, http://hannahdraper.blogspot.com/2012/08/tripoli-good-bad-and-sandy.html.

14
  Eric Schmitt, “C.I.A. Said to Aid in Steering Arms to Syrian Opposition,”
New York Times
, June 21, 2012.

15
  Cited in ibid.

16
  Paul Kane, “CIA Says Pelosi Was Briefed on Use of ‘Enhanced Interrogations,’ ”
Washington Post
, May 7, 2009.

17
  Alfred Cumming, “Statutory procedures Under Which Congress is to be Informed of U.S. intelligence activities, Including Covert Actions,” Congressional Research Service memorandum, Jan. 18, 2006, p. 4.

18
  Interview with former senior CIA operations officer, Oct. 18, 2013.

19
  Michael Gordon and Mark Landler, “Backstage Glimpses of Clinton as Dogged Diplomat, Win or Lose,”
New York Times
, Feb. 2, 2013.

20
  U.S. Embassy Tripoli, 12TRIPOLI 622, June 25, 2012. The June 22 cable has not been released by the State Department and is cited in Issa and Chaffetz to Obama, 5.

12. PRELUDE TO MURDER

  
1
  Hannah Draper blog, “Elections,” July 5, 2012; http://hannahdraper.blogspot.com/2012/07/elections.html.

  
2
  Ben Geman, “Sen. McCain Observes Libyan elections, heralds ‘historic day,’ ”
The Hill
, July 7, 2012. Hannah Draper updated her blog on July 14, 2012, with a brief account of escorting McCain in a post titled, “Lift Your Head High, You’re a Free Libyan,” http://hannahdraper.blogspot.com/2012/07/lift-your-head-high-youre-free-libyan.html.

  
3
  George Grant, “Elections Analysis: So who are they and what do they actually stand for?,”
Libya Herald
, June 30, 2012.

  
4
  Eric Nordstrom, “Security Incidents Since June 2011,” cited in Issa and Chaffetz to Obama.

  
5
  Senator John McCain, “Remarks by Senator John McCain on the Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on the Floor of the U.S. Senate,” Sept. 12, 2012, http://www.mccain.senate.gov//files/04/15/06/f041506/public/index.cfm/floor-statements?ID=bbec5934-ed6b-d64d-7238-c9e72d66778d.

  
6
  Issa and Chaffetz to Obama, 5.

  
7
  “Under current arrangements, Post’s thirty-four U.S. security personnel (16 SST, 11 MSD, 1 WAE TDY, 1 RSO, 2 ARSO, and 3 TDY ARSO) will draw down to twenty-seven security personnel on 7/13. On 8/05, post will reduce U.S. security personnel to 4 MSD trainers, 1 RSO, 2 ARSOs, and 3 TDY ARSOs, with a further reduction to seven U.S. security personnel on 8/13, which includes four MSD trainers not generally supporting transportation security, VIP visits, or RSO programs.” U.S. EMBASSY TRIPOLI, “Tripoli: Request for extension of TDY security personnel,” 12TRIPOLI 690, July 9, 2012. Included in Issa and Chaffetz to Obama.

  
8
  Gregory Hicks, “Benghazi and the Smearing of Chris Stevens,”
Wall Street Journal
, Jan. 22, 2014.

  
9
  Eric Nordstrom, “Security Incidents Since June 2011.”

10
  Oct. 10, 2012, HOGR hearing, 108.

11
  Confidential source interview, October 2013. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Charlene Lamb testified at the Oct. 10, 2012, HOGR hearing that there were seven members of the “rapid reaction force” stationed at the Annex (69). Former Diplomatic Security officer Fred Kaplan wrote in his account,
Under Fire
, that there were ten GRS “shooters” (107). The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence reported there were nine “security officers,” most likely adding Glen Doherty and the GRS colleague who had flown in from Tripoli that night to the seven security personnel mentioned by Charlene Lamb. See U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, “Review of the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya, September 11–12, 2012,” Jan. 15, 2014, 20. Hereafter, Jan. 2014 SSCI report.

12
  Communications with AEI analyst Will Fulton. See Ali Alfoneh, “Iran’s Secret Network: Major General Qassem Suleimani’s Inner Circle,” American Enterprise Institute, March 3, 2011; and Will Fulton, “The IRGC Command Network: Formal Structures and Informal Influence,” American Enterprise Institute, July 18, 2013.

13
  “Libya militia interrogates Iran Red Crescent team,” Agence France-Presse, Aug. 1, 2012.

14
  Sergeant Morgan Jones and Damien Lewis,
Embassy House
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 2013), Kindle edition. Davies wrote his account under a pseudonym. Simon & Schuster withdrew the book in November 2013, less than one month after publication, after allegations that Davies had exaggerated his own role on the night of the attack.

15
  For photos and more, visit the Online Reader’s Guide, http://kentimmerman.com/darkforces.htm.

16
  Edward Klein,
The Amateur
(Washington, DC: Regnery, 2012), 85–86.

17
  Helene Cooper and Mark Landlert, “U.S. Officials Say Iran Has Agreed to Nuclear Talks,”
New York Times
, Oct. 21, 2012. This followed several stories by former CIA undercover agent Reza Kahlili, author of
A Time to Betray
, at WND.com.

18
  Reza Kahlili, “October Surprise? Obama Secret Iran Deal Cut,” Oct. 4, 2012.

19
  Source interview, May 23, 2013.

20
  U.S. Embassy Tripoli, “Request to Add LES Ambassador Protective Detail Bodyguard Positions in US Embassy Tripoli,” Aug. 2, 2012 (12 Tripoli 944). Included in the appendix of the Oct. 10, 2012, HOGR hearing transcript, 115–116.

21
  U.S. Embassy Tripoli, “The Guns of August: Security in Eastern Libya,” Aug. 8, 2012 (12 Tripoli 952), included in Issa and Chaffetz to Obama, 37–38.

22
  Interview with Lieutenant Colonel Andy Wood, Sept. 23, 2013. The attempted car-jacking was mentioned briefly in both the Oct. 10, 2012, and the May 8, 2013, HOGR hearings.

23
  Library of Congress, “Al Qaeda in Libya: A Profile,” 1.

24
  Susan Katz Keating and Richard Miniter, “Intelligence Warnings on Benghazi Were Loud And Clear,”
Investor’s Business Daily
, Nov. 12, 2013.

25
  “Decision
In Re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, 03 MDL 1570 (GBD)
,” December 2011, § 116; http://www.law.com/jsp/decision.jsp?id=1202536770916. The case is better known as
Havlish et al v. Islamic Republic of Iran et al
. More documents from the case are available at http://iran911case.com/http://iran911case.com. My affidavit laying out thirty years of Iran’s support for Sunni Muslim terrorist groups was presented to the court as part of the plaintiff’s evidence, http://information.iran911case.com/Exhibit_2.pdf.

26
  Bill Roggio, “US targets al Qaeda operatives with links to Iran, Pakistan,”
Long War Journal
, June 6, 2008; Kenneth R. Timmerman, “U.S. Treasury: Al-Qaida Worked Closely With Iran,”
Newsmax Media
, January 19, 2009; Joby Warrick, “US accuses Iran of aiding al Qaeda,”
Washington Post
, July 28, 2011.

27
  Muaad al-Maqtari, “Saudi Arabia Accuses Iran of Supporting Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen,”
Yemen Times
, April 30, 2012.

28
  One of my sources provided pictures of this training from the Quds Force academy that I published in
Countdown to Crisis: The Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran
(New York: Crown Forum, 2005), http://kentimmerman.com/countdown.htm.

29
  Communication with source, Nov. 19, 2013. Khalil Harb was eventually blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department in August 2013, although not in connection with the Benghazi attacks. See Department of Treasury, “Treasury Sanctions Hizballah Leadership,” Aug. 22, 2013, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl2147.aspx.

30
  “Erdog˘an now kissed his forehead,”
Gercek Gundem
, Aug. 26, 2012, http://arsiv.gercekgundem.com/?p=484567.

31
  Yazan al-Saadfi, “U.S. Mercenary ‘Took Part’ in Qaddafi Killing; Sent to Assist Syrian opposition,”
Al Akhbar
, March 19, 2012.

32
  Mariam Karouny, “Exclusive—Libyan fighters join Syrian revolt against Assad,” Reuters, Aug. 14, 2012. For a more detailed profile of al-Harati, see Mary Fitzgerald, “The Syrian Rebels’ Libyan Weapon,”
Foreign Policy
, Aug. 9, 2012.

33
  Online Reader’s Guide Extra, http://kentimmerman.com/darkforces.htm.

34
  Obaida Elwani Facebook post, Aug. 7, 2012. Online Reader’s Guide Extra.

35
  C. J. Chivers, “In Syria, Potential Threat to Government Air Power Emerges,”
New York Times
, “At War” blog, Aug. 7, 2012. See also Richard Engel, “Turning point? Syrian rebels obtain missiles,”
NBC Nightly News
, July 31, 2012.

36
  C. J. Chivers, Eric Schmitt, and Mark Mazzetti, “In Turnabout, Syria Rebels Get Libyan Weapons,”
New York Times
, June 21, 2013. At the time he made these comments to a
New York Times
reporter, Buktatef had just been named Libyan ambassador to Uganda. He was still commander of the 17th February Brigade at the time of the Benghazi attacks.

37
  ArmyRecognition.com, Oct. 6, 2012, http://www.armyrecognition.com/syrian_syria_conflict_revolution/figting_continues_in_several_cities_in_syria_as_rebels_allegedly_downed_syrian_warplane_0610122.html.

38
  Jones and Lewis,
Embassy House
, chapters 6–7.

39
  House Armed Services Committee, “DOD Force Posture in Anticipation of September 11, 2012,” Transcript of Testimony by General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Oct. 10, 2013, Top Secret (redacted), 14.