dagblog - Comments for "'A few words on embassy riots' by 'The Arabist;' he suspects al-Qaeda"

deleted comment that was put

artappraiser — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 15:16:03 +0000

In reply to 'A few words on embassy riots' by 'The Arabist;' he suspects al-Qaeda

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Also see @ Guardian Live

artappraiser — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 15:02:02 +0000

In reply to Libyan militant group 'to be

Also see @ Guardian Live Blog, @ 6hr 20m ago:

Frustration in Benghazi

Many in Benghazi are sceptical about Libyan authorities' willingness to track down those responsible for Tuesday attack on the US consulate, Chris Stephen reports from the city.

In a telephone update he said: [....]

Libyan militant group 'to be

artappraiser — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 14:55:59 +0000

In reply to 'A few words on embassy riots' by 'The Arabist;' he suspects al-Qaeda

Libyan militant group 'to be disbanded'

Ansar al-Sharia, the militant group widely believed to be behind the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, is to be disbanded, "by force if necessary", the Libya Herald reports citing "a reliable source close to prime minister-elect Mustafa Abushagur [....]

Continued @ Guardian Live Blog @ 4 hr 15m ago

Here is the video of that

artappraiser — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 04:14:54 +0000

In reply to Rachel Maddow is talking Al

Here is the video of that Maddow segment:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Rachel Maddow is talking Al

artappraiser — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 01:14:42 +0000

In reply to Yet another view, from a

Rachel Maddow is talking Al Qaeda, too, on her show right now playing as I write, very stridently...

Some things about a piece written by Christopher Stevens available on Wikileaks, Derna being the next Al Qaeda central to replace Afghanistan, the attack being in the vicinity, the avenging of Al-Libi

Sounds like she is buying a lot of stuff in the CNN article directly above...

She is now playing a video from Al Jazeera that lays out the attack on the site, and why it must have been well-planned...

she says the attackers came in four cars with black flags...neighbors say it there was no protest at all...none at all...just an attack...

she says "this is not about that movie, that stupid movie," it is "planned armed international terrorism" like Boko Haram and Al Shabab and Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula, and Ansar Al Din, etc ctc

Yet another view, from a

artappraiser — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 01:05:36 +0000

In reply to 'A few words on embassy riots' by 'The Arabist;' he suspects al-Qaeda

Yet another view, from a former Libyan fighter (so big cavaet) which agrees with Issandr as regards the idea of Al-Libi retribution; besides the one I quote, the article is loaded at the end with a lot more Libyan sources. That does sync because, if you recall, CNN was the first TV coverage in Benghazi during the "revolution" and spent a lot of time there

Pro-al Qaeda group seen behind deadly Benghazi attack
By Nic Robertson, Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister, CNN, September 13, 2012

[....]

Noman Benotman, once a leading member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and now based at the Quilliam Foundation in London told CNN, told CNN, "An attack like this would likely have required preparation. This would not seem to be merely a protest which escalated."

"According to our sources, the attack was the work of roughly 20 militants, prepared for a military assault; it is rare that an RPG7 is present at a peaceful protest," Benotman said.

"According to our sources, the attack against the consulate had two waves. The first attack led to U.S. officials being evacuated from the consulate by Libyan security forces, only for the second wave to be launched against U.S. officials after they were kept in a secure location."

[....]

Benotman, who had earlier warned of the likelihood of renewed attacks against U.S. interest in Libya, said the Omar Abdul Rahman Brigades is a prime suspect in the Benghazi attack Tuesday. He believes it is likely the deadly attack was also linked to a video statement released by al-Zawahiri on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In the video, al-Zawahiri confirmed the death of al-Libi -- a prominent member of the al Qaeda-linked group -- adding: "His blood is calling, urging and inciting you to fight and kill the crusaders."

The video released by the Brigades in June showed nighttime explosions around the consulate, interlaced with footage of Osama bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, along with images from the 9/11 attacks. At the time the Brigades claimed it had launched the attack in response to the first reports of al-Libi's death in a drone strike in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

Notably, the Brigades said the June 5 attack was also timed to coincide with preparations for the arrival of a senior U.S. State Department official.

"The time frame of attacks shows that the group has been following and actively involved in gathering information about the activities of diplomatic missions in the country," Benotman wrote in a June briefing paper on the group.

He adds that it appears the Omar Abdul Rahman Brigades was also responsible for a rocket attack against the convoy of the British ambassador in Benghazi on June 11 and an attack against the Red Cross in Misrata on June 12. [....]

Source: Al Qaeda central not

artappraiser — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 00:48:25 +0000

In reply to 'A few words on embassy riots' by 'The Arabist;' he suspects al-Qaeda

Source: Al Qaeda central not behind Benghazi attack
By Suzanne Kelly, CNN, September 13, 2012

The United States intelligence community does not believe the core of al Qaeda was behind this week's attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, a U.S. intelligence official told CNN Thursday.

The official said the picture is becoming clearer within the intelligence community as to what group or groups were responsible for the attack. Given what officials know about al Qaeda in Libya, U.S. intelligence believes it is very unlikely that core al Qaeda was behind the attack. But the official said the intelligence does not rule out that the attack was perpetrated by al Qaeda sympathizers [....]

On the Ansar a-Sharia Brigade

artappraiser — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 00:28:58 +0000

In reply to 'A few words on embassy riots' by 'The Arabist;' he suspects al-Qaeda

On the Ansar a-Sharia Brigade being blamed for anti-Western violence in Benghazi, from

Inside the US consulate in Benghazi: material and human damage laid bare
By Chris Stephen in Benghazi, guardian.co.uk, 13 September 2012:

[....] Benghazi has suffered from activities blamed on jihadists for several months, and anger is directed equally at the protagonists and at a government seen as unwilling to stand up to them.

Last April, a UN convoy carrying the envoy Ian Martin was bombed in the city, followed by attacks on the Tunisian consulate and the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Jihadists also wrecked a Commonwealth war graves cemetery in the city, and, though it has been repaired, the vandalised stone cross that formed the cenotaph has not been replaced. In June, the British ambassador, Dominic Asquith, narrowly survived when a rocket missed him and hit the armoured car carrying his security detail, two of whom were wounded.

The Islamist Ansar al-Sharia brigade is blamed by many here for the violence, particularly with the appearance of a video that appears to show two US embassy vehicles plundered from the burning compound being driven into the brigade's Benghazi barracks. Brigade leaders have issued a denial of responsibility but were unwilling to talk to journalists on Thursday.

"They [Sharia] have pros and cons," said Saleh el-Fellah, who works in Benghazi's Friendship Cafe. "They were the ones who provided security [in the revolution]. The cons are all the bad things they have been doing. They take everything to extremes, they are ruining the reputation of Islam."

Sadness is everywhere in the city whose proud boast is that it was the cradle of last year's revolution. A Libyan photographer inside the ruined compound came over to offer an unsolicited apology. "We are not all like this," he insisted. "Libyans do not approve of this." [....]