How Did U.S. Ambassador Stevens Die During The Attack In Benghazi

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pause as the national anthem is played during the dignified transfer ceremony for the U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens, Foreign Service officer Sean Smith, and security officers Tyrone S. Woods and Glen A. Doherty on Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sept. 14, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Officials Instructed Benghazi Hospital To List Stevens As "John Doe" -- CBS

U.S. officials gave instructions for Benghazi Medical Center to use a "John Doe" pseudonym on the death certificate of Ambassador Christopher Stevens after he died of asphyxiation in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya. That's according to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity because the official isn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The reason for the pseudonym, says the official, was to avoid drawing undue attention to the importance of the victim as Americans rushed to figure out how to recover Stevens' body and return it to the U.S.

The official provided the most complete accounting yet of Stevens' whereabouts and passing in the eight and a half months since his death.

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My Comment: Kudos to Sharyl Attkisson for uncovering even more facts of this attack. I find it amazing that even 8 months after the attack .... key information is still classified.

FBI Seeks Help In Capturing Benghazi Suspects

US Seeks Help In Capturing Benghazi Suspects -- Al Jazeera

Libyan armed groups' cooperation sought as FBI looks for five men suspected of taking part in deadly consulate raid.

The US has appealed to armed groups in Libya for help in capturing five people suspected of taking part in last year's deadly attack on its consulate in Benghazi.

The men were identified by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation this week, eight months after the incident that killed four Americans in the eastern Libyan city.

The FBI earlier this month released photos of the suspects captured by security cameras during the September 11, 2012, attack. Among the victims was Christopher Stevens, the US ambassador, who died from smoke inhalation.

The FBI is now trying to locate the men, Al Jazeera reports exclusively.

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More News On The Benghazi Investigation

FBI identifies 5 suspects in Benghazi attack, but no arrests yet -- AP
U.S. probe of Benghazi attack focused on more than five suspects -- Reuters
Officials say Benghazi suspects under surveillance -- Washington Examiner
Why is Obama hesitating to arrest the Benghazi suspects? -- The Week
Sources challenge White House claim of all-hands-on-deck pursuit of Benghazi suspects -- FOX News
Five Benghazi Suspects Identified - So What Next? -- CBN

How Did The Benghazi Attackers Learn About The Secret CIA Annex After They Had Attacked The U.S. Consulate

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

The location of the U.S. ‘consulate’ and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya. Business Insider

Who Outed The CIA Annex In Benghazi? -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast

In a classified hearing, a House panel is trying to figure out how the attack transpired. Did the attackers know that secret location, or did they learn it that night? By Eli Lake.

More than eight months after the 9/11 anniversary attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, the CIA is still trying to find out how the attack that killed two former Navy SEALs at the agency’s annex transpired.

The attack on the CIA base came more than seven hours after an armed mob stormed the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, setting the compound ablaze and killing U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and Sean Smith, a State Department communications officer who was with him.

On Wednesday, Deputy CIA Director Mike Morell—along with CIA officers who were at the agency’s Benghazi base on the night of the attack—testified at a classified hearing before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. In the closed hearing, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the proceedings, Morell was asked by Republican members about how the second wave of attackers knew to go to the CIA annex, which was a mile away from the diplomatic mission. Morell responded that at this point the CIA did not know whether the attackers had known the location of the annex or learned about it on the evening of the attack, according to these sources.

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My Comment: I concur with these concerns .... how the attackers knew about what was supposed to be a secret CIA facility is important .... because other CIA facilities may now be compromised.

U.S. Senators List Their Unanswered Questions On Benghazi

Senators: 'What We Do Not Know' About Benghazi -- Weekly Standard

Three U.S. senators have identified the missing parts of the response to the Benghazi terror attack. In a statement, Senators Kelly Ayotte, Lindsey Graham, and John McCain list "What We Do Not Know" about Benghazi:

· We do not know whether the President was made aware of the classified cable that, according to published media reports, Ambassador Chris Stevens sent in August 2012, stating that the U.S. Mission in Benghazi could not survive a sustained assault from one or more of the threatening militia groups that were operating in eastern Libya.

· We do not know whether the President’s national security staff made him aware of the attacks on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi that occurred in April and June of last year and the assassination attempt on the British Ambassador in Benghazi around the same time.

· If the President was informed, we do not know what actions, if any, he ordered.

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My Comment: Regular readers of this blog know that I have been following the Benghazi story since the beginning. According to my records, I have posted over 200 updates on this story .... and I have still have not had any answers on any of my key questions .... questions that even US senators have been denied to. Why is the administration acting like this .... when many Americans are demanding answers .... is beyond me. So the next question that I must ask is the following .... what the hell are they hiding to make them act like this? .... and will we ever find out?

Update #1: The Benghazi investigations continue.

Update #2: Is this the next Benghazi scandal? (I have posted on this Benghazi theory before .... and while I am skeptical I am surprised that even left wing publications like Slate are starting to wonder if it is true or not).

Why Is The U.S. Government Not Going After The Five Suspects Responsible For The Benghazi Attack?

U.S. Probe Of Benghazi Attack Focused On More Than Five Suspects -- Reuters

(Reuters) - An investigation of the attacks on the American diplomatic mission and nearby annex in Benghazi, Libya, last year is looking at more than five potential suspects, a U.S. national security source said on Wednesday.

The source would not identify the suspects who have come to the attention of the FBI, which is investigating the September 11, 2012, attacks that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell declined to comment on specifics of the investigation, but said: "There's no one more than the State Department family that wants to see justice served for these heinous crimes."

A Justice Department spokesman would not comment because "our investigation is ongoing."

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More News On The Suspects Responsible For The Benghazi Attack

U.S. identifies some involved in Benghazi attack, lawmaker says -- CNN
5 Benghazi suspect are identified, but not yet arrested -- nj.com
FBI zeroes in on Benghazi attack suspects, lacks evidence for civilian prosecution -- RT
Officials say Benghazi suspects under surveillance -- Salon/AP
Five Benghazi Suspects Identified - So What Next? -- CBN
Because Of Ideology, Benghazi Terrorists Remain Free -- IBD Editorial
Why is Obama hesitating to arrest the Benghazi suspects? -- Harold Maass, The Week
Benghazi Suspects ID’d, But Administration Won’t Nab Them Because It Doesn’t Want to Send Them to Gitmo -- Bridget Johnson, PJ Media

Why Was The U.S. Military Not Prepared For An Event Like Benghazi?

A man walks inside the U.S. consulate, which was attacked and set on fire by gunmen yesterday, in Benghazi September 12, 2012. REUTERS/Esam Al-Fetori

Lawmakers Dig Into Life-And-Death Issues Of Benghazi -- Byron York

Until now, most press coverage of the Benghazi matter has focused on the administration's misleading talking points explaining the attack on the U.S. facility in Libya. But just beneath the surface is the investigation into a potentially more explosive part of the Benghazi story: Whether the U.S. government did everything it could to save Americans whose lives were at risk in the chaotic hours of Sept. 11, 2012.

There were several hours between the first attack in Benghazi, which killed two Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, and a second attack, which left two more dead. Is there something the U.S. military could have done to rescue those last two and others who were badly wounded?

On Tuesday members of the House Armed Services Committee will question Pentagon officials in a classified session. The committee chairman, Republican Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., last week told Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel that he remains "deeply concerned" about unanswered Benghazi questions. In a letter to Hagel, McKeon said he wants to know more about:

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My Comment: Byron York raises the same questions that this blog and others have been asking for almost 8 months .... could the US military have done more. What's my take .... I do not have a cartoonist view of the US military being Superman and capable of doing anything and everything .... but I do expect them to be prepared for surprise attacks like what happened at Benghazi. But .... as we now know .... they were clearly not prepared .... and the public needs to know why.

U.S. Military Sources Are Disputing White House Claims That All Efforts Are Being Used To Bring The Benghazi Attackers To Justice

Sources Challenge White House Claim Of All-Hands-On-Deck Pursuit Of Benghazi Suspects -- FOX News

U.S. military sources serving in North Africa are challenging the latest White House claim that the administration is applying "all the resources" at its disposal to bring the Benghazi attackers to justice, charging instead that the Obama administration knows who is responsible but is not acting.

"They have let it slip by because of politics, and now we've taken all the correlation we had and dropped the ball because of risk (aversion) -- and now the security in Libya is more fragile than ever," one U.S. special operator told Fox News. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirms that U.S. forces have tracked the alleged attackers since October but have since lost the trail of some of them, as no one up the chain of command would authorize them to capture or kill the targeted militia members.

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Update: Benghazi suspects: US officials identify 5 men, but don’t have evidence to bring to trial -- Washington Post/AP

My Comment: The Washington Post article reveals the dilemma that the White House now finds itself in. It wants to capture these terror suspects, but it does not have enough legal proof to convict these men in a court of law .... and they certainly have no interest or desire to capture these suspects and then dump them in Guantanamo. Hence .... these men are walking free (for now). As for the U.S. military leaking this information to the press .... it is clear from where I am standing that there is no love lost between the military and the White House.

CIA Benghazi Chief Honored In Secret Ceremony

Exclusive: CIA Honored Benghazi Chief in Secret Ceremony -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast

Part of why the State Department has taken the brunt of the political blame for the Benghazi attack, writes Eli Lake, is that clandestine services by definition have very little public oversight.

At a secret February ceremony at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., the chief of the CIA’s base in Benghazi the night of the 9/11 anniversary attacks there was awarded one of the agency’s highest intelligence medals, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials.

The honor given behind closed doors to “Bob,” the officer who was in charge of the Benghazi intelligence annex and CIA base that was attacked in the early morning of September 12, 2012 and then abandoned for nearly three weeks, illustrates the murky lines of command that preceded the attack, and helped make it a politically volatile issue. While the State Department was responsible for elements of the security for the diplomatic mission at Benghazi, the mission itself was used primarily for intelligence activities and most the U.S. officials there and at the nearby annex were CIA officers who used State Department cover.

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My Comment: Unlike everyone else in Washington .... this unknown CIA section chief and his colleagues jumped into action right away. Hence the recognition and award.

More Benghazi Whistleblowers Preparing To Testify

A protester reacts as the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames during a protest by an armed group said to have been protesting a film being produced in the United States September 11, 2012.(Reuters / Esam Al-Fetori)

PJM EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Diplomats Report New Benghazi Whistleblowers with Info Devastating to Clinton and Obama -- Roger Simon, PJMedia

More whistleblowers will emerge shortly in the escalating Benghazi scandal, according to two former U.S. diplomats who spoke with PJ Media Monday afternoon.

These whistleblowers, colleagues of the former diplomats, are currently securing legal counsel because they work in areas not fully protected by the Whistleblower law.

According to the diplomats, what these whistleblowers will say will be at least as explosive as what we have already learned about the scandal, including details about what really transpired in Benghazi that are potentially devastating to both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

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My Comment: Apparently these "whistle-blowers" have answers to the three questions that I have asked in this blog on numerous occasions. What was Amb. Stevens doing in Benghazi, what was the CIA doing (is it this?), and who ordered US forces to stand-down. If these whistle-blowers are about to go public .... I will definitely be looking forward to their testimony.

No Poets Wanted In The U.S. State Department

Photo: Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Maghreb Region Raymond Maxwell during a visit to Algiers, in a photo taken sometime between November 2-5, 2011.
/ U.S. Embassy Algiers

Benghazi-Disciplined Diplomat A Prolific Poet -- CBS News

Raymond Maxwell -- one of the four State Department officials disciplined over security lapses that led to the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, last year -- is also a prolific poet. And he's been publishing provocative verses since he was put on administrative leave December 18.

Some of the poetry represents scathing commentary on the post-Benghazi fallout and implies that he feels like he's been made a scapegoat. In "Trapped in a purgatory of their own deceit," Maxwell writes in part: "The web of lies they weave / gets tighter and tighter / in its deceit / until it bottoms out - / at a very low frequency - / and implodes...Yet all the while, / the more they talk, / the more they lie, / and the deeper down the hole they go... Just wait.../ just wait and feed them the rope."

It's a bold and almost shocking verse from the 20-year foreign-service worker who was the well-respected deputy assistant secretary for Maghreb Affairs in the Near East Bureau and former Chief of Staff to the Ambassador in Baghdad. Fluent in Portuguese, Maxwell is also an ex-Navy "mustanger," which means he leapt from enlisted ranks to commissioned officer.

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Update: State Department official in trouble for Benghazi attack turns out to be a poet -- New York Daily News

My Comment: This is one angry US State Department "poet".

Is Now The Time To Talk About The Secret CIA Operation At The Heart Of The Benghazi Scandal

The location of the U.S. "consulate" and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya. Cryptome

It's Time To Discuss The Secret CIA Operation At The Heart Of The Benghazi Scandal -- Business Insider

In eight months since an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi left four Americans dead, a Republican-led investigation has focused on potential missteps by the White House — and come away with nothing significant.

There has been little attention given, however, to covert actions by the Central Intelligence Agency that were partially uncovered during the September 11, 2012 attack.

That may be changing.

CNN's Jake Tapper argued this week that we should give more scrutiny to the CIA's presence in the Libyan port city.

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My Comment: Rumors of gun running weapons to Syrian rebels to a secret prison responsible for interrogating Al Qaeda militants have made the runs in the past few months .... but no one has come out publicly to talk. In fact .... we know next to nothing on what was happening in Benghazi. But there is one thing that we do know with a certain degree of certainty .... there were more CIA officials and CIA contractors in Benghazi than US State Department personnel.

More Details On Benghazi

Officials On Benghazi: "We Made Mistakes, But Without Malice" -- Sharyl Attkisson, CBS

Obama administration officials who were in key positions on Sept. 11, 2012, acknowledge that a range of mistakes were made the night of the attacks on the U.S. missions in Benghazi, and in messaging to Congress and the public in the aftermath.

The officials spoke to CBS News in a series of interviews and communications under the condition of anonymity so that they could be more frank in their assessments. They do not all agree on the list of mistakes and it's important to note that they universally claim that any errors or missteps did not cost lives and reflect "incompetence rather than malice or cover up." Nonetheless, in the eight months since the attacks, this is the most sweeping and detailed discussion by key players of what might have been done differently.

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My Comment: The CBS guest in the above video is asking the questions that this blog has been asking since Benghazi. Both the video and Sharyl Attkisson's report is a must read/watch.

Are Washington's Scandals Stopping The White House From Issuing Orders To The U.S. Military To Attack Those Responsible For Benghazi?

An armed gunman reacts as the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames September 11, 2012. REUTERS/Esam Al-Fetori

U.S. Options To 'Capture Or Kill' Benghazi Suspects -- CNN

The U.S. military has updated plans to "capture or kill" alleged perpetrators of the deadly terror attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, CNN has learned.

The development comes amid growing pressure on the White House to show progress in the effort to catch those who killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans last September 11.

Officials emphasize that military planning has been underway since the immediate aftermath of the armed assault.

One part of the plan calls for potentially putting U.S. military personnel on the ground inside Libya, if ordered by President Barack Obama.

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My Comment: If true .... this is a blockbuster story. The key lines in this CNN report are the following ....

.... The military has a list of several targets including some inside Benghazi and others in outlying areas. There are specific individuals named who are believed associated with the Benghazi attack as well other militants the United States wants to get. There are also militant camps or stronghold areas on the list that could be attacked.

One military official said the military is well aware that if it is ordered into action now by the White House, it could be viewed as a political move in light of the ongoing controversy over Benghazi. But he noted that initial planning began shortly after the attack last year.

This probably explains why 200 US marines were positioned nearer to Libya this week. In short .... and this is just speculation .... the U.S. military and the CIA already have their targets, but the controversies and scandals in Washington are making the White House nervous on how it would be perceived if the orders for a strike were issued now. Everyone will be screaming "Wag the Dog" .... and they will be right (to a point).

Update: U.S. upgrades Benghazi mission to ‘capture or kill’ -- Washington Times