As we have outlined (with considerable criticism) over the past year, the only substantive inquiry into the Benghazi scandal will have to be held in non-public settings. When you dig into the substance, and avoid the political aspects, everything that matters regarding the Benghazi fiasco is covered under U.S. national security protections.

There is little of value available to discuss in public hearings. If you understand the Benghazi Brief you understand why.

The CIA and the State Department were conducting a joint covert operation labeled “Zero Footprint” in Libya. That operation was expanded into Syria after Panetta left the CIA. The congressional intelligence oversight known as the Gang of Eight were fully briefed.

Hence, if House Select Committee Chair Trey Gowdy wants to discuss email use, or communication methods therein, during the tenure of Clinton and Panetta, around Operation Zero Footprint, Gowdy has to make those inquiries in private.

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House select committee investigating the Benghazi attacks asked Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday to appear for a private interview about her exclusive use of a personal email account when she was secretary of state.

“The committee believes a transcribed interview would best protect Secretary Clinton’s privacy, the security of the information queried, and the public’s interest in ensuring this committee has all information needed to accomplish the task set before it,” the chairman, Trey Gowdy, Republican of South Carolina, said in a letter sent Tuesday morning. (more…)

Hillary Clinton said the construct of her secret communication network was specifically because she only wanted to carry one device – obviously she lied right out of the gate.

The Associated Press has gained a total of FOUR emails from a FOIA request regarding correspondence between Hillary Clinton and her personal aide Huma Abedin search term “drone strikes”.

The emails show the Clinton led U.S. State Department focused an inordinate amount of time and energy discussing articles written by the media. It would appear at least a substantive portion of time in/around the State Dept was spent reviewing what reporters were writing about U.S. foreign policy outcomes.

One of the emails (Sept 18th 2011 – last in the pdf below) shows Hillary answering a question about floral arrangements amid a chain email discussing Pakistan’s efforts to battle the Taliban. Ms. Abedin responds curiously. (more…)

Al Nusra is a front for, and has openly aligned with, al-Qaeda in Syria – which is essentially ISIS.

It is not a secret that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has tried to deliver the maximum benefit to ISIS (in Northern Syria) in direct opposition to the Kurds who are trying to formulate their own independent nation of Kurdistan. Erdogan views Kurdistan as a proxy for Irans’ growing sphere of influence.

Erdogan opposes Iran for many ideological reasons, but arguably most of all because he sees Iran’s growing influence as a threat to his own political ambitions to lead a new Ottoman Empire.

In my opinion Erdogan views his envisioned construct as most possible with a constituency of: ISIS, The Muslim Brotherhood, Al Nusra (al-Qaeda) and various other segments of Sunni Islam including the Palestinian Authority, vis-à-vis Hamas. Erdogan, like Obama, has more grand aspirations than his own territory – all of his prior behavior aligns with this perspective.

So it comes as no surprise to see Turkey’s Erdogan take the opportunity provided by the distractions of both Yemen and Iraq, to act against one of Iran’s benefactors in Syria, namely Assad. (more…)

It is interesting, and not incidental, to see CNNi (CNN International) lead the shift in leftist talking points about Egyptian President Fattah el-Sisi by focusing on their collectivist opinion that el-Sisi is “a hardliner”.

However, actions -what CNN would like to avoid- of Sisi speak louder than the CNN words. Sisi has shown over the past two years his willingness to insure minority protections within Egypt yet he has simultaneously taken a zero tolerance position toward Islamic extremism.

The Muslim Brotherhood, as a political construct, is the extremist bane of all mid-East moderates. The Muslim Brotherhood is essentially the larger construct within ISIS; and yet the Muslim Brotherhood is discussed on leftist news media as if they are not a terrorist entity.

Because of the frequency and scope of this specific media narrative it simply cannot be coincidental; someone is driving this false narrative.

CAIRO (AP) – Arab League member nations formally announced on Sunday an agreement to form a joint military force. While details of how such a force would actually operate remain thin, the agreement is a telling sign of a new determination among Saudi Arabia, Egypt and their allies to intervene aggressively in regional hotspots, whether against Islamic militants or Iran-backed groups.

(more…)

Very interesting article by Monica Crowley in the Washington Times pondering over the communications and non-official relationship between Hillary Clinton and Sidney Blumenthal. Blumenthal said to be in direct contact with various foreign governments and agencies to backchannel information to Hillary around official U.S. oversight.

Against the backdrop of what we researched -evidenced within The Benghazi Brief– the secret intelligence communication motive does make a lot of sense.

WASHINGTON TIMES – We all know that the only reason you would deliberately and premeditatedly set up a private email address and server is to have total control over your communications — to keep people away from those communications and to retain the ability to edit and delete your content.

In Hillary Clinton’s case, given her long history of concealment and duplicity, total control was the system’s purpose, not to keep track of Chelsea’s bridal gift registry.

A story originally reported in 2013 (and little-noticed at the time) may offer a deeper dimension to the reasons she wanted this control — and it leaves us with many new, unanswered questions. (more…)

The White House says they have respect for Islamic religious fatwa’s, yet the same White House is suing several Christian organizations who don’t comply with the various constructs of the Obama decrees.  Think about that for a moment.

I saved this picture from an Egyptian news outlet because the look on Jordan’s King Abdullah is priceless….

(Via New York Times) The United States has “great respect for the religious importance of a fatwa,” Mr. Kerry told reporters during a visit to Egypt on Saturday, alluding to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s much publicized edict against the development of nuclear weapons. But negotiators, Mr. Kerry said, needed an agreement that would “guarantee that Iran’s program will be peaceful now and peaceful forever.”

In congressional testimony last week, Mr. Kerry acknowledged what 47 Republicans wrote in a letter to the Iranian leadership last week — that any “executive agreement” like this one, made without a vote in Congress, would not be legally binding on future presidents. But neither are other “executive agreements,” including the diplomatic opening to China and the accord that rid Syria of many of its chemical weapons. The White House and Mr. Kerry argue that any future president is highly unlikely to rescind the accord, particularly if Iran is complying with its terms.  (read more)

We have shared Jon McNaughton’s work before and his latest is right on target.

Interactive version HERE and Video Below (more…)

Few media outlets understand the scope of the Islamic alignment forces currently battling for control in Libya; even fewer try to report on them. A recent alarming report is now confirmed.

A man named Abdelhakim Belhadj has taken the position as head of ISIS in Libya. Abdelhakim Belhadj was critical in forming “Libya Dawn”, essentially a group of Islamic militia forces (LIFG or Libyan Islamic Fighting Groups) who fought under various banners such as Ansar al-Sharia (al-Qaeda in Libya) and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Left to Right – CT Senator Richard Bumenthal, ISIS Commander Abdelhakim Belhadj, AZ Senator John McCain, SC Senator Lindsey Graham

However, Abdelhakim Belhadj was also supported by the U.S. and more specifically Senator’s Graham and McCain in the lead up to the current crisis which no-one will call a civil war because of political fear – yet that is exactly what exists. Abdelhakim Belhadj taking the position as head of ISIS in Libya now all but guarantees Libya will be an Islamist Militant State.

[Via Counter Jihad] … Major news out of Libya as the former head of the Al Qaeda-linked Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, and a major player in the U.S.-backed overthrow of Mummar Gaddafi, has reportedly joined the Islamic State and is leading its forces there. This according to The Blaze National Security journalist Sara Carter on twitter, and Fox News’ Catherine Herridge in a Fox News report.

(more…)

The “Benghazi Brief” remains the most controversial research report we have ever produced.  The brief contains over two years of research and hundreds of very specific citations supporting it.

The Brief has also been challenged and with extensive vetting factually withstood all scrutiny.  The report, while exhaustive in detail, remains the strongest summary of events surrounding the two years leading up to the Benghazi Libya attack on 9/11/12.

We have repeatedly stated The Benghazi Brief, and ALL of the cited information contained therein, is available for use by anyone who has a goal of communicating the truth surrounding the controversial events.

We presented the brief so that a larger understanding, a factual understanding, is possible. It can be used in part or in whole, or edited for use by any party. Anyone can do whatever they want with the detailed information provided. Our only request continues to be that the truth contained within it be maintained.

With that, a group of people committed to sharing the actual truth, and answering some of the more ridiculous conspiracy claims, have put the brief into a Power Point presentation so that it can be communicated to an audience during a speech or delivery.

The Power Point version is AVAILABLE HERE

The brief itself is available below in it’s entirety.

God Bless.

(more…)

Annoying does not seem to adequately identify the frustration projected toward the U.S. media anymore. “Willfully Blind” seemingly seems entirely more appropriate.

Back in 2011 when Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, Samantha Power and eventually President Obama, engaged in a decision to strike militarily against Gaddaffi in support of Libyan opposition forces (later determined to be al-Qaeda), Jeh Johnson was part of President Obama’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) as Johnson represented the chief legal counsel to the Pentagon.

A little known fact about that controversial time is that Jeh Johnson, the legal counsel, told President Obama his military action was illegal. Yes, Jeh Johnson as part of the OLC told Obama the executive office lacked legal authority to strike militarily against Libya because the Libyan uprising posed no direct threat to the United States, and President Obama had not requested congressional authority.

This was in June of 2011, this was even reported in the NEW YORK TIMES:

WASHINGTON — President Obama rejected the views of top lawyers at the Pentagon and the Justice Department when he decided that he had the legal authority to continue American military participation in the air war in Libya without Congressional authorization, according to officials familiar with internal administration deliberations.  

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