It is remarkable how laser focused people tend to be around Libya and Hillary Clinton. The focus is almost exclusively on the Benghazi attack which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.
The Benghazi attack which occurred on Sept 11, 2012, was a symptom of foreign policy failure; the actual cause of the policy failure happened a full year-and-a-half earlier in February 2011.
Part 1 – The Origin of the Libyan Crisis
Part 2 – The White House Tries To Catch Up

Part 3 – R2P Gives Cover To al-Qaeda’s Rise

It is ironic to see press reports today “The U.S. government is trying to apprehend an al Qaeda terrorist wanted for his role in the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack that killed four Americans”. The irony is the terrorist we now seek, Muhammad Jamal, was released from Egyptian prison specifically because of the U.S. policy outlined in PART 1.
We digress.
In Part 1 we outlined the reality of President Obama remaining detached as the Libyan crisis began. In Part 2 we outlined the mistakes that were specifically a consequence of that disengagement strategy; including the failure to vet “the rebels”.
Today we’ll review the consequences of the March, April, May, June 2011 rush to catch up.
Senior foreign policy advisor Samantha Power exerted a strong influence during the response to a Libyan uprising. She was soon joined by then Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice. Together they convinced Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to approach the Libyan rebels as “freedom fighters”.

While this was happening between the White House in D.C., and the U.N. in New York, Kaddaffi had regained his footing from an initial successful uprising and was asserting his military might toward attacking the “rebels”. He really had no fallback position once the International Criminal Court filed charges of War Crimes against him and publicly stated they fully intended to arrest him and his family.
In essence Kaddaffi had nothing to lose by fighting as no seat at a table of cease fire possibility was afforded. So Kaddaffi began to deploy his air force to attack the Benghazi rebels, as his ground troops moved in toward their positions.
If no-one intervened on behalf of the “rebels”, it was only a matter of time before Kaddaffi regained control. (more…)

Twelve hours after President Obama announces a John Kerry brokered deal with Iran the international community responds.

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(Via Pam Geller) It is astounding. Consider how monumental the blunders of the jihadi stooge in the White House for an alliance of such divergent powers to align. Nothing happens for decades, then decades happen in a day.
Israel is working with the Saudis and  France is considering the option of aligning with the Middle East powers – Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt – which challenge President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry’s race for détente with Tehran.

Report: “Israel and Saudi Arabia will work together in case of an Iran attack” Jerusalem Online, November 17, 2013 (thanks to Zeidi);

Mossad agents met with senior level Saudi officials to formulate a joint attack on Iran, in case the talks between the world powers and Iran fail, the Sunday Times reported. “The Saudis are decisive in confronting Iran and the Israelis are ready to provide the help they need,” a senior level official told the newspaper. (more…)

John Kerry says that “President Obama has prosecuted al-Qaeda with unprecedented intensity”.   I swear; he did, he said that – we have video to prove.
Yet, al Nusra Front (aka al-Qaeda in Syria) are now considered on “our team”, and Kerry says they are the “best fighters”.   In Afghanistan, at Obama’s behest, we are now negotiating with Taliban (aka. al-Qaeda in Afghanistan).  And lest we forget Benghazi, Libya, and our dead Ambassador, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans, where not a single al-Qaeda terrorist has been held to account.
…. President Obama is prosecuting al-Qaeda?   Uh-huh.   And Chris Christie is “Conservative”.   Gotcha.

(more…)

Via Weasel Zippers – who shares: So knowing she’s a liar, knowing that she’s in bed with the “rebels”, that she put out conflicting accounts, that she whitewashed the “rebels” into a more “moderate” force, this woman is worthy, according to John McCain, of being hired to his staff.   This is so unbelievable, it makes one think that there is some greater personal underlying reason operating here.

WASHINGTON DC – Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain hired the Syria analyst in favor of U.S. intervention who was fired for fabricating her Ph.D., Foreign Policy reported.
Elizabeth O’Bagy, formerly of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), will start Monday as a legislative assistant in Sen. McCain’s office.
McCain told Foreign Policy that “Elizabeth is a talented researcher, and I have been very impressed by her knowledge and analysis in multiple briefings over the last year.” The senator’s office said they would not make any further comment on O’Bagy’s employment. (more…)

(UK Independent)  While the Assad regime in Damascus has denied responsibility for the sarin gas missiles that killed around 1,400 Syrians in the suburb of Ghouta on 21 August, information is now circulating in the city that Russia’s new “evidence” about the attack includes the dates of export of the specific rockets used and – more importantly – the countries to which they were originally sold.
They were apparently manufactured in the Soviet Union in 1967 and sold by Moscow to three Arab countries, Yemen, Egypt and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya. These details cannot be verified in documents, and Vladimir Putin has not revealed the reasons why he told Barack Obama that he knows Assad’s army did not fire the sarin missiles; but if the information is correct – and it is believed to have come from Moscow – Russia did not sell this particular batch of chemical munitions to Syria. (more…)

It’s another version of the “depends on what your definition of ‘is’, is”….

I’m still betting the decisions ultimately came from Denis McDonough and Tom Donilon during those critical hours….   both Obama and Biden were indisposed.

Washington DC – On Thursday, while denying that a “stand-down order” was given to Special Forces members ready to help Americans who were under siege at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last September, one of the heads of the Benghazi Accountability Review Board (ARB) admitted that a “hold in place” order was in fact given.
Testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Admiral Mike Mullen said that the direction given to Special Operations Command Africa commander Lt. Col Gibson was to “hold in place” on the night of the attacks.
Gibson is the boss of Gregory Hicks, the former deputy chief of mission in Libya who had testified that a “stand down” order was given to Special Forces who wanted to help Americans who were under assault in Libya.  (continue reading)

UNITED NATIONS — Careful not to blame either side for a deadly chemical weapon attack, U.N. inspectors reported Monday that rockets loaded with the nerve agent sarin had been fired from an area where Syria’s military has bases, but said the evidence could have been manipulated in the rebel-controlled stricken neighborhoods.
The U.S., Britain and France jumped on evidence in the report – especially the type of rockets, the composition of the sarin agent, and trajectory of the missiles – to declare that President Bashar Assad’s government was responsible.
Russia, Syria’s closest ally, called the investigators’ findings “deeply disturbing,” but said it was too early to draw conclusions. The Syrian government’s claims that opposition forces were responsible for the attack “cannot be simply shrugged off,” Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin insisted. (more…)

Something really odd just came on the radar.    Let me begin by saying it’s probably nothing, just a mere coincidence – but odd nonetheless.
2 years ago a local library finished upgrading to computer based reference material.   As a shot in the dark I called and asked if I could buy all the reference cards, along with the wonderful little wooden 3×5 drawers they were all in.  They said yes, and so I did.
I use the blank back of the alphabetized cards to jot down new reference material.   Names in the news, countries, events, places, etc
As I was putting one back from research into the La Belle nightclub bombing, something struck me as oddly connected.   An hour later and I find myself sitting at a desk looking at 20 to 30 reference cards that all seem to associate.    Again, it’s probably nothing, but…. (more…)

Riddle Me This:

If the Syrian “Rebels” are not *TERRORISTS* then why does President Obama need to provide a Terrorist Waiver for the ‘Armed Control Export Act’ to provide them weapons?

WASHINGTON DC – President Obama waived a provision of federal law designed to prevent the supply of arms to terrorist groups to clear the way for the U.S. to provide military assistance to “vetted” opposition groups fighting Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.
Some elements of the Syrian opposition are associated with radical Islamic terrorist groups, including al Qaeda, which was responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., in 2001. Assad’s regime is backed by Iran and Hezbollah. (more…)