Posted on 09/30/2012 11:38:16 AM PDT by kristinn
On the eve of his death, U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was ebullient as he returned for the first time in his new role to Benghazi, the eastern Libyan city that embraced him as a savior during last year’s civil war. He moved around the coastal town in an armored vehicle and held a marathon of meetings, his handful of bodyguards trailing discreetly behind.
But as Stevens met with Benghazi civic leaders, U.S. officials appear to have underestimated the threat facing both the ambassador and other Americans. They had not reinforced the U.S. diplomatic outpost there to meet strict safety standards for government buildings overseas. Nor had they posted a U.S. Marine detachment, as at other diplomatic sites in high-threat regions.
A U.S. military team assigned to establish security at the new embassy in Tripoli, in a previously undisclosed detail, was never instructed to fortify the temporary hub in the east. Instead, a small local guard force was hired by a British private security firm as part of a contract worth less than half of what it costs to deploy a single U.S. service member in a war zone for a year.
The two U.S. compounds where Stevens and three other Americans were killed in a sustained, brutal attack the night of Sept. 11, proved to be strikingly vulnerable targets in an era of barricaded embassies and multibillion-dollar security contracts for U.S. diplomatic facilities in conflict zones, according to interviews with U.S. and Libyan officials and eyewitnesses in recent days.
Cautioned to be low-key
Days before the ambassador arrived from the embassy in Tripoli, a Libyan security official had warned an American diplomat that foreigners should keep a low profile in Benghazi because of growing threats. Other Westerners had fled the city, and the British had closed their consulate.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
duh, the dust ain’t even settled from the civil war
This was not about “lax”. This was a Commandante Zero kidnapping that went awry. The thugs were supposed to come in and “kidnap” our ambassador, in a mini redux of Tehran 1979. Then Zero would have “negotiated Steven’s release”. Instead, other, bigger thugs got in on the action and raped and killed him.
LAX? Personally I think it was done on purpose because this administration doesn't give a bleep. Secondly, Stevens was gay - he should have had triple protection on a daily basis.
“Security wasn’t lax. Security was nonexistent. Ambassador Stevens and three others are dead as the result. The buck stops with SecState Hillary(!) and POTUS.”
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Roger That.
Article from 2011. I am wondering what others think? Could there be a connection? http://www.thenation.com/blog/161552/presidents-libya-war-undeclared-unconstitutional-unnecessary
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