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News Desk: Intel Official Says Benghazi Raid a “Terrorist Attack,” But Unplanned

By on September 19, 2012

IN SENATE testimony today, Matthew Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, verified what U.S. Ambassador said on the Sunday talk shows, that there is no evidence the Benghazi raid was pre-planned.

From The Hill:

“Yes, they were killed in a terrorist attack on our embassy,” said Matthew Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center.

[...] “The best information we have now, the facts that we have now, indicates an opportunistic attack on our embassy,” Olsen said at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on threats and agency responses.

“The attack began and evolved and escalated. It appears that individuals who were certainly well-armed seized on the opportunity presented as the events unfolded.

“What we don’t have at this point is specific intelligence that there was a significant advanced planning or coordination for this attack. We’re still looking for any indications of substantial advanced planning. We just haven’t seen that at this point.”

It’s hard to believe this is where it ends.

I remain skeptical. The consequences of saying it might have been pre-planned, with people then jumping to the conclusion that people in the consulate didn’t take precautions, or Secy. Clinton and the State Department ignored warnings, would be turned toward President Obama, quickly turning a tragedy into, as Romney would say, an “opportunity.”

About Taylor Marsh

Veteran political analyst and author. Former Miss Missouri, Broadway performer, & relationship consultant at the LA Weekly, which began a decade-long romp in the trenches of dating, women and men, mating and sex.
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6 Responses to News Desk: Intel Official Says Benghazi Raid a “Terrorist Attack,” But Unplanned

  1. cjoblak@hotmail.com September 19, 2012 at 4:07 pm #

    Hey, and I’ve got some ocean front property in Western Kansas for sale, Obama? Rice? any takers?

  2. mjsmith September 19, 2012 at 4:20 pm #

    I think if they keep trying, they’ll get it right. It is pretty claer that this administration has absolutely no idea what is going on in Western Asia and no clear leadership.

  3. cjoblak@hotmail.com September 19, 2012 at 4:39 pm #

    or as Bomb Emanuel would say – don’t let a good crisis go to waste.

  4. Cujo359 September 19, 2012 at 5:02 pm #

    start quote:

    “What we don’t have at this point is specific intelligence that there was a significant advanced planning or coordination for this attack. We’re still looking for any indications of substantial advanced planning. We just haven’t seen that at this point.”

    end quote

    Emphasis on possible weasel wording is mine, of course. I suspect that Al Qaeda don’t take minutes in their meetings, so these indications will probably never appear.

    • mjsmith September 20, 2012 at 8:48 am #

      Here are the specifics – 1. The first anniversary of 9/11 since obl was killed.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Report: Ambassador Chris Stevens Said He was On Al Qaeda Hit List | FavStocks - September 22, 2012

    [...] TESTIMONY in front of the Senate yesterday by director of the National Counterterrorism Center Matthew Olsen, who was the first to state the Benghazi raid was a terrorist attack, questions continue to linger [...]