Libya

Last week John Bolton remarked that the end game of the nuclear negotiations with North Korea was to replicate the “Libyan model.” Later, Bolton spelled out that what he meant was that all of North Korea’s nuclear devices should be turned over to us and “stored at Oak Ridge.” President Trump was…

Abu Khatallah, the first person publicly charged in connection with the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, was acquitted of federal murder charges Tuesday after a grueling seven-week trial.

The trial of Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the first person to be publicly charged in connection with the 2012 Benghazi attacks, is becoming mired in discord, as the government and defense appear at odds over explosive intelligence that could put a dent in the government’s portrayal of Khatallah as the…

"I want them to hate him," a federal prosecutor said quietly on the evening of October 2 as his colleagues packed up. It had been a long first day in the trial of Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the man charged with instigating the tragic 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

"I want them to hate him," a federal prosecutor said quietly on the evening of October 2 as his colleagues packed up. It had been a long first day in the trial of Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the man charged with instigating the tragic 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

Abu Khatallah is facing 18 counts related to the 2012 attack in Benghazi, including murder and providing material support to terrorists. His long-awaited trial began Monday in Washington, D.C.

Few Americans noticed, but this past June, Muammar Qaddafi’s longtime spy chief Abdullah Senussi was apparently released from prison in Tripoli, where he had been sentenced to death in July 2015 for decades of officially sanctioned murders of his fellow Libyans. If Senussi was not…

Few Americans noticed, but this past June, Muammar Qaddafi’s longtime spy chief Abdullah Senussi was apparently released from prison in Tripoli, where he had been sentenced to death in July 2015 for decades of officially sanctioned murders of his fellow Libyans. If Senussi was not…

The investigation into the Manchester Arena bombing quickly turned to the possibility that the bomber, 22-year-old Salman Abedi, had accomplices. "I think it's very clear that this is a network that we are investigating," Chief Constable Ian Hopkins of the Manchester Police told reporters on…

Following the release of the House Benghazi Select Committee's report, the wife of one victim of the 2012 terrorist attack has spoken out for the very first time. The widow of Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods did not mince words about Hillary Clinton and the former secretary of state's "dismissive" comments…

The final majority report of the Benghazi Select Committee is set to be released later Tuesday morning. Representatives Jim Jordan and Mike Pompeo have signed onto the official majority document and authored a supplemental, 51-page "additional views" report of their own.

Secretary of State John Kerry took part Monday in a multilateral meeting on the future of Libya, a country perennially riven by war, crime, and terrorism. The nations represented at the meeting gathered to show support for the Government of National Accord currently attempting to establish order in…

Clinton confidante Sidney Blumenthal dismissed the ongoing investigation into Hillary Clinton's role in the attack on the Benghazi consulate in Libya Thursday, calling it a thing of the past.

Twenty-five minutes before the start of Thursday’s hearing of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, Charles Woods stood alone behind the witness table, marveling at the chaos around him. A gaggle of still photographers was rehearsing their movements for the arrival of former Secretary of State…

Trey Gowdy, the Republican chairman of the House's select committee investigating the Benghazi attacks, spent several minutes at Thursday's hearing questioning former secretary of state Hillary Clinton over the unusual advisory relationship she had with an old friend who had business interests iin…

The Republican chairman of the House select committee on the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack told Hillary Clinton that his investigation is "not about" the former secretary of state, despite claims to the contrary from members of Congress in both parties.

Former vice president Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe Wednesday morning to promote their new book, Exceptional. The Cheneys spoke about national security, foreign policy issues like the Iran deal, and 2016 politics.

The State Department released another tranche of emails from Hillary Clinton's private server Monday evening. While messages between Clinton and other State and administration officials concerning the most interesting and consequential subjects (like the Benghazi attacks) were heavily redacted,…

President Obama is putting on the hard sell to market the nuclear deal he reached with Iran. On July 14, in announcing the agreement, he said: “This deal shows the real and meaningful change that American leadership and diplomacy can bring—change that makes our country and the world safer and more…

A little more than three hours after the State Department released 848 pages of Hillary Clinton’s emails, the Daily Beast had seen enough to render its judgment: “Sorry GOP. There’s No Smoking Gun In Hillary Clinton’s Benghazi Emails.” The subhead: “Conspiracy-minded conservatives, be warned: The…

Kentucky senator Rand Paul says the "hawks" in the Republican party helped create and grow the Islamic State terrorist group. Paul, who is running for president, appeared Wednesday morning on MSNBC, where host Joe Scarborough asked him about fellow senator Lindsey Graham's own likely White House…

Hillary Clinton was forwarded an article a month after the terrorist attack on Benghazi that killed U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens that quoted Stevens's father. In the October 14, 2012, Bloomberg article, Jan Stevens, the late ambassador's father, was quoted saying that it would be "abhorrent" to…

America Rising has run the numbers on the newly released Hillary Clinton emails. According to the Republican-aligned firm, Clinton received 24 emails from Sidney Blumenthal. 

A small batch of newly released Hillary Clinton emails show that the then-secretary of state was exchanging sensitive information on her home brew server.

‘Why does the United States fight terror in Syria, Iraq, and Africa but not in Libya?” Idris al Magreibi, 40, a tall, lightly bearded member of Libya’s House of Representatives in Tobruk, was pacing the floor in the offices of the Libyan Mission to the United Nations as he raised the question. He…

Bill de Blasio is trying to insert himself into the foreign policy arena. The New York City mayor, more specifically, has commented on the deaths of refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

Two gunmen entered the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli Tuesday morning. When their shooting rampage was over, at least ten people had been killed. For jihadists in Libya, the hotel was an inviting target. Foreign diplomats, Western tourists and officials from Libya’s rival governments are known to…

Concerned Veterans for America has launched a new video series on the failures of the Obama administration's foreign policy doctrine of "leading from behind." The launch begins with Libya as a case study in what's gone wrong with U.S. foreign relations. Watch the video below:

After a long day on November 13, 2013, Speaker of the House John Boehner walked down the marble hallways of the Longworth House Office Building to the personal office of Representative Devin Nunes for a drink, a cigarette, and maybe a brief reprieve.

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the House Select Committee on Benghazi's hearings, and the status of U.S. policy on combatting ISIS.

A largely overlooked posting on the White House's Twitter account the very day of the assault on the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya in 2012 is a painful symbol of the president's portrayal of the world versus reality. Two hours after word first reached the White House, around the time…

Here's video reportedly of Libyan rebels swimming (and doing a belly-flop) in the U.S. embassy pool in Tripoli:

With lawmakers ratcheting up pressure on Obama to take action in Syria, few in the administration have been paying close attention to Libya, apparently. As Fox News's Jennifer Griffin reported last night on Special Report with Bret Baier, the United States was baffled for days as to who conducted…

A key figure in the security failures surrounding the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya is fighting alongside members of Ansar al Sharia, which is one of the terrorist groups responsible for the assault on the U.S. mission and annex that night.

Reuters is reporting that:

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on the capture of Benghazi suspect Ahmed Abu Khattala, and why his capture wouldn't likely yield many answers.

President Obama’s announcement that U.S. forces will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of 2016 should have been no surprise. As the Washington Post editorial page pointed out, “You can’t fault President Obama for inconsistency. After winning election in 2008, he reduced the U.S. military…

Secretary of State John Kerry, in the United Kingdom for a meeting of the nations of the London 11, spoke to the press at the Foreign Commonwealth Office in London.  While the gathering was principally to address the military conflict and humanitarian crisis in Syria, the secretary commented on the…

A retired military officer serving in the U.S.'s Africa Command headquarters in Germany told the House oversight committee Thursday that it was his belief at the time that the September 11, 2012, attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya was attributable to an Islamic extremist group and…

Two leading Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence say that Michael Morell, then acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency, gave an account of his role on Benghazi that was often misleading and sometimes deliberately false.

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast, with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on his recent feature story on new revelations about Benghazi.

Two leading Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence say that Michael Morell, former deputy director and twice acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency, provided an account of his role on Benghazi that was often highly misleading and at times deliberately false.

For five years, the Obama administration has touted its success in the war against al Qaeda. In formal addresses, daily press briefings, and campaign speeches top administration officials have celebrated the “decimation” of al Qaeda and predicted its imminent extinction.

Months and months ago, when Barack Obama could be bothered to say anything at all about the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012, the president promised to bring the perpetrators to justice. That was before White House spokesman Jay Carney dismissed the attacks as something that…

Less than two weeks ago, on December 28, David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times trumpeted the results of his investigation into the attacks on U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, writing that there was “no evidence that al Qaeda or other international terrorists had any role in the assault.”…

The Washington Post reports that U.S. officials suspect Sufian Ben Qumu, an ex-Guantanamo detainee, “played a role in the attack on the American compound in Benghazi, Libya, and are planning to designate the group he leads as a foreign terrorism organization.” Ben Qumu is based in Derna, Libya and…

During an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, New York Times reporter David Kirkpatrick was asked about the connections between Muhammad Jamal’s network and the Benghazi attack.

Blake Hounshell of Politico takes a look at the latest back and forth over Benghazi sparked by David Kirkpatrick’s 7,000-plus word piece for the New York Times.

Let’s start by giving David Kirkpatrick credit. Kirkpatrick, the Cairo bureau chief of the New York Times and author of this weekend’s much-discussed piece on Benghazi, provides many new on-the-ground, minute-by-minute details of the attacks and the weeks and months leading up to them. Some of the…

David D. Kirkpatrick of the New York Times has published a lengthy account of the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. While much in Kirkpatrick’s report is not new, the piece is receiving a considerable amount of attention because of this sweeping conclusion: “Months of…

The State Department is warning Americans not to travel to Libya. The stated reason: "extremist groups in Libya made specific threats against U.S. government officials and U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Libya."

Two former CIA officials who fought in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, were asked to sign additional nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) more than six months after those attacks. The two officials, who will testify Thursday before a subcommittee of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,…

When South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham threatened last week to place a hold in the Senate on all Obama administration nominations until the president and his advisers cooperate fully with investigations into the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012, White House press secretary Jay Carney…

Twin raids in Libya and Somalia this weekend demonstrate that America’s fight against al Qaeda continues in jihadist hotspots around the globe. And the raid in Libya shows, once again, that al Qaeda’s “core” members are pushing the terrorist organization’s agenda far from Pakistan.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on his recent story about the Benghazi Review Board, the congressional hearings on Benghazi, and the debate over whether to defund or delay Obamacare.

In a May 30, 2013, letter to CIA officers on the ground last fall in Benghazi, Libya, CIA director John Brennan notified survivors of those attacks that congressional oversight committees remain interested in hearing from them.

John Brennan, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sent a letter to each of the CIA employees who were on the ground during the Benghazi attack on September 11, 2012, inviting them to share information with Congress, according to three sources familiar with the missive. Brennan sent the…

Ten days ago, as John McCormack noted, in the midst of a speech about the economy President Obama mentioned some other issues:

More than ten months after the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, Ansar al Sharia is even more entrenched in Libyan society. Members of Ansar al Sharia in Benghazi were reportedly part of the al Qaeda-linked jihadist coalition that killed four Americans, including a U.S.…

The complexity of Washington scandals as they unfold usually involves many moments at which it is possible to lose sight of the forest for the trees. Two such instances have come into sharper relief in recent weeks. One is that we still have no good explanation for U.N. ambassador Susan Rice’s…

The State Department released its annual Country Reports on Terrorism 2012 survey on Thursday. The section on the Middle East and North Africa includes a report on terror attacks in Libya.  All told, there were eleven terrorism-related attacks last year in Libya prior to the 9/11 attack in Benghazi…

CIA director David Petraeus was surprised when he read the freshly rewritten talking points an aide had emailed him in the early afternoon of Saturday, September 15. One day earlier, analysts with the CIA’s Office of Terrorism Analysis had drafted a set of unclassified talking points policymakers…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Stephen F. Hayes on Benghazi, the President's press conference, and his recent story, The Benghazi Scandal Grows.

Liberal former congressman Dennis Kucinich blamed President Obama's Libya policy for the death of four Americans in Benghazi. Kucinich also said the Obama administration politicized the response to Benghazi because they "were in the circumference of an election, and when you get on the eve of an…

In a statement to the press, the State Department is calling "on all Libyans to refrain from armed protest and violence during this difficult time in the democratic transition."

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with William Kristol about Stephen F. Hayes's new piece, The Benghazi Talking Points. 

President Barack Obama said today at a press conference that he's "not familiar" with reports that Benghazi whistleblowers are being threatened:

The White House announced that it intends to nominate Deborah K. Jones to be the next U.S. ambassador to Libya. If confirmed, she'll be the first ambassador to that country since Chris Stevens was murdered in Benghaz, Libya on September 11, 2012.

John Brennan, President Obama’s nominee to run the Central Intelligence Agency, is getting renewed scrutiny for a highly questionable claim he made during his confirmation hearings last week. On Tuesday, two Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Marco Rubio and James Risch,…

There weren't many memorable lines in President Obama's State of the Union speech. Indeed, only one leapt out at me: "As long as I’m commander in chief, we will do whatever we must to protect those who serve their country abroad." 

In a premature celebration of Chuck Hagel's nomination being voted out of committee, North Korea tested a nuclear weapon last night. At 1:48 a.m., the White House put out a "Statement by the President" denouncing the test. One understands such statements are staff-written. But presumably President…

This morning on CBS's Face the Nation, Senator Lindsey Graham said he'd place holds on President Obama's national security nominees, Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense and John Brennan for CIA director, until the White House answered questions on the Benghazi terror attack:

The White House left Ambassador Chris Stevens, Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, and Sean Smith on their own on September 11 in Benghazi. That is the upshot of today’s Capitol Hill hearing featuring Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testified this morning on Capitol Hill that President Barack Obama was absent the night four Americans were murdered in Benghazi on September 11, 2012:

General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the State Department never requested "support" in Benghazi:

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina pledged last night on Fox News to block President Obama's secretary of defense nominee, Chuck Hagel, until Leon Panetta testifies on the Benghazi terror attack:

At Hillary Clinton's Benghazi hearing at the House this afternoon, Democratic congressman Eliot Engel said that "Barack Obama was not responsible for the Benghazi attack any more than George W. Bush was responsible for the 9/11 attacks":

During questioning by Senator Rand Paul at today's Benghazi hearing, Hillary Clinton seemed to blame her underlings for the 9/11 terror attack that killed four Americans in Libya:

Ahead of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s testimony today concerning the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, the New York Times has published an account that is potentially very important. The Times reports:

Periodically, and almost from the day he became a serious presidential candidate, editorialists, pundits, academics, and reporters have described Barack Obama’s foreign policy as a return to “realism.” Essayist and self-described realist Robert Kaplan, to take just one example, argues that this is…

President Barack Obama blamed the terror attack three months ago in Benghazi, Libya on "sloppiness," and said "we have some very good leads" after the long investigation:

The Accountability Review Board’s investigation into the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi says much about the deteriorating security situation surrounding the U.S. consulate beforehand. The report also documents the State Department’s mishandling of that increasingly perilous…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

Matt Lee of the AP reports that a review panel has found the State Department provided inadequate security in Benghazi:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will "work from home next week" after becoming dehydrated and fainting, State Department deputy assistant secretary Philippe Reines says in a statement.

Susan Rice went on NBC this evening to explain why she told President Barack Obama that she no longer wants to be considered for the secretary of the state job.

The Egyptian government has nabbed a major terrorist tied to the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, according to the Wall Street Journal. And that terrorist has direct, longstanding ties to al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri.

President Barack Obama singled out the American ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, for praise at a cabinet meeting today.

In response to a question from reporter Major Garrett on whether the Obama administration's mishandling of Benghazi raises "core questions of basic competency," press secretary Jay Carney revealed that Barack Obama "is not particularly concerned" about whether Susan Rice misled the American people:

U.N. ambassador Susan Rice says in a statement that "I nor anyone else in the Administration intended to mislead the American people" regarding Benghazi.

Three U.S. senators blasted Susan Rice after meeting with her on Capitol Hill. The meeting centered around the Benghazi terrorist attack--and Rice's public statements following the attack.

At his first press conference after being elected to a second term, President Barack Obama did everything he could to avoid directly answering the difficult questions on the growing scandal about his administration’s handling of the terrorist attacks in Benghazi. But in so doing, the president…

Ambassador Susan Rice has finally explained, in her opinion, why she misled the country about what happened during the September 11 terror attack against Americans in Benghazi, Libya. According to Rice, all the blame should be given to the intelligence community for her misleading comments made…

This past weekend, Congressman Mike Rogers, who is chairman of the House intelligence committee, said that the talking points used to explain what happened in Benghazi, Libya on Sept. 11, 2012 were changed by political appointees in the Obama administration. Rogers pointed specifically to the…

At Forbes.com, Larry Bell offers a nice summary of the unanswered questions surrounding the Benghazi-Patreaus controversy. He asks (and addresses) the following: “Did the White House blackmail General Petraeus to support a cover story?” “When did the President really learn about the Petraeus…

During an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Congressman Mike Rogers, who is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, accused political appointees in the intelligence community of spinning the September 11 terrorist attack in Benghazi.

The Washington Post reports that “the CIA and other intelligence analysts have settled on what amounts to a hybrid view” of September 11, 2012, “suggesting that the Cairo protest sparked militants in Libya, who quickly mobilized an assault on U.S. facilities in Benghazi.” 

David Petraeus is going to tell members of Congress that he "knew almost immediately after the September 11th attack, that the group Ansar al Sharia, the al Qaeda sympathizing group in Libya was responsible for the attacks," CNN reports.

Paul Wolfowitz writes: 

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

We heard throughout the campaign of President Obama’s “all of the above” energy policy. That was then. This is now. About 48 hours after he was assured of reelection, the president’s Interior Department issued a plan to close to oil shale development 1.6 million acres of federal land in the West to…

November 6 is not only Election Day, it's also the eight-week anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Six U.S. senators continue to push officials in the Obama administration for information related to the 9/11 Benghazi terror attack. In a statement released just before the weekend, Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Kelly Ayotte, Rob Portman, Saxby Chambliss, and Ron Johnson, all Republicans,…

A few thoughts on the resignation of David Petraeus as CIA director: Few American leaders had a stronger reputation for integrity and honor, so the reason he cited for his departure – an extramarital affair – comes as a shock to the nation and to those who know him best.

On October 24, Egyptian officials raided an apartment in Nasr City, a neighborhood in Cairo, suspected of housing a terrorist cell with ties to the September 11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. A firefight ensued and one of the suspected terrorists was killed. An Egyptian police official…

Reader email of the day! (We've removed his name for the sake of his mom's privacy.)

What did or didn't the president do on the evening of September 11?

David Axelrod was asked this morning on Fox News Sunday about the decision not to deploy military forces to Benghazi the evening of September 11. His response: “The president convened the top military officials that evening and told them to do whatever was necessary and they took the steps that…

Bing West cuts through some of the new Benghazi articles to note that these questions still remain unanswered:

Last night, on Special Report, I urged Mitt Romney to step up and address President Obama's failure to explain what decisions he made and didn't make on the evening of September 11, as Americans fought terrorists in Benghazi. This afternoon it seems that Romney, not having mentioned Benghazi in his…

The lead editorials in the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal today offer stinging critiques of the Obama administration’s handling of Benghazi.

In a letter to the White House, four members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence asked President Obama whether recent disclosures to the press of classified information on the Benghazi terrorist attacks were authorized by the Obama administration or illegal leaks subject to…

The boss, sitting alongside Kirsten Powers and Charles Krauthammer, made the case on Special Report Friday that Mitt Romney should raise the issue of Barack Obama's failure to be forthright on the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. Watch the videos below:

There's an interesting article on Benghazi in the Wall Street Journal, with some useful information, and lots of finger pointing and back-and-forth between the State Department and the CIA, and between Hillary Clinton and David Petraeus. Guess who's nowhere mentioned in the piece: The person who's…

Obama administration officials are feeling the pressure to answer some basic questions about their responsibility for what happened September 11 in Benghazi. As has become very clear, the administration doesn't want to answer the questions, such as what the president did and didn't do that evening;…

White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One today that President Obama "has not participated in the investigation" of the terror attack against Americans in Benghazi, Libya.

The White House continues to offer only this line on Benghazi:

A reader writes in: 

Four senators sent a letter to the White House today, urging President Obama and his advisers to answer the growing list of questions about the 9/11 attack in Benghazi, Libya, which lawmakers have posed in writing to his administration over the last month.  Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey…

House Armed Services Committee chair Buck McKeon says he doesn't think President Obama even ordered the military to help the Americans under siege in Benghazi, Libya on September 11:

The father of slain State Department official Sean Smith says, "I want answers. ... I want to know how he died. I want people brought to justice who did this to him."

At about 3 p.m. on Thursday, October 18, Barack Obama strode into the Manhattan studios of Comedy Central for a taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The two men discussed several issues, including Libya. Stewart noted the exchange between Obama and Mitt Romney on that subject at the debate…

Much has been made of President Obama’s considerable use of the pronoun “I” on the night he announced to the nation the killing of Osama bin Laden. As Mark Bowden notes in his recently published account of the killing and the decision-making that led up to the operation, The Finish, the president…

On Sunday's political talk shows, several Republicans criticized the Obama administration's response to the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. Here's Senator John McCain of Arizona on CBS's Face the Nation:

What was President Obama doing Tuesday evening, September 11, while Americans were under assault in Benghazi? Which of his national security team did he meet with, whom did he speak with, what directives did he issue? So far, the White House won't say. 

Friday, in response to questions regarding the events of September 11 in Benghazi, President Obama said this: "Nobody wants to find out more what happened than I do. But we want to make sure we get it right, particularly because I have made a commitment to the families impacted as well as to the…

On September 11, 2012, Rasmussen Reports had President Obama's job approval at 52 percent approve, 47 percent disapprove. Today, October 27, the numbers have reversed—47 percent approve, 52 percent disapprove. The economic news over these past six weeks has been on the whole a bit better than…

President Barack Obama refused to say whether Americans were denied help during the terror attack in Benghazi, Libya:

Breaking news on Benghazi: the CIA spokesman, presumably at the direction of CIA director David Petraeus, has put out this statement: "No one at any level in the CIA told anybody not to help those in need; claims to the contrary are simply inaccurate. ” 

When asked Thursday whether U.S. forces should have been dispatched to assist American servicemen under attack from terrorists in Benghazi on September 11, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta responded, “There’s a lot of Monday-morning quarterbacking going on here,” adding that “the basic principle…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

Charles Woods, the father of Tyrone Woods, who was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack at the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, reveals details of meeting Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton at the publically broadcast memorial service for the slain Americans at Andrews Air Force Base only days…

Speaker of the House John Boehner has written a letter to President Barack Obama to ask for a public explanation of what happened at the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. 

The Benghazi story continues to evolve. CNN reports that multiple al Qaeda franchises, and others with al Qaeda links, are suspected of taking part in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate.

Steve Hayes, with Mara Liasson and Charles Krauthammer, last night on Fox News:

Reuters reports:

Boca Raton, Fla.

On September 11, 2012, the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was assaulted by dozens of terrorists. U.S. ambassador John Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed. The attack followed an al Qaeda-inspired protest in front of the U.S. embassy in Cairo that same day. And in the days…

Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Dick Durbin of Illinois debated foreign policy on Fox News Sunday. Graham, a Republican, argued that the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was a "national security breakdown."

On September 2, 1939, the day after Hitler invaded Poland, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain made clear in the House of Commons that he still entertained hopes for negotiations with Hitler: “If the German Government should agree to withdraw their forces then His Majesty’s Government would be…

Dave Weigel at Slate corrects me on an entry in my long Benghazi rhetoric timeline today.

A former staffer for Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jonathan Allen, "reporting" for the Virginia-based trade publication Politico, said that "President Barack Obama scored a technical knockout on foreign policy Tuesday night, dodging and weaving his way through a…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

Talking to CBS this morning, Vice President Joe Biden said he's "not going to speculate" on whether he should've known about the need for more security in Libya:

Hempstead, N.Y.  

Arlington, Va.

On October 2, the day before the first debate, Mitt Romney trailed Barack Obama in the Real Clear Politics poll average by 3.3 percentage points. Today, just before the second debate, Romney led by 0.4 points—almost a 4-point swing in two weeks. What now?

In 2008, Hillary Clinton said, "The buck stops in the Oval Office."

Earlier this evening, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said "the buck stops with her" in terms of the terrorist that killed the American ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the reason the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, gave misinformation to the American people is because of the "fog of war." According to the notes of Wendell Goler of Fox News, here's what Clinton had to say:

The Associated Press reports on a mass prison break in Tripoli, Libya: 

The House Oversight Committee, run by Chairman Darrell Issa, has released this set of photos from the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. These are from the attack that killed the American ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans. The attack was…

Via BuzzFeed, the State Department account of what actually happened in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012: 

Maryland Democrat Elijah Cummings, the ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told CBS's Bob Schieffer Sunday that the committee's hearings into the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Libya were "turning into a witch hunt."

Mark Steyn, writing for National Review Online:

Democratic congresswoman Donna Edwards said that voters "may not care about Benghazi, but they care about Bin Laden."

On the campaign trail today, Mitt Romney pointed out that in last night's debate, Vice President Joe Biden "directly contradict[ed] the testimony—sworn testimony—of State Department officials."

Reporter Ed Henry asked White House press secretary Jay Carney, "Would you say on Libya that basically the buck stops with the State Department on security then, it doesn't stop at the White House?"

Watching last night's debate, I'm more struck than ever that Obama may be able to fight the economic policy issues to a draw. Romney-Ryan still haven't answered the blame-Bush narrative, and that combined with scaring people about Romney-Ryan on taxes and entitlements have probably pulled…

Eli Lake reports: 

After last night's debate, Vice President "may have some clean up of his own to do today on Libya," CBS reports:

Danville, Kentucky

In regards to security at the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Vice President Joe Biden says "we did not know they wanted more security":

Here's another video of Pat Smith, the mother of slain State Department official Sean Smith, demanding answers from the Obama administration on what happened at the American consulate in Benghazi where her son was murdered on September 11, 2012:

John Podhoretz, writing for the New York Post:

Steve Hayes, with Mara Liasson and Charles Krauthammer, last night on Fox News:

DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz told Piers Morgan on CNN tonight that just because the Obama administration was putting out wrong information on Libya, "doesn't mean it was false."

The mother of State Department official Sean Smith, who was killed September 11, 2012 in the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, appeared on CNN this evening. 

During a conference call Tuesday evening, two State Department officials briefed reporters on the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012. Obama administration officials had insisted that the violence was a result of a “spontaneous” protest against an…

The Associated Press reports:

Last night, President Obama defiantly declared that "al Qaeda is on its heels." The president made this claim at a fundraiser at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California.

Eli Lake reports:

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that fighters “linked to” an Egyptian terrorist named Muhammad Jamal Abu Ahmad took part in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.  Ahmad was freed in 2011, after the fall of Hosni Mubarak’s regime. The WSJ’s…

J.E. Dyer writes: 

On and around September 11, 2012, al Qaeda attacked multiple American assets around the world. The attack that has received the most attention is the deadly attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. But the U.S.…

THE WEEKLY STANDARD has obtained this new political ad that knocks President Obama for saying the al Qaeda terrorist attack in Libya is a bump in the road:

In late March 2011, the United States intervened in Libya to save Benghazi. A year and a half later, we've withdrawn:

Bret Stephens, writing in the Wall Street Journal: 

Trust in President Barack Obama's ability to handle international affairs has plummeted among independents since the terror attack in Libya, a new poll finds.

Mark Halperin, this morning on Morning Joe, said the media is neither scrutinizing President Obama's questions nor asking critical questions:

What happened initially was that it was a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired in Cairo as a consequence of the video. People gathered outside the embassy and then it grew very violent. And those with extremist ties joined the fray and came with heavy weapons, which unfortunately are…

Republicans are pointing to this exchange of Obama political adviser David Plouffe on Meet the Press this morning defending the decision to fundraise the day after the terrorist attack in Libya:

There were mixed messages from aides to Barack Obama this morning on the Sunday talk shows.

Statements released by two top Democrats on Capitol Hill yesterday wrongly stated that 5 Americans were killed in the terror attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11. In fact, 4 Americans were killed in that attack: Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen A. Doherty, and Tyrone…

Fox News host Bret Baier last night ran this comprehensive timeline of the Obama administration's handling of the terror attack:

At the Washington Post this morning, Glenn Kessler posts a collection of the Obama administration’s evolving statements on Libya and some important reporting of facts surrounding the attacks.

Steve Hayes, with A.B. Stoddard and Kirsten Powers, yesterday on Fox News: 

Eight House Republicans have signed a letter to President Barack Obama to demand more information regarding the September 11th attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that resulted in the death of the American ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans. House Armed Services…

At Foreign Policy’s The Cable, Josh Rogin provides an update on reports connecting a former Guantanamo detainee named Sufyan Ben Qumu to the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Rep. Adam Smith, the Democrats’ ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, said today…

On September 11, seemingly spontaneous protests erupted in Libya and Egypt over the online trailer for an anti-Islam video that almost no one in the West had heard of. The protests quickly became violent, ending in the deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three of his fellow Americans in…

On the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, radical Islamists breached the walls of the U.S. embassy compound in Cairo, tore the American flag to shreds, and replaced it with the black flag preferred by al Qaeda, which reads, “There is No God but God, and Muhammad is his messenger.”

This evening on CBS's 60 Minutes, President Barack Obama called the recent violence in the Middle East "bumps in the road."

This morning on Fox News Sunday, Robert Gibbs had problems explaining why the Obama administration misled the nation on what happened in Libya:

A central tenet of President Obama’s foreign policy platform is that al Qaeda is “on the path to defeat.” The death of Osama bin Laden, drone strikes in northern Pakistan and elsewhere, the Arab Spring, and Obama’s more conciliatory approach to the Muslim world have all supposedly come together to…

The White House is now calling the Libya terror attack that resulted in the death of four Americans, including the American ambassador to that country, a "terrorist attack." From the pool report aboard Air Force One: 

A campaign spokesman for President Barack Obama suggested this morning on national television that there are no plans for the president to update the nation on what happened in Libya:

CBS reports this morning that witnesses are saying "that there was never an anti-American protest outside of the consulate [in Benghazi, Libya]. Instead, they say, it came under planned attack. That is in direct contradiction to the administration's account of the incident."

FOX News reported Wednesday night that a former Guantanamo detainee named Sufyan ben Qumu has been tied to the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans. While the details of Qumu’s alleged involvement remain to be confirmed, it isn’t surprising that…

The Obama administration has conceded that the attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Libya on September 11 was, in fact, an act of terrorism. And intelligence officials suspect that al Qaeda’s affiliate, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), orchestrated…