DAYTONA BEACH -- Hours after the Egyptian mob’s 9/11 anniversary assault on our embassy in Cairo, a well-armed terrorist team attacked the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, setting the building afire and killing American Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other US diplomats.
Al-Qaeda is fond of simultaneous terrorists attacks but, other than timing, there are too many differences between the two incidents to suggest to me that they are linked. In Cairo the assault was mounted by a large unarmed mob, possibly egged on by the Muslim Brotherhood or their Salafist Islamic rivals.
While they invaded embassy grounds and destroyed the American flag, they made no effort to fire the embassy building or to harm Americans – at least, not yet. And in Cairo the local security forces made no effort to stop the mob.
In Benghazi, the attack team used automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and possibly mortars. Their purpose from the outset was death and destruction.
In Benghazi, the attack team used automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and possibly mortars. Their purpose from the outset was death and destruction.
Libyan security personnel fought bravely alongside American security officers but were forced back. Some of the Libyans are reported wounded. Details are sketchy but once the building was ablaze it appears that an effort was made to move the Ambassador and some of his colleagues to a safer location.
The attackers, possibly forewarned by adherents among Libyan security, struck the vehicle and all within it died.
The Egyptian government has yet to express regret over the Cairo attack while the Muslim Brotherhood has called for an American apology over the privately-produced anti-Islamic video which is said to be the proximate cause of the mob’s anger.
The Libyan government quickly issued a statement of profound sorrow and promised to help hunt down the perpetrators. Having first recalled the Cairo embassy’s apologetic statement and issued a somewhat sterner one, Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton both issued appropriate condemnations of the murderous raid in Benghazi, along with sympathy for the fallen and their families and promises that the killers will be brought to justice. So, what to do?
First, we should realize that diplomats and embassies abroad are inherently vulnerable. Marine security guards cannot defend an embassy against a well-armed and determined force.
Even the fortress-like Inman embassies, favored for a few years after the embassy in Iran was overrun and then abandoned when Congress decided that they were too costly to build and there were no votes or campaign contributions to be had in return for the expenditure, could be taken if the attackers have heavy enough weapons and enough time.
Ultimately, everything depends upon the ability and willingness of the local government to protect an embassy against threats often mounted by the people of the host country. Especially in the Islamic world, governments have often found it wiser to stand aside and let events take their course. That is one of the reasons why, since World War II and in spite of all the conflicts we have fought in those two generations, more American ambassadors have been killed through violence than generals.
Ultimately, everything depends upon the ability and willingness of the local government to protect an embassy against threats often mounted by the people of the host country. Especially in the Islamic world, governments have often found it wiser to stand aside and let events take their course. That is one of the reasons why, since World War II and in spite of all the conflicts we have fought in those two generations, more American ambassadors have been killed through violence than generals.
Nevertheless, Obama has to be seen to do something. President Obama is sending a Marine Fast Team of 50 to Libya to enhance security.
As all consulate personnel in Benghazi have been evacuated to the capital, Tripoli, it is probable that the Marines will remain there. Obama has also ordered the security increased at other area embassies. However, it is not yet clear what the Marines’ rules of engagement will be or what weapons they will have at their disposal.
In light of the range of heavy weapons brought to bear in Benghazi, this matters. But in truth, there is not that much that Obama or any other president can do to make our embassies much more secure once they come under threat. In Libya, he must rely on the Libyan government.
Unfortunately, the Libyan government is weak and not in control of much of its country. On the one hand, I doubt very much that the government in Tripoli had anything to do with the Benghazi attack. They need us and the $20 million we have promised them as they struggle to bring the country under their direction and try to restore stability and some degree of prosperity.
In short, they count on us to help them rebuild their state – they have no interest in attacking us. On the other hand, the country is full of caches of weapons of war of all kinds and calibers. And it is full as well of armed bands of terrorists and assorted criminals who, for a wide range of reasons, are hostile to the extension of the present Tripoli government and anyone who would help them.
In addition there are groups of radical Islamists, many of whom were trained by al-Qaeda and fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan and who then returned to Libya to wage war against Qaddafi during the revolution. Several of these are reported to have claimed responsibility for Benghazi.
Like many of my readers, I believe that blood should be answered with blood. But it has to be the right blood. Now is not the time for a hasty broad-based anti-Libyan response.
This is the time for our intelligence experts to work quietly with the government in Tripoli and any other sources they may have to identify and locate those actually responsible for the deaths of our diplomats.
That will be the time for the drones or the SEAL and Delta kill teams to do their thing. Until then, let’s honor and mourn our dead, work to advance American interests in North Africa and the Middle East, and wait til we can enjoy our revenge.
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