There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his Prophet
"Everything is completely burned. The building is black with soot and a lot of furniture has been stolen.
"There are two embassy cars outside that have been razed to the ground.
"There were bullet-holes on the walls. Everything is so burnt I could not tell which room was which."
Mounther al-Senussi neighbour to the consulate
Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This was the U.S. consulate, after all, a secondary diplomatic mission to the country for the United States, located in Benghasi. The American Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, would occupy the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, the country's capital. He was simply visiting Benghasi, an official visit, to ceremoniously open a new U.S. centre.
And, while he was there, at the consulate, the mob that gathered to air its grievances - whether related to The Innocence of Muslims, or the rancid smell of a nearby dead camel, or irritation that tribal thugs haven't yet surrendered their arms, or the same-day election of a new president - acted as unwitting cover for a more organized and lethal gang well equipped with rocket-propelled grenades and rifles.
While in Egypt where an Egyptian mob incited by a leading Egyptian cleric to go forth and render rage over yet another blasphemic assault on the purity of the blessed Prophet Mohammed, was permitted to give vent to their bile without interference as police and the military chose not to intervene, in Libya, ten guards were either killed or severely wounded by the assault, before deciding to dissolve their defence of the consulate.
A witness described how the armed group with rocket-propelled grenade launchers warned the mob to stand back, that they were carrying guns and meant to use them. As the Libyan security detachment outside retreated, American security protecting Ambassador Stevens felt he would be safer along with his staff, moved from the main building to a second, safer consulate compound building. But it wasn't safer for long.
It came under rocket-propelled attack, and was soon invaded and the attackers set the building ablaze. Ambassador Stevens and a colleague, press aide Sean Smith, were carried away to Benghazi Hospital by Libyan bystanders. Doctors there worked desperately but were unable to save them. Mr. Stevens died of severe asphyxia that caused stomach bleeding. Three of his colleagues died of gunshot wounds.
Later that same day a squad of U.S. troops despatched via helicopter across the desert to rescue the diplomats ran into their own ambush, leaving another two Americans dead and more wounded. The eight-man U.S. force came under attack after survivors had abandoned the consulate for a secret villa location. So secret that it too came under an intense, accurate mortar barrage.
"It began to rain down on us. About six mortars fell directly on the path to the villa. During this firing, one of the marines whom I had brought with me was wounded and fell to the ground. As I was dragging the wounded marine to safety, some marines who were located on the roof of the villa as snipers shouted and the rest of the marines all hit the ground.
A mortar hit the side of the house. One of the marines from the roof went flying and fell on top of us." Captain Fathi al-Obeidi, commander of special Libyan operations unit
Labels: Libya, Misadventure, Political Realities, United States
posted by Pieface @ Friday, September 14, 2012
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