According to a report published at CNN on Saturday, U.S. diplomats were warned about deteriorating security three days before the consulate in Benghazi was attacked. Jamal Mabrouk, a member of the February 17th Brigade, told CNN that he and a battalion commander had a meeting about the economy and security, CNN said. The situation is frightening, it scares us, Mabrouk recalled telling U.S. officials. Arwa Damon added that he did not say how the officials responded, and worse yet, it was not the first time Mabrouk had warned diplomats about security and the impact on international business. But the warnings were apparently dismissed. On September 11, the consulate in Benghazi was burned in an attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. On Friday, we reported that the White House denied it had received advance warning that diplomatic missions in the Middle East might be targets of attacks on the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. We are not aware of any actionable intelligence indicating that an attack on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi was planned or imminent,” Shawn Turner, spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said in an email. The Independent, however, reported that the US State Department had credible information 48 hours before mobs charged the consulate in Benghazi, and the embassy in Cairo, that American missions may be targeted, but no warnings were given for diplomats to go on high alert and lockdown, under which movement is severely restricted.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 00:00:13 +0000
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