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Emails: White House Told Two Hours After Benghazi Attack Began That Radical Islamic Group Claimed Responsibility

Oct. 24, 2012 12:33am Jason Howerton

Emails Show Ansar al Sharia Claimed Responsibilty for Benghazi Attack Within Two Hours

A vehicle (R) and the surround buildings burn after they were set on fire inside the US consulate compound in Benghazi late on September 11, 2012. (Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

UPDATE: The White House responded to the emails Wednesday, with press secretary Jay Carney saying “there was a variety of information coming in.”

White House and State Department officials were informed just two hours after the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya on Sept. 11 began that a radical Islamic militant group had claimed responsibility, according to official emails obtained by Reuters.

The emails, reportedly put out by the State Department, specifically mention that the Libyan militant group Ansar al-Sharia had taken credit for the attack almost immediately and called for additional terrorist acts.

The correspondence provides a glimpse into how U.S. diplomats described the fiery assault, as it was happening, to officials in Washington, D.C.

The terrorist attack claimed the lives of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, including two former Navy SEALs and a State Department official. It took the Obama administration nearly two weeks to completely rule out an anti-Muslim video as the cause of the attack.

Numerous Obama administration officials, including White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and even Obama himself, went on TV at different times and told millions of American citizens that the attacks were due to a spontaneous protest sparked by the video. Now it has been uncovered that the administration knew within hours that a terrorist group had proudly admitted they attacked the U.S. compound.

Reuters has the details on the emails sent to the various Obama administration officials:

The first email, timed at 4:05 p.m. Washington time – or 10:05 p.m. Benghazi time, 20-30 minutes after the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission allegedly began – carried the subject line “U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi Under Attack” and the notation “SBU”, meaning “Sensitive But Unclassified.”

The text said the State Department’s regional security office had reported that the diplomatic mission in Benghazi was “under attack. Embassy in Tripoli reports approximately 20 armed people fired shots; explosions have been heard as well.”

A second email, headed “Update 1: U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi” and timed 4:54 p.m. Washington time, said that the Embassy in Tripoli had reported that “the firing at the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi had stopped and the compound had been cleared.” It said a “response team” was at the site attempting to locate missing personnel.

A third email, also marked SBU and sent at 6:07 p.m. Washington time, carried the subject line: “Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack.”

The message reported: “Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli.”

Here are images of the emails courtesy of CBS News:

Watch CBS News’ report:

Fox News reports that the emails were sent to a “variety of national security platforms, whose addresses have been redacted, including the White House Situation Room, the Pentagon, the FBI and the Director of National Intelligence.”

Additionally, sources told Fox News that around 300 to 400 national security officials received the emails “in real time.” The officials on the email recipient list work under the nation’s top national security, military and diplomatic officials, according to sources.

The revelation, if confirmed to be legitimate, also calls into question why President Obama decided to take off on campaign trip to Las Vegas if his State Department the day before informed his national security team that a group of radical Islamic terrorists was claiming responsibility for killing four Americans.

The other question that demands answering is whether the U.S. military could have intervened if the White House knew two hours after the seven hour attack began that a terrorist group was overwhelming the U.S. Consulate, putting the lives of Americans in danger.

CBS News’ Sharyl Attkisson reports:

CBS News has been told that, hours after the attack began, an unmanned Predator drone was sent over the U.S. mission in Benghazi, and that the drone and other reconnaissance aircraft apparently observed the final hours of the protracted battle.

The State Department, White House and Pentagon declined to say what military options were available. A White House official told CBS News that, at the start of the attack, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta “looked at available options, and the ones we exercised had our military forces arrive in less than 24 hours, well ahead of timelines laid out in established policies.”

But it was too late to help the Americans in Benghazi. The ambassador and three others were dead.

~~No word from the Obama administration on the emails.~~ See the White House’s response here.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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Comments (370)

chipman44
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 6:17pm
Patty Henry, you said it all!! ABSOLUTLE GREAT!!

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cemerius
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:29pm
http://freebeacon.com/u-n-human-rights-council-calls-for-boycott-of-u-s-companies/

Add this to the story and pay attention to the “players” too!!

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KangarooJack
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 9:45am
It is not Obama’s Watergate….it’s his WATERLOO!!

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sonyafd
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:20am
After listening to Glenn on the cover-up by that loathesome toad obama, I suddenly realized that the Nobel Peace prize should be handed back in spades!!! Boy did they get it wrong (or they were toadying!!!)

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scuffy
Posted on October 25, 2012 at 1:20am
(Sure am glad obummer not my boss) How did this country ever get so lost !!!

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KIOTI-TEXAS
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 10:12pm
Liars that we are suppose to believe..What other lies have they told us???Hillary and Hussein Telling the truth,,,NO WAY…..Every word that comes out of their mouths are lies…Thinking we are stuiped,,what has Hussein told other countries about our national security…HUSSEIN AND HILLARY ARE TRADERS AND TOTAL LIARS WORKING TO DESTORY AMERICA….WE NEED TO PUT THEM ON TRIAL AND WE KNOW THAT HE IS NOT PROTECTING AMERICA AT ALL…WHAT LIE IS HE HIDING ON RUSSIA…..HE IS A MUSLIM TERRORIST LIAR….

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CANDLEMAKER
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 9:03pm
This is the most despicable corrupt administration ever!!!! People thought that Nixon was bad and that the Watergate scandal was big???!!! I have a feeling that this may turn out to be the biggest scandal and coverup ever!!! Obama should be impeached and put in jail and Hillary should be joining him in jail!!! Carney lied, Rice lied…lots of head need to roll!!! LIARS ALL!!! This thing stinks up to high heaven and there is a LOT more that we have not heard!!! If ONLY people would have paid attention to what Obama IS back in 2008, we would not have him running and ruining our country now!! Is it NOVEMBER 6th YET??!!! ROMNEY/RYAN 2012!!!!!

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blair152
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 8:36pm
Well, DUH!

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bobbiejean
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 7:57pm
Doesn’t Obama have a new political ad out now which praises how well ”he” has taken care
of the US? ”Osama is dead and we’ve killed a lot of al Qaeda leaders.” And this is supposed
to compensate for the four dead Americans in Libya?
As far as impeachment goes—for any of these (censored), you know they will all ”lawyer up”
so do as they used to do in Europe long ago, EXILE them. Antarctica should do it. Or a steamy
African jungle nation.

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- barber2
  Posted on October 24, 2012 at 8:43pm
  Please not Antarctica. It is still rather pristine . Think of the animals there…
  
  Report this comment
KKC003
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 7:44pm
Of course it was terrorism. You see we are about 7 people removed from everyone in the world. You could have called a few international friends and they could have just looked up the window and told us what was happening quicker than our govt. Many people could have had an answer in about 2 hrs.
why have satellites and Intel if its not used.

you see if you constantly lie to the people and they accept it, why tell the truth at all, the media covers for the lies since day one.

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coyote1hell
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 7:01pm
4 Americans Died, and Obma Lied, and Lied, for 8 days,he is in bed with the Musiie-Brohood..that’s all

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jessieH
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 6:41pm
I can’t believe Obama is running for a second term, when he should be arrested for high treason.

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rockymtngal
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 6:40pm
IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS MUST START NOW! It is deplorable to think that the President of the United States of America, not only lied to Americans, but lied about this to the whole world when he was still blaming this on a video at his address to the UN. Unforgivable!

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ABT123
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 6:23pm
I’ed like to be the Marine Lance Corporal that is charged with arresting the President on the charge of TREASON!

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LuciDMari
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 6:08pm
Glenn….The truth is Obama is guilty of treason.

They were running guns – aiding and abetting the enemy – just like Fast and Furious. The patsys were expendable and after they did the bidding of the traitors, they were killed. They had become witnesses and had to be done away with.

The press is very stupid to go along with this because they will be destroyed if Obama wins again because he won’t need them anymore.

Stay strong. We must stand in the truth and if we are killed doing it, oh well, we stood in the truth. WHAT A WAY TO GO!

God bless and NEVER GIVE UP OR GIVE IN!

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nettleman
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 5:06pm
Could it be that the reason Obama did so poorly in the first debate was he was afraid the American people would find out about his treasonous acts that caused four Americans to be killed? Since the President has apologized to the entire world about America’s greatness…..perhaps he should apologized to the American people for his lack of it.

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meister41
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 4:51pm
Did I hear recently that the Feds. just bought a Jail in the midwest? If it’s true we can welcome its 1st inmate in mid January, Ex-President Obama!!!!!!!!!With many more of his admin.to follow!!!!

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DockyWocky
Posted on October 24, 2012 at 4:14pm
Looking at the images that are supposed to represent official emails from someone near the scene to all the officious folks that simply had to be informed makes me think there are really too damn many worthless bureaucrats sucking on Uncle Sam. Not one of the addressees was in any position to do anything, which was highly unlikely, but they all knew what was going on.

Is there anyone in that list that could have actually helped Stevens and his security dudes?

What conspiracy was Obama, State, and the locals whipping up?

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