{"id":1102,"date":"2022-01-26T16:00:23","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T16:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/?p=1102"},"modified":"2022-01-27T00:59:37","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T00:59:37","slug":"benghazi-attack-9112012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theblackvault.com\/documentarchive\/benghazi-attack-9112012\/","title":{"rendered":"Benghazi Attack, 9\/11\/2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/h3>\n

On September 11, 2012 in Libya, a heavily armed group executed an attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi. The attack began at night in a U.S. diplomatic compound for the consulate, and ended at another diplomatic compound nearby where the U.S. intelligence was posted. Killed were U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other members of his diplomatic mission, U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith and U.S. embassy security personnel Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods. Two other Americans and seven Libyans were also injured. The Benghazi attack was strongly condemned by the governments of Libya, the United States and other countries around the world.<\/em><\/p>\n

Libyans held demonstrations in Benghazi and Tripoli, condemning the violence and holding signs such as, “Chris Stevens was a friend to all Libyans”, and apologizing to Americans for the actions in their name and in the name of Muslims. On September 21, about 30,000 Libyans protested against armed militias in their country including Ansar al-Sharia, an Islamist militia alleged to have played a role in the attack, and stormed several militia headquarters, forcing the occupants to flee. On September 23, the Libyan president ordered that all unauthorized militias either disband or come under government control. Militias across the country began surrendering to the government and submitting to its authority. Hundreds of Libyans gathered in Tripoli and Benghazi to hand over their weapons to the government.<\/em><\/p>\n

The attack followed the mobbing of the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt, which was in reaction to the anti-Islamic film Innocence of Muslims. On September 28, U.S. intelligence revised their initial assessment to indicate that it “was a deliberate and organized terrorist attack carried out by extremists”. Questions about whether the White House should have stated or did state this conclusion earlier and whether the site of the assault was adequately secured before and after the attack created political controversy during the US 2012 Presidential election then underway. The United States investigation of the attack is being conducted separately by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Department, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. <\/em>Source: Wikipedia<\/a><\/p>\n

Note from The Black Vault: <\/strong>I have filed FOIA requests to multiple agencies regarding this attack. I am still awaiting additional records responsive to the attack, but have included the below records from my archives for research.<\/p>\n

<\/a>FOIA Search for Documents on Benghazi<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The following are documents received under the FOIA regarding Benghazi. I still have MULTIPLE requests still open and being processed, and they will be made available here when I get them.<\/p>\n

Did the U.S. Government receive warnings of a threat on 9\/11\/12? \u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)<\/h5>\n

\"\" DIA Response for Records<\/a> – Records Released, January 21, 2022- [9 Pages, 0.6MB]<\/p>\n

Department of Defense (DoD)<\/h5>\n

\"\" DoD Response for Records<\/a> – Original Denial, 2013 – [2 Pages, 0.6MB]<\/p>\n

\"\" DoD Response for Records<\/a> – Records Released, 2019 – [52 Pages, 0.6MB] Note: The records were obtained electronically, and they were this compressed upon receipt (looking blurry and of poor quality.)<\/p>\n

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)<\/h5>\n

\"\"\u00a0FBI Response to FOIA request for all warnings \/ threats of terrorism on or around 9\/11\/12<\/a> [5 Pages, 1MB] – The FBI found 72 pages of responsive records to this search, but each of them were classified and exempt from release. \u00a0Could these pages potentially show the Obama Administration was negligent and ignored warnings of a terrorist attack on 9\/11\/12?<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0FBI Response to FOIA request for all warnings \/ threats of terrorism on or around 9\/11\/12, on documents originating with a “Other Government Agency”<\/a> [3 Pages, 0.2MB] – The FBI had sent 4 pages to a “Other Government Agency” that was responsible for the documents. They determined that these, as well, were entirely classified and exempt from release.<\/p>\n

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)<\/h5>\n

\"\"\u00a0CIA Response to FOIA request for all warnings \/ threats of terrorism on or around 9\/11\/12<\/a> [2 Pages, 0.2MB] – The CIA responded on behalf of the Department of State, when they found multiple pages responsive to my request. \u00a0The CIA says that each document is classified, and exempt from release.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0CIA Response to Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) request for all warnings \/ threats of terrorism on or around 9\/11\/12<\/a> [1 Page, 0.2MB] – After four years from the above case, I requested a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) request of all the files found, but previously exempt, in 2014. Yet again, the CIA denied access to the files.<\/p>\n

National Security Agency (NSA)<\/h5>\n

\"\"\u00a0NSA Response to FOIA request for all warnings \/ threats of terrorism on or around 9\/11\/12<\/a>\u00a0[ 70 Pages,\u00a06.1MB ] – This request took more than 5 years to complete.\u00a0The keys (to me) to this specific release are, first, I got the official internal messages sent updating on the situation, many sent while Ambassador Stevens was not even found or his whereabouts known. Second, there is a \u201cdeclassified\u201d Top Secret briefing from April of 2012. This must contain information about the situation in and around Benghazi, but the question about this briefing, is why is it STILL so classified since much of the situation and CIA presence became known when the attack took place? The reasons why are cited as FOIA Exemption (b)(1) having to deal with national security information and (b)(3) information exempted by statute.<\/p>\n

Related\u00a0FOIA Documents<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\" DoD Response for Records<\/a> [2 Pages, 0.6mb]<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/a>State Department “Rapid Response: Hot Topics” Newsletter for the month of September 2012<\/a>\u00a0[ 37\u00a0Pages, 1.6MB ] – These newsletters are issued daily by the State Department, and circulated internally. I requested the entire month of September 2012 to show the days leading up to and following the Benghazi attack.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0FBI Response to FOIA request for all transcripts from interviews with Benghazi survivors<\/a>\u00a0[4\u00a0Pages, 2.35MB] –<\/p>\n

\"\" Benghazi “Talking Point” Timeline revisions<\/a> [8 Pages, 1.7mb] – This document, released by ABC News, shows the different versions of the “talking points” relating to Benghazi. There is a drastic change over the course of 12 revisions.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/a>Benghazi “Talking Point” Revision — Emails from the White House, released April 2014<\/a>\u00a0[113 Pages, 43.76mb] – These records come from my friends over at Judicial Watch, who do great work obtaining hard to get documents. \u00a0To quote FoxNews on their release,\u00a0“Newly released emails on the Benghazi terror attack suggest a senior White House aide played a central role in preparing former U.N. ambassador Susan Rice for her controversial Sunday show appearances — where she wrongly blamed protests over an Internet video.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\" Benghazi “Talking Point” Revision — Emails from the DNI, State Dept. CIA and others<\/a> [100 Pages, 36.71mb] – These pages were released to The Black Vault from the Director of National Intelligence in a request for all emails pertaining to the “talking points” and how they were revised behind the scenes before Susan Rice and others used them in the days after the attack. \u00a0Very interesting to see what went into it, and how they knew from the start the bullet point about it being over a protest would be an issue. \u00a0You will also see where the information about the “warnings” given PRIOR to 9\/11\/12, along with the terrorist ties, were completely cut out of the final version.<\/p>\n

\"\" Benghazi Attack Scene Photos<\/a> [8 Pages, 1.6mb] –\u00a0Thanks to my friends over at Judicial Watch<\/a>, photos from the scene of the Benghazi attack were\u00a0released under the FOIA after originally being deemed classified, and exempt from disclosure under FOIA exemption (b)(7). These are the first photos to have been officially released from the scene of the Benghazi attack.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0F<\/a><\/a>BI Response for Benghazi “threats” towards the consulate, or to the US on or around 9\/11\/12<\/a>\u00a0[3 Pages, 1.02MB] – In a search for records relating to a threat towards either the United States, or the Benghazi consulate, I filed a FOIA request to the FBI for records relating to anything that may indicate we had prior knowledge that an attack was imminent around 9\/11\/12. \u00a0The response? FOIA exemption (b)(7) – law enforcement information, which if released, would interfere with an ongoing proceeding.<\/p>\n

\"\" White House Releases Emails Regarding Benghazi<\/a> [100 Pages, 29.12mb] – On 5\/15\/2013, The White House released 100 pages of emails regarding the ‘talking points’ that would be discussed in the days that followed the attack in Benghazi. \u00a0Up until this date, the White House refused to release them to congressional investigators.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"\u00a0Blue Mountain Group (BMG) Security Firm Repeatedly Abandoned Their Posts in Benghazi due to “fear” for their safety<\/a>\u00a0[ 130 Pages, 39.28MB ] – On September 10th, 2014, Judicial Watch announced that it had obtained 130 pages of new State Department documents revealing that local security guards working for Blue Mountain Group (BMG), the firm hired to protect the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi, repeatedly abandoned their posts \u201cout of fear of their safety\u201d in the months leading up to the deadly terrorist attack on the special mission compound. Source and special thanks: Judicial Watch<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Report of the Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi<\/h3>\n

Published 6\/28\/2016<\/em><\/p>\n

Washington, D.C.<\/strong> \u2013 Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy (SC-04)<\/strong> released the following statement after the committee\u2019s Majority released a mark of its investigative report:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cChris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were heroes who gave their lives in service to our country. Their bravery and the courageous actions of so many others on the ground that night should be honored.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Select Committee was formed, I promised to conduct this investigation in a manner worthy of the American people\u2019s respect, and worthy of the memory of those who died. That is exactly what my colleagues and I have done.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I simply ask the American people to read this report for themselves, look at the evidence we have collected, and reach their own conclusions. You can read this report in less time than our fellow citizens were taking fire and fighting for their lives on the rooftops and in the streets of Benghazi.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The committee\u2019s proposed report is just over 800 pages long and is comprised of five primary sections and 12 appendices. It details relevant events in 2011 and 2012.<\/em><\/p>\n

The following facts are among the many new revelations in Part I:<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n