This is a war, and the Benghazi jihad massacre was one battle in that war. Yet authorities continue to prosecute these jihadis as if they were a series of criminals committing separate and discrete criminal acts that are unrelated to one another. If we had arrested and tried separately in criminal court every German and Japanese soldier captured during World War II, which side would have won that war? This myopia is self-defeating at best, and as the jihad continues, that will become increasingly obvious.
“Libyan cleared of most serious charges in Benghazi attack,” by Sadie Gurman, Associated Press, November 28, 2017:
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Libyan militant was convicted Tuesday of terrorism charges stemming from the 2012 Benghazi attacks that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. But a federal jury found him not guilty of murder, the most serious charge associated with the rampage he was accused of orchestrating.
The attack became instant political fodder in the 2012 presidential campaign, with Republicans accusing the Obama administration of intentionally misleading the public and stonewalling congressional investigators, though officials denied any wrongdoing. Some were particularly critical of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s handling of the conflict, which dogged her during her presidential campaign.
But the seven-week trial of Ahmed Abu Khattala was largely free of political intrigue.
Jurors convicted Khattala on four counts, including providing material support for terrorism and destroying property and placing lives in jeopardy at the U.S. compound, but acquitted him on 14 others. Even with the mixed verdict, Khattala, 46, still faces the possibility of life imprisonment for his conviction on a federal firearms office.
Prosecutors accused Khattala of directing the attack aimed at killing personnel and plundering maps, documents and other property from the U.S. mission in Benghazi. But defense attorneys said their evidence against him was shoddy.
Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed in the first attack at the U.S. mission, along with Sean Patrick Smith, a State Department information management officer. Nearly eight hours later at a CIA complex nearby, two more Americans, contract security officers Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, died in a mortar attack.
“Today, a small measure of justice was meted out,” CIA Director Mike Pompeo said in a message to CIA employees. Of Khattala he added: “It took intelligence to find him, soldiers to assist in capturing him, law enforcement to interview him, and a legal team to put him away. Khattala’s sentencing is to follow; but no term in prison will bring our people back.”…
Voytek Gagalka says
That is consequence of REFUSAL to declare the war which Bush II had the chance to do but did not. We know why. He was as much confused on that as each and every his successor so far. Who that war suppose to be against? “Terrorists”? “Extremists”? “Evil-doers”? You can’t fight the war without naming and understanding the enemy. Only then, with war clearly defined and with clear objective one can hope to win and treat them as enemy combatants. And no: no everlasting vacation in Guantanamo Bay!
RichardL says
I agree with you, but when you capture them in order to interrogate them you cannot put them in front of a firing squad anymore. We need a policy that differentiates between them (HVT and combatants to be killed) and we need SF to seek them out and terminate them. Hellfire missiles from drones cannot kill them when they sleep next to their wives and children. This is why the Seals where sent after OBL
J D S says
War is war and Muslims have been at war with the world since they have had the Koran and other Islamic publications as a tool for training, and even before that, with just word of mouth…..These killers should be treated as group combatants, tried by a military tribunal, and smartly executed by a firing squad. Oops…… that might be too hard for the leftist to swallow.
mortimer says
Worldwide 15% of Muslims self-declare as supporters of terrorist organizations. Less than 1% of Muslims are actually members of those organizations or willing to join them. The other 15% supports them morally, financially and by helping them escape the authorities.
Well over 200 million Muslims support and approve of jihad-terror groups. This is a substantial army if they can be mobilized by a charismatic leader. It has been said that only 3% of a population suffices to overthrow and control the other 97%.
The more of these terrorists who go to jail, the better. While in jail, they should be offered the chance to reduce their sentence if they undergo a very intense, university-level course of study learning about the ‘revisionist’ historical school of the origins of Islam and counterjihad books written by analysts like Robert Spencer and ex-Muslim terrorists explaining why they left Islam.
Bezelel says
How did the he get the right to a trial by rules that only apply to US citizens? And even so, under those rules, isn’t an accomplice as guilty as the rest? Bury him up to his neck in a pig pen for the rest of his life.
mummymovie says
Very good question.
Lydia says
Well?
Are they still dancing over at SPLC?
Idiots.
mummymovie says
Very good point, Christine.
It is like trying every German and Japanese WWII captive soldier.
We have a daunting struggle up ahead indeed, as we will no doubt indefinitely continue to employ these flaccid strategies.
Joe says
It is easy to see why the prosecution’s case was “shoddy”. I read what I could find about the investigation which from the material I found, said that no investigation took place for 6 months. The crime scene was abandoned. “Top Secret” papers were laying around for the taking. It was as if our country was being run by a jihadist.
I don’t know if it is true, but the mercenaries who attacked the compound were reported to be under hire by the American government. There was some documentation that demonstrated they had previously worked for the Americans. This verdict would suggest that it is true.
We know for sure that Obama, Clinton, and Rice lied about the attack. For example, Stevens told everyone he could that he did not expect to live another week. We provided no support. He was playing games on the Internet the previous night, and he said goodbye to the other gamers, because he thought he would be killed before he could go back online. The rest of the staff were rescued by Gaddafi sympathsizers who were phoned by a CIA agent who was told to “stand down”. And yet, Clinton said that the attack surprised everyone.
The USA had a fleet in the Mediterranean who were probably 15 minutes away. We had planes that were less than 75 miles away, and those planes can fly at supersonic speeds. The fleet provided no support. That same fleet took out one third of Gaddafi’s army while enforcing a “no fly” zone over Libya when Gaddafi wasn’t flying anything. If they could kill that many professional soldiers that fast, they could have routed the mercenaries in a few minutes.
So why, exactly, was the prosecution’s case “shoddy”?
Seán Mac says
What an incredibly stupid jury. Were they same ones that sat on a jury for OJ?
Apollo says
The trouble with these cases is it’s just seen as more middle East craziness. Americans don’t believe it can deeply effect their lives. If I could take them on one my trips to middle East that’s not Dubai I could show them what could happen to us. Just look at Lebanon, Algeria, Egypt they used to be cool, cosmopolitan. Now they are islamists cesspools . I think the best strategy for “converting” Muslim apologists in the West is showing the the little things the Muslims hate like dogs, swimming, physical education classes, coed sports, bacon etc etc.