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Subscribe to RSSIn an interview with NBC's Ann Curry, Libya's president Mohammed Magarief said there's 'no doubt' the attack that killed four Americans in Libya was preplanned, and not a result of the controversial anti-Islam movie that sparked violent protests.
Updated at 6:37 p.m. ET: An anti-Islam film that sparked violent protests in many countries had "nothing to do with" a deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi earlier this month, Libya's president told NBC News.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News' Ann Curry, President Mohamed Magarief discounted claims that the attack was in response to a movie produced in California and available on YouTube. He noted that the assault happened on Sept. 11 and that the video had been available for months before that.
"Reaction should have been, if it was genuine, should have been six months earlier. So it was postponed until the 11th of September," he said. "They chose this date, 11th of September to carry a certain message."
NYT: Deadly Libya attack a major blow to CIA efforts
Magarief said there were no protesters at the site before the attack, which he noted came in two assaults, first with rocket-propelled grenades on the consulate, then with mortars at a safe house.
Khaled Abdullah / Reuters
Protests ignited by a controversial film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad spread throughout Muslim world.
The attack took the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens, as well as information management officer Sean Smith and security personnel Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.
US Ambassador Chris Stevens was 'courageous,' Obama says
Magarief told Curry that based on the accuracy of the assault, he believes the attackers must have had training and experience using the weapons.
"It's a pre-planned act of terrorism," he said, adding that the anti-Islam film had "nothing to do with this attack."
Though Magarief believes the attack was the work of Islamist fundamentalists, he dismisses any notion that Libya is in danger of becoming a theocracy.
Libyan President Mohammed Magarief tells NBC's Ann Curry that Islamic fundamentalists do not share the same goals and aspirations as most people in his country.
“This will never happen,“ he said. “ They don’t have the strength. They don’t have the supporters. They will remain a minority that’s isolated, that will not be accepted by us. And I’m sure Libyans will fight to the last man against seeing this happen in our land.”
'A strong friend'
Magarief said that while Libyans appeared to be behind the attack that "these Libyans do not represent the Libyan people or Libyan population in any sense of the word."
Hilary Stevens, sister of Christopher Stevens, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya who died Tuesday during an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. In an interview with Rock Center Anchor Brian Williams, Stevens reflects on her brother's legacy and work.
He added: "We consider the United States as a friend, not only a friend, a strong friend, who stood with us in our moment of need."
More than 40 people have been questioned in connection with the incident, the Libyan leader told Curry.
He described Stevens as a "humble and very unique human being" and a "great friend of Libya."
Backlash: Protesting Libyans storm militant compound
Thousands of Libyans stormed the headquarters of an Islamist militia group in Benghazi Friday night in a deadly exchange. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.
The Obama administration initially maintained that the attacks were directly linked to protests over the film. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sept. 16, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said: “What happened in Benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo, almost a copycat of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo, prompted by the video.”
However, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney last week said it was "self-evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack."
Slain ambassador's mom: 'He was trying to do something much bigger'
Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Barack Obama said: “There are no words that excuse the killing of innocent” people.
On Tuesday, President Obama spoke to the United Nations general assembly in an emotional speech about the recent violence against Americans. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
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Leave a Comment:
Altho' I did vote for him, I knew we were in trouble when our Navy had to sit next to a skiff of pirates who had a hostage and wait for Obama to personally say they could take him out. Sharpshooters kept them in their scopes for eternity, on ocean waves, until finally, one of the pirates put a gun to the head of the hostage and they could shoot him. And they did. I thought then...I made a mistake... Also the Seal at the embassy informed us that one of their "police" kept circling the compound taking pictures. Never a good sign. The only thing more deplorable than having a star-struck Commander-in-Chief is when he takes a huge entourage to Cape Cod to "relax" while we're going broke.
Cape Cod? What hapened to Hawaii?
He can only be in one place at a time, remember, the View versus meeting with world leaders
Household income down 8.2% under Obama.
16 T in debt and no plan other than tax the 1 %
Unemployment at 8 + % and no plan.
Well, I guess we deserve it. We elected a durn LAWYER for a President.
What do you expect? His grades were lower than G. Bush...
Sharon I read that Obama has no license, he had to give it up in Illinois...reason I can not remember,,but supposedly it can be verified by going to www.iardc.org...I have not check it out yet
and a plagiarist for a vp..
Watch news out of Europe.
This is cool,,,Madonna at a concert.......After comparing him to Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. in a video
montage, the singer -- who had 'Obama' written on her back -- told the audience,
"Y'all better vote for f---ing Obama, OK? For better or for worse, all right? We
have a black Muslim in the White House. That's some amazing s--t. It means there
is hope in this country. And Obama is fighting for gay rights, so support the
man, goddamn..
Remember Madonna is a celeb so she must know what's shes talking about.
It is embarrassing what our nation has eroded into! Madonna spent too much time with the FLAMING liberal idiot Sean Penn. Ya know..people will listen to her as well. Of course those are the people who have no clue what GDP is...or who controls the House or Senate...or even that spending your way out of debt is NOT A GOOD idea...so...what can we expect.
I agree that the terrorists and instigators used this video as an excuse to incite the Islamic public in multiple countries around 911 to show they still had "bite". The USA should have been on hieghtened alert around the world on the anniversary of 911 but especially in the Middle East but shows the lack of awareness and leadership that Obama has in this area to be strong when trying to reconcile and console the Middle East regimes and public. We still need to be strong at the same time and treat this as a new terror attack and hunt down the individuals responsible and capture/kill them with little or no preference, okay maybe one preference.
What would you have them do? We have to trust the home country to protect the embassy. We can't put enough troops in an embassy to defend them. And we especially couldn't put enough in all our middle eastern embassies to defend.
We couldn't abandon them either.
So what do you think would've stopped these terrorists and mobs?
put obammy there..
those ragheads will not shoot on of their own..
Has anyone here ever worked Embassy duty? NO! Then SFTU!!
Have you ever delivered a baby? Then DON'T HAVE ONE!
Have you ever produced a TV show? Then DON'T TALK ABOUT THEM!
Are you a chef? Then DON'T EVER COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR FOOD!
Do you suffer from industrial strenth stupidity? Then we understand your post.
Like always blame it on the clip, blame blame blame. Wait when he gets reelected than he is going to show you slowly how he is going to handle the USA and the world.
He will "have more flexibility after the election".... WOW...scary huh??
President Obama's only experience in making things happen is as a cmmunity rabble rouser. He would go into a neighborhood and stir up the residents to storm city hall demanding help from the government. He would, conveniently, not be with them.
Now that he is the face of government and has to actually initiate some form of action he is at a loss. He misses the majority of his daily meetings and concentrates more on fundraising. He has been campaigning for reelection since the day he was sworn in. He ran for President for the perks, not for the people.
Like how he deals with issues like the debt ceiling, sit on the sidelines, then when nothing happens he can blame,blame, distract, blame distract. A leader gets into the middle of things doesn't run from them.
First get the ad by M. Obama off this site.
Second, What caused the riots in Libya and other nations in the middle east was the boasting by Obama, Joe Biden when he said, GM is alive and Osama is not and then Hilarious Clinton when she said, "we came, we saw, he died and laughed about it. To Obama and his minions this appears to be just a game, No one knows the real Obama as he has had so many names and so many Social Security numbers. I believe he is one of Satans minions.
There is no better way to inflame people than to make fun of them. Sovereign nations attacked, drone missiles sent into sovereign nations while Obama plays. You make the call for yourself. For me, if I were a muslim and if Obama or Hilarious C came into my country, they would leave in a box if there was enough of them to box up.
So the movie was made a year before the riots and was sitting on youtube for a year and yet the liberals are somehow blaming the movie for the riots. What you have to understand is liberals will NEVER tell you the truth they will make up any lie so they get the "truth" as how they want it to be not as it is.
This ia an excerpt from CNN.....interesting read
A transcript of the segment, which aired on September 25 on The Situation Room at 4:08 p.m. EDT, is as follows:
[4:08]
JOHN KING: For a lot of people – it's not just the Republicans – a lot of people in the foreign policy community, even Democrats, quietly wondering if the President's making a mistake by not having the bilateral meetings at the U.N. General Assembly. The new Egyptian leadership is there. The new Libyan leadership is there. The President of Afghanistan is there. You have fires burning around the world, if you will, right now. And he might be President for four more years. He's certainly going to be President for the next couple of months. And I think a lot of people are saying, is the campaign really that important that he can't spend some time eyeball-to-eyeball with those leaders?
WOLF BLITZER: And Gloria, I want you to weigh in, but the fact is that when George W. Bush was seeking re-election in 2004, he went up six weeks before the election, met with a whole bunch of world leaders. And when Bill Clinton was seeking re-election in 1996 against Bob Dole, six weeks before the election he was at the U.N. General Assembly meeting with a whole bunch of world leaders.
GLORIA BORGER: This is kind of a "don't rock the boat" strategy. I think there's a sense that no good can come of any controversy right now. And that if you have one bilateral meeting, and only one bilateral meeting, you're going to get other people angry. If you have a host of bilaterals, there's more of an opportunity to get more people angry. So if you're – if you're in the Obama campaign, and you're looking at the next six weeks, you're saying why do we want to cause ourselves any problems? And that's exactly what's behind this.
...
Obviously this is taken out of context and will be clatified at a later date.
After all, he did go on Letterman and The View and Omnivision.
Obama / Biden in 2012.
...
Taken out of context? Sorry but what planet are you living on? Going on the VIEW or LETTERMAN what the hell has that got to do with Foreign leaders and not talking to them? You need to start your day over again...only this time start with some coffee, not that junk your smoking..
The reference to 9/11 was not a chance statement, it was a reference to the way the western press and ideas are not applicable to the Muslim thought process. Anniversaries are big in Islam and they probably fully expected the missiles to fly because that is what they would have done.
The coordinated attacks and protest were meant to show the world that the acts on 9/11 are still reverred as heoric. We were brutally attacked and the protest said, "We will do it again and again till you are gone".
I will show you an example of why we cannot use western values on Muslim religious fanatics. The following was posted by a Rev. LR after years of research on Islam. Thank you Rev.
Islam DOES NOT WORSHIP THE SAME GOD AS CHRISTIANS AND JEWS.
Islam has been at war with the rest of the world since it's inception. Islam is dedicated to bringing the rest of the world into subjection.
The state which is
regarded as the instrument for universalizing a certain religion must perforce
be an ever expanding state. The Islamic state, whose principal function was to
put God’s law into practice, sought to establish Islam as the dominant reigning
ideology over the entire world. It refused to recognize the coexistence of
non-Muslim communities, except perhaps as subordinate entities, because by its
very nature a universal state tolerates the existence of no other state than
itself. ...Muhammad’s early successors, after Islam became supreme in Arabia,
were determined to embark on a ceaseless war of conquest in the name of Islam.
The jihad was therefore employed as an instrument for both the universalization
of religion and the establishment of an imperial world state.
Islamic scholar Majid Khadduri in his book War and Peace in the
Law of Islam published 1955
As late as November 2003, the Islamic Affairs Department (IAD) of the Saudi embassy in Washington
featured this statement on its website: “The Muslims are required to raise the banner of Jihad in order to make the Word of Allah supreme in this world, to remove all forms of injustice and oppression, and to defend the Muslims. Such a violent and expansionist program is not solely the province of Saudi Wahhabis .
The Pakistani Islamicleader Syed Abul Ala Maududi (1903-1979), who was not a Wahhabi, declared that
non-Muslims have “absolutely no right to seize the reins of power in any part of God’s earth nor to direct the collective affairs of human beings according to their own misconceived doctrines.” If they do, he said, “the believers would be under an obligation to do their utmost to dislodge them from political power
and to make them live in subservience to the Islamic way of life.” Likewise the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood theorist Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966), also a non-Wahhabi, declared: “Islam cannot accept any mixing with Jahiliyyah [the society of unbelievers]. Either Islam will remain, or Jahiliyyah; no half-half situation is possible…. The foremost duty of Islam is to depose Jahiliyyah from the leadership of man, with the intention of raising human beings to that high position which Allah has chosen for him.”
The religion of peace: Qu'ran- Sura's
9:5. Then when the Sacred Months (the 1st, 7th, 11th, and 12th months of the Islamic calendar) have passed, then kill the Mushrikun {unbelievers} wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege
them, and prepare for them each and every ambush. But if they repent and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat {the Islamic ritual prayers}), and give Zakat {alms}, then leave their way free. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
8:39. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone [in the whole of the world].
But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allah), then certainly, Allah is All-Seer of what they do.
8:67. It is not for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war (and free them with ransom) until he had made a great slaughter (among his enemies) in the land. You desire the good of this world (i.e. the money of ransom for freeing the captives), but Allah desires (for you) the Hereafter. And Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.
9:29. Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.
9:33. It is He {Allah} Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam), to make it superior over all religions even though the Mushrikun (polytheists, pagans,
idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) hate (it).
This is the motivation of hate towards us because our constitution will not allow them to use the Apostolic Invasion like has been used in other countries. The religion is spreading like a cancer into all places where it comes in contact with.
After Libya was silenced as a terrorist base, I am guessing that the extremist were not happy with the leadership. The same was true in ancient times when the "True Believers" killed their own leaders for trying to merge the Islamic culture into mainstream society of the world. Cancer is deadly unless it is totally removed.
Lazarus
Its no wonder the leftists love the muslims so much they are both hardcore statists. They dont care how they get power
I knew the attacks in Libya really had very little to do with some stupid movie about Mohammed,rather a growing hatred for the USA and Global Corporations like Monsanto, Archer Daniels Midland and others buying up huge areas of land in Northern Africa to grow their GMO 'monocrops'. These Corporations, backed by the US Military, have done some research and concluded that Libya has the only 'deep well ports' in the region that will suffice huge shipping vessels to ship their goods. The Libyan President is merely a 'stooge' for the US, but as of today has announced that the Mohammed video really had nothing to do with the attacks. The libyan people are angry that the USA has seized their country, they fight back, and we call it an act of 'terrorism' ?
Lets get real, who are the real terrorists here?
The USA has no business being in Libya.
Can you imagine how Mr. Stevens felt on the evening of 9/10/12 knowing that he probably would die on 9/11? Can you see him saying a prayer to protect those around him even though he was not provided adequate protection? Can you feel him sweat all day on the 11th knowing that fate was waiting? I can and I don't believe Mr. Stevens or the other three men killed with him were bumps in the road as our president so inelegantly stated.
Supposely CNN got the Ambassadors diary of sorts when they were there reporting on the events, and from what they found and read the Ambassador was worried about 9/11.
...
That's just not true.
You could see the grief on the faces on both the president and Sec'y Clinton as they fought back tears at the cremony when they brought the caskets back.
The " bumps in the road " comment was taken out of context and can be clarified by Jay Carney. It was aimed at this lying Libyan president. He is the bump in the road. He and the obstructionist republicans.
Obama / Biden in 2012.
...
Not true? Bumps in the road? You call a dead Ambassador, and 3 other Americans a bump in the road?? get real....the bump in the road is Obama's foreign policy...its like dead fish, it stinks...
I love how NBC makes it sound like he was only talking to them.
Note to the idiot, Obama, in the White House, you are a complete, dangerous and utter fool.
Only one word...AMATEUR. You would have thought they learned something after almost 4 years.
What Obama Inherited: AAA Credit Rating; 7.8% Unemployment ; $1.81 Gas/Gallon ; 10 trillion debt; 2 Wars ; 26 week unemployment ; Annual Budget.
What Obama has given us: AA Credit Rating ; 8.3% Unemployment ; $3.69 Gas/ Gallon; 15++ Trillion Debt; 3 Wars ; 99 weeks unemployment; NO ANNUAL BUDGET!!!
TIME TO VOTE OBAMA OUT OF OFFICE...
Doc S. . .how could Rice give the order to have no ammo in their weapons? Rice hasn't been in office for almost 4 years now. Did you mean to say that Clinton gave the order?
Face it. We took some guy, some liberal college instructor/lecturer, not even a full professor--basically a grad. student who had never published a single paper for peer review but was very popular with the kids --- and first elected him to the state legislature, then the Senate. He voted "present" most of the time in the legis., in the Senate he never even held one single meeting of his committee on Afghanistan but after 3 years in the Senate we made him President of the United States, running on a slogan from "Bob the Builder", a show for 3 year olds -- 'YES WE CAN'.... AS PRESIDENT he has avoided meeting with leaders and seems to think he is actually a King, making up laws without Congress. He just blames Bush for anything bad, displays UNBELIEVABLE IGNORANCE of the American System and has refused to let anyone see the grades he made in College....WHY? Because he took mainly classes in "Black Studies" "Gender Issues" and his grades were a JOKE. A BAD JOKE. He changed the mission of NASA to "making Muslims feel good about themselves", wrote a plan for the Afghanistan conflict that terrified the Generals with its stupidity and he has insulted all of our allies while cozying up to our enemies. He relies on the ignorant and the racist to reelect him.
And if you don't vote for him...you are ignorant and racist too!
He is a JOKE and an absolute LIAR. VOTE HIM OUT
So, should we believe that the Obama Adminstration is totally clueless, or did they purposely lie to the public? There really is no good scenario for Obama here. In retrospect, Romney's reaction was correct; Obama got it wrong. Unfortunately, it's looking like we'll have to suffer through another four years of this guy learning "on the job".
what has he learned though??? Seriously. OOOOh...I know..maybe we should print some more money??? Hyper-inflation?? who cares? Bush's fault...yeah..that's it.
Somewhat confused?
From the U.S. State Departments web site press releases indicate that it was a U.S. Mission in Benghazi, Libya that was attacked. In addition at the U.S. State Departments web site it indicates that the U.S. Consulate is in Tripoli.
Based on stories on MSNBC, FOX etc... I am confused on what was attacked.
In addition what is a U.S. Mission? Is it a sate sponsored religious institution?
If that is the case then what ever happened with the separation of the church from the state?
Lastly, Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama indicated the key word denigrate.
Correct me if I am wrong butt that type of behavior, expression, and speech happens everyday - pardon the generalization and the use of a rhetorical slanting device.
Just like that song by the POLICE - Bombs Away
peace,
MJV
OMG MJV, are you really that uninformed? A mission is a satellite of the embassy, not a religious institution. The embassy in Cairo was attacked, the mission in Benghazi was attack and four of our people were murdered there. Rabid dogs should be put down before they become a danger to others; humans and animals. The "demonstrators" in the middle east are acting like rabid dogs. It must be a sad existence indeed if the only thing you have to get excited about is a perceived slight to a deity.
Does anyone really believe that somewhere in the Koran the prophet Mohammed says "and if anyone, anywhere in anyway slights me or defames my name, you must rise up and kill them. And if you can't kill the ones responsible for this slight--it is OK to kill an easily available target."
Find a verse like that and I'll join the uprising.
Wow, and you are a voter?? Tell me no! I can put money on it that you are a Democrat.......you are the ones so easily lied to and influenced by a smooth talker and fancy promises! We need to go back to the old days when land owners and business owners were the only ones who could vote. (They have a vested interest in how the country runs). Ok, now unleash your anger on my post! :)
"The attack was spontaneous"
odumbo, hillarous, and susan race are either..
stupid, or..
ignorant..
me, i think they are all ignorant, followng their ignoramus leader..