Juan Cole Posts Letter From Benghazi On What Really Happened

[AnnieBW]

Juan Cole - who really should be advising Obama on the Middle East - posted this on his blog.

http://www.juancole.com/2012/10/a-letter-from-benghazi-on-crappy-republican-talking-points.html

1) The relationship between the anti-”Innocence of Muslims” protests and the attack is still unclear. There were protests against the video that night in Benghazi. There are reports that some people at the protests were also seen at the attack, though it’s difficult to assess credibility. The video cameras at the consulate didn’t record any protest activity at the consulate site itself, and what they did record looked like a direct and determined attack, but it’s not clear how close the demonstrations got, or whether there might have been overlap. Point being that the administration didn’t lie about the attacks–it genuinely wasn’t sure what happened, because no one was.

2) Whether or not someone called the attack “terrorism” is completely irrelevant. No one here [in Libya] cares what politicians in the US call it.

5) There was no request for increased security at the Benghazi consulate. There was a request for the embassy in Tripoli, but that would have had no impact at all on the attack; Tripoli and Benghazi are 400 miles apart as the crow flies, and 650 or so by road. Also, requests for additional security at an embassy or consulate are not the sort of thing that goes across POTUS’ desk, or even all that high up in the State Dept. in most cases.

[DonViejo]

1. Juan Cole - who really should be advising Obama on the Middle East

Has Cole ever said he is not advising the President and/or any other government agency?

[AnnieBW]

2. I don't think that he is

Because he lists himself as a professor.

[JDPriestly]

3. This is the day of Google Maps and Yahoo Maps.

Yet I have seen so many posts by people claiming that this was an issue of embassy security. It wasn't. Consulates and embassies are different in their functions.

You would think people would look at a map of Libya and notice how far Benghazi is from Tripoli.

And by the way, there is quite an expanse of water and beach between the two cities.

National Geographic also has some sort of map.

A consulate is like a junior embassy. It's generally located in a busy tourist city, and takes care of minor diplomatic tasks such as issuing visas. The word consulate literally means office of the consul, who is a diplomat appointed to foster trade and take care of expatriates. You can read some pointed essays about the role of the modern day consulate at the American Foreign Service site.

Embassies are much bigger deals. The word embassy comes from the French ambassy, or office of the ambassador. Ambassadors are high-ranking diplomatic representatives who serve as spokespersons for their national governments. If one country recognizes the sovereignty of another, they generally establish an embassy there. Embassies take care of the same administrative duties as consulates, but they also represent their governments abroad.

This can be tricky business. For instance, the United States doesn't maintain an embassy in Taiwan (in order to maintain diplomatic relations with China), but it does operates a consulate there to take care of its overseas citizens. For an interesting online look at another prickly diplomatic relation, check out the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia, which features a reaction statement to the recent incarceration of Malaysia's former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim.

http://ask.yahoo.com/20000824.html

[Iggy]

4. I Get It, But

these technical points have nothing to do with the fact Libya is a totally UNstable nation.. with
numerous guys walking around with military level weapons. they have not disarmed.

Hellooooo? this means there should have been security (30-40 Marines) posted at our Consulate. had these
Marines been in place, I doubt the attack would have been planned/carried out-- let alone be successful
in killing four of our good people.

I don't really care that "normally" we don't have much security at our Consulates-- Libya is not a
normal nation. to think it is is about a naive as it gets.

there's NO excuse for what happened. it's weak, very weak.