Another conspiracy theory unravels into nothing
12/30/13 08:00 AM—UPDATED 12/30/13 10:24 AM
By Steve Benen
The New York Times published a six-part, multi-media report over the weekend on last year’s attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, and it’s arguably the most comprehensive examination of what transpired that’s been published by a major news organization to date. It’s well worth your time, though this is the excerpt that’s understandably generated the most attention:
Months of investigation by The New York Times, centered on extensive interviews with Libyans in Benghazi who had direct knowledge of the attack there and its context, turned up no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault.
The attack was led, instead, by fighters who had benefited directly from NATO’s extensive air power and logistics support during the uprising against Colonel Qaddafi. And contrary to claims by some members of Congress, it was fueled in large part by anger at an American-made video denigrating Islam.
This is not to say the article paints the administration in a positive light; it doesn’t. On the contrary, reading the report on the deadly tragedy, it’s clear U.S. officials made poor security decisions, trusted the wrong people, and were broadly ill-informed about the nature of the threats around them.
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http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/conspiracy-theory-unravels-nothing
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