Something stunning that I just heard about Benghazi from Geraldo (of all people!)

[leveymg]

15. The locals knew he was in town because they met with him at 4pm the day before.

See the images of the itinerary in the Post article I linked above. http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/world/sensitive-documents-left-with-little-security-at-us-mission-in-benghazi/35/

The locals all know what US officials, DOS and CIA, do in their own countries, much better than do the American people. I would say that the attack was against US interests, in general, rather than aimed specifically at either the Ambassador or the Agency people in place. There's not a big distinction in the eyes of some.

These are people who belong to groups we are willing to use for our own purposes, just like bin Laden's people in Bosnia and Kosovo, who do not see us as their allies, who the CIA let into the country in 2000 and 2001. I think sometimes that distinction is lost, particularly to the higher-ups in Washington pursuing policy agendas, such as regime change, and not so particular about who carries them out or how US officials on the ground deal with their local operatives. Stevens had a personal relationship with these operations and some of the individuals much like T.E. Lawrence did during the First World War, and he may have been too close to the subject to remain objective about the risks, both personal and of the foreseeable risks of policy failure.

Stevens was a brave and intelligent man who died in the service of his country, and no matter what my disagreements with the policy he was carrying out, I still mourn and respect him, and grieve at losses suffered by my country. I criticize policy, in particular, because I still care about these things.