Benghazi

“ Every morning, as we enjoy our first cup of coffee and get ready for the day ahead, there are tens of thousands of Americans already on the job representing the United States at diplomatic posts around the world. They are deeply committed to this work, and their protection is one of our government’s most solemn responsibilities.
That is why I agreed to serve on a select committee to investigate the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya that took the lives of four Americans on September 11, 2012. ”

“ Still further to the west, and forming the boundary of the Empire in this direction, lay the district of the Cyrenaica, a tract of singular fertility and beauty. Between Benghazi, in east longitude 20°, and the Ras al Tynn (long. 23° 15’) , there rises above the level of the adjacent regions an extensive table land, which, attracting the vapors that float over the Mediterranean, condenses them, and so abounds with springs and rills. ”

“ El Ajdabiah replaced it in the Saracenic epoch; and so little have things changed in the long lapse of years, that the wells of the latter place, though its castles and mosques have fallen, are still the favourite halt of the caravans passing between Benghazi and Augila.
The commerce is now insignificant; Augila and Jalo have only dates to send in exchange for corn and the few manufactured articles which the rude life of these people requires. At uncertain and long intervals, however, when the great caravan from Waday arrives, [177] life is given to the commerce of Benghazi. ”

“ The attacks on the civilians in Benghazi were attacks on America. We are grateful for the assistance we received from the Libyan government and from the Libyan people. There should be no doubt that we will be relentless in tracking down the killers and bringing them to justice. ”

“ Now, in addition to the immediate action we took and the review board process, we’re moving on a third front: addressing the broader strategic challenge in North Africa and the wider region. Benghazi did not happen in a vacuum. The Arab revolutions have scrambled power dynamics and shattered security forces across the region. Instability in Mali has created an expanding safe haven for terrorists who look to extend their influence and plot further attacks of the kind we just saw last week in Algeria. ”

“ But the American people should know that with or without Congressional action, ISIL will learn the same lessons as terrorists before them. If you doubt America’s commitment—or mine—to see that justice is done, ask Osama bin Laden. Ask the leader of al Qaeda in Yemen, who was taken out last year, or the perpetrator of the Benghazi attacks, who sits in a prison cell. When you come after Americans, we go after you. It may take time, but we have long memories, and our reach has no limit. ”

“ On the same day our civilians were killed in Benghazi, a Turkish police officer was murdered in Istanbul only days before his wedding; more than 10 Yemenis were killed in a car bomb in Sana’a; several Afghan children were mourned by their parents just days after they were killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul. ”

“ We continue to hunt the terrorists responsible for the attacks in Benghazi and are determined to bring them to justice. And we are using our diplomatic and economic tools to support the emerging democracies, including Libya, in order to give them the strength to provide a path away from extremism.
But finally, the United States must continue to lead in the Middle East, in North Africa, and around the globe. We’ve come a long way in the past four years, and we cannot afford to retreat now. When America is absent, especially from unstable environments, there are consequences. ”

“ I was detained in Benghazi much longer than I could have wished by the non-arrival of a vessel containing a part of my luggage, and by the beginning of Ramadhan, during which time it is next to impossible to travel.
Servants who are fasting all day cannot be expected to be much inclined for exertion, and as at night they sit up to gossip, or to sing, waiting till it is time to take the last meal before the dawn, it is hopeless in a tent to look for sleep. ”

“ Every day, all across the world, American diplomats and civilians work tirelessly to advance the interests and values of our nation. Often, they are away from their families. Sometimes, they brave great danger.
Yesterday, four of these extraordinary Americans were killed in an attack on our diplomatic post in Benghazi. ”

“ When I speak of wealth, it is in a comparative sense; probably no one, either native or foreigner, has a capital of 4000l.; but there is no absolute poverty among the people, for the cultivation of the land is open to all, on paying a tax of one-tenth of the produce; and, excepting the Morocco or Tunis Hajji, who pass through on their way to Mecca, I have never seen a beggar in Benghazi.
The government of the province is in the hands of a Bey, sometimes sent from Constantinople, sometimes nominated by the Pacha of Tripoli, to whom he is subordinate. ”

“ We have said from the beginning that our investigation would follow the facts wherever they lead us—and we intend to keep that promise by reviewing all of the relevant facts and documents in order to issue the definitive report on what happened before, during, and after the terrorist attacks in Benghazi. ”

“ He pays to the Porte a yearly sum of 48,000 dollars, extracting from the Arabs nearly twice as much; the greater part is destined to swell his own money-bags, the rest being used, according to the approved receipt in this country, to anoint the eyes of his superiors in Benghazi and Tripoli. In person he is strongly built, but not tall, having the finest chest and arm I ever beheld ”

“ In Derna, Benghazi, and other towns subject to the influences of external commerce, the usages differ little from those of the Egyptian Arabs, and the women do not appear unveiled in public. Here, also, the inhabitants are grouped, not according to their tribes, but according to their trades and pursuits. But in the rural districts distinct territories are occupied by the ailets, a term collectively applied to all the tribes of Cyrenaica. The Aulad-Ali of the Egyptian Libya are encroaching from the west on the Barka highlands, where they already possess extensive grazing-groimds. ”

“ Our committee will then call her to appear before the Committee in a public hearing to answer questions specifically regarding Libya and the Benghazi terrorist attacks that took the lives of our four brave fellow citizens. ”

“ When I was in Jalo, the Italian authorities, who were then on unfriendly terms with Sayed Idris, had prohibited the sending of goods from Benghazi and the other ports of Cyrenaica into the interior. Consequently prices of commodities at such inland places as Jedabia went up with a leap. Majabra merchants, arriving at Jalo with caravans of goods from Egypt, heard of this abnormal situation in the north. Without a moment’s hesitation they changed their plans, trekked north instead of south, and sold their goods to splendid advantage in Jedabia. ”

“ Near here are extensive ruins, showing only the ground plan of many buildings, which, from the name, are supposed to mark the site of Adrianopolis. Soon after this the road enters the dried sandy bed of the salt lake, which, filled by the winter gales from the sea, gradually evaporates in the course of the summer. At length, we again reached Benghazi, after an absence of rather more than three months.
[154] CHAPTER XII. What a Consul should be. — Turkish Oppression. — Official Corruption. — Universal Venality. — The Moslem hates the Christian. ”

“ Senator Webb, you said as president you would never have used military force in Libya and that the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was, in your words, "inevitable." Should Secretary Clinton have seen that attack coming?
WEBB: Look, let's start -- I've been trying to get in this conversation for about ten minutes -- let's start with why Russia is in Syria right now. There are three strategic failings that have allowed this to occur. The first was the invasion of Iraq, which destabilized ethnic elements in Iraq and empowered Iran. ”

“ Along the shores of this vast southern basin of the Mediterranean no towns or habitations are met, beyond a few groups of hovels and Bedouin encampments. Not even the ruins have survived of A/abia, which, in medieval times, was a populous and flourishing place as an outport for the products of the oases. The coast, especially in the neighbourhood of Benghazi, is defended by a considerable number of little forts, some mere towers of Arab construction, others old bastions built of Cyclopean blocks. ”

“ The Turkish Government levies at Jalo heavy duties upon the produce of Waday, 25 dollars on the cantar of ivory (98 lbs.) —a sum more than its original value, and one dollar a head upon the slaves, upon whom a further duty of seven dollars and a half is charged at Benghazi. Those shipped for Constantinople, however, go duty free, the supply of so necessary a commodity for the capital being encouraged in every possible way. The Wadayan slaves are amongst the least intelligent negroes in Africa, and have the reputation of being thievishly inclined ”

“ The Benghazi district is generally very fertile, especially along the north coast, which curves round towards Tokra. But it is still so thinly inhabited that the land is at the disposition of the first comer. A palm-grove, the only one occurring on the coast of Cyrenaica west of Derna, occupies a portion of the peninsula north of the town, and the lakes are skirted by a few gardens, which require special cultiva- tion in order to obtain good crops of fruit and vegetables. The surface soil is first removed and matting laid down, after which the mould is replaced, mixed with manure. ”

“ Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty – are part of a broader strategic challenge to the United States and our partners in North Africa. I think it’s important we understand the context for this challenge as we work together to protect our people and honor our fallen colleagues.
Any clear-eyed examination of this matter must begin with this sobering fact: since 1988, there have been nineteen Accountability Review Boards investigating attacks on American diplomats and their facilities. Since 1977, 65 American diplomatic personnel have been killed by terrorists. ”

“ But I also want to stress the list of attacks that were foiled, crises averted, and lives saved is even longer. We should never forget that the security professionals get it right more than 99% of the time, against difficult odds, because the terrorists only need to get it right once. ”

“ Bengham had undertaken the education of the young monarch, and was keeping him under the strictest surveillance. He meddles in all the affairs of government, and makes Kahumanna, and even sometimes Karemaku, the instrument of his will; pays particular attention to commercial concerns, in which he appears to take great interest; and seems to have quite forgotten his original situation and the object of his residence in the islands, finding the avocations of a ruler more to his taste than those of a preacher. ”

“ Having met the members of the commission and other Americans residing in the Philippines, I am glad to testify that they are, as a rule, men of character, ability and standing. The personnel of Philippine official life is not likely to be improved, and so long as we occupy the islands under a colonial policy, the Benguet experiment is liable to be repeated in various forms, and yet the Filipinos point to the Benguet folly to show that the Americans are both ignorant of local conditions and partial toward the foreign population. ”

“ It was singular to observe, during the whole of this affair, the total want of system and discipline which prevailed; each person hurrying he hardly knew where, because he saw others in motion, and leaving his home, with his family and property, at the mercy of any one who might invade it. A handful of men might have taken the whole town, which was left for several hours without any defence, and carried off their plunder beyond the reach of pursuit before the inhabitants knew they had been there. This was the only molestation we ever met with from the people of Bengazi ”

“ The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group emerged in 1995 among Libyans who had fought against Soviet force in Afghanistan. They declared the government of Libyan leader un-Islamic and pledged to overthrow it. Some members organized against Libyan Government interests, where as others aligned with Usama bin Laden's al Qaida organization or are active in the international Mujahedin network. The group was designated for asset freeze in September 2001.
4. The detainee believed his direct supervisor was more affiliated with the Taliban than with al Qaida. ”

“ Q Even if our explicit goal is not regime change or nation-building, the President would be delighted if the Afghan people did that job for us? MR. FLEISCHER: The Afghani people are not synonymous with the Taliban. They are different. And the Taliban, to a significant degree has come in from the outside, from other nations, from different regions of the world, and they've taken advantage of the turmoil that has existed in Afghanistan and the lack of a powerful central government in Afghanistan to make Afghanistan the breeding ground for their international terrorism. ”