re: It takes Trey Gowdy just three minutes to silence the media

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And despite all that, there were witnesses who DID say there was a protest.

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TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — It began around nightfall on Sept. 11 with around 150 bearded gunmen, some wearing the Afghan-style tunics favored by Islamic militants, sealing off the streets leading to the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. They set up roadblocks with pick-up trucks mounted with heavy machine guns, according to witnesses.

The trucks bore the logo of Ansar al-Shariah, a powerful local group of Islamist militants who worked with the municipal government to manage security in Benghazi, the main city in eastern Libya and birthplace of the uprising last year that ousted Moammar Gadhafi after a 42-year dictatorship.

There was no sign of a spontaneous protest against an American-made movie denigrating Islam's Prophet Muhammad. But a lawyer passing by the scene said he saw the militants gathering around 20 youths from nearby to chant against the film. Within an hour or so, the assault began, guns blazing as the militants blasted into the compound.

One of the consulate's private Libyan guards said masked militants grabbed him and beat him, one of them calling him "an infidel protecting infidels who insulted the prophet."

The witness accounts gathered by The Associated Press give a from-the-ground perspective for the sharply partisan debate in the U.S. over the attack that left U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead. They corroborate the conclusion largely reached by American officials that it was a planned militant assault. But they also suggest the militants may have used the film controversy as a cover for the attack.

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U.S. officials say they are still investigating whether there is an al-Qaida connection. They say members of Ansar al-Shariah called members of al-Qaida's branch in North Africa outside of Libya and boasted of the attack. The administration has even said it is prepared to carry out drone strikes against the branch, known as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, if a link is proven. But the officials also acknowledge the calls alone do not yet prove AQIM was involved.

A day after the Benghazi attack, an unidentified Ansar al-Shariah spokesman said the militia was not involved "as an organization" — leaving open the possibility members were involved. He praised the attack as a popular "uprising" sparked by the anti-Islam film, further propagating the image of a mob attack against the consulate.

So far, the attackers' motives can only be speculated at.

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The news trickled out slowly the night of the attack, with initial reports overshadowed by the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo by protesters angry over the film. It was only the next morning that Stevens' death was confirmed.
On the day of the attack and the next day, The Associated Press referred to it as a mob attack, based on Libyan officials' comment that there was a significant unarmed protest at the time. In reporting the following days, AP referred to it as an "armed attack" and detailed its organized nature.

The past week, the AP has gathered accounts from five witnesses, including one of the embassy guards and several people living next door to the consulate compound who were present when the militants first moved in. Most spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals for talking about the attack.

The neighbors all described the militants setting up checkpoints around the compound at about 8 p.m. The State Department's timeline says the attack itself began at around 9:40 p.m.

Khaled al-Haddar, a lawyer who passed by the scene as he headed to his nearby home, said he saw the fighters gathering a few youths from among passers-by and urged them to chant against the film.

"I am certain they had planned to do something like this, I don't know if it was hours or days, but it was definitely planned," said al-Haddar. "From the way they set up the checkpoints and gathered people, it was very professional."

The guard said he saw no protesters. He heard a few shouts of "God is great," then a barrage of automatic weapons fire and rocket-propelled grenades began, along with barrages from heavy machine guns mounted on trucks.

The attackers set fire to the main consulate building. Stevens and another staffer, caught inside amid the confusion, died of smoke inhalation.

The attack came from the front and the side. A neighbor whose house is on side of the consulate compound said militants with their faces wrapped in scarves attacking.

Because of the checkpoints, "it felt like our neighborhood was occupied, no one could get out or in," he said.

The effectiveness of the roadblocks was later revealed in the State Department's account of the evacuation. It described how the rescue force came under heavy fire and grenade attacks as they tried to leave the consulate area.

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Osama Alfitory in Benghazi contributed to this report.

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Friday, 11 November 2011
Written by Rory Peck Trust

Suliman Ali Zway and Osama Alfitory, known to international journalists as the 'A Team' worked with many of the world's biggest news organisations to deliver accurate and ground breaking stories from Libya

The Rory Peck Trust today announced that Libyan fixers Suliman Ali Zway and Osama Alfitory will be the recipients of this year's Martin Adler Prize. Now in its fifth year, the prize recognises the dedication and bravery of local freelancers who have played a significant role in the reporting of a major news story. Suliman and Osama will be presented with the prize at the Rory Peck Awards ceremony on Wednesday 16 November at London’s BFI Southbank, hosted by BBC's Mishal Husain and Channel 4's Alex Thomson.

Known by international journalists as the "A Team", Suliman Ali Zway and Osama Alfitory, found themselves in every corner of the country during Libya's revolution, helping journalists deliver accurate and ground breaking news. Both had made comfortable livings working in the construction business but in early February, when many young people in eastern Libya were volunteering to help visiting journalists, the two men joined the wave. Suliman worked briefly with an Italian television crew, and for reporters working for the Washington Post. Osama first worked with a New York Times Magazine reporter.

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I fear he reads and reports with a very prejudiced mindset.

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why weren't the requests for more security answered?

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Is that still your position?

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2 days ago Decatur posted a diatribe about the video story being the fault of the CIA mistakingly believing media outlets

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