US: No Evidence al-Qaeda Ordered Attack on Benghazi Consulate

Officials See Attack as 'Opportunistic,' But Questions Still Remain

US officials say that there is no evidence that the September 11 attack on the Benghazi Consulate was ordered by al-Qaeda, or that it was planned long in advance, with intelligence now suggesting it was an “opportunistic” attack, likely a function of the low level of security and the visit of the ambassador.

US intelligence officials say that not everyone involved appeared to have been part of the same group, and that some of the “attackers” may have just joined in on the in-progress raid to loot the offices.

Of course this is just the latest in a long line of stories, and different agencies appear to have reached different conclusions in the wake of the attack, because while the Obama Administration was insisting the attack had no militant involvement for quite some time, the CIA had concluded based on eyewitness reports that militants did play a part.

Libyan officials have repeatedly blamed the group Ansar al-Sharia Benghazi (ASB) for the attack. The group’s leader admitted to being there during the attack but insists he wasn’t actually involved, and the jury still seems to be out on who actually plotted the attack.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.