Anne Bayefsky: Benghazi, Bergdahl and Hamas:The Common Thread in Obama's Foreign Policy

For Immediate Release: June 3, 2014

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Benghazi, Bergdahl and Hamas:The Common Thread in Obama's Foreign Policy This article by Anne Bayefsky originally appeared on FoxNews. It is about time that pundits stop describing President Obama’s foreign policy as weak. There is a straight line between emboldening Syria’s Assad by calling him a reformer, Egypt’s Morsi a democrat, Turkey’s Erdogan a friend, Iran’s Rouhani a moderate, and now a Palestinian government that includes Hamas, a peace partner. Monday's speedy announcement that the United States will work with and pay for a PLO-Hamas coalition government is a strong and predictable step in an alarming pattern.

The Signs of Al Qaeda in Benghazi That Are Being Ignored

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Raymond Ibrahim: Behind Benghazi: Muslim Brotherhood and Obama Administration

The following by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Behind Benghazi: Muslim Brotherhood and Obama Administration

by Raymond Ibrahim
CBN News
August 14, 2013
http://www.meforum.org/3585/benghazi-muslim-brotherhood

Raymond Ibrahim

Evidence that Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood was directly involved in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, where Americans including U.S. ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens were killed, continues to mount.

First, on June 26, 2013, I produced and partially translated what purported to be an internal Libyan governmental memo which was leaked and picked up by many Arabic websites. According to this document, the Muslim Brotherhood, including now ousted President Morsi, played a direct role in the Benghazi consulate attack. "Based on confessions derived from some of those arrested at the scene," asserted the report, six people, "all of them Egyptians" from the jihad group Ansar al-Sharia (Supporters of Islamic Law), were arrested. During interrogations, these Egyptian jihadi cell members:

Cynthia Farahat: Is Muslim Brotherhood Working Together With Ambassador Chris Stevens' Assassin?

The following by Cynthia Farahat is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Is Muslim Brotherhood Working Together With Ambassador Chris Stevens' Assassin?

by Cynthia Farahat
Fox News
August 12, 2013
http://www.meforum.org/3580/muslim-brotherhood-chris-stevens

Cynthia Farahat

Ahmed Moussa, a prominent Egyptian television personality on the Tahrir TV channel as well as a former officer in Egyptian State Security Intelligence (SSI), went public on July 30 with a remarkable piece of information.

Moussa said, addressing U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson (in absentia) on his show:

Ambassador Stevens was killed in Benghazi, and you know who killed him, the U.S. administration knows who killed him, and you know how he was killed and it was a major strike against the U.S. administration, and all of you. 

The assassin is now present at Rabia Al-Adawiya [mosque protest] His name is, do you know it or you would like me to inform you? He's affiliated with Al Qaeda in Libya, his name is Mohsen Al-Azazi, his passport was found in the house of Khairat El-Shater. 

That killer is in Rabia Al-Adawiya now, with Safwat Hegazy and Mohammed El-Beltagy, whom you and your administration support and aid. Your administration aids terrorism.

In the course of this statement, Moussa announced three facts:

Was Egypt's President Morsi Involved in the Benghazi Terrorist Attack?

The following by Cynthia Farahat is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Benghazi Terrorists: 'Dr. Morsi Sent Us'

by Cynthia Farahat
FrontPageMagazine.com
May 31, 2013

http://www.meforum.org/3521/benghazi-terrorists-egypt

The terrorist attack in Benghazi is far more disturbing than previously thought. Although it has not been reported in the U.S. media, the possibility exists that the Egyptian government may have played an operational role in the attack. YouTube videos of the terrorist strike raise a serious problem that only an Arabic speaker would detect: some of the terrorists are speaking in the Egyptian dialect of the Arabic language.

Indeed, one of the videos shot with a cell phone of one of the attackers emerged around the time four Americans were killed. It shows a mob approaching the American compound under siege, clearly telling the terrorists in the dialect of Upper Egypt: "Mahadesh, mahadesh yermi, Dr. Morsi ba'atna" — which translates to: "Don't shoot, don't shoot, Dr. Morsi sent us."

A Review of What We Know About Benghazi So Far: Issues and Sub-Scandals

The Benghazi Scorecard

by j
Yated Ne'eman
May 24, 2013


My guess is that Benghazi is about to be overshadowed by a slew of IRS-related scandals. For low-information citizens more interested in the tabloid fare served up in supermarket checkout lines, Benghazi is a long way away and its significance hard to pinpoint. Every one, however,deals with the IRS at one level or another.

But Benghazi will resurface in spades, if, as expected, Hillary Clinton decides to make a run for the presidency in 2016. Over her long public career, Hillary has been caught telling numerous lies. Remember her memory of landing under sniper fire in Bosnia. Remember the great "right-wing conspiracy" accusing her husband of improprieties.

None of her lies, however, reveal her Lady Macbeth-like ambition and ruthlessness to the same degree as her telling the father of slain Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, as his son's coffin lay in front of them, that the U.S. government would arrest and prosecute the maker of the film that allegedly triggered the Benghazi attack, long after she knew conclusively that the video had absolutely nothing to do with that attack. (The government did, in fact, arrest the filmmaker, and he has been in jail since for probation violation.)

Because questions still remain and because the issue is so likely to resurface again it is worthwhile to review what we know at this point and what we can reasonably surmise.

Despite Obama's Scandals, Obama Accuses Republicans of Making People Cynical About Government

What’s blocking us right now is a sort of hyper-partisanship in Washington that I was, frankly, hoping to overcome in 2008...As a consequence we get the kind of gridlock that makes people cynical about government
Obama, complaining to Democratic Party donors

Joel Gehrke of The Washington Examiner writes that according to Obama, it is the Republicans that are making Americans ‘cynical about Government’:

The president — whose administration has spent the last four days under fire for failing to send aid to Americans under attack in Benghazi; hiding what it knew about terrorists’ involvement in the attack for two weeks; employing IRS staff who targeted Tea Party groups for special audits; and having the Justice Department pull phone records of Associated Press reporters — then said that the Republican opposition is producing cynicism about government. (emphasis added)

To be able to say with a straight fact that it is the Republicans that are producing cynicism about the government, requires a special level of cynicism all its own.

President Obama. If the Republicans are the ones inspiring cynicism,
does that mean he is inspiring trust? Credit: Wiki Commons

Once again, Obama reveals a level of campaign expertise that far outstrips his competence in governing the country and looking after the basic needs of American citizens.

I recall that around the time of the November 2008 election, Obama claimed that the way he ran his campaign was a clear indication of how effective he would be in running the country. Apparently not enough people realized the difference between campaigning and governing before the November 2012 election.

Maybe more of them realize it now.

Hat tip: +Florence Johnson

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Technorati Tag: Obama and Benghazi and IRS and Justice Department.

Arlene Kushner on the Red Cross Honoring Terrorists and Other Matters

From Arlene Kushner:
May 12, 2013

Calling Your Attention...

To a variety of matters, each briefly. 

I begin with the Borovsky family -- the widow and five orphans left behind when Evyatar was brutally murdered by a terrorist at Tapuach Junction.  Murdered for no reason other than that he was Jewish.

Credit: IsraelToday

An appeal has gone out for funds for this family, and I ask you to consider helping, if you are moved to do so.  

The fund was established by Rabbi David Dudkevich, rabbi of Yitzhar (home of the Borowvskys; Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, rabbi of the Shomron Religious Council and others.

Visit the secure website Mekimi and learn about tax deductions and how to donate.  It is essential to specify Fund no. 1515 for the Borovsky family.  The website can be accessed in Hebrew or English (see upper left of homepage).

~~~~~~~~~~

And now a number of other issues to which you might want to direct your attention.  We'll start with this from Palestinian Media Watch:

What Benghazi Reveals About Self-Blame in American Society -- And The Failure of the Obama Administration

Now that the issue of Benghazi is being addressed in Congress, Barry Rubin poses the question Why the Benghazi Issue is Overwhelmingly Important

Congress holds hearing about last year's terrorist assault on the US
diplomatic mission in Benghazi (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

Rubin notes that a key point is getting lost among the multitude of details and timelines that are being presented to the public about what happened on September 11, 2012 -- a point that is central to the development of American society and intellectual life over the last decade:

America was attacked once again on that September 11, attacked by al-Qaida in an attempt to destroy the United States—as ridiculous as that goal might seem. Yet the U.S. government blamed the attack on America itself.

After listing the numerous consequences of that attitude of self-blame in the wake of the terrorist attack on Benghazi, Rubin turns his attention to other issues -- among them:

Mideast Media Sampler 5/03/13: The Benghazi Scandal Continues -- And Hillary is Not Clear of It Yet

by David Gerstman, contributing blogger at Legal Insurrection


1) The innocence of the Obama administration

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on September 14, 2012:

Mideast Media Sampler 4/05/13: Palestinians Throwing Stones Is All Fun And Games To The Media Until Someone Loses A Life

by David Gerstman, contributing blogger at Legal Insurrection

1) Casting the first stone - and all the subsequent ones too 

What's the difference between assault with a deadly weapon - a shooting - and assault with rocks that hit cars at potentially lethal speeds? Why should teenagers think of rock-throwing as something fun to do - and not as a crime?
Excerpt from Beltway Rocks: Police Responses The Washington Post [Washington, D.C] 05 June 1990: A24.

Earlier this week, the Washington Post and New York Times reported on allegations that Israel allowed a Palestinian prisoner die. Never mind that the prisoner in question had a terminal disease or that the Palestinian Authority politicians making the charges had no basis for their claims, both papers treated the charges uncritically.

But if trumped up charges are news, apparently real attacks are not.

Mass Arrest and Torture of Christians in US Ally Libya

The following by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Mass Arrest and Torture of Christians in Libya

by Raymond Ibrahim
FrontPageMagazine.com
March 1, 2013

http://www.meforum.org/3459/arrest-torture-christians-libya

Last week's news of four Christian missionaries in Libya placed under arrest, possibly facing the death penalty for "proselytizing," is apparently the tip of the iceberg. Yesterday, Arabic media reported that over 100 Christian Copts from Egypt, who appear to have been living and working in Libya, were recently arrested in Ben Ghazi—also on the accusation, or pretext, of being "Christian missionaries."

One video made by the Libyan militia interrogators—most of whom look like Islamic Salafis, with long beards and clipped mustaches—appeared on the Internet yesterday. It shows a room full of detained Copts. They sit hunched over on the floor—with all their hair shaven off, looking like dejected, or doomed, concentration camp prisoners. According to one source, many of these Copts have been tortured. Some have had the famous Coptic cross often tattooed on the wrists of Copts burned off with acid.

Why Are Terrorists Who Murdered US Ambassador Chris Stevens Walking Free In Benghazi In Public?

Barry Rubin writes about the latest development in Benghazi - Breaking News: Five Months After Benghazi Murders: Killers Frolic Untouched There.

It has been five months since the murder of US Ambassador Chris Stevens and 3 members of his staff, with Obama and Hillary Clinton apparently doing as little during that time as they did during the events leading up to -- and during -- the day of tragedy of that terrorist attack.

Rubin notes that at the very least, even though they were still able to appear publicly -- the group identified by witnesses as being behind the attack was forced to cease their activities.

But now that has changed as Libya militia linked to U.S. attack returns to Benghazi.

Rubin explains:

Considering Panetta's Testimony, We Can Understand Obama's Cover-up Of The Benghazi Disaster

William Kristol and Peter Wehner lay out what Panetta's congressional testimony reveals about Obama's failure in Benghazi:

Thanks to the congressional testimony of outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey late last week, we know they met with President Obama on Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. in a pre-scheduled meeting, when they informed the president about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. The meeting lasted about a half-hour. Mr. Panetta said they spent roughly 20 minutes of the session briefing the president on the chaos at the American Embassy in Cairo and the attack in Benghazi, which eventually cost the lives of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, security personnel Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, and information officer Sean Smith.

Video: Looks Like Hillary Doesn't Really Take Responsibility For The Benghazi Terrorist Attack After All

Despite Hillarycare, Whitewater, Travelgate, Filegate, the cattle-futures mess, the circumstances surrounding the 2000 Clinton pardons, “suspension of disbelief,” etc., Ms. Clinton, for not fully explained reasons, remains mostly beyond audit and censure, a fact she has come to appreciate.
Victor Davis Hanson, What Difference?

Back in October, Hillary claimed to take responsibility for the tragic -- and possibly avoidable -- terrorist attack that resulted in the death of 4 Americans, including the US Ambassador to Libya.

The unasked question was whether Clinton thought there should be actual consequences for the failure of the State Department to resolve security issues and see to the proper defense of Americans there.

Here is Hillary "taking responsibility" -- do you think she plans on accepting any consequences for the State Department's failure?

Why Is Hillary Clinton Being Sued?

While there are investigations into the apparent negligence of the State Department that led to the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, a lawsuit has been filed alleging carelessness by the State Department in enforcing safeguards governing funding of Palestinian groups in the Middle East.

Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center has announced Hillary Clinton sued by Americans over funding of Palestinian terror groups:

A group of 24 Americans living in Israel, including victims of terrorism, filed a lawsuit today against the US government over its funding of Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza.