Flopping Aces ^ |
The NY Times has lost all of its credibility. All of it. Not long ago they made the decision to endorse all of Barack Obama's lies and now has gone fully into the Hillary Clinton tank. David Kirkpatrick's article "A Deadly Mix in Benghazi" could be summarized thusly:
Kirkpatrick: "Mr. al Qaeda, were you involved in the Benghazi attack?" Al Qaeda: "No we were not." Kirkpatrick: "Who attacked the consulate?" Al Qaeda: "Hooligans" Kirkpatrick: "Why?" Al Qaeda: "It was that video." Kirkpatrick: "Thank you"
That's pretty much it. It's pathetic and a painfully obvious attempt to vindicate Hillary Clinton. It has been widely slammed by both Republicans and at least one Democrat- those who had access to sources to Kirkpatrick did not and chose to ignore.
Kirkpatrick writes:
Months of investigation by The New York Times, centered on extensive interviews with Libyans in Benghazi who had direct knowledge of the attack there and its context, turned up no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault.
Then he goes on to say
One of his allies, the leader of Benghazi’s most overtly anti-Western militia, Ansar al-Shariah, boasted a few months before the attack that his fighters could “flatten” the American Mission. Surveillance of the American compound appears to have been underway at least 12 hours before the assault started.
and here's the money line:
Mr. Abu Khattala, who denies participating in the attack,
Well, that's that. He just happened to be at the scene of the attack.
Thing is, Ansar al-Shariah does have connections to Al Qaeda.
Ansar al-Sharia: No one has disputed the participation of a local Islamist militia known as Ansar al-Sharia. The Times describes Ansar al-Sharia in Libya as a group formed in 2012 to protest the support other militias had for elections but an organization separate and distinct from al Qaeda. An August 2012 report commissioned by a Pentagon terrorism research organization found that Ansar al-Sharia “has increasingly embodied al Qaeda’s presence in Libya, as indicated by its active social-media propaganda, extremist discourse, and hatred of the West, especially the United States.” Not everyone however agreed. As The Daily Beast reported last year, Ansar al-Sharia was not a priority for U.S. intelligence collection in Libya. The Times also drew a distinction between the Benghazi branch of Ansar al-Sharia and the Dernaa branch of the group that was led by a former Guantanamo detainee Sufian Ben Qhumu. Others however see Ansar al-Sharia’s activities in Libya more coordinated with al-Qaeda’s regional affiliates. In October, Tunisia’s Prime Minister told Reuters that “there is a relation between leaders of Ansar al-Sharia, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar al-Sharia in Libya.” The Times also states, “the Republican arguments appear to conflate purely local extremist organizations like Ansar al-Shariah with al Qaeda’s international terrorist network.” On Fox News Sunday Rogers stuck to his guns. “Do they have differences of opinions with al Qaeda core? Yes,” he said. “Do they have affiliations with al Qaeda core? Definitely.”
In his whitewash efforts, Kirkpatrick also dismisses previous NY Times reports:
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...

