Carney says 'self evident' Benghazi attack was terrorism, despite claims it was spontaneous Published September 20, 2012
FoxNews.com
The White House, after insisting for more than a week that the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was a "spontaneous" act, conceded Thursday that it was "self evident" that it was an act of terror -- an admission that took eight days for any administration official to make.
Earlier in the week, a top State Department spokeswoman declined to label the attack terrorism.
Carney's comment, though, comes after the director of the National Counterterrorism Center testified on Capitol Hill that the strike was indeed a "terrorist attack." Intelligence sources also told Fox News on Wednesday they are convinced the deadly attack was directly tied to Al Qaeda, with a former Guantanamo detainee involved.
The administration is still sticking by its claim that they don't have evidence the assault was pre-planned. But Carney for the first time Thursday called it terrorism -- while downplaying the fact that he was doing so.
"It is, I think, self evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack," Carney said. "Our embassy was attacked violently and the result was four deaths of American officials. That is self evident."
On Monday, though, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland would not go so far when asked whether the attack was terrorism. To that point, administration officials had said publicly they believed the "spontaneous" attack was triggered or inspired by protests in Egypt over an anti-Islam film.
"I don't think we know enough. I don't think we know enough," Nuland said. "And we're going to continue to assess. She gave our preliminary assessment. We're going to have a full investigation now, and then we'll be in a better position to put labels on things, okay?"
Matt Olsen, director of the NCTC, put a label on it during a Senate hearing Wednesday.
"Yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy," Olsen said.
Olsen echoed administration colleagues in saying U.S. officials have no specific intelligence about "significant advanced planning or coordination" for the attack.
However, he was the first top administration official to call the strike an act of terrorism.
Fox News, meanwhile, was told by intelligence sources that Sufyan Ben Qumu is thought to have been involved and even may have led the attack. Qumu, a Libyan, was released from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2007 and transferred into Libyan custody on the condition he be kept in jail. He was released by the Qaddafi regime as part of its reconciliation effort with Islamists in 2008.
His Guantanamo files also show he has ties to the financiers behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The declassified files also point to ties with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, a known Al Qaeda affiliate.
Olson, repeating Wednesday that the FBI is handling the Benghazi investigation, also acknowledged the attack could lead back to Al Qaeda and its affiliates.
"We are looking at indications that individuals involved in the attack may have had connections to Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda's affiliates, in particular Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb," he said at the Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing.
Still, Olsen said "the facts that we have now indicate that this was an opportunistic attack on our embassy, the attack began and evolved and escalated over several hours," Olson said.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, called Wednesday for an independent review of the attack.
"A State Department Accountability Review Board to look into the Benghazi attack is not sufficient," Collins said. "Given the loss of the lives of four Americans who were serving their country and the serious questions that have been raised about the security at our Consulate in Benghazi, it is imperative that a non-political, no-holds-barred examination be conducted."
Fox News' Bret Baier contributed to this report.Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/20/carney-elf-evident-benghazi-attack-was-terrorism/#ixzz2736RvMnK
