IDNS: Libyan Islamists Kill US Ambassador
September 12, 2012 16:55 by Pesach Benson
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Today’s Top Stories
1. Libyan Islamists attacked the US consulate in Benghazi, killing US ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other staffers. car. Islamist protesters also breached the US embassy in Cairo. They were protesting “Innocence of Muslims,” a US-made film about Mohammed they deemed offensive.
Sam Bacile, the film’s California-based Israeli writer/director talked to AP by phone from somewhere in hiding.
The story took a politically convoluted turn: The White House disavowed a statement from its Cairo embassy that apologized for the film. Several tweets were removed from the US Embassy Cairo Twitter feed, though Buzzfeed and others got screengrabs.
See also The Lede, whose roundup of coverage (before Stevens’ death was reported) dispelled some early confusion.
2. Everbody picked up on the fraying US-Israel ties. Although the Daily Telegraph‘s Niles Gardner was blunt, I was impressed with CBS News‘ well-rounded coverage, particularly Pamela Falk’s assessment.
3. Former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy to The Daily Beast: Tehran’s patronage of Bashar Assad may be enough to spark war irrespective of any real and imagined nuclear red lines:
“The Iranians are becoming ever more involved in Syria and it’s reaching proportions beyond the imagination,” said Halevy, who headed Mossad from 1998 to 2002 and later served as director of Israel’s National Security Council.
“This brings Israel and Iran in danger of a direct military confrontation in Syria,” he said. “It’s not to say that Israel seeks it, or Iran seeks it, but when you have such hatred spewed from Tehran towards Jerusalem, I don’t trust the Iranian capability to control what’s going on there.”
Iranian Atomic Urgency
• AP reports good news and bad news from the UN. The good news is the first paragraph:
The United States and its Western allies have persuaded Russia and China to support a resolution critical of Iran’s nuclear defiance in hope of showing Israel that diplomacy is an alternative to military force in pressuring Tehran, diplomats said Wednesday.
Now for the second paragraph’s bad news:
The resolution, which demands that Iran stop activities that could be used to make nuclear arms, cannot be enforced by the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, even if approved by vote or consensus as expected Thursday.
• Jeffrey Goldberg says Netanyahu and Obama need a marriage counselor. But why Gen. Dan Halutz?
• The Daily Mail reveals that Britain’s intelligence chief personally visited Jerusalem to dissuade Prime Minister Netanyahu from attacking Iran:
In an indication that the Government believes a strike on Tehran’s nuclear programme could be imminent, Sir John Sawers is understood to have made a personal mission to deliver a clear message that Britain is opposed to action now.
It is unusual for the head of MI6, who is known in Whitehall as ‘C’, to make a foreign visit as an emissary of the Government, and still more so for details to leak.
• Countries don’t just sever ties with each other overnight, so what did Canada learn to do just that with Iran? The CBC‘s Brian Stewart doesn’t ask why, but rather why now?
• For more commentary, see the Wall Street Journal (staff-ed), Melanie Phillips, and Shira Herzog (Globe & Mail).
• Tehran gives too much credit to the Great Satan and Little Satan.
IDNS: Libyan Islamists Kill US Ambassador | Blogs about Israel aggregation
7:44 pm
Sep 12, 2012
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jeb stuart
7:49 pm
Sep 12, 2012
If US Israeli relations are “frayed”, because and only because of Obama’s leadership or lack thereof, where does our relationship with Libya stand? What has Hillary/Obama admonitions to develop more democratic traits in the Arab Spring add up to? Islamic winter and murder.
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
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Mark
8:40 pm
Sep 12, 2012
Americans are as delusional as they have been during the last decades. Using “political correctness” mode they talking about advancement of “democracy” among those zombies who are cannibals and totally uncivilized underdeveloped boneheads. The only thing they recognized is the whip. American apologetic policies only amplified their thirst for blood. We see it all the time without any exception.
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
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Leonard
9:41 pm
Sep 12, 2012
Enough of this political correctness. 99% of the world Muslem make it bad for the rest of them.
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
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H.Laddie Schnaiberg
10:32 pm
Sep 12, 2012
I grieve about the deaths of the U.S Ambassador and the diplomats in Libya. It is important to remember that the current Libyan government, made up the rebels who fought and defeated Quaddaffi, are very thankful to the U.S. for its help in the revolution and would nothing to hurt or harm any American. The persons who did the killing are extremists and did not represent the current Libyan government. The Libyan government will locate these extremist and bring them to justice. When 241 American servicemen were killed by terrorists in Beirut, during Reagan’s presidency, no one claimed about Ronald Reagan’s “lack of leadership”. Obama is not any different from Ronald Reagan.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Barry
12:31 am
Sep 13, 2012
Sure he is. Everything about Reagan screamed “peace through strength”. Everything about Obama screams “weakness through appeasement”. The reason the Iranian hostages were released when they were was the fear that Reagan invoked. Just like the weakness that Obama invoked brought such bold action by our enemies in commemoration of their brothers’ victory on 9/11. How do you know that most of the rebels are grateful for our help? Because of the drivel coming out of this administration? Or because you know the rebels so well? Those people have their own agendas, beliefs and prejudices and they don’t conform with our sensibilities or morals regardless of how Obama pretends they do.
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H.Laddie Schnaiberg
3:50 am
Sep 13, 2012
It is unfortunate that the other writers show only hatred. Stop blaming all the Muslims for the attack in Libya. The attack was done by terrorists who represent at most 1% of the million and half Muslims in this world. The American population numbers 311 million The vast majority are fine citizens and are not delusional. The middle east was civilized long before America, and the majority of that population is not a zombie, cannibal and uncivilized bonehead.If you watched the news tonight, you heard the President of Libya express his profound sadness. He also said that the Late Ambassador was his tennis partner. The Torah says,”Respect the Stranger in your Midst”. This can only bring peace.
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Barry
5:22 am
Sep 13, 2012
Do you pull all this crap out of thin air? You attempt to pass your own fantasies as fact & you blindly support Obama regardless of what he does or how ineptly he does it; I’m sure to you, he didn’t snub Netanyahu at all. Too busy I guess. You even know how most Libyans feel toward us. You must be an Arab whisperer! The Mid-East is full of people who hate us. They hate Americans, Israelis, Jews, Christians and they kill them often! You see truth as hatred, fact as inconvenient & surely, disapproval of Obama’s policies as racist. You seem to be able to justify anything our enemies do and believe anything they’ll say. If anyone disapproves of their barbarism you consider THEM hateful. Dream on
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Natan Nota
5:34 am
Sep 13, 2012
First of all, there are 1.5 BILLION Muslims, not 1.5 million. This means that if 1% are evil, we’re talking 15,000,000, and personally, I believe its a much higher number. The USA supported the overthrow of the previous Libyan Government, just as it supported the overthrow of Mubarak…and 33 years ago supported the overthrow of the Shah of Iran. What do they have in common? The governments that replaced them were much worse in their behavior and their treatment of Americans and minorities.
You need to focus very clearly on what Iran is doing. Its government is doing exactly what Hitler did: break every rule and openly threaten others. History repeats itself. Beware.
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Barry
5:35 am
Sep 13, 2012
Mr Schnaiberg, just noticed it was you again. I’d like to point out that the last article you commented on, you misrepresented Obama’s aid numbers as fact. I checked them and posted the correction. Today I see that your “census” produced a figure showing a maximum of 1% of Muslims as being terrorists. How is one to take you seriously when you invent such numbers and pass them as fact? Even if it were fact, that’s a hell of a lot of terrorists! Everyone’s opinions are valid, but not when attempting to disguise them as fact. Open a book, read an article (not written by your favorite Cool-Aid dispensing political fiction writers) or research some of what you spew here. It would be refreshing.
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