(Image source: U.S. Embassy - Tripoli, Libya )

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

 

ANCHOR JASMINE BAILEY


Was it pre-planned or spontaneous?

The Obama administration insists the attack which killed U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens was spontaneous, part of a protest against an anti-Islam film. But a source tells CNN the ambassador warned of security threats well before the attack.

“Sources also tell CNN that ambassador Stevens expressed concerns about security in the months before he died, specifically mentioning a rise in Islamic extremism and a growing Al Qaeda presence in Libya.”

CNN’s source also says Stevens believed he was on an Al Qaeda hit list. This comes as an Obama administration official calls the attack on the embassy a terrorist act for the first time.

“Certainly on that particular question I would say ‘yes.’ They were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy.” ( Video via C-SPAN )

That looks like a reversal of the administration’s position, but officials still say while the attack may have come from terrorists, it was opportunistic instead of pre-planned. A CBS intelligence analyst says they’re just splitting hairs.

“Whenever you mix facts, politics and then torture the language — what’s a terrorist attack versus a planned terrorist attack … My definition of a terrorist attack is when people are firing rocket-propelled grenades at you.”

So what does it matter whether the attack was pre-planned? A reporter for McClatchy says whether the attack could have been foreseen and guarded against makes a big difference to President Obama.

“His claims that his policies have made Americans safer and devastated the core of al Qaida are key planks of his campaign for re-election in November.”

Intelligence officials are investigating a possible Al Qaeda connection in the attacks, but the New York Times says it’s unlikely they’ll find one.

Quoting experts on Islamist groups, the paper says the actual Al Qaeda organization is basically non-existent, that it’s nothing more than a catch-all brand name for armed extremist groups.

Fox News reports the group behind the attack may be even more of a political powder keg — an Islamist group led by a former Guantanamo Bay detainee.

“Sufyan bin Qumu … He was released from U.S. custody back in 2007. The understanding was that he would be held in Libyan custody, but it didn’t quite work out that way.”

Witnesses describe seeing the flag of bin Qumu’s group at the protest, but the group has denied responsibility.