Citizens’ Commission on Benghazi Releases Interim Report

Note: This article is an exclusive to AIM (Accuracy in Media) and contributed by AIM's Roger Aronoff.

Has the Obama administration switched sides in the War on Terror, providing arms and aid to militants linked to al Qa’eda? This conclusion was strongly hinted at during the Citizens’ Commission on Benghazi (CCB) conference held last September to uncover the truth behind the Benghazi, Libya attacks of 2012. “Here’s the sentence, here’s the headline, that the Obama administration does not want broadcast anywhere or printed anywhere: ‘Obama Administration Arms Al Qaeda,’” said Judicial Watch’s Chris Farrell at the time. Farrell’s words would prove prescient.

In its new Interim Report, the product of months of interviews with sources knowledgeable about what was happening in Libya, the CCB uncovers that, indeed, arms were going to al Qa’eda. “The U.S. facilitated the delivery of weapons and military support to al Qa’eda-linked rebels in Libya,” states one of the key findings of the report. The report also includes a summary of the 85 Freedom of Information Act requests submitted by Accuracy in Media (AIM) and the CCB.

There are also Additional Documents that support and clarify points made in the Interim Report.

Accuracy in Media and the CCB held a press briefing on Tuesday, April 22nd at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. to release and discuss the Interim Report. Attendees included CNN, The Daily Mail, Fox News, The Washington Free Beacon, World Magazine, WorldNetDaily, and The Daily Caller.

The key findings in the report include that-

• Muammar Qaddafi expressed his willingness to abdicate shortly after the beginning of the 2011 Libyan revolt, but the U.S. ignored his calls for a truce, which led to extensive loss of life (including four Americans), chaos, and detrimental outcomes for U.S. national security objectives across the region.                                                                                                                                                 
• The U.S. facilitated the delivery of weapons and military support to al Qa’eda-linked rebels in Libya.
• On the day of the attacks in Benghazi, whether or not there was an official order to stand down, the result was the same. There were military assets, for example, at the U.S. base in Sigonella, in Sicily, Italy that could have been brought to bear, and perhaps could have saved the lives of the two men killed at the CIA Annex, the scene of the second attack that night. The failure to attempt to rescue these Americans amounts to a dereliction of duty
• Previous investigations have been ineffective as the cover-up of Benghazi continues at all levels of government, prompting the need for a Select Committee with the power of subpoena to investigate this tragedy and compel testimony under oath outside the five-minute rule imposed on Congressional members by the current investigative structure.
• America needs Congress to form a Select Committee to uncover the facts about Benghazi that remain unavailable to the public, and are obscured by the five-minute rule imposed upon Members of Congress.

Accuracy in Media is pleased to see that some of the news media are choosing to cover this important breaking story. Fox News reported on the press conference, and The Drudge Report linked to The Daily Mail story. A variety of news outlets and alternative media have published articles on the press briefing and the Interim Report, with more to come. Notably absent, though invited, were news organizations such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, NBC, CBS and ABC. Here are some of the websites with links to the articles:

World Magazine

The Daily Mail

Fox News Nation

WND

Newsmax

PJ Media

Fox News Nation

Mr. Conservative

Hot Air

The Drudge Report

Instapundit

FreeRepublic

In addition, in the next day or two, the full video of the nearly two-hour press conference will be posted on the CCB website, along with an analysis of the press coverage and, in some instances, corrections. We appreciate your continuing interest in this vitally important story, and your support for the work of AIM and the CCB.