Since dictator Fidel Castro took power in Cuba, the regime has offered a safe haven to criminal fugitives seeking to escape justice. Currently, there are at least 90 fugitives receiving safe harbor in Cuba. From convicted felon Joanne Chesimard, to William “Guillermo”...
In-person Mobile Office Hours Tuesday, September 24, 2024 Collier County 11:00am – 1:00pm EDT Immokalee Library 417 N 1st St. Immokalee, FL 34142 Click Here Jefferson County 3:00pm – 4:30pm EDT Monticello – Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce 420 W. Washington St....
Following the suspension of Rob Malley, the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran, for being a potential counterintelligence threat, Republican Senators demanded an investigation into the Biden-Harris Administration’s actions. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) concluded...
China’s trade manipulations will devastate us—it’s time to fight back U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) September 19, 2024 New York Post Industries reel, companies crumble, and factories close their doors for good…. This could be a description of the original “China...
Under the Trump Administration, Chinese-manufactured imports were subject to large tariffs. China countered with a multi-pronged strategy to evade U.S. tariffs and trade restrictions. Recently, Chinese manufacturers have exploited a loophole in U.S. trade law by...
Forced labor is used around the world, particularly in the People’s Republic of China where the government continues to brutally repress Uyghurs and other ethnic groups from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The U.S. must remain firm in its unwavering...
We Still Need Answers On Benghazi
By Senator Marco Rubio
CNN
November 29, 2012
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/29/opinion/rubio-benghazi/index.html
Eight weeks after the terrorist attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, it is encouraging that Congress is finally serious about examining the events surrounding that day.
As the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Mike Rogers, said on “Meet the Press” recently, this was not an intelligence failure. But failures clearly happened elsewhere, particularly in the State Department.
State Department documents revealed that slain Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and others had warned several times of “growing problems with security” and violence in eastern Libya, where Benghazi is located, after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi and after the Transitional National Council moved its governing headquarters from Benghazi to Tripoli in September 2011. Stevens’ predecessor Ambassador Gene Cretz had also sent cables to the State Department warning of the deepening security crisis in Libya.
Well before the Benghazi attack, our intelligence agencies, Department of Defense and State Department cables from the U.S. Embassy in Libya all warned of a growing security crisis. They said terrorists from across the region, including al Qaeda elements believed to be associated with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, were able to travel freely into the country to recruit, organize, plan attacks and procure weapons.
This is not to suggest these attacks were planned months in advance. We don’t know, but we do know that they were premeditated. We also know that the CIA believed the Benghazi tragedy on September 11 was the work of terrorists within hours of the attacks.
Conducting diplomacy on behalf of the United States is not without risks. U.S. foreign service officers and members of the diplomatic corps understand this. I think it is important that the U.S. continue to show the flag in far-flung corners of the world, some of which may often be dangerous.
Diplomats like Stevens thrive on engaging with the local population. That important work must continue in Libya, Pakistan, Egypt and other countries that pose difficulties. However, the U.S. government has a responsibility to ensure that our posts overseas are properly fortified and defended, based on the security situation on the ground.
We know that the security at the U.S. mission in Benghazi and the CIA annex was woefully inadequate. It should have been fortified, and more reliable security forces were clearly needed to defend those facilities. Immediate access to heavier weapons may have saved lives.
It is important to decide which elements of the U.S. national security structure should be available to support the defense and extraction of U.S. diplomats and personnel if they come under fire.
…
Keep reading here.