The American public is used to conspiracy theories, and as
fast as they arise, they are dismissed by most. The term “conspiracy theory” is
used to deem a story as ridiculous, paranoid or unfounded. For most Americans, “the
Nile is a river in Egypt.”
John F. Kennedy’s assassination was the center of several
conspiracy theories that even resulted in books, documentaries and the Oliver
Stone movie. The versions involved parties such as the CIA, the American Mafia,
VP Lyndon B. Jonson, Fidel Castro and many more. The likelihood that Oswald
acted alone was extremely low, as proven by many, but the Warren Commission
refused to release all the information.
Coincidentally, his brother Robert Kennedy was also
murdered, but of course, the American public again dismissed the possibility of
a “conspiracy.” And then Martin Luther King was also a write off for many –but not
all- Americans.
When a conspiracy theory becomes true and can be proven,
such as President Nixon’s Watergate break-in and cover-up, then it becomes
investigative journalism or a historical fact.
In September 2001, the country was attacked by al-Qaida, in
the largest operation ever known in the United States soil.
Although the US armed forces launched the Afghanistan
invasion shortly after, people around the world speculated about the Republican
administration’s involvement in the attack, given the slow reaction of the then
President George W. Bush, the excellent justification for the war on Iraq that followed,
and the lack of “enthusiasm” in looking for Osama Bin Laden.
Those theories have not faded away, says the BBC. Around 15 percent
Americans, especially young people, believe in the possibility that VP Cheney
was somehow involved in the attack.
Over a decade later, with only less than two months to the
Presidential elections 2012, the Benghazi attack occurs, damaging –or at least
trying to damage–the successful Foreign Affairs performance of President Barack
Obama in finding bin Laden and ending the war in Iraq.
I just highlighted some quotes from the New York Times report
on 10/1/2012:
“The Sept. 11 attack culminated several weeks of growing
violence against Western and other diplomatic posts in Benghazi. State
Department officials said they were aware of the worsening climate and took
precautions. One American official who worked in the mission said the Americans
there were able to get around with ‘appropriate prudence’.”
“Apparently, due to the increasing violence reported, the US
Embassy in Tripoli had sent Special Operations personnel, including Navy SEALs
and bomb-squad specialists to reinforce the Benghazi Embassy.”
The Attack “began about 9:30 p.m., roughly 15 minutes after
Mr. Stevens had finished an evening meeting with the Turkish ambassador, bid
him farewell and chatted briefly with a handful of Libyan guards at the gate of
the compound.”
“Mustafa el-Sagizli, an officer in the February 17 Brigade
and a senior official in the transitional government, said that he repeatedly
called the mission’s official translator who for most of the night was unable
to reach the ambassador’s security guards.”
“Security at the mission has become a major issue as the
Obama administration struggles to explain what happened during the attack, who
was responsible and how the ambassador ended up alone.”
“Mr. Stevens’s own bodyguard was so far away that he needed
to sprint across the compound under gunfire to reach the building where the
ambassador was working at the time.”
“‘There are three villas inside and the walls are high, and
the only house that got hit was the house we were in,’ said Fathi el-Obeidi, a
Libyan militia commander who came to help evacuate the Americans.”
Was there any "insider information" about the situation of the Embassy and its surroundings?
The situation surely called for chaos and confusion but I believe
additional information will come out from the incident because President Obama
has shown to be relentless in finding terrorists, however, … would he share the
findings with the American public?
But, of course, this is just a “conspiracy theory.”
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