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Emails told White House of terrorist claim two hours after Libya attack
 Officials at the White House and State Department were advised two hours after the assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, on September 11 that an Islamic The emails, obtained from government sources not connected with U.S. intelligence agencies or the State Department and who requested anonymity, specifically mention that Ansar al-Sharia had asserted responsibility for the attacks. The short emails also show how U.S. diplomats described the attack, while it was still under way, to Washington. Spokesmen for the White House and State Department had no immediate response to requests for comments on the emails. The records obtained by Reuters consist of three emails dispatched by the State Department's Operations Center to multiple government offices, including addresses at the White House, Pentagon, intelligence community and FBI, on the afternoon of September 11. The first, timed at 4:05 p.m. Washington time - or 10:05 p.m. Benghazi time, 20-30 minutes after the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission allegedly began - carried the subject line "U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi Under Attack" and the notation "SBU", meaning "Sensitive But Unclassified." The message said the State Department's regional security office had reported that the diplomatic mission in Benghazi was "under attack. Embassy in Tripoli reports approximately 20 armed people fired shots; explosions have been heard as well." It continued, "Ambassador Stevens, who is currently in Benghazi, and four ... personnel are in the compound safe haven. The 17th of February militia is providing security support." A second email, headed "Update 1: U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi" and timed 4:54 p.m. Washington time, said that the Embassy in Tripoli had reported that "the firing at the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi had stopped and the compound had been cleared." It said a "response team" was at the site attempting to locate missing personnel. A third email, also marked SBU and sent at 6:07 p.m. Washington time, carried the subject line: "Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack." The message reported, "Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli." While some of the content identifying recipients of this message was redacted from copies of the messages, a government source said that one of the addresses to which the message was sent was the White House Situation Room. Other addressees included intelligence and military units as well as one used by the FBI command Center, according to the source. Posted by: ryuge 2012-10-24 |
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