New York Times Claims It Found No Evidence Al Qaeda, Other International Terrorist Group, Was Connected to Benghazi Attack
Say intelligence fixation on AQ contributed to killing of ambassador
A leading U.S. newspaper says American intelligence efforts in Libya that fixated on al-Qaida likely contributed to the killing of the American ambassador to Libya in 2012.
The New York Times reported Saturday it could not find any evidence, after months of investigation, that al-Qaida or any other international terrorist groups had any role in the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
The newspaper said the "fixation" on al-Qaida possibly distracted intelligence experts from "more imminent threats," including local anti-Western militia leaders such as Ahmed Abu Khattala, and the angry reaction to an American-made video denigrating Islam.
