Five men have been identified by the US as linked to the September 2012 attack on a diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, though they remain at large as the FBI seeks to gather sufficient evidence for a civilian trial.
According to the Associated Press, the five individuals thought
to be responsible for the attack, in which four were killed
including US Ambassador Christopher Stevens, could be taken into
custody by the US military, though sufficient proof seems lacking
to try them in court.
The suspects are thought to be members of Ansar al-Shariah, a
Libyan militia group whose fighters were seen near the US
diplomatic facility in Benghazi just prior to the assault.
At least some of the suspects have been in contact with previously
identified regional Jihadists, including Al-Qaeda in the Islamic
Maghreb.
A senior Obama administration official has told the AP that the FBI
identified several individuals that may either have information, or
may have been directly involved in the attack. However, per that
official, a unilateral military mission to extract the suspects
without Libya’s cooperation is thought to be potentially damaging
to relations.
Photos for three of the five suspects have been released by the FBI
in the hopes that the public may provide information, images
evidently obtained by security cameras at the US diplomatic post at
the time of the attack. Delays due to the security situation meant
that the agency took three weeks to obtain the camera and their
data, and relay them to American officials in Tripoli.
Mounting criticism of the administration and the State
Department under former Secretary Hillary Clinton have added a deep
layer of scrutiny, both in the evident lack of security at Benghazi
prior to the attack, as well as accusations of a cover-up following
the killing of US staff.
Last week, the White House released 99 pages of emails pertaining
to talking points used by Susan Rice to describe the attack, which
initially pointed to a protest regarding an anti-Islamic film that
had spiraled out of control.
According to those emails, subsequent drafts made in conjunction
with the US intelligence community omitted any mention of
terrorism, including groups such as Ansar al-Shariah or Al-Qaeda,
purportedly because their involvement was still unclear.
Several GOP legislators have taken issue with delays in the
investigation, evidently caused by infighting between the FBI, and
the Departments of Justice and State.
In October Senator John McCain went so far as to allege that
President Obama had been dishonest in initial media appearances
referring to the attack in Benghazi as a spontaneous demonstration
that spun out of control, owing to the existence of recordings at
the consulate of the attack. A delay in the investigation would, as
CBS News previously reported, explain why the administration would
not have been aware of terrorist involvement at that point.
According to information provided by the AP, FBI investigators hope
to locate additional evidence, such as a smoking gun video
depicting the suspects in the act of setting the fires which killed
the ambassador, or firing at a CIA base where surviving US staff
took shelter.
But Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, the Republican chairman of
the House Armed Services Committee, said he is concerned the Obama
administration is treating terrorism as criminal actions instead of
acts of war that would elicit a much harsher response from the
United States.
"Regardless of what happened previously, we have made very,
very, very substantial progress in that investigation," said
Attorney General Eric Holder to lawmakers last week.
That assertion seemed to coordinate with statements made by
Secretary of State John Kerry to congress last month. "They do
have people ID'd," Kerry said of the investigation. "They
have made some progress. They have a number of suspects who are
persons of interest that they are pursuing in this and building
cases on," he added.