The Citizens Commission on Benghazi (group of former top military officers, CIA insiders and think-tankers) : Has determined the Benghazi Attack could have been prevented – if the U.S. hadn't been helping to arm al-Qaeda militias throughout Libya a year earlier.

Benghazi attack could have been prevented if US hadn't 'switched sides in the War on Terror' and allowed $500 MILLION of weapons to reach al-Qaeda militants, reveals damning report

• Citizens Committee on Benghazi claims the US government allowed arms to flow to al-Qaeda-linked militants who opposed Muammar Gaddafi

• Their rise to power, the group says, led to the Benghazi attack in 2012

• The group claims the strongman Gaddafi offered to abdicate his presidency, but the US refused to broker his peaceful exit

• The commission, part of the center-right Accuracy In Media group, concluded that the Benghazi attack was a failed kidnapping plot

• US Ambassador Chris Stevens was to be captured and traded for 'blind sheikh' Omar Abdel-Rahman, who hatched the 1993 WTC bombing plot
  

By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor

Published: 15:09 EST, 22 April 2014 | Updated: 09:53 EST, 23 April 2014

The Citizens Commission on Benghazi, a self-selected group of former top military officers, CIA insiders and think-tankers, declared Tuesday in Washington that a seven-month review of the deadly 2012 terrorist attack has determined that it could have been prevented – if the U.S. hadn't been helping to arm al-Qaeda militias throughout Libya a year earlier.

'The United States switched sides in the war on terror with what we did in Libya, knowingly facilitating the provision of weapons to known al-Qaeda militias and figures,' Clare Lopez, a member of the commission and a former CIA officer, told MailOnline.

She blamed the Obama administration for failing to stop half of a $1 billion United Arab Emirates arms shipment from reaching al-Qaeda-linked militants.

'Remember, these weapons that came into Benghazi were permitted to enter by our armed forces who were blockading the approaches from air and sea,' Lopez claimed. 'They were permitted to come in. ... [They] knew these weapons were coming in, and that was allowed..

'The intelligence community was part of that, the Department of State was part of that, and certainly that means that the top leadership of the United States, our national security leadership, and potentially Congress – if they were briefed on this – also knew about this.'

The weapons were intended for Gaddafi but allowed by the U.S. to flow to his Islamist opposition.

The Citizens Committee on Benghazi released its interim findings on April 22, 2014 in Washington. Pictured are (L-R) Clare Lopez, Admiral (Ret.) Chuck Kubic, Admiral (Ret.) James 'Ace' Lyons, former CIA officer Wayne Simmons and civil rights attorney John Clarke

On September 11, 2012 armed terror-linked militias attacked U.S. diplomatic outposts in Benghazi, Libya, killing four Americans and driving the United States out of that part of the country

'The White House and senior Congressional members,' the group wrote in an interim report released Tuesday, 'deliberately and knowingly pursued a policy that provided material support to terrorist organizations in order to topple a ruler [Muammar Gaddafi] who had been working closely with the West actively to suppress al-Qaeda.'

'Some look at it as treason,' said Wayne Simmons, a former CIA officer who participated in the commission's research.

Retired Rear Admiral Chuck Kubic, another commission member, told reporters Tuesday that those weapons are now 'all in Syria.'

'Gaddafi wasn't a good guy, but he was being marginalized,' Kubic recalled. 'Gaddafi actually offered to abdicate' shortly after the beginning of a 2011 rebellion.

'But the U.S. ignored his calls for a truce,' the commission wrote, ultimately backing the horse that would later help kill a U.S. ambassador.

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Related articles

• Benghazi happened because the US 'switched sides in the War on Terror' (Not Really, they were always on the Side of Terrorists))
• Bombshell: White House Knowingly Allowed Al Qaeda Arms Deal That Facilitated Benghazi Attack
• Committee on Benghazi: Obama Switching Sides & Providing Weapons to Al-Qaeda Led to Benghazi Attack
• Benghazi Coverup Claims

In a carefully crafted transition, the Emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has handed over power to his 33-year-old son.

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Qatar ruler hands power to son to mark 'new era'

In a carefully crafted transition, the Emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has handed over power to his 33-year-old son. But as Lindsey Hilsum of Britain's Channel 4 News reports, the new ruler may face a tough job in keeping the tiny Gulf nation at the forefront of regional influence.

By Brian Murphy, The Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — With a few words in a short speech, Qatar's huge energy riches and its expanding political influence passed into the hands of a 33-year-old ruler Tuesday in a seamless transition from a region where old guard leaders have been toppled or besieged by the Arab Spring.
The transfer of power — made official in a brief statement by Qatar's outgoing emir — was stunning for both its simplicity and far-reaching repercussions.
It quietly brought a new generation to the forefront of Middle East affairs in an apparent Gulf-style riposte to the pressures for a new style of leadership inspired by the region's upheavals: More youthful and possibly more attuned to demands for a greater public voice in political decision-making.

The rise of the new emir, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, also reorders the ruling fraternity among the Western-backed Gulf Arab leaders — most decades older than Sheik Tamim — and further boosts Qatar's image for bold-stroke policies that have produced crown jewels such as the Al-Jazeera TV network and serious challenges including its unwavering backing for Syrian rebels.
At its heart, however, the move is certain to be perceived as a direct swipe at traditions among the Gulf's other ruling dynasties that power can only be surrendered through death or palace coup — which is how Qatar's now-former emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, took control in 1995 from his father.
Sheik Hamad, 61, used a televised address to note repeatedly the importance of shifting leadership to more youthful hands — an indirect acknowledgment of the demands for reforms opened by the Arab Spring, which began in 2011 with successful revolutions ousting leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and spread across the Arab world.
But shortly before handing over power, Sheik Hamad showed caution about moving too fast. He extended the term of the country's advisory panel, known as the Shura Council, the official Qatar News agency reported. It didn't say how long the term would last, but the move is likely to delay elections for a more powerful legislative body proposed for later this year.
"The future lies ahead of you, the children of this homeland, as you usher into a new era where young leadership hoists the banner," the outgoing emir said as he announced his abdication and the carefully crafted transition to the British-educated crown prince that has been rumored for weeks.
Qatar has given no official explanation on the transition, but Sheik Hamad is believed to be suffering from chronic health problems.

Qatar TV via AFP - Getty Images

An image from Qatar TV shows the new Emir of Qatar, 33-year-old Sheikh Tamim, shaking hands with his subjects as they swear allegiance to him after the abdication of his father, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.