Thursday, September 13th, 2012

Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger of the House Intelligence Committee asks the National Counterterrorism Center for unclassified talking points to help guide committee members on speaking to the press about the attack.

It's very early, less than 72 hours since the attack. So there is a lot we don't know.

As time progresses, we are learning more, but we still don't have a complete picture of what happened. Fortunately we have the FBI leading the investigation of this attack. Regrettably they have all too much experience in these matters.

At this point, we are not aware of any actionable intelligence that this attack was planned or imminent. The intelligence community is combing through reporting from before and after the attack to determine the full extent of who was involved.

Libya is awash in weapons -- unconventional weapons were stored in unsecured locations across the country. Following the revolution, there are still many well-armed militia remaining.

Since the revolution, we have some indicators al-Qaeda and other groups are seeking to establish a presence in Libya. Remember some senior al-Qaeda members such as Abu Yahya al-Libi came from Libya

We are very cautious about drawing from any firm conclusions at this point with regard to the identification and motivation of the attackers. The IC is working aggressively to this end, and the FBI will continue its investigation.

Unrest in the Middle East creates a permissive environment for terrorists. In the days and weeks ahead, we need to be especially vigilant in protecting our people.

Friday, September 14th, 2012, 4:20 p.m.

CIA General Counsel Stephen W. Preston warns various CIA departments and staff against statements regarding "who did this" and their potential for compromising the investigation by the FBI and DoJ.

Folks, I know there is a hurry to get this out, but we need to hold it long enough to ascertain whether providing it conflicts with express instructions from NSS/DOJ/FBI that, in light of the criminal investigation, we are not to generate statements with assessments as to who did this, etc. -- even internally, not to mention for public release. I am copying [redacted] who may be more familiar with those instructions and the tasking arising from the HPSCI coffee.

4:42 pm

CIA circulates talking points for review before heading to White House.

The currently available information suggests that the demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the U.S. embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the U.S. COnsulate and subsequently its annex. This assessment may change as additional information is collected and analyzed and currently available information continues to be evaluated. On 10 September we warned of social media reports calling for a demonstration in front of the Embassy and that jihadists were threatening to break into the Embassy.

The crowd almost certainly was a mix of individuals form across many sectors of Libyan society. The investigation is ongoing as to who is responsible. That being said, we do know that Islamic extremists with ties to al-Qa'ida participated in the attack.

Initial press reporting linked the attack to Ansar al-Sharia. The group has since released a statement that its leadership did not order the attacks, but did not deny that some of its members were involved. Ansar al-Sharia's Facebook page aims to spread Sharia in Libya and emphasizes the need for jihad to counter what it views as false interpretations of Islam, according to an open source study.
The wide availability of weapons and experienced fighters in Libya almost certainly contribute to the lethality of the attacks.

The wide availability of weapons and experienced fighters in Libya almost certainly contributed to the lethality of the attacks.

5:09 pm
Revised talking points sent to White House for the first time. Two additions are made.

The Agency has produced numerous pieces on the threat of extremists linked to al-Qaeda in Benghazi and eastern Libya. These noted that, since April, there have been at least five other attacks against foreign interests in Benghazi by unidentified assailants, including the June attack against the British Ambassador's convoy. We cannot rule out the individuals has previously surveilled the U.S. facilities, also contributing to the efficacy of the attacks.

We are working with Libyan authorities and intelligence partners in an effort to help bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of U.S. citizens.

6:41 pm

The head of public affairs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence sends an email addressing concerns of White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, regarding use of the word "warned" when referring to social media reports in the first paragraph.

I've been very careful not to say we issued a warning. Any concerns with adjusting the first highlighted line to say:

- On 10 September we notified Embassy Cairo of social media reports calling for a demonstration and encouraging jihadists to break into the Embassy

7:39 pm

Spokeswoman for the State Department, Victoria Nuland, expresses "serious concerns" over including Ansar. CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell later agrees the reference is not appropriate and removes it.

I just had a convo with [redacted] and I now understand that these are being prepared to give to members of Congress to use with the media.

On that basis, I have serious concerns about all the parts highlighted below, and arming members of Congress to start making assertions to the media that we ourselves are not making because we don't want to prejudice the investigation.

In the same vein, why do we want hill to be fingering Ansar al Sharia, when we aren't doing that ourselves until we have investigation results...and the penultimate point could be abused by members to beat the State Department for not paying attention to Agency warnings so why do we want to feed that either? Concerned...

9:52 pm

Internal email from CIA Office of Public Affairs to Director Petraeus circulates.

Sir -- We've tried to work the draft talking points for HPSCI through the coordination process but have run into major problems. Perhaps as a result of the afternoon teleconference, a number of agencies have been looped in. The White House cleared quickly, but State has major concerns. The Bureau cleared with a few comments but asked that Justice, which would handle any criminal prosecution, be brought in. It is evident that will not happen tonight, and Ben Rhodes has asked that this issue be reviewed tomorrow morning at the Deputies' meeting.

10:22 pm

Mike Morell gets talking points for the first time and begins heavily editing based on the concerns of the State Department

The currently available information suggests that attacks in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the US Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the US Consulate and subsequently its annex. This assessment may change as additional information is collected and analyzed and currently available information continues to be evaluated.

The investigation is on-going and the US government is working with Libyan authorities to bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of US citizens.

September 15, 2012 2:27

Petraeus enters the exchange.

No mention of the cable to Cairo, either? Frankly, I'd just as soon not use this, then...NSS's call, to be sure; however, this is certainly not what Vice chairman Ruppersberger was hoping to get for unclass use. Regardless, thx for the great work --