Benghazi suspect’s capture puts focus where it belongs
This week’s capture of Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the leading suspect in the 2012 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, probably won’t have much effect on the political circus that has raged for nearly two years. Politics doesn’t work that way.
Even so, the apprehension should return the focus to the more important questions raised in the days after Sept. 11, 2012, when Khatallah is accused with others of sacking the U.S. compound and killing four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Despite all manner of theories and investigations, the U.S. still does not know definitively why the compound was attacked, who all the players were, how the attackers planned their mission, and whether Khatallah and the others are related to a major international terrorist group.
Khatallah is an unlikely mastermind of such a damaging attack. Brazen, erractic and extreme, he was a small fry who took advantage of the chaos in Libya to build a small militia. He associated himself with the radical organization Ansar al- Sharia, but he wasn’t a scholar or a leader.
As the Benghazi attack unfolded, several witnesses said they saw fighters reporting to him and taking orders. After the assault, rather than flee, he flaunted his presence, giving interviews to U.S. journalists, even sipping a strawberry frappe on a hotel patio while accusing U.S. leaders of playing politics.
Such interviews led to mockery of the Obama administration’s effort to capture those responsible. But the patient approach appears to have paid off: Evidence was assembled, and Khatallah was seized with surgical precision by U.S. commandos and law enforcement near Benghazi.
Now that Khatallah is in custody, three priorities stand out:
Intelligence gathering. The interrogation of Khatallah, said to be going on aboard a Navy warship in the Mediterranean, could help identify unknown U.S. enemies, lead to the capture of dangerous jihadists or prevent other plots from succeeding.
Punishment. Republicans are already attacking the administration for planning to try Khatallah as a criminal in a civilian court, rather than stashing him at Guantanamo Bay. Perhaps the critics have forgotten the string of terror convictions the U.S. has won in court: life sentences for would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid, attempted underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and 9/11 conspirator Zacarius Moussaoui. Ultimately, what matters isn’t whether Khatallah goes before a federal court or a military tribunal. It’s that he’s tried, convicted and punished.
Collaborators. Khatallah’s capture is just one part of the effort to bring to justice those responsible for the Benghazi murders. At least a dozen other conspirators have been charged in sealed criminal complaints in connection with the Benghazi attacks; none has been caught.
Tuesday’s news of Khatallah’s capture should have been a rare moment for bipartisan celebration. Instead, the administration’s GOP critics harped on everything from how long it took to nab him to how he’s being interrogated.
A suspected ringleader is behind bars, but the Benghazi political sideshow rolls on.