Ambassador Stevens warned of Islamic extremism before Benghazi attack - Washington Times

Ambassador Stevens warned of Islamic extremism before Benghazi attack - Washington Times Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, in a diplomatic cable from Libya last June, cited the apparent rise of “Islamic extremism” and the spotting of “the Al Qaeda flag” over buildings outside the city of Benghazi, where he and three other Americans were ultimately killed in an attack on Sept. 11. The previously classified cable is among 166 pages of documents made public Friday by Rep. Darryl E. Issa, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, who says they expose an egregious shortage of security around the U.S. diplomatic missions in Libya during the period leading up to last month’s attack. Mr. Issa sent the documents to the White House Friday with a letter calling on the administration to explain why “repeated warnings about a worsening security situation appear to have been ignored” in Libya. The committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, described the move as an “undeniably partisan” attempt to politicize the incident ahead of Monday’s foreign policy debate between Mitt Romney and President Obama. The documents include a June 25 cable in which Mr. Stevens cited an uptick in attacks occurring in Libya “targeting international organizations and foreign interests.” He went on to point out a June attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, which involved the explosion of an improvised bomb. Read more: Ambassador Stevens warned of Islamic extremism before Benghazi attack - Washington Times http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/20/ambassador-stevens-warned-islamic-extremism-bengha/#ixzz29rwors4E Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter