HBO To Make Benghazi Movie

By Noel Sheppard | September 20, 2013 | 12:02

According to Barack Obama, his Party, and their media minions, Benghazi is a "phony scandal."

The folks at HBO mustn't think so, for according to the Hollywood Reporter, the cable network has just optioned New York Times best-seller "Under Fire: The Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi" as a telepic to be executive produced by Jerry Weintraub.

The Washington Examiner's Paul Bedard had this to say about Fred Burton and Samuel Katz's book earlier this month:

Just minutes after 35 jihadists crashed through the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, nearly one year ago, the facility got word to the State Department, FBI and Pentagon that terrorists were attacking, according to a forthcoming book that provides the fullest review of the assault to date.

In “Under Fire, the Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi,” it is revealed that an unidentified security official in the Benghazi compound protecting Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens messaged the U.S. embassy in Tripoli: “Benghazi under fire, terrorist attack.” Stevens and three others died that night.

Twenty-five minutes after it began, the operation center at State received an electronic cable announcing the attack, according to authors Fred Burton, a former State Diplomatic Security agent and Samuel Katz, an author and expert on international special operations and counterterrorism.

For those unfamiliar with Burton, he is VP of intelligence and counter-terrorism at the renowned geopolitical intelligence firm Stratfor, and is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on security, terrorists and terrorist organizations. While at State, he was a counter-terrorism deputy chief.

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More from Bedard:

Their findings in "Under Fire," based on exclusive interviews of those in the battle, refute days of claims by the administration that the attack was sparked by Muslim anger at a U.S.-made anti-Muslim film, and raise new questions as President Obama eyes military action in Syria that U.S. diplomatic posts in the region are properly protected.

According to Bedard, the book is a scathing rebuke of not only the administration's handling of the attack but also the cover-up afterwards.

As for HBO's venture, Weintraub told THR, “I’m thrilled and excited that my next movie for HBO afterBehind the Candelabra will be Under Fire. It is the only place I can imagine this tragic and emotionally gripping story being told.”

Given HBO's clear liberal-leanings, it's going to be fascinating to see how closely Weintraub et al stick to Burton and Katz's book, and how the Obama-Clinton-loving media will respond.