The White House press secretary said Susan Rice discussed the possibility that al-Qaeda might be involved in the Sept. 11 attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi. But outside of a brief mention on CBS’s Face the Nation , Rice mostly did not discuss the involvement of al-Qaeda or al-Qaeda affiliates.
Rice was not questioned about and did not bring up al-Qaeda's possible involvement during her other two appearances on CNN or NBC. She was directly questioned about it on ABC, CBS, and Fox News.
Jay Carney: "Ambassador Rice on those shows talked about the possibility that al-Qaeda might be involved or other al-Qaeda affiliates might be involved, or non-al-Qaeda Libyan extremists."
TAPPER: So, first of all, what is the latest you can tell us on who these attackers were at the embassy or at the consulate in Benghazi? We're hearing that the Libyans have arrested people. They're saying that some people involved were from outside the country, that there might have even been al-Qaeda ties. What's the latest information?
RICE: Well, Jake, first of all, it's important to know that there's an FBI investigation that has begun and will take some time to be completed. That will tell us with certainty what transpired.
But our current best assessment, based on the information that we have at present, is that, in fact, what this began as, it was a spontaneous — not a premeditated — response to what had transpired in Cairo. In Cairo, as you know, a few hours earlier, there was a violent protest that was undertaken in reaction to this very offensive video that was disseminated.
We believe that folks in Benghazi, a small number of people came to the embassy to — or to the consulate, rather, to replicate the sort of challenge that was posed in Cairo. And then as that unfolded, it seems to have been hijacked, let us say, by some individual clusters of extremists who came with heavier weapons, weapons that as you know in — in the wake of the revolution in Libya are — are quite common and accessible. And it then evolved from there.
We'll wait to see exactly what the investigation finally confirms, but that's the best information we have at present.
Via: abcnews.go.com
WALLACE: Let's talk about the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi this week that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.
The top Libyan official says that the attack on Tuesday was, quote, his words "preplanned". Al-Qaeda says the operation was revenge for our killing a top al-Qaeda leader.
What do we know?
RICE: Well, first of all, Chris, we are obviously investigating this very closely. The FBI has a lead in this investigation. The information, the best information and the best assessment we have today is that in fact this was not a preplanned, premeditated attack. That what happened initially was that it was a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired in Cairo as a consequence of the video. People gathered outside the embassy and then it grew very violent and those with extremist ties joined the fray and came with heavy weapons, which unfortunately are quite common in post-revolutionary Libya and that then spun out of control.
But we don't see at this point signs this was a coordinated plan, premeditated attack. Obviously, we will wait for the results of the investigation and we don't want to jump to conclusions before then. But I do think it's important for the American people to know our best current assessment.
Via: abcnews.go.com
