The Big Event

The whole large event that sparked all of the controversy occurring now between the House Investigative Committee and Hillary Clinton and the other government officials in the State Department, all started with a man named Chris Stevens. Stevens was the ambassador between the United States and the Libyan government and he worked in the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. He was placed there post-Qaddafi period in order to build relations with the Libyan government and help maintain the government so that rebels could not take over. Libya has been a mess of gunfire, dirt, blood, sand, and turmoil ever since the removal of Qaddafi from power and is an incredibly dangerous place to be right now. However since the involvement of Chris Stevens, relations have begun to improve.

Or so we thought.... On September 11, 2012 the US consulate in Benghazi was attacked by rebels with small arsons, artillery and RPGs late at night. As soon as the gunfire was heard, and it was made clear it was an attack on the Americans in the consulate, the city was in a frenzy. People started running and screaming, cars were burning in the streets and US ambassador Chris Stevens was carried through the streets by rebels until he was recovered by more friendly Libyan citizens that took him to a hospital. Nearby, at a CIA annex, which was supposed to be covert, attacks were made as well and two more US citizens were killed. Immediately after the reports were made of the attacks, US officials Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama came out saying the attack may have been prompted by protests surrounding a crude YouTube video. The current controversy is trying to figure out if there were indeed protests or this was a planned attack in coordination with Al Qaeda, especially since it was the 11 year anniversary of the attacks on New York City.

Al-Fetori, Esam. The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames during a protest by an armed group said to have been protesting a film being produced in the United States September 11, 2012 9/11/2012 via Reuters. Attribution 2.0 Generic License.