FBI turns to Facebook for clues in Benghazi attacks

J.J. Green, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – The FBI is looking to Facebook for help with its investigation into what happened at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith and U.S. embassy security personnel Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were killed in the Sept. 11, 2012 attack. Two other Americans and seven Libyans were injured.

In addition to combing through the rubble of the Benghazi consulate and an extensive global investigation, the FBI posted an appeal in Arabic on Facebook asking “Libyans and people around the world for additional information related to the attacks.”

The appeal comes during a withering bout of political finger-pointing in Washington over who is to blame for the attacks and why it took administration officials several days to determine it was a terror attack.

Phil Mudd, former deputy director of the FBI National Security Division, says the frustration is a byproduct of the confusion that happened during the attack.

“I suspect there are terrorists involved in the tragedy of the murder of the American ambassador. In fact, I’m quite confident of it.” But he says, “If you look at the video, this is not a highly orchestrated al-Qaida attack on an embassy put in place weeks in advance. It’s not at all clear what happened there.”

In its Facebook posting the FBI says it “appreciates that the Libyan people and the government of Libya have condemned the September 11, 2012 attacks” and directs readers to contact them with any information by text or email BenghaziTips@ic.fbi.gov or submit information confidentially at https://forms.fbi.gov/benghazi-en

The page also shows photos of the burned out facility and offers a variety of ways to contact the FBI.

Follow @JJGreenWTOP and @WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

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