The murdered U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens was at least aware of heavy weapons moving from Libya to Syrian rebels and especially to Jihadists. In fact there are reasons to believe that he has been use as a cover for the C.I.A. operations in the Middle East.
The spy agency probably repurchased weapons from Muammar Gaddafi’s stock and is said to aid in steering arms to the Syrian rebels. Then, on Sept.6 – six days before the Benghazi attack- a Libyan ship carrying heavy weapons arrived in southern Turkey and its cargo ended up in the hands of Syrian rebels. Abdelhakim Belhadj, who organized that shipment, is a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and since March 2011 he was really close to Chris Stevens, because he was his contact to the al-Qaeda Libyan opposition. The day of his death the U.S. ambassador met with a Turkish diplomat in Benghazi and sources told he was here to negotiate the weapons transfer.
Even if Obama’s position is to refrain from arming rebels, those events show that the C.I.A and Chris Stevens were certainly organizing and helping in providing weapons to rebels in Syria. In this case, it’s obvious that the U.S. government was aware of that.
Sources
“There’s A Reason Why All Of The Reports About Benghazi Are So Confusing”, Michael Kelley, November 3, 2012. http://www.businessinsider.com/benghazi-stevens-cia-attack-libya-2012-11
“How US Ambassador Chris Stevens May Have Been Linked To Jihadist Rebels In Syria”,
Michael Kelley, October 19, 2012. http://www.businessinsider.com/us-syria-heavy-weapons-jihadists-2012-10
“Was Syrian weapons shipment factor in ambassador’s Benghazi visit?” , Catherine Herridge, Pamela Browne, October 25, 2012. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/25/was-syrian-weapons-shipment-factor-in-ambassadors-benghazi-visit/
Student Researcher: Maïa Boye, Sonoma State University
Faculty Evaluator: Peter Phillips, Sonoma State University