TheRepublic.com - Libya News

May: Of Benghazi, black swans and icebergs

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:58:46 -0400

"Humans are great at self-delusion," the polymath philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb has observed. I'm confident he'd agree that the humans who populate the foreign policy community are no exception. - Two years ago this month, Osama bin Laden was killed on President Barack Obama's orders -- a very good thing. Before long, however, sophisticated analysts were declaring that this was not just a battle won -- it was a war ended.

Officials say Benghazi suspects under surveillance

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:20:28 -0400

WASHINGTON - Five men are under round-the-clock U.S. surveillance in Libya, wanted for questioning in the attack last year on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. The White House believes there is enough proof for a military force to seize them as terrorist suspects, officials say, but prefers to wait until investigators have enough evidence to try them in a U.S. civilian courtroom.

Schram: White House press corps, go back to basics

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:22:03 -0400

By MARTIN SCHRAM - On days when the president is coming, the White House press room, the East Room and even occasionally the Rose Garden are ornamented with dozens of objects that perform the decorative and utilitarian purpose of potted plants.

5 Serbs released from Libya after 21 months

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:35:21 -0400

BELGRADE, Serbia - Officials say five Serbian citizens have returned home after spending 21 months in captivity in Libya.

Militiamen attack gas complex in western Libya

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:59:11 -0400

TRIPOLI, Libya - A Libyan gas company official says militiamen have attacked a natural gas complex in the country's west, injuring two guards and stealing weapons and military vehicles.

Blasts rock Libya's capital and eastern city

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:32:44 -0400

TRIPOLI, Libya - Libyan officials say explosions went off in the capital Tripoli and the restive eastern city of Benghazi, but no casualties were reported.

Influential GOP lawmaker wants answers on military orders...

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:19:54 -0400

WASHINGTON - By MICHAEL COLLINS

Watch: Scandals will mire progress on bigger issues

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:47:06 -0400

WASHINGTON - By ANN McFEATTERS

Q&A on IRS investigation of tax-exempt status of Tea...

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:23:47 -0400

WASHINGTON - By BARTHOLOMEW SULLIVAN and MICHAEL COLLINS

Trio of troubles threatening Obama's second term

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:04:45 -0400

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama seemed to lose control of his second-term agenda even before he was sworn in, when a school massacre led him to lift gun control to the fore. Now, as he tries to pivot from a stinging defeat on that issue and push forward on others, the president finds himself rocked by multiple controversies that are demoralizing his allies, emboldening his political foes and posing huge distractions for all.

Schram: Measure scandals by the Nixon-News-O-Meter

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:24:34 -0400

By MARTIN SCHRAM - At the first whiff of a scandal, we all become Deciders. It happens to presidents, other public officials, and the journalists who cover them. Also to all other folks who consume the processed news as soon as it oozes out of the daily grinders -- and quickly decide whether or not they give a hoot.

Senate panel approves US ambassador to Libya

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:48:10 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday approved President Barack Obama's nominee for U.S. ambassador to Libya, a post that has been vacant since insurgents attacked the diplomatic mission in Benghazi last September, killing Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Ambrose: It's raining cats, dogs and scandals

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:23:42 -0400

By JAY AMBROSE - Please, please, there's no reason to impeach President Barack Obama and it is overreach to say we're getting Watergate all over again. But the scandals are indeed piling up on each other, or, to use another metaphor, it's not just raining. It's pouring. And the message to the nation is to take cover.

French minister to discuss shaky Libya on US trip

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:24:37 -0400

PARIS - Terror groups ousted from Mali appear to be trying to set up a new haven in Libya, France's defense minister said Monday, vowing to discuss ways of helping Tripoli improve its shaky security with U.S. officials later this week.

Obama calls GOP talk on Benghazi a sideshow

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:20:33 -0400

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is dismissing Republican criticism of his administration's handling of the attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Libya, calling the criticism a political sideshow.

BP withdrawing some staff from Tripoli

Sun, 12 May 2013 09:53:30 -0400

LONDON - Oil company BP says it is temporarily withdrawing some nonessential and non-Libyan staff from its office in Libya's capital following similar action by Britain's Foreign Office.

GOP ready to push Benghazi case into 2014, beyond

Sat, 11 May 2013 10:19:59 -0400

WASHINGTON - Steady drips of information about a horrific night in Libya are fueling Republican arguments and ads designed to fire up the conservative base and undercut the Democrats' early favorite for president in 2016.

Editorial: Putting out fires with a document dump

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:21:08 -0400

Anedditorial / By DALE McFEATTERS - Hillary Clinton should take these two words to heart: "document dump." This is a tested Washington tactic that could save her a lot of political aggravation, and, in fact, has in the past.

Editorial: Putting out fires with a document dump

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:20:51 -0400

Editorial: Putting out fires with a document dump

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:20:38 -0400

Officials: US forces on alert in response to Libya

Fri, 10 May 2013 16:38:28 -0400

WASHINGTON - Marines and other U.S. forces in Europe are on a heightened state of alert in response to a deteriorating security situation in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, two U.S. officials said Friday.

Administration defends emails on Libya attacks

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:16:17 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration says now-discredited talking points about the deadly attacks in Libya are being taken out of context - as are emails seeking to revise the talking points.

Murdock: Benghazi is biggest coverup since Watergate

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:21:18 -0400

NEW YORK - By DEROY MURDOCK

Thomasson: Hearings highlight lack of security for U.S....

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:51:14 -0400

By DAN K. THOMASSON - Gregory Hicks' account of what amounts to State Department security failures in the tragedy in Benghazi, Libya, that cost the life of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three others proved to be riveting testimony before a congressional committee recently.

RedBlue: Does scandal lurk in U.S. consulate ruins?

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:22:42 -0400

By BEN BOYCHUK and JOEL MATHIS - A GOP-led probe into last fall's deadly attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, this week produced testimony from diplomats who said that a request for Special Forces assistance in repelling the attack had been denied twice.