(CNSNews.com) – Asked directly on Wednesday evening if Tuesday’s deadly violence in Libya was “linked to a terror attack” – possibly al-Qaeda – a State Department official demurred:
“Frankly, we are not in a position to speak any further to the perpetrators of this attack. It was clearly a complex attack. We’re going to have to do a full investigation,” the unnamed “senior administration official” told a background teleconference briefing.
“We are committed to working with the Libyans both on the investigation and to ensure that we bring the perpetrators to justice. The FBI is already committed to assisting in that, but I just – we’re – it’s just too early to speak to who they were and if they might have been otherwise affiliated beyond Libya.”
The State Department also said it was still “operating within the confusion of first reports” from Libya. “Many details of what happened in Benghazi are still unknown or unclear,” the official said. “These are first reports, and so the facts could very well change as we get a better understanding.”
As the hours passed, however, it became increasingly evident that the worst of Tuesday’s violence in Benghazi had nothing to do with an obscure film insulting Mohammed.
