WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein — The Judicial Watch educational foundation obtained a cache of official US government documents showing that the Departments of Defense and State knew that the 2012 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya was preplanned, Judicial Watch Public Affairs Director Jill Farrell told Sputnik.
“The documents speak for themselves,” Farrell said on Thursday of the 100 declassified pages released on Monday by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) on the September 11, 2012 Benghazi terrorist attacks.
The intent of BCOAR was “to kill as many Americans as possible,” the DIA reported. The attack was plotted to seek revenge for the killing of an al-Qaeda operative in Pakistan, and “in memorial of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center buildings” in New York City.
The pages were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch against the State and Defense departments, Farrell explained.
“We were looking for communications between those agencies and congressional leaders regarding the incident that took place in Benghazi,” she stated.
The DIA assessment of September 12, 2012 was sent the sitting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Barack Obama’s National Security Council.
Judicial Watch made the FOIA request in May 2014. “These documents are coming to us now,” Farrell said.
The DIA documents also contain “the first official confirmation” showing that the US government knew about arms shipments from Benghazi to Syria, according to a Monday press release by Judicial Watch.
The DIA assessment obtained by Judicial Watch also includes analysis warning of the rise of the Islamic State terrorist group.
Four US citizens, including US ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, were killed on September 11, 2012 when terrorists stormed the US consulate building in Benghazi, Libya.
Judicial Watch is a Washington, DC-based educational foundation that promotes government transparency and accountability, according to the organization’s website.
