President Obama promised Tuesday that one of the suspected ringleaders of the deadly Benghazi attack will face “the full weight” of American justice after his capture over the weekend by U.S. special operations forces.
“With this operation, the United States has once again demonstrated that we will do whatever it takes to see that justice is done when people harm Americans,” Obama said in a written statement. “We will continue our efforts to bring to justice those who were responsible for the Benghazi attacks.”
Earlier, the Pentagon confirmed a Washington Post report that elite U.S. commandos, working with FBI agents, had nabbed Ahmed Abu Khatalla over the weekend, roughly a year and a half after the September 11, 2012, attack.
“He is in U.S. custody in a secure location outside of Libya. There were no civilian casualties related to this operation, and all U.S. personnel involved in the operation have safely departed Libya,” the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Rear Admiral John Kirby, said in a statement.
Four Americans - including the ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens — died in the attack, which to this day fuels fierce Republican criticism of Obama’s upbeat election-year rhetoric about beating back al-Qaida.
It was rumored around Washington also, that someone from the State Department had been in contact with Nuri Abu Sahmein and Nouri Abusahmain and some other Libyan leaders and that a "prisoner" exchange might be considered for some free golf packages at the Tajura Golf Club and the Tripoli Golf Club. One stipulation to any pending arrangement that might be reached was the exclusion of any sand greens, and must include very "tight" security.
