Republic of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 26, 2012. Mugabe condemned the imperialist war against Libya and the assassination of its leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Sunday, 30 September 2012 00:00
Zimbabwe Sunday Mail
America was really stung by the President’s remarks regarding their departed diplomat Stevens and poor Erin Pelton who is the spokesperson for the US mission to the UN ranted and raved, trying to persuade the world not to compare the death of Stevens to that of Col Gaddafi. She tried her best to attack President Mugabe’s opening remarks at the UN, but, unfortunately, mighty America was speaking to itself and its gullible friends most of whom are cowards who see the US as the policeman of the world.
But just like the President had said, President Obama had indeed delivered a moving speech portraying Stevens as “an American patriot” who “embodied the best in America.”
Mr Obama even went on to say Stevens had died “doing good work in Benghazi”, adding that “we must reaffirm that our future will be determined by people like Christopher Stevens, not his killers.”
Well, President Obama is entitled to his views, but the honest truth is that this world really doesn’t need people like Stevens. His death clearly shows that people like him sow seeds of war and, as a result, Libya won’t enjoy peace in a very long time.
Before his death, Stevens used to brag that he actually sneaked into Libya using a Greek cargo ship and went straight to Benghazi to work closely with the rebels that were clearly being crushed by Col Gaddafi’s army. Once in Libya, Stevens worked flat out assisting the Western-sponsored rebels and after realising that Col Gaddafi’s army was too powerful, he played a pivotal role in getting the US to support the Nato air attacks that ultimately killed Col Gaddafi.
One unashamed writer, Nabila Ramdani, even wrote in the Guardian newspaper on September 13 that Stevens’ mantra was “facilitating the death of a dictator through superior firepower while not risking a single American life.” This statement stinks of shocking American arrogance, but with all its superior firepower, America was given a painful September 11 present.
As if the death was not enough to cause serious embarrassment to the US, eyewitnesses told reporters in Benghazi that some Libyans tried to “rescue Ambassador Stevens, cheering “God is great.” This surely should tell mighty America that the revenge mission in Libya is still in its infancy.
While the US and its friends celebrated the killing of Col Gaddafi, Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular is not celebrating the death of Stevens. Zimbabweans value human life and they know that it’s a sin before God to kill another human being. The sickening scenes where President Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were seen celebrating the killing of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan clearly show how evil the US has become.
It’s not a secret that Stevens was not a mere diplomat. He was an American agent who had been sent to Libya under the cover of the diplomatic robe. He had also served as America’s special envoy to the Libyan Transitional National Council from March to November last year.
Unfortunately, many in Libya knew this and they hunted him down in ways that clearly reminded the world of the way Col Gaddafi was killed.
According to Wikipedia, Stevens was the first US ambassador to die in office since the 1988 aircrash in Pakistan which killed Arnold Lewis Raphel; he was the eighth US ambassador to be killed in the line of duty.
Early news coverage said that the attack was a spontaneous response to an online preview of a movie considered offensive to Muslims, but the attackers’ use of military-grade weapons (including rocket-propelled grenades) and apparent knowledge of the locations of the secret safe house sites led to speculation that the raid was pre-planned.
Libyan officials suggested that it might have been a revenge attack mounted by loyalists of Muammar Gaddafi, who were defeated (and killed Gaddafi) in the Libyan civil war the previous year.
Later indications added support to the view that the attack was co-ordinated and planned in advance, with any protests merely incidental or diversionary.
Libyan president Muhammad Magariaf blamed elements of Ansar al-Sharia for the killing, linking them to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. According to a Libyan-American witness: “There was no demonstration. They came with machine guns, with rockets.”
One of the rocket-propelled grenades reportedly created a fire in the main consulate building with three Americans inside — Stevens, Sean Smith, and a security officer.
According to US officials, the security officer escaped and the staff found Smith dead.
However, the staff were unable to locate Ambassador Stevens before being driven from the building under small arms fire. Stevens apparently became separated from his staff while trying to escape to the roof and was ultimately overcome by smoke inhalation.
Local civilians found Stevens and brought him to the Benghazi Medical Centre in a state of cardiac arrest. Medical personnel tried to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead at about 2am local time.
The surviving Americans were taken to a safe house.
A rescue squad consisting of eight US military or former military was sent from Tripoli, the capital.
They were ambushed and the safe house came under attack. Two more Americans died, including one sent from Tripoli; several others were wounded.
Later reports identified the victims as Tyrone S. Woods and Glen A. Doherty, both ex-Navy Seals working as security and intelligence contractors. — Research by Munyaradzi Huni.
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