• Benghazi, IRS, AP: A guide to the 3 storms confronting the White House

    By Erin McClam, Staff Writer, NBC News

    The Obama administration, four short months into its second term, finds itself beset by three political storms.

    Republicans in Congress, some Democrats and the press are pelting the White House with questions about the raid on an American post in Libya, the conduct of the Internal Revenue Service and the seizure of phone records from The Associated Press.

    Taken together, the three have consumed the week in Washington. Here’s a quick guide.

    BENGHAZI

    The basics: Four Americans, including the ambassador to Libya, were killed in a raid on a diplomatic post in the city of Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012. The State Department ultimately determined that the raid was a series of terrorist attacks.

    Republicans have made an array of accusations, including that the administration failed to send the military to help, waited too long to consistently describe the raid as a terror attack, and extensively edited talking points for media appearances.

    The White House response: President Barack Obama, exasperated, dismissed the Republican furor over the talking points earlier this week as a politically motivated “sideshow.”

    The administration has also said that sending the military was logistically impossible and would have left other American interests undefended. Obama said within hours of the raid that “acts of terror” would not be tolerated. On Thursday, he pledged increased security for diplomatic posts.

    Accused of changing its public stance on the raid because of political reasons — the presidential election was less than two weeks away — the administration released 100 pages of emails and other documents Wednesday shedding light on how the talking points were changed.

    The stakes: The political stakes are increasingly focused on Hillary Clinton’s potential run for the presidency in 2016. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. and himself a possible candidate, accused Clinton of “dereliction of duty” at a speech in Iowa over the weekend.

    American Crossroads, Karl Rove’s political action committee, released an ad draping Clinton in dark shadows and grainy black-and-white photos and accusing her of a cover-up. The ad ends with an invitation to donate to American Crossroads.

    What’s next: More questions from Republicans, despite the administration’s insistence that there is little if anything left to explain.

    Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who has accused the administration of lying and believing itself to be above the law, wants to interview former Ambassador Thomas Pickering, one of the leaders of the review board.

     

     

     

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    THE IRS

    The basics: Employees of the Internal Revenue Service singled out Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations for special scrutiny in reviewing applications for tax exemption.

    Republicans want to know whether anyone in the administration knew about it — to date there is no evidence that they did — and have suggested the government was punishing political enemies.

    The White House stance: Obama on Wednesday ousted the acting head of the IRS, Steven Miller, and said: “Americans have a right to be angry about it, and I’m angry about it.”

    The president acted after a Treasury Department investigation faulted the IRS for using “inappropriate criteria” in picking which organizations to scrutinize. The report also said that “ineffective management” allowed the criteria to stay in place.

    Asked Thursday whether he supported the appointment of a special prosecutor, Obama said he believed working with Congress to investigate would be sufficient.

    The stakes: Republicans and Democrats alike have expressed. Republicans appear to be coalescing around an insistence that it shows a pattern of intimidation by the administration.

    “The unifying themes of this town are an arrogance and view of the machinery of government to be a tool of partisanship,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and a Tea Party favorite, said Thursday.

    Besides demanding hearings, they are likely to use that argument in the 2014 midterm elections. In addition, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said that the IRS ordeal could hurt the push for immigration reform in Congress.

    “We’ve already faced tremendous suspicion about the federal government’s ability or willingness to enforce the law,” Rubio said.

    What’s next: Attorney General Eric Holder has pledged a nationwide investigation. Federal prosecutors are looking at potential violations of law, including civil rights statutes and a federal law that restricts political activities by federal employees.

    There are at least three congressional hearings scheduled, beginning with the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday.

     

     

     

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    AP PHONE RECORDS

    The basics: The Justice Department secretly seized two months of records from more than 20 telephone lines used by reporters and editors for The Associated Press last year.

    The seizure was apparently connected to a federal investigation into who leaked classified information about a foiled terror plot in Yemen that the AP reported on in May 2012. The AP has angrily objected and demanded further explanation.

    The White House stance: The deputy attorney general who is overseeing the investigation insisted in a letter to the AP that the seizure was limited in scope and that the content of calls was not monitored.

    Holder, who has recused himself from the investigation, said Tuesday that the leak “put the American people at risk” and was among the most serious he has seen in 37 years as a prosecutor.

    The stakes: Media organizations have said that the seizure will intimidate whistle-blowers. As in the IRS furor, Republicans are seeking to portray an administration bent on overreaching. Democrats have joined the criticism, too.

    Sen. Jon Tester of Montana said Wednesday that the Justice Department’s steps were “a blatant violation of privacy, and directly interfere with the constitutionally protected rights of the press to do its job free from government intrusion or direction.”

    What’s next: Under fire, the Obama administration is pushing to revive legislation that would enhance protections for journalists when they refuse to name confidential sources.

    A White House official called Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to ask him to reintroduce the legislation, known as a media shield law. Schumer said that the bill at least would have ensured a fairer process in the AP leak.

    But Obama stressed Thursday that he makes no apology for being concerned about leaks that jeopardize American missions.

    This story was originally published on Thu May 16, 2013 1:35 PM EDT

  • In wake of Benghazi, rapid response Marine unit heading to Europe

    Win Mcnamee / Getty Images

    A V-22 Osprey lands at the Pentagon following a meeting between U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Japanese Minister of Defense Satoshi Morimoto August 3, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia.

    By Jim Miklaszewsk, Courtney Kube, and Andrew Rafferty, NBC News

    Highlighting the continuing fallout from the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on an American consulate in Libya that took the lives of four Americans, defense officials told NBC News on Wednesday that the U.S. Marine Corps is on the verge of announcing a new group tasked with crisis response in north Africa and eastern Europe.

    The group, which will be known as the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, will likely be based at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily, Italy.  The team will be capable of rapid deployment for responding to security threats throughout the region — including a U.S. embassy under attack.

    Orders for the new Marine unit will likely go to the secretary of defense for approval late next week. The task force will have around 1,000 Marines and a variety of aircraft, including a half-dozen Ospreys — a airplane that can take off vertically like a helicopter but once airborne is capable of high-speed flight.

    If approved, the land-based task force will deploy from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina early this spring.

    The announcement of the new Marine group comes just weeks after Republicans in Congress hounded former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over why the diplomatic mission in Libya was not better protected the night of the deadly attack that took the life of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

    Hours before the attack, Stevens sent a cable to the State Department warning of deteriorating security conditions. Yet, during hearings on Capitol Hill, Clinton said the warning never came to her attention because the State Department receives more than one million cables each year.

    Former Sen. Chuck Hagel could be the one to approve the Marine Air-Ground Task Force — if he is confirmed as Defense Secretary when Congress returns from recess. Senate Republicans blocked a vote to approve his nomination last week. 

  • Congressional report lambastes security at US Consulate in Benghazi

    Sens. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, address the Senate Homeland Security Committee's 31-page report on the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi which criticizes U.S. intelligence sources and the State Department for not acting on a warning signs ahead of the incident.

    By Sean Federico-O'Murchu and Kari Huus, NBC News

    A report released Monday by the Senate Homeland Security Committee lambasted the handling of security around the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in September when a deadly attack took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.


    In the months leading up to the Sept. 11 attack, there was a "rising crescendo" of evidence from U.S. intelligence sources and State Department personnel that the situation was becoming dangerous and unstable, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, one of the report's authors, said in a press conference on Monday.

    "The tragedy is, however, that the reaction to the flashing red indicators was woefully inadequate," said Leiberman.

    The 31-page report, "Flashing Red: A Special Report On The Terrorist Attack At Benghazi," paints a picture of a vulnerable outpost in Libya’s second-largest city, where it was clear that the new post-Gadhafi government was unable to provide full protection to diplomatic staff.

    Sen. Susan Collins, the ranking Republican member, said the congressional investigation found that "terrorists essentially walked right into the Benghazi compound unimpeded and set it ablaze, due to extremely poor security in a threat environment."

    Collins said the State Department failed to take adequate steps to reduce the facility's vulnerability to a terrorist attack of this kind.  

    "While the Department and the Intelligence Community lacked specific intelligence about this attack, the State Department should not have waited for — or expected —specific warnings before increasing its security in Benghazi, a city awash with weapons and violent extremists," she said. 

    Both of the senators said the U.S. facility should have been closed, given the absence of sufficient security.

    Esam Omran al-Fetori / Reuters

    The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames, Sept. 11. Armed gunmen attacked the compound, clashing with Libyan security forces before the latter withdrew as they came under heavy fire.

    The report noted that as the security situation deteriorated in eastern Libya in 2012, "the Department of State did not provide enough security to address the increased threats and did not adequately support field requests for additional security."

    The congressional report follows a separate investigation by the State Department Accountability Review Board (ARB), which blamed State Department officials for "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies" that led to "grossly inadequate" protection for the Benghazi facility. In response at the time, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said the problems highlighted by the ARB were unacceptable, "problems for which — as Secretary (Hillary) Clinton has said — we take responsibility."

    Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in a hospital being treated for a blood clot, the result of a concussion suffered earlier in December. Collins said she hopes that after Clinton recovers, she will carefully review the congressional report and see if there are officials that "need to be held accountable."

    Collins said that she did not see the tragedy as the fault of the Pentagon, but an indication that the Defense Department has insufficient assets to mount an effective response.

    Among the report's recommendations:

    • U.S. intelligence agencies need to "broaden and deepen their focus in Libya, and beyond, on nascent violent Islamist extremist groups in the region that lack strong operational ties to core al Qaeda or its main affiliate groups."
    • If a host nation can’t provide adequate security for a diplomatic facility, "the Department of State must provide additional security measures of its own, urgently attempt to upgrade the host nation security forces, or decide to close a U.S. Diplomatic facility and remove U.S. personnel until appropriate steps can be taken to provide adequate security."
    • The State Department needs to establish a "mandatory process" to determine what security standards are applicable to temporary facilities, such as the Benghazi consulate, to ensure that they are "adequately protected."

    "Flashing Red" was the final joint investigation by Collins and Leiberman, who is slated to retire on Jan. 2.

    'Inconsistent' statements from the administration
    As for the controversy over what the administration knew about the attack — and when — the report said officials in the State Department and the intelligence community were "inconsistent" in stating that the deaths in Benghazi were the result of a terrorist attack.

    The candidacy of Ambassador Susan Rice to the post of Secretary of State was scuppered after allegations by Republican lawmakers that she misled the public about the attacks during an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press on Sept. 16.

    The administration said Rice, the current U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, was repeating talking points provided by the intelligence community when she initially characterized the Sept. 11 assault as a spur-of-the-moment response to a crude, anti-Muslim film.

    In her interview, Rice said that "what happened in Benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo, almost a copycat of — of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo, which were prompted, of course, by the video."

    Independent panel: 'Systematic failures' within State Department

    In a letter to President Obama on Dec. 13 withdrawing her candidacy for the top diplomatic post, Rice said she wanted to avoid a "very prolonged, very politicized, very distracting and very disruptive" confirmation process.

    For its part, the congressional report said Director of National Intelligence James Clapper had offered to provide the committee with a detailed timeline regarding the development of the intelligence community's talking points on Benghazi. "At the time of writing this report, despite repeated requests, the committee had yet to receive this timeline," the report notes.

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  • Petraeus says he didn't share classified information with Broadwell

    Just-resigned CIA Director David Petraeus says he will testify this week at congressional hearings looking into the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, as new details emerge about the emails that helped end his career. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

    By NBC News staff

    Ex-CIA Director David Petraeus reportedly said in an interview that he did not share classified information with his biographer Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom he is said to have had an affair.


    In a series of interviews with Kyra Phillips of Headline News, Petraeus also said his resignation as CIA director was not tied to his upcoming testimony on the attack in Benghazi that killed four Americans. He is due to testify Friday in closed-door Senate and House hearings, the first formal congressional inquiries into the September attack.

    Petraeus’ comments, which came in a series of interviews with Phillips beginning last week, were first reported Thursday.

     "In our first conversation," Phillips said, Petraeus "had told me he had engaged in something dishonorable. He sought to do the honorable thing in response -- and that was to come forward. He was very clear that he screwed up terribly ... even felt fortunate to have a wife who is far better than he deserves."

    Petraeus told Phillips he had not spoken with Broadwell since the scandal broke.

    "He insisted to me that he has never passed classified information to Paula Broadwell," Phillips said. "He said this has nothing to do with Benghazi, and he wants to testify. He will testify."

    Defense officials told NBC News on Thursday that earlier this week, the FBI came to Army officials with material discovered in Broadwell’s emails and asked, “Is this real and is it classified?” After Army officials determined it was indeed classified material, the FBI launched a search of Broadwell’s North Carolina home, with her consent.

    The Defense officials could not reveal the nature of the classified material.

    On Wednesday, an Army official told NBC News that Broadwell had lost her security clearance.

    The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Broadwell’s security clearance and access to classified material was suspended because of an address she gave to an alumni symposium on Oct. 26 at the University of Denver, which appeared on the video-sharing site YouTube. Broadwell holds a master's degree in international study from the school.

    In the address, Broadwell talked about security at the consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

    "Any time that the Army has a reason to believe that an officer has mishandled classified information, there is grounds for such action," the Army official said, referencing the YouTube clip.

    Broadwell, a West Point graduate and former military intelligence officer, is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, though she is not currently on active duty, according to Pentagon records obtained by NBC News.

    Multiple government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News that Petraeus, a retired four-star general who is married, had an extramarital affair with Broadwell, 40. Broadwell, who also married, authored “All In,” a book about Petraeus’ leadership philosophy.

    FBI investigators who looked into a series of anonymous threatening emails sent to Tampa, Fla., socialite Jill Kelley later determined they were authored by Broadwell, multiple government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News.

    Petraeus will testify Friday about the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi before the Senate Intelligence Committee after he briefs the House Intelligence Committee.

    NBC News' Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube contributed to this report.

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  • Obama slams GOP criticism of UN Ambassador Rice over Benghazi attack as 'outrageous'

    Just-resigned CIA Director David Petraeus says he will testify this week at congressional hearings looking into the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, as new details emerge about the emails that helped end his career. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

    By James Eng, NBC News

    Updated at 4:44 p.m. ET: President Barack Obama on Wednesday spiritedly defended U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice over her response to the September attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead, assailing Republican criticism of her as "outrageous."

    At his first news conference since winning re-election, the president said Rice has done “exemplary work” and accused GOP critics of trying to “besmirch” her reputation.

    President Obama defends U.N. ambassador Susan Rice against criticism from Sen. John McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham over the Benghazi attacks in Libya.

    “I don’t think there’s any debate in this country that when you have four Americans killed, that’s a problem, and we’ve got to get to the bottom of it and there needs to be accountability. We’ve got to bring those who carried it out to justice. They won’t get any debate from me on that,” Obama said sternly.

    “But when they go after the U.N. ambassador, apparently because they think she’s an easy target, then they’ve got a problem with me.”

    Two of Rice’s main GOP critics refused to back down.

    Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) discusses the Obama administration's handling of the aftermath of the Benghazi attack, accusing the president of "either a cover-up or incompetence." McCain also vowed to block any nomination of UN Ambassador Susan Rice for secretary of state to replace Hillary Clinton.

    Sen. Lindsey Graham said shortly after Obama’s news conference that he had “no intention of promoting anyone who is up to their eyeballs in the Benghazi debacle.” Sen. John McCain added: "We owe the American people and the families of the murdered Americans a full and complete explanation, which for two months the President has failed to deliver.”

    Bebeto Matthews / AP file

    U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice speaks during a meeting on Syria in the United Nations Security Council, Aug. 30.

    Rice has been mentioned as a possible successor to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has said she will not continue to serve in Obama's second term beginning in January.

    Senior Republican senators vowed earlier on Wednesday to block any future promotion of Rice, questioning her initial description of the Sept. 11 violence on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi as a spontaneous outburst rather than a planned attack as unfathomable. Killed in the violence were U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American officials.


    “My judgment at this time is that four Americans were killed, and the information that our U.N. ambassador conveyed was clearly false," McCain, R-Ariz., the top GOP senator on the Armed Services Committee, told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference. "There was overwhelming evidence that it was completely false. And she should have known what the situation and circumstances were and not tell the world on all Sunday morning talk shows.” 

    Graham, of South Carolina, supported that stance at the same news conference, saying of Rice, "I don't trust her. And the reason I don't trust her is because I think she knew better, and if she didn't know better, she shouldn't be the voice of America.”

    The two lawmakers along with Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire are pressing for a special, Watergate-style select Senate committee to investigate the Benghazi attack. They complained that separate inquiries by various Senate panels will fail to get to the bottom of the deadly incident.

    Sen. John McCain took to the Senate floor to protest the potential appointment of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. At issue are Rice's comments that Benghazi was triggered by a video maligning the Prophet Mohammad. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.

    Rice has been the focal point of accusations that the Obama administration misled the public about the nature of the Benghazi attack. Five days after the attack, she appeared on several news talk programs and said the attack stemmed from outrage in the Arab world over an anti-Muslim video, not an act of terrorism. The White House later corrected that claim.

    Obama wouldn’t comment on whether he’d nominate Rice to replace Clinton on his Cabinet. But he said of Rice: “She has done exemplary work.”

    “She made an appearance at the request of the White House in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence (on Benghazi) that had been provided to her. If Sen. McCain and Sen. Graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me – and I’m happy to have that discussion with them," he said animatedly.

    “But for them to go after the U.N. ambassador, who had nothing to do with Benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received, and to besmirch her reputation, is outrageous.”

    Shortly after the president’s remarks, Graham issued the following statement:

    “Mr. President, don’t think for one minute I don’t hold you ultimately responsible for Benghazi.  I think you failed as Commander in Chief before, during, and after the attack. 

    We owe it to the American people and the victims of this attack to have full, fair hearings and accountability be assigned where appropriate. Given what I know now, I have no intention of promoting anyone who is up to their eyeballs in the Benghazi debacle.”

    McCain said initial Obama administration statements the the Benghazi attack was triggered by a spontaneous demonstration and a hateful video “clearly did not comport with the facts on the ground.“

    In a statement issued after Obama’s news conference, McCain repeated his call for a select committee to be appointed “to obtain a full and complete accounting which would be credible with the American people."

    Not all Republican senators agree with the the need for a special select committee.

    Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she did not “see the benefit” of such an approach, noting the Homeland Security Committee has governmentwide jurisdiction and “a history of producing comprehensive bipartisan reports.”

    Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn, said assigning the matter to a select committee at this point would be “premature.”

    David Petraeus, who stepped down as CIA director last week after acknowledging an extramarital affair, has agreed to testify before Congress on the Benghazi attack. He'll go before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday and the House committee on Friday.

    Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday that he would like to hear from Petraeus but has yet to formally request a meeting with him.

    NBC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Kelly O’Donnell and NBC News Associate Producer Catherine Chomiak contributed to this report.

    More from the news conference:

    President Barack Obama holds his first press conference at the White House since being re-elected to a second term.

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  • Obama: 'No evidence' of national security harm in Petraeus scandal

    President Barack Obama answered a range of questions Wednesday at the White House in his first press conference since being re-elected. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.

    Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

    Ex-CIA Director David Petraeus speaks to members of a Senate Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on January 31, 2012.

    By Jeff Black, Staff Writer, NBC News

    President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he has seen no evidence that a scandal that led to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus  harmed national security.


    “I have no evidence at this point from what I’ve seen that classified information was disclosed that in  any way would have had a negative impact on our national security,” Obama said at a White House briefing.

    Petraeus, a decorated four-star general who received widespread praise for the surge strategy in Iraq, resigned as CIA director on Friday, citing an extramarital affair.

     

    Numerous federal government officials have told NBC News that the married general had a relationship with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, 40, who authored “All In,” a book about Petraeus’ leadership philosophy.

    Obama brushed aside questions about whether he felt he should have been notified sooner of the investigation of Petraeus.

    “Obviously, there’s an ongoing investigation. I don’t want to comment on the specifics of the investigation, Obama said, “The FBI has its own protocols in terms of how they proceed. … I have a lot of confidence in the FBI.”

    The president was not informed of the FBI investigation that revealed Petraeus’ affair until Nov. 8, one day before he accepted his resignation.

    FBI investigators who looked into a series of anonymous threatening emails sent to Tampa, Fla., socialite Jill Kelley later determined they were authored by Broadwell, multiple government and law enforcement officials have told NBC News.

    Investigators have looked into whether Broadwell violated cyber-harassment laws or improperly possessed classified information, and Obama indicated that the investigation was “ongoing.” Law enforcement officials say they have developed no evidence indicating that Petraeus improperly provided classified information to Broadwell.

    Earlier on Wednesday, NBC News confirmed from a veteran senator that Petraeus will testify Thursday about the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi before the Senate Intelligence Committee. 

    The Thursday hearing will be the first formal congressional inquiry into the September attack that killed U.S. Ambassador in Libya Chris Stevens, information management officer Sean Smith and security personnel Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. Petraeus is also scheduled to appear at a closed hearing of the House Intelligence Committee on Friday. 

     As FBI investigated Petraeus, he and Allen intervened in nasty custody battle

    Republican lawmakers have criticized the administration’s evolving explanation of what triggered the Benghazi attack. Officials early on said it was a spontaneous reaction during a protest about an anti-Islamic film. Later, it was termed a planned terrorist attack.

    Commenting on the scandal involving General Petraues, President Obama says he's not aware of any breaches of national security resulting from the scandal.

    Questions have also been raised about whether the consulate had adequate security and whether the State Department responded appropriately to requests for more protection.

    Military analyst Col. Jack Jacobs (Ret.) said the sex scandal will affect the way Petraeus is questioned by Congress, because members were kept in the dark about the FBI inquiry that led to his resignation. 

    Defense official fires back, denies Afghanistan commander exchanged 'inappropriate' emails

    “It will be interesting to see what tenor it takes and what the senators and congressmen, assuming he gets before both houses, have to say before talking to him. As you know, these hearings have a tendency to be less a question and answer period than it is an opportunity for the members to vent their spleen or talk about what they want to, so that part will be very, very interesting,” Jacobs said.   

    “In terms of extracting real information about what actually took place and what role the CIA had in what took place in Benghazi, I believe that investigation will determine that they had no role, that by the time the CIA could do anything, it was all over.” 

    NBC's Michael Brunker contributed to this report.

    President Obama says he will "cooperate in any way that Congress wants" in an investigation around the attack on the U.S. consulate in  Benghazi while saying his administration did "everything we could to makes sure we protected our people."

    NBC's Chuck Todd discusses the political fallout from Petraeus-Allen scandal, noting that the White House national security team is probably more worried about wobbly leadership at the CIA and in Afghanistan than political damage.

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  • Dad of US bodyguard 'blown up twice' in Benghazi says State Department should admit mistakes

    Molly Riley / Pool via Getty Images, file

    President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hold their hands over their hearts during the Transfer of Remains Ceremony for the return of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three Americans at Joint Base Andrews on Sept. 14.

    By NBC News staff and Reuters

    The father of an American bodyguard injured in the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Libyan city of Benghazi said Wednesday the State Department should own up to what he said were its mistakes and release more information about what occurred.

    David Ubben, a 31-year-old State Department employee, suffered broken bones and other injuries in the Sept. 11 attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.


    As David Ubben recuperates at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, his father, Rex Ubben, said he did not blame the State Department or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for his son's injuries.

    But he added, "I do find it troubling that they have not owned up to their shortcomings; in government, in the military, and in business, if something goes wrong, you admit it, correct it, and move on."

    "If you were in charge, it was your fault," he said in an email exchange with Reuters.

    Rex Ubben's comments came after some congressional Republicans on Tuesday called for Clinton to provide more information about security at U.S. compounds in Benghazi in the days, weeks and months leading up to the attacks.

    The administration is under more fire from Congress over its handling of the Benghazi attack – with new questions about security and intelligence failure. Ambassador Chris Hill joins Andrea Mitchell Reports to discuss.

    Sensitive documents left behind at US consulate in Benghazi, Libya

    In a letter to Clinton, Reps. Darrell Issa of California and Jason Chaffetz of Utah recounted a number of attacks in Libya this year and alleged that requests from U.S. officials in the country for heightened security went unheeded.

    Debate over whether President Barack Obama's administration was caught unprepared by an assault by militant groups has become U.S. election-year fodder.

    At the consulate where four Americans died security consisted of one U.S. regional security officer and a local militia. Ambassador Chris Stevens often had little personal security detail. NBC's Lisa Myers reports.

    Ubben said people understood "mistakes and lack of foresight do happen," but, "to attempt to delay or cover information up, upcoming election or no, might put other people's lives at risk and fools no one."

    Clinton vowed Wednesday to pursue a full accounting of the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi "wherever that leads," but cautioned it could take time for a complete picture to emerge.

    Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., joins Morning Joe to discuss a grim milestone for U.S. troop deaths in Afghanistan, President Obama's relationship with U.S. military leaders, the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya and the upcoming presidential debates.

    "There are continuing questions about what exactly happened in Benghazi on that night three weeks ago. And we will not rest until we answer those questions and until we track down the terrorists who killed our people," Clinton said in Washington.

    Federal officials told NBC News on Thursday that members of an FBI team sent to Libya are now in Benghazi. 

    Military forces secured the site to permit the FBI to conduct an investigation of the site in an effort to collect forensic evidence and recover any U.S. documents that may have been left at the scene. The FBI had not visited the site until now because of the potential threat from regional militias.

    The Benghazi attack killed U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, information technology specialist Sean Smith and security guards Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods.

    FBI agents keep out of Benghazi

    Ubben said his son was on temporary assignment in Libya and that his deployment came in July, after - and perhaps in response to - earlier security incidents.

    Mohammad Hannon / AP, file

    A Libyan man explains that bloodstains on a column are from one of the American staff members injured on Sept. 11 in the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

    On June 6, an improvised bomb was placed at the north gate of the Benghazi mission. It blew a hole in the fence.

    Rex Ubben, 60, said he was a 24-year Air Force veteran who retired in 1995 as master sergeant. He was based at various U.S. embassies. Since retiring, he has been a computer programmer for several banks.

    Son said it was an attack, not a riot
    He said David Ubben described the violence on Sept. 11 as "obviously an attack and not a riot," and sketched out what appeared to be a sophisticated mortar attack during the second wave of the assault. That took place at another compound where U.S. and Libyan personnel retreated, and resulted in the death of Doherty and Woods.

    "What I wanted to know was whether the second part of the attack was pre-planned. The first (mortar) dropped 50 yards short and the next two were right on target," he said, adding his son "was not conscious for any more."

    Libyan president to NBC: Anti-Islam film had 'nothing to do with' US Consulate attack

    "This indicates to me that someone was either very, very good, highly trained and skilled, or that the mortar was already set up and pointed at the safe house and only minor adjustments were needed," he said.

    Thousands of Libyans stormed the headquarters of an Islamist militia group in Benghazi Friday night in a deadly exchange. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

    Ubben also questioned why it took so long for his son to reach a hospital after the attack, saying of his son's condition, "by my count, there were five or six broken bones (one completely smashed, thus the operations) and shrapnel damage head to toe. I was surprised at how many parts of him were injured."

    Libya arrests four suspected in deadly US Consulate attack in Benghazi

    David Ubben is having a series of surgeries and his father expects him to be hospitalized for several months.

    Several questions still remain as to why top U.S. officials offered the wrong initial assessment of the Benghazi attacks that killed four Americans. Was there a cover-up? Or were they trying to avoid acknowledging mistakes so close to the presidential election? The Obama administration has denied any wrongdoing. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

    Rex Ubben said his son did not share many details of the attack with him, but added: "He seems to have been blown up twice, and kept going after the first one. ... I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to whoever did the first aid the first time, the second time, and maintained the tourniquets until they could get him out of there."

    Ubben said he was bothered that "people do not seem to realize that this was a much bigger disaster for the people of Libya than it was for us, that they were attacked just like we were."

    NBC News' Pete Williams and Jim Miklaszewski contributed to this story.

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  • Family of slain US envoy Chris Stevens sets up peace fund

    U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens in an undated photo.

     

    By Lisa Fernandez, NBCBayArea.com

    The outpouring of support in the wake of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens' death has prompted his family in the San Francisco Bay Area, and elsewhere, to establish a fund to support innovative "people-to-people" ideas that further peace in the Middle East.


    Stevens' brother, Tom Stevens, 46, an assistant U.S. Attorney in San Francisco, told NBC Bay Area on Friday that his family has established the J. Christopher Stevens Fund to award individuals and organizations who have good ideas on how to promote tolerance and peace in the Middle East.

    "We just had this overwhelming response," Tom Stevens said. "We have received emails, texts, letters, flowers, you name it. And then Chris' Facebook page, it just went worldwide. We just wanted to put all these wishes to good use and see them carried out."

    Chris Stevens, 52, was killed, along with three other embassy workers on Sept. 11 in Benghazi, Libya, a country where he was the United States ambassador. The White House has deemed the killing a terrorist attack, although the specific perpetrators and motives have not clearly been spelled out.

    Stevens attended the University of California at Berkeley, and UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.  Most of his family, including his mother and stepfather, live in the Oakland and the East Bay.

    He was the first U.S. envoy to be killed in the line of duty since 1979.

    NBCBayArea.com: Wozniak wants to be an Aussie, live in New Zealand

    The fund named after Christopher Stevens is officially a partner of the New Venture Fund, a nonprofit public charity in Washington, D.C., and should soon have an advisory board of members who will determine how future donations will be spent, Tom Stevens said.

    Tom Stevens encouraged anyone who wants to donate, and anyone who wants to submit an idea for a project, to contact the family on the www.rememberingchrisstevens.com homepage. At this point of its early inception, Tom Stevens said the family is considering a number of proposals, but no grants have been distributed yet.

    In general, Tom Stevens said that the board is likely to grant money to established groups whose mission is to help "build bridges" between Americans and people in the Middle East — places where his older brother had worked including Libya, Tunisia, Israel, Syria and Egypt.

    Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com

    Tom Stevens said projects that will be considered for funding depending on the amount of money raised will "promote religious tolerance, cultural understanding, educational youth exchanges, and other people-to-people programs."

    Plans to memorialize Chris Stevens have still to be finalized.

    To post a remembrance or photo, or to make a tax-deductible donation to the J. Christopher Stevens Fund, click here.  To send a private message or funding proposal idea, send an email to rememberingchrisstevens@gmail.com.

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  • Libyan president to NBC: Anti-Islam film had 'nothing to do with' US Consulate attack

    In an interview with NBC's Ann Curry, Libya's president Mohammed Magarief said there's 'no doubt' the attack that killed four Americans in Libya was preplanned, and not a result of the controversial anti-Islam movie that sparked violent protests.

     

    By NBC News staff

    Updated at 6:37 p.m. ET: An anti-Islam film that sparked violent protests in many countries had "nothing to do with" a deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi earlier this month, Libya's president told NBC News.

    In an exclusive interview with NBC News' Ann Curry, President Mohamed Magarief discounted claims that the attack was in response to a movie produced in California and available on YouTube. He noted that the assault happened on Sept. 11 and that the video had been available for months before that.

    "Reaction should have been, if it was genuine, should have been six months earlier. So it was postponed until the 11th of September," he said. "They chose this date, 11th of September to carry a certain message."

    NYT: Deadly Libya attack a major blow to CIA efforts

    Magarief said there were no protesters at the site before the attack, which he noted came in two assaults, first with rocket-propelled grenades on the consulate, then with mortars at a safe house.

    Slideshow: Anger over film spreads throughout Muslim world

    Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

    Protests ignited by a controversial film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad spread throughout Muslim world.

    Launch slideshow

    The attack took the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens, as well as information management officer Sean Smith and security personnel Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

    US Ambassador Chris Stevens was 'courageous,' Obama says

    Magarief told Curry that based on the accuracy of the assault, he believes the attackers must have had training and experience using the weapons.

    "It's a pre-planned act of terrorism," he said, adding that the anti-Islam film had "nothing to do with this attack."

    Though Magarief believes the attack was the work of Islamist fundamentalists, he dismisses any notion that Libya is in danger of becoming a theocracy.

    Libyan President Mohammed Magarief tells NBC's Ann Curry that Islamic fundamentalists do not share the same goals and aspirations as most people in his country.

    “This will never happen,“ he said. “ They don’t have the strength. They don’t have the supporters. They will remain a minority that’s isolated, that will not be accepted by us. And I’m sure Libyans will fight to the last man against seeing this happen in our land.”

    'A strong friend'
    Magarief said that while Libyans appeared to be behind the attack that "these Libyans do not represent the Libyan people or Libyan population in any sense of the word."

    Hilary Stevens, sister of Christopher Stevens, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya who died Tuesday during an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. In an interview with Rock Center Anchor Brian Williams, Stevens reflects on her brother's legacy and work.

    He added: "We consider the United States as a friend, not only a friend, a strong friend, who stood with us in our moment of need."

    More than 40 people have been questioned in connection with the incident, the Libyan leader told Curry.

    He described Stevens as a "humble and very unique human being" and a "great friend of Libya."

    Backlash: Protesting Libyans storm militant compound

    Thousands of Libyans stormed the headquarters of an Islamist militia group in Benghazi Friday night in a deadly exchange. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

    The Obama administration initially maintained that the attacks were directly linked to protests over the film. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sept. 16, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said: “What happened in Benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo, almost a copycat of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo, prompted by the video.”

    However, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney last week said it was "self-evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack."

    Slain ambassador's mom: 'He was trying to do something much bigger'

    Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Barack Obama said: “There are no words that excuse the killing of innocent” people.

    On Tuesday, President Obama spoke to the United Nations general assembly in an emotional speech about the recent violence against Americans. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.

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  • Ambassador Rice: Benghazi attack began spontaneously

    U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice recaps the causes and effects of recent violence against Americans in the Middle East.

    By NBC News staff and wire services

    The attack that killed four Americans at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, apparently began as a spontaneous protest against an anti-Islam film before turning violent, Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday.


    Rice, appearing in NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said she was citing preliminary information and that the FBI was investigating the Tuesday night attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three others.

    Libyan officials are holding 30 to 40 suspecting in the deadly attack of a the US embassy in Libya. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

    A wave of protests and violence has swept across the Middle East and elsewhere in the Muslim world over an obscure, amateurish movie called "Innocence of Muslims" that depicts Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a pedophile. Anti-U.S. protests in 20 countries led the Pentagon to dispatch elite Marine antiterrorism teams to Libya and Yemen and to position two Navy warships off Libya's coast.

    Meanwhile, the State Department ordered all nonessential U.S. government workers and their families out of Sudan and Tunisia. In Lebanon, protesters torched an American fast-food restaurant. Even as tensions appeared to ease over the weekend, al-Qaida's most active Mideast branch was calling for further attacks on U.S. embassies.

    "There's no question, as we've seen in the past with things like 'The Satanic Verses,' with the cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad, there have been such things that have sparked outrage and anger and this has been the proximate cause of what we've seen," Rice said.

    “What happened in Benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo, almost a copycat of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo, prompted by the video,” Rice said.

    More from "Meet the Press": Israeli PM tries to strike more neutral pose in U.S. election 

    Protesters in Cairo had breached the walls of the U.S. Embassy and tore down the American flag.

    In Benghazi, Rice told “Meet the Press” host David Gregory, “Opportunistic extremist elements came to the consulate as this was unfolding, they came with heavy weapons, which unfortunately are readily available in post-revolutionary Libya, and it escalated into a much more violent episode.”

    Related:

    There was “no actionable intelligence” that the attack in Benghazi was imminent, Rice said. The attack overwhelmed security in place at the consulate, she said.

    Rice’s comments came a day after Libyan President Mohammed Magarief told NBC News that “foreigners” were involved in the planning and execution of the attack.

    He expanded on the assertion Sunday, saying on CBS’ "Face the Nation" that about 50 people, not all Libyans, have been arrested in connection with the Benghazi attack, which he said was planned by al-Qaida-linked foreigners, some from Mali and Algeria.

    Magarief said there was little doubt the assault was planned rather than a spontaneous reaction to the video, as came on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

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    He said the security situation in Libya remained "difficult" for Americans, as well as for Libyans. The United States wants the FBI to investigate the consulate attack, but Magarief said it may be too soon to send in investigators.

    "It may be better for them to stay away for a little while until we do what we have to do ourselves," he said.

    Rice told "Meet the Press" that the U.S. is working with authorities in Libya, which has received $200 million in U.S. aid since 2011, to bring to justice those responsible for the attack.

    This article includes reporting by Reuters.

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  • Two killed in Libyan consulate attack identified as ex-Navy SEALs

    Glen Doherty, a former Navy SEAL, was working as a security contractor in Libya when a group of militants stormed the Benghazi consulate. NBC's Katy Tur reports.

    By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

    Updated at 10:27 p.m. ET: Two former Navy SEALs were identified Thursday as the third and fourth victims of the attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya this week that also killed the U.S. ambassador.

    Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube of NBC News and NBC stations WHDH of Boston and KNSD of San Diego contributed to this report by M. Alex Johnson of NBC News. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

    U.S. officials and family members identified the men as Glen Doherty, 42, a native of Winchester, Mass., and Tyrone S. Woods, 41. Details of how they died haven't been made public.

    The men were working as private security specialists for the U.S. government when militants attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday night. In all, four Americans were killed; the others were previously identified as the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and Sean Smith, an information management officer.

    Libyan authorities said Thursday that they had arrested four men in connection with the attack but gave no further details.

    In a statement Thursday evening, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Woods was known to his family and friends as "Rone" that and they they relied on "his courage and skill, honed over two decades as a Navy SEAL."

    Woods, who was also a registered nurse and certified paramedic, served several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and had been protecting U.S. diplomatic personnel in dangerous posts from Central America to the Middle East, Clinton said.

    He was married to a dentist named Dorothy and had three sons: Tyrone, Jr., Hunter and Kai, who was several months old.

    Defense Department records listed Wood's residence as Portland, Ore., but NBC station KNSD of San Diego and numerous other reports from the area said he lived in Imperial Beach, Calif., where he settled after leaving the Navy and for a time owned a pub called the Salty Frog.

    His death was confirmed by his ex-wife, Patty So of San Diego, who was notified by the U.S. government.

    Movie-fueled protests spread in Middle East

    "He was the greatest Navy SEAL. Nobody was more skilled than him," said So, the mother of Woods' two teenage sons. "He loved being a SEAL more than life itself."

    Doherty — known to friends and family as "Bub," according to Clinton — was described as a highly trained marksman and security expert who "lived life to the fullest." He was also an experienced paramedic.

    Katie Quigley, the sister of Glen Doherty, one of the Americans killed in Libya, talks about her brother.

    "Glen lived his life to the fullest. He was my brother, but if you asked his friends, he was their brother, as well," his sister, Katie Quigley of Marblehead, Mass., said Thursday.

    Doherty joined the Navy in his late 20s after having attended flight school and worked as a ski instructor. A skilled pilot, master marksman and medical corpsman, Doherty was a member of the elite Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) special operations corps for nine years before he left the Navy in 2005.

    Kokoro Camp Trainer of Encinitas, Calif., where Doherty worked as a fitness trainer, said that as a civilian, Doherty continued to take assignments in security and intelligence for various U.S. government agencies, serving in Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as Libya.

    In Libya, Doherty "was protecting the ambassador and also helping the wounded" when he was killed, Quigley said.


    Doherty co-wrote the book "21st Century Sniper: A Complete Practical Guide" with another former SEAL, Brandon Webb, who called him "one of the finest human beings I've ever known."

    "He died serving with men he respected, protecting the freedoms we enjoy as Americans and doing something he loved," Webb said.

    In 2009, Doherty was featured in an episode of the NBC-TV reality series "The Wanted," in which intelligence and military experts and investigative journalists sought to track down suspected terrorists.

    In the episode, Scott Tyler, a fellow former SEAL, endorses Doherty's marksmanship and describes him as "highly recommended from people I trust in my community."

    Doherty and other operatives hunted a suspected terrorist in Norway for extradition to Iraq. Doherty devised the surveillance plan, using miniature cameras hidden outside the suspect's home in Oslo.

    Security forces faced violent protests in Egypt and Yemen spurred by angry mobs accusing the U.S. of insulting the prophet Muhammad. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

    Doherty was interviewed on screen discussing surveillance techniques and the importance of maintaining focus in a dangerous situation.

    It's "a good thing to just read all of the people in the neighborhood and just try to be hyperaware of what's happening," he said. "It's not like you see on TV ... You focus on the mission. That's it."

    Quigley said the attack on the consulate had to have been extremely violent and well-coordinated, because "Glen was highly trained. He was the best of the best."

    "This was serious, well-planned, well-executed," she told NBC station KNSD-TV of San Diego. "He was very good at what he did."

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  • US Muslims wary of possible retaliatory attacks

    Leaders with The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemn the killings of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other diplomats. Watch their comments.

    By Jim Gold, NBC News

    Updated at 6:30 p.m ET: U.S. Muslims are seeing a spike in hate calls and are concerned about possible retaliatory attacks on domestic mosques following the fatal attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya and protests at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

    “We’re starting to get hate calls and we’d already seen a wave of anti-Muslim incidents,” Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on Arab-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C., told NBC News on Wednesday.

    “Our first thought is condemning the attacks. Obviously this is something we’re concerned about,” he said. Muslims are feeling insecure, he added.

    Follow live developments from Libya on BreakingNews.com

    The Muslim civil rights group later Wednesday held a news conference to condemn the attacks in Libya and Egypt.

    Libyan Ambassador to the United States Ali Suleiman Aujali holds a news conference along with leading American Muslims and other faith leaders. He is expected to condemn the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens at an American consulate in Libya.

    The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three embassy staffers were killed in the assault on the Benghazi consulate, which was stormed by Islamist gunmen. Another assault was mounted on the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

    On Tuesday, CAIR issued a statement urging Muslims to ignore the distribution of what it called the “trashy” anti-Islam film blamed by some for the attacks.

    US won't rule out Islamist militant link to attack on US consulate in Libya

    Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR, said:

    "We urge that this ignorant attempt to provoke the religious feelings of Muslims in the Arabic-speaking world be ignored and that its extremist producers not be given the cheap publicity they so desperately seek. Those who created this trashy film do not represent the people of America or the Christian faith. The only proper response to intentional provocations such as this film is to redouble efforts to promote mutual understanding between faiths and to marginalize extremists of all stripes.”

    President Obama, alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, condemns "in the strongest terms" the "outrageous and shocking attack" that claimed the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

    On Wednesday, Awad said CAIR condemns the attacks in Libya and Cairo: "The actions of the attackers are totally inexcusable and un-Islamic."

    An FBI spokesperson told NBC News on Wednesday that the agency has extensive nationwide community outreach through special agents and field offices to local Muslim communities.

    Ambassador Stevens was 'courageous and exemplary,' Obama says

    “We encourage anyone who thinks they are being threatened or intimated to contact us or law enforcement right away,” the FBI said.

    In Rutherford County, Tenn., where the Islamic Center for Murfreesboro went through threats, attacks and a court fight to open last month, the sheriff’s office said on Wednesday it was unaware of any threats or protests following the Libya and Egypt attacks.

    NBC's Brian Mooar reports on the reactions from President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that lead to the murders of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans .

    “We will respond to protect the Islamic Center,” sheriff’s spokesperson Lisa Marchesoni told NBC News.

    Ossama Bahloul, the center's imam, told NBC News, that the center will continue to pay the overwhelming cost of security to protect the center "due to the past history of violence and threats that have been aimed at The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro along with the current concerns."

    Bahloul also said the center "condemns in the strongest possible words" the killings in Libya and attack in Cairo.

    The New York Police Department told NBC News that there was no new threat, but as a precaution it would ramp up security at numerous religious institutions, including Coptic Christian churches, synagogues and mosques.

    Rep. Mike Rogers talks about the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens, Mitt Romney's comments on the situation and Libya and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu feeling snubbed by President Barack Obama.

    Romney slams Obama over attacks on US officials in Libya, Egypt

    On Aug. 6, a mosque in Joplin, Mo., was burned to the ground. The same mosque was the subject of an attemped arson a month earlier.

    In France, vandals smeared human feces on the doors of a mosque in Limoges sometime between Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. There was no immediate indication, however, that the desecration was linked to the unrest over the film. The doors were daubed with neo-Nazi graffiti in July, news agencies said.

    Hassan Shibly, executive director of the Florida Council on American Islamic Relations in Tampa, Fla., said if an attack on a mosque occurred it would be hard to know who would be retaliating against what.

    “When somebody knocks on my door at CAIR, I just hope I don’t hear a gunshot," Shibly told NBC News. "There are a lot of crazies out there promoting hate.”

    NBCNewYork.com's Jonathan Dienst and NBC News' Kari Huus and Jeff Black contributed to this article.

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