Share and Follow
Zubayr al-Bakoush is the latest key figure to be apprehended in connection with the deadly September 11, 2012, attack on US diplomats in Benghazi, Libya. His recent transfer to Washington, DC, for trial serves as a strong reminder that the US remains committed to seeking justice.
According to prosecution documents, al-Bakoush orchestrated the initial assault on the US Special Mission compound. The attackers were equipped with “assault rifles, other firearms, and explosive devices,” initiating a 13-hour onslaught that tragically claimed the lives of US Ambassador Chris Stevens, State Department employee Sean Smith, and CIA contractors Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods.
While officials have not disclosed the specifics of al-Bakoush’s capture, he was initially charged in US courts in a 2015 complaint, which remained sealed until now.
This development follows previous successful operations, such as the 2014 capture of Ahmed Abu Khattala by US Special Forces and the FBI Hostage Rescue Team. Khattala, deemed the attack’s mastermind, was sentenced to 22 years in prison following his 2017 conviction. In the same year, authorities apprehended another conspirator, Mustafa al-Imam, who is currently serving a 19-year sentence.
Given that it took nearly a decade to bring Osama bin Laden to justice after 9/11, it might come as no surprise that tracking down al-Bakoush has also been a lengthy endeavor for US authorities.
On the other hand, it probably didn’t help that the Obama administration put its initial efforts into a coverup of the attack’s true nature.
(Not their last lie on the affair.)
This was an Islamist plot to mark the anniversary of 9/11 that caught the Obama team utterly flat-footed; they spent all the months until that November’s election shamelessly pretending it was a “spontaneous” riot prompted by an obscure online video.
But let’s walk away with the words of Attorney General Pam Bondi: “If you commit a crime against the American people anywhere in this world,” the US government will find you.
“It might not happen overnight, but it will happen. You can run, but you cannot hide.”
Let that always be so.