Obama Kept Iran's Short Breakout Time a Secret

By Eli Lake

The Barack Obama administration has estimated for years that Iran was at most three months away from enriching enough nuclear fuel for an atomic bomb. But the administration only declassified this estimate at the beginning of the month, just in time for the White House to make the case for its Iran deal to Congress and the public.
Speaking to reporters and editors at our Washington bureau on Monday, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz acknowledged that the U.S. has assessed for several years that Iran has been two to three months away from producing enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. When asked how long the administration has held this assessment, Moniz said: "Oh quite some time." He added: "They are now, they are right now spinning, I mean enriching with 9,400 centrifuges out of their roughly 19,000. Plus all the . . . . R&D work. If you put that together it's very, very little time to go forward. That's the 2-3 months."
Brian Hale, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, confirmed to me Monday that the two-to-three-month estimate for fissile material was declassified on April 1.
Here is the puzzling thing: When Obama began his second term in 2013, he sang a different tune. He emphasized that Iran was more than a year away from a nuclear bomb, without mentioning that his intelligence community believed it was only two to three months away from making enough fuel for one, long considered the most challenging task in building a weapon. Today Obama emphasizes that Iran is only two to three months away from acquiring enough fuel for a bomb, creating a sense of urgency for his Iran agreement.
Back in 2013, when Congress was weighing new sanctions on Iran and Obama was pushing for more diplomacy, his interest was in tamping down that sense of urgency. On the eve of a visit to Israel, Obama told Israel's Channel Two, "Right now, we think it would take over a year or so for Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously we don’t want to cut it too close."
On Oct. 5 of that year, Obama contrasted the U.S. view of an Iranian breakout with that of Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who at the time said Iran was only six months away from nuclear capability. Obama told the Associated Press, "Our assessment continues to be a year or more away. And in fact, actually, our estimate is probably more conservative than the estimates of Israeli intelligence services."
Ben Caspit, an Israeli journalist and columnist for Al-Monitor, reported last year that Israel's breakout estimate was also two to three months away.
A year ago, after the nuclear talks started, Secretary of State John Kerry dropped the first hint about the still-classified Iran breakout estimate. He told a Senate panel, "I think it is fair to say, I think it is public knowledge today, that we are operating with a time period for a so-called breakout of about two months."
David Albright, a former weapons inspector and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, told me administration officials appeared to be intentionally unspecific in 2013, when the talking points used the 12-months-plus timeline. "They weren't clear at all about what this one-year estimate meant, but people like me who said let's break it down to the constituent pieces in terms of time to build a bomb were rebuffed," he said. Albright's group released its own breakout timetable that focused solely on the production of highly enriched uranium, not the weapon itself. It concluded Iran was potentially less than a month away.
When USA Today asked a spokeswoman for the National Security Council about Albright's estimate, she responded that the intelligence community maintained a number of estimates for how long Iran would take to produce enough material for a weapon.
"They have made it very hard for those of us saying, let's just focus on weapons-grade uranium, there is this shorter period of time and not a year," Albright told me. "If you just want a nuclear test device to blow up underground, I don't think you need a year."
This view is supported by a leaked document from the International Atomic Energy Agency, first published by the Associated Press in 2009. Albright's group published excerpts from the IAEA assessment that concluded Iran "has sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable implosion nuclear device based upon (highly enriched uranium) as the fission fuel."
Kenneth Pollack, a former CIA analyst who is now an Iran expert at the Brookings Institution, told me that most of the technical estimates about an Iranian breakout were not nearly as precise as they are sometimes portrayed in the press. "The idea there is such a thing as a hard and fast formula for this is nonsense," he said. "All the physicists come up with different answers depending on what inputs they use."
In this way, Obama's new, more alarmist figure of two to three months provides a key selling point for the framework reached this month in Switzerland. When Obama announced the preliminary agreement on April 2, he said one benefit was that if it were finalized, "even if it violated the deal, for the next decade at least, Iran would be a minimum of a year away from acquiring enough material for a bomb."
Hence the frustration of Representative Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. "We've been researching their claim that a deal would lengthen the breakout time for Iran from two to three months to a year," he told me of the administration. "We're just trying to confirm any of their numbers and we can't confirm or make sense of what they are referencing."
Nunes should hurry. The Iranian nuclear deal is scheduled to breakout in less than three months.[source]

Israel: Russian decision on S-300 anti-missile system proves dangers of Iran deal

S-300 anti-aircraft missile system at a parade in Moscow. (photo credit:WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/WWW.KREMLIN.RU)

 Israel on Monday warned that Russia’s decision to lift its five-year ban on the delivery of S-300 air-defense missile system to Iran proves that the deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear program will only strengthen it militarily.

“Instead of demanding that Iran desist from the terrorist activity that it is carrying out in the Middle East and throughout the world, it is being allowed to arm itself with advanced weapons that will only increase its aggression,” Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Monday.

The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ending a self-imposed ban on delivering the S-300 missile system to Iran, removing a major irritant between the two, after Moscow canceled a corresponding contract in 2010 under pressure from the West.

The United States and Israel had lobbied Russia to block the missile sale before it did so in 2010, saying the S-300 system could be used to shield Iran’s nuclear facilities from possible future air strikes.

US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by telephone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday to express his concern about the shipment of S-300 missiles to Iran.

The two men also talked more globally about the framework agreement between the six world powers and Iran, which was negotiated earlier this month in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Lavrov told the Russian News Agency TASS that the S-300 ban is no longer necessary in light of the framework agreement.

He added that the system is defensive, hence would pose no threat to Israel.

“We see no need to continue doing this given progress in talks on Iran’s nuclear program and the absolutely legitimate nature of the forthcoming deal,” he said.

“S-300 is an air-defense missile system, which is of a purely defensive nature. It is not designed for attacks and will not put at risk the security of any regional state, including Israel,” Lavrov said.

But US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters in Washington, “It is not constructive at this time for Russia to move forward with this. Given Iran’s destabilizing actions in the region... this is not the time to be selling those kind of systems to [Iran].”

Harf pledged that the US would protect its allies in the region, including Israel, against Iran.

She added that the US does not believe the decision would impact the continued negotiations between the six world powers and Iran toward a final agreement by the end of June.

“We see this as separate from the negotiations,” Harf said.

Steintiz disagreed and said that Russia’s decision to lift the ban is a sign of how dangerous the Iran deal was.

“This is the direct result of the legitimacy that Iran is receiving from the nuclear deal being made with it. This also proves that the economic momentum in Iran that will come in the wake of the lifting of the sanctions will be exploited for armaments and not used for the welfare of the Iranian people,” he said.

The US has said that this deal will make the region safer, because it will curb Iran’s nuclear program by extending its breakout time to develop nuclear weapons from a few months to a year’s time.

In a phone conference with Israeli reporters earlier in the day, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman – who heads the US negotiating team in the Iran talks – said that a military strike against the Islamic Republic would not eliminate its nuclear program, rather only set it back by a few years.

She argued that the framework agreement is therefore the best option to keep Iran from producing nuclear weapons for an extended period of time.

Israel has argued that the best option is continued and increased sanctions.

On Monday night Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of what would happen with Iran once sanctions were lifted when he spoke at an Israel Police ceremony in Beit Shemesh.

“Iran is receiving legitimacy to continue these actions and when the sanctions are lifted shortly, if indeed the deal is approved, it will receive billions of dollars to finance its war and terrorism machines, with international legitimacy.

Before our very eyes an absurd reality is taking shape in which the key to our fate and the future of the Middle East is liable to be delivered into the hands of the fanatical Iranian regime,” he said.

“An agreement full of holes with Iran will not ensure regional stability; a vigorous and resolute policy that prevents it from arming itself with nuclear weapons and compels it to halt its takeover of other nations would,” Netanyahu added.

Russia’s lifting of the S-300 anti-missile ban was not the only Iranian restriction that it lifted.

A senior Russian government official said separately that Moscow has started supplying grain, equipment, and construction materials to Iran in exchange for crude oil under a barter deal.

Sources told Reuters more than a year ago that a deal worth up to $20 billion was being discussed and would involve Russia buying up to 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil a day.

Officials from the two countries have issued contradictory statements since then on whether a deal has been signed, but Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Monday one was already being implemented.

“I wanted to draw your attention to the rolling out of the oilfor- goods deal, which is on a very significant scale,” Ryabkov told a briefing with members of the upper house of parliament on the talks with Iran.

“In exchange for Iranian crude oil supplies, we are delivering certain products. This is not banned or limited under the current sanctions regime.”

He declined to give further details. Russia’s Agriculture Ministry declined comment and the Energy Ministry did not respond to request for comment. There was no comment from Iran.

Iran is the third largest buyer of Russian wheat, and Moscow and Tehran have been discussing the oil-for-goods barter deal for more than a year.

Ryabkov suggested Russia had high hopes that its steady support for Iran would pay off in energy cooperation once international sanctions against Tehran are lifted.

“It takes two to tango. We are ready to provide our services and I am sure they will be pretty advantageous compared to other countries,” he said. “We never gave up on Iran in a difficult situation... Both for oil and gas, I think the prospects for our cooperation should not be underestimated.”

He also reiterated Moscow’s view that an arms embargo on Iran should be lifted once a final nuclear deal is sealed.

Sanctions have cut Iran’s oil exports to about 1.1 million barrels per day from 2.5 million in 2012.

Analysts say Iran is unlikely to see a major boost in exports before next year.

One upper house lawmaker asked Ryabkov whether lifting sanctions on Tehran could undermine Russia’s position on global energy markets, including as the main gas supplier to Europe.

“I am not confident as yet that the Iranian side would be ready to carry out supplies of natural gas from its fields quickly and in large quantities to Europe. This requires infrastructure that is difficult to build,” he said.

Leonid Ivashov, a retired Russian general who now heads the Moscow- based Center for Geopolitical Analysis think tank, said the move is part of a race for future contracts in Iran.

“If we now delay and leave Iran waiting, then tomorrow, when sanctions are fully lifted, Washington and its allies will get Iran’s large market,” RIA news agency quoted him as saying.[source]

Reuters contributed to this report.

Al-Qaida Captures Major Airport, Oil Terminal In South Yemen After Obama Declares Yemen A "Success"

Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, chant slogans during a demonstration against an arms embargo imposed by the U.N. Security Council on Houthi leaders, in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, April 16, 2015. Al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen seized Thursday control of a major airport and sea port and oil terminal in southern Yemen, consolidating their hold of the country’s largest province amid wider chaos that is pitting Shiite rebels against forces loyal to the country’s exiled president and a Saudi-led air campaign. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

AHMED AL-HAJ
Associated Press
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SANAA, Yemen (AP) -- Al-Qaida seized control of a major airport, a sea port and an oil terminal in southern Yemen on Thursday, consolidating its hold on the country's largest province amid wider chaos pitting Shiite rebels against forces loyal to the exiled president and a Saudi-led air campaign.

Military officials and residents said al-Qaida fighters clashed briefly with members of one of Yemen's largest brigades outside Mukalla, a city the militants overran earlier this month and where they freed prison inmates. The militants then seized control of the Riyan airport and moved to secure their hold on the city's main sea port, which is also an oil terminal.

The security officials, speaking from Sanaa on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the press, said the leaders of the brigade in charge of protecting the entire area fled.

The latest advance marks a major gain for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, as the Yemeni affiliate is known, which has been linked to several failed attacks on the U.S. and is widely seen as the global network's most dangerous franchise. The group claimed responsibility for the attack on a French satirical magazine earlier this year.

The group has exploited the chaos in Yemen, where Shiite rebels, along with allied military units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, captured the capital in September and have been advancing despite a three-week Saudi-led air campaign.

The rebels are staunch opponents of al-Qaida but are currently locked in fierce battles with forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled to Saudi Arabia last month.

The southeastern city of Mukalla is the capital of Yemen's largest province, Hadramawt, where al-Qaida has long maintained a presence despite U.S. drone strikes and Yemeni counterterrorism operations.

Nasser Baqazouz, an activist in the city, said the troops guarding the airport put up little resistance.

"They are consolidating their hold of the city and will paralyze the whole coast of Hadramawt," he said.

A politician in the city, Ali al-Kathiri, said al-Qaida and local tribal leaders had been negotiating with the brigade commanders to ensure a peaceful handover. But some fighters, suspected of being loyal to Saleh, clashed with the militants.

A smaller air defense brigade handed over its camp to al-Qaida, apparently to avoid clashes, al-Kathiri said.

A Saudi-led coalition has been striking the Houthis and their allies from the air since March 26, but has carried out no attacks on Mukalla or other al-Qaida-controlled areas.

Yemen's exiled Vice President Khaled Bahah said the militants in Mukalla are "sons" of the province who have become extremists, adding that he hopes they don't turn it into an "Islamic province." In other parts of Yemen, local militias have been the main forces fighting against the rebels' advances.

Bahah, speaking from Riyadh, also called on the Houthis and pro-Saleh military units to end their offensive on the southern port city of Aden, saying that ground fighting must halt ahead of any peace initiatives.

He said the rebels and troops should adhere to the U.N. Security Council resolution passed earlier this week that calls on Yemen's rivals to end the violence and return to U.N.-led peace talks. Bahah also called on all military units to stop fighting for Saleh and return to the fold of the legitimate government.

The U.N. resolution makes no mention of an end to the airstrikes, now in their fourth week.

"We consider Aden to be the key to peace, the key to the solution," Bahah said. "We will not talk about any initiatives until we see the war machine has stopped in Yemen, and in Aden in particular."

Hadi had set up a temporary capital in Aden, Yemen's largest city, before fleeing to Saudi Arabia last month.

Bahah was speaking for the first time since Hadi appointed him vice president on Sunday. He said Hadi will return to Aden when the security and political situation improves. For now, he said a small government will operate out of Riyadh, focusing on organizing and coordinating humanitarian efforts.

The Houthis swept down from their northern strongholds and seized the capital, Sanaa, in September. Iran supports the Shiite rebels, but both Tehran and the rebels deny it has armed them.

Ground fighting has been fiercest in Aden, where rebels and pro-Saleh military units are trying to take control of the city.

Humanitarian groups have struggled to meet the needs of a population that was already struggling with food security, water scarcity and fuel shortages.

The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that at least 364 civilians are reported to have been killed since the start of the airstrikes on March 26, including at least 84 children and 25 women. This is in addition to hundreds of fighters killed.

On Thursday, Human Rights Watch said at least 31 civilians were killed on March 31, during repeated coalition airstrikes on a dairy factory located near military bases operated by the Houthis and their allies.

Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said the attack may have violated the laws of war, and called for countries involved to investigate and take appropriate action.

"Repeated airstrikes on a dairy factory located near military bases shows cruel disregard for civilians by both sides to Yemen's armed conflict," he said.

Bahah said the coalition and its allies have tried to avoid killing civilians.[source]

---

Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb in Cairo contributed to this report.

Obamacare: Road To Decay

US Embassy Bombing in Turkey Was Eighth Embassy Attack During Secretary of State Clinton’s Reign

Medics carry an injured woman on a stretcher to an ambulance after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Turkey, Friday Feb. 1, 2013.

The bomb appeared to have exploded inside the security checkpoint at the entrance of the visa section of the embassy. A police official said at least two people are dead. (AP /Burhan Ozbilici) Today’s attack marked the final US embassy attack under the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s reign at the State Department. Her last day as Secretary of State is today.

** Here’s a look back at the US embassy attacks under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: Islamist protesters attacked the US Embassy in Jakarta in September screaming “F**k America!” The Islamists chucked rocks and bricks at the embassy guards and torched a US flag.

                              

Islamic radicals chanting “Death to America!” stormed the US Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen in September. They stormed the building and torched vehicles.
                              
Looking Back at a Failed and Bloody Record– A suicide bomber blew up today at the US Embassy in Turkey killing himself and one other person. Medics carry an injured woman on a stretcher to an ambulance after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Turkey, Friday Feb. 1, 2013. The bomb appeared to have exploded inside the security checkpoint at the entrance of the visa section of the embassy.

A police official said at least two people are dead. (AP /Burhan Ozbilici) Today’s attack marked the final US embassy attack under the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s reign at the State Department. Her last day as Secretary of State is today. ** Here’s a look back at the US embassy attacks under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: Islamist protesters attacked the US Embassy in Jakarta in September screaming “F**k America!”

The Islamists chucked rocks and bricks at the embassy guards and torched a US Flag. Islamic radicals chanting “Death to America!” stormed the US Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen in September. They stormed the building and torched vehicles. In November 2012 the Talban carried out a massive attack near the US Embassy in Kabul. An RPG fired at house used by British diplomats.

Afghan police inspect the dead body of one of the suicide attackers following the 18-hour assault in April. (Daily Mail)Afghan police inspect the dead body of one of the suicide attackers following the 18-hour assault in April. (Daily Mail)

Islamists stormed the US Embassy in Sudan in September.

A Sudanese demonstrator burns a German flag as others shout slogans after torching the German embassy in Khartoum during a protest against a low-budget film mocking Islam on September 14, 2012. (AFP /Ashraf Shazly)A Sudanese demonstrator burns a German flag as others shout slogans after torching the German embassy in Khartoum during a protest against a low-budget film mocking Islam on September 14, 2012. (AFP /Ashraf Shazly)

Al-Qaeda was involved in a number of the attacks…

Cairo – Tuesday 9-11 2012

An Egyptian protester tries to raise an islamic Flag at the US embassy during a protest in Cairo Tuesday. (New York Post)

Yemen – Thursday 9-13 2012

A Yemeni protester (c.) destroys an American flag pulled down as others hold a banner in Arabic that reads, ‘any one but you God’s prophet’ at the US Embassy compound during a protest about a film ridiculing Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday. Dozens of protesters gathered in front of the US Embassy in Sanaa to protest the made-in-America film ‘The Innocence of Muslims,’ deemed blasphemous and Islamophobic. (Hani Mohammed/AP)

Tunisia – Friday 9-14 2012

Black Flag over the embassy: Local TV images show a black Islamic flag flying over the American embassy in Tunis. (Daily Mail and Riehl World View) In Benghazi, Libya - Our consulate was destroyed and our ambassador murdered.

And, now we know the al-Qaeda flag was seen at the consulate during the terrorist strike on the embassy. And it was seen several times over Benghazi government buildings during the year.

Despite these numerous attacks, the Obama Administration insists that Al-Qaeda is on the run. Where? (source)

BenghaziGate: Clinton Shouts 'What Difference Would It Make?'

Clinton Gets Emotional In Senate Testimony About Benghazi Attack

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday took responsibility for the security failure in Benghazi, Libya, delivering an emotional statement to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

During her final Senate appearance as the nation’s top diplomat, Clinton defended her department's handling of the attack’s aftermath. She teared up as she recalled consoling the families of the four Americans who died during the Sept. 11 assault, and rejected Republican allegations that the administration engaged in a cover-up.

"For me, this is not just a matter of policy … it’s personal,” Clinton said while choking up. “I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews. I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters."

“As I have said many times since Sept. 11, I take responsibility. Nobody is more committed to getting this right. I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger and more secure,” she said.

But she also defended the administration's response to the assault, noting that an independent investigation found that State's actions "saved American lives in real time."

Republicans used the attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans to criticize President Obama's national security record during the 2012 campaign. The political fury cost Susan Rice, Obama's ambassador to the United Nations, a shot at replacing Clinton as head of State after she gave television interviews in which she linked the attack to a peaceful protest gone awry.

Under questioning from Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Clinton said she had no say in the decision to send Rice to the Sunday shows to deliver the administration's take on the situation in Libya.

“I personally was not focused on talking points," Clinton said. "I was focused on keeping our people safe.”

She described Rice's controversial statements as emerging from a "typical" inter-agency process and said many questions about the attack remain.

“We didn't know who the attackers were or what their motives were," she said. "The picture remains somewhat complicated.”

She said there's evidence the attack in Benghazi was premeditated but “not necessarily indicative of extensive planning.”

She also said the attack was not an isolated event.

“Any clear-eyed examination of this matter must begin with this sobering fact: Since 1988, there have been 19 Accountability Review Boards investigating attacks on American diplomats and their facilities,” she said. “Concerns about terrorism and instability in North Africa are not new. Indeed, they have been a top priority for our entire national-security team. But after Benghazi, we accelerated a diplomatic campaign to increase pressure on al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and other terrorist groups across the region.”

She urged lawmakers not to use the attack as an excuse to withdraw from the world.

“The United States must continue to lead … in the Middle East and all around the globe,” she said. “We have come a long way in the past four years. We cannot afford to retreat now. When America is absent, especially from unstable environments, there are consequences. Extremism takes root, our interests suffer and our security at home is threatened.”(source)

Egypt Intelligence Warns of Attacks on Israel, US Embassies

Egypt's General Intelligence Service warned that a jihadi group is planning to launch terrorist attacks against the US and Israeli embassies in Cairo, according to a report Tuesday by Egypt Independent, citing a secret letter obtained by Al-Masry Al-Youm.


According to the report, the attack is being planned by Global Jihad, the group suspected of killing 16 Egyptian border guards in Sinai on August 5.

Al-Masry Al-Youm reportedly obtained a copy of the September 4 letter, sent to all Egyptian security sectors, warning that Sinai- and Gaza-based Global Jihad cells were planning attacks on the two embassies.

Egypt's military is engaged in an ongoing campaign to root out Sinai-based terrorists.(source)

White House: No Advance Warning Of Embassy Attacks

Revealed: Inside Story Of US Envoy's Assassination

The killings of the US ambassador to Libya and three of his staff were likely to have been the result of a serious and continuing security breach, The Independent can reveal.

American officials believe the attack was planned, but Chris Stevens had been back in the country only a short while and the details of his visit to Benghazi, where he and his staff died, were meant to be confidential.

The US administration is now facing a crisis in Libya. Sensitive documents have gone missing from the consulate in Benghazi and the supposedly secret location of the "safe house" in the city, where the staff had retreated, came under sustained mortar attack. Other such refuges across the country are no longer deemed "safe".

Some of the missing papers from the consulate are said to list names of Libyans who are working with Americans, putting them potentially at risk from extremist groups, while some of the other documents are said to relate to oil contracts.

According to senior diplomatic sources, the US State Department had credible information 48 hours before mobs charged the consulate in Benghazi, and the embassy in Cairo, that American missions may be targeted, but no warnings were given for diplomats to go on high alert and "lockdown", under which movement is severely restricted.

Mr Stevens had been on a visit to Germany, Austria and Sweden and had just returned to Libya when the Benghazi trip took place with the US embassy's security staff deciding that the trip could be undertaken safely.

Eight Americans, some from the military, were wounded in the attack which claimed the lives of Mr Stevens, Sean Smith, an information officer, and two US Marines. All staff from Benghazi have now been moved to the capital, Tripoli, and those whose work is deemed to be non-essential may be flown out of Libya.

In the meantime a Marine Corps FAST Anti-Terrorism Reaction Team has already arrived in the country from a base in Spain and other personnel are believed to be on the way. Additional units have been put on standby to move to other states where their presence may be needed in the outbreak of anti-American fury triggered by publicity about a film which demeaned the Prophet Mohamed.

A mob of several hundred stormed the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday. Other missions which have been put on special alert include almost all those in the Middle East, as well as in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Burundi and Zambia.

Senior officials are increasingly convinced, however, that the ferocious nature of the Benghazi attack, in which rocket-propelled grenades were used, indicated it was not the result of spontaneous anger due to the video, called Innocence of Muslims. Patrick Kennedy, Under-Secretary at the State Department, said he was convinced the assault was planned due to its extensive nature and the proliferation of weapons.

There is growing belief that the attack was in revenge for the killing in a drone strike in Pakistan of Mohammed Hassan Qaed, an al-Qa'ida operative who was, as his nom-de-guerre Abu Yahya al-Libi suggests, from Libya, and timed for the anniversary of the 11 September attacks.

Senator Bill Nelson, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "I am asking my colleagues on the committee to immediately investigate what role al-Qa'ida or its affiliates may have played in the attack and to take appropriate action."

According to security sources the consulate had been given a "health check" in preparation for any violence connected to the 9/11 anniversary. In the event, the perimeter was breached within 15 minutes of an angry crowd starting to attack it at around 10pm on Tuesday night. There was, according to witnesses, little defence put up by the 30 or more local guards meant to protect the staff. Ali Fetori, a 59-year-old accountant who lives near by, said: "The security people just all ran away and the people in charge were the young men with guns and bombs."

Wissam Buhmeid, the commander of the Tripoli government-sanctioned Libya's Shield Brigade, effectively a police force for Benghazi, maintained that it was anger over the Mohamed video which made the guards abandon their post. "There were definitely people from the security forces who let the attack happen because they were themselves offended by the film; they would absolutely put their loyalty to the Prophet over the consulate. The deaths are all nothing compared to insulting the Prophet."

Mr Stevens, it is believed, was left in the building by the rest of the staff after they failed to find him in dense smoke caused by a blaze which had engulfed the building. He was discovered lying unconscious by local people and taken to a hospital, the Benghazi Medical Centre, where, according to a doctor, Ziad Abu Ziad, he died from smoke inhalation.

An eight-strong American rescue team was sent from Tripoli and taken by troops under Captain Fathi al- Obeidi, of the February 17 Brigade, to the secret safe house to extract around 40 US staff. The building then came under fire from heavy weapons. "I don't know how they found the place to carry out the attack. It was planned, the accuracy with which the mortars hit us was too good for any ordinary revolutionaries," said Captain Obeidi. "It began to rain down on us, about six mortars fell directly on the path to the villa."

Libyan reinforcements eventually arrived, and the attack ended. News had arrived of Mr Stevens, and his body was picked up from the hospital and taken back to Tripoli with the other dead and the survivors.

Mr Stevens' mother, Mary Commanday, spoke of her son yesterday. "He did love what he did, and he did a very good job with it. He could have done a lot of other things, but this was his passion. I have a hole in my heart," she said.

Global anger: The protests spread

Yemen

The furore across the Middle East over the controversial film about the Prophet Mohamed is now threatening to get out of control. In Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, yesterday around 5,000 demonstrators attacked the US embassy, leaving at least 15 people injured. Young protesters, shouted: "We sacrifice ourselves for you, Messenger of God," smashed windows of the security offices and burned at least five cars, witnesses said.

Egypt

Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi yesterday condemned the attack in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador. In a speech in Brussels, Mr Morsi said he had spoken to President Obama and condemned "in the clearest terms" the Tuesday attacks. Despite this, and possibly playing to a domestic audience, President Obama said yesterday that "I don't think we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy".

Demonstrators in Cairo attacked the mission on Tuesday evening and protests have continued since.

Iraq

Militants said the anti-Islamic film "will put all the American interests Iraq in danger" and called on Muslims everywhere to "face our joint enemy", as protesters in Baghdad burned American flags yesterday. The warning from the Iranian-backed group Asaib Ahl al-Haq came as demonstrators demanded the closure of the US embassy in the capital.

Bangladesh

Islamists warned they may "besiege" the US embassy in Dhaka after security forces stopped around 1,000 protesters marching to the building. The Khelafat Andolon group called for bigger protests as demonstrators threw their fists in the air, burned the flag and chanted anti-US slogans.

Others

There was a Hamas-organised protest in Gaza City, and as many as 100 Arab Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv. In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai postponed a trip to Norway, fearing violence. Officials in Pakistan said they "expected protests". Protesters in Tunis burnt US flags.(source)