Someone made the decision that the mission in Benghazi was so critical that they waived the standard security requirements, which presents unique challenges to the diplomatic security service as you can imagine," said Fred Burton, vice president for Intelligence at STRATFOR, an intelligence analysis group.
In another report published Thursday, analysts at Stratfor Global Intelligence said most of the parties that stand a chance of forming the next government plan to roll back some of Monti’s reforms that were implemented along with the European Union fiscal compact. Any party that’s elected will have to generate economic growth and reduce social tensions without alarming markets and creating tensions in the EU.
At the end of the day, the latest wave on anti-American protests are a reaction to failed assumptions behind NATO’s backing of the Arab Spring, according to Stratfor's George Friedman.
Fred Burton, a former special agent for the U.S. diplomatic Security Service who now works for the Stratfor consultancy, said there had been a "security failure" since the consulate lacked "concentric rings" of protection typical at other sites.
The visa denials likely reflect both classified intelligence information and concerns that students could pose a danger in the event of war with Iran, said Fred Burton, a former State Department special agent focused on Iranian terrorism.
That's because the buildings are more fortified than the temporary structure in Benghazi, and have security measures that were put in place after the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, said Scott Stewart, vice president of analysis at Stratfor and a special agent with the State Department from 1988 to 1998.
Fred Burton is a former special agent for the State Department's diplomatic security service, which protects diplomats abroad. He's investigated such attacks and he places much of the blame on the Libyan government.
Security outside embassies is the responsibility of the host country, and it's "entirely possible" that U.S. officials asked for but didn't receive help to push back the attackers that ultimately killed Stevens and the other staffers, said Fred Burton, a Stratfor analyst and former State Department counterterrorism agent. "The question will be, once the dominoes fell in Cairo and protests started to occur, what was requested and what was done," he said.
