WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says there's no evidence that last week's deadly assault on the U.S. Consulate in Libya was pre-meditated.
Susan Rice says the evidence gathered so far shows no indication of a premeditated or coordinated strike. She says a spontaneous protest over an anti-Muslim video "seems to have been hijacked" by extremists with heavy weapons, which she says are easy to come by in post-revolutionary Libya.
But Libya's interim president, Mohammed el-Megarif, disagrees. He tells CBS's "Face the Nation" he has no doubt the attack was planned "by people who entered the country a few months ago," and that they purposely chose the date, Sept. 11.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers says it's too early to tell. He tells "Fox News Sunday" that classified intelligence gives pause to those who suggest attacks throughout the Middle East were coincidental. The Michigan Republican is a former FBI agent.
Rice appeared on "Fox News Sunday," CBS's "Face the Nation," NBC's "Meet the Press" and CNN's "State of the Union."
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155-a-14-(Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, in interview)-"of the video"-Ambassador Susan Rice says the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was spontaneous. COURTESY: "Fox News Sunday" ((mandatory on-air credit)) (16 Sep 2012)
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APPHOTO WX114: In this image provided by CBS, Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. speaks on "Face the Nation" in Washington, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. A deadly assault on a U.S. consulate in Libya was a spontaneous reaction to an anti-Muslim video, the Rice said Sunday, even as Libya's president insisted the attackers spent months preparing and carefully choosing their date - the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (AP Photo/CBS News, Chris Usher) (16 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO WX114 (09/16/12)>>
APPHOTO MH103: Libyan President Mohammed el-Megarif , speaks during his interview with the Associated Press at his resident, regarding the attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens on Tuesday night, in Benghazi, Libya, Friday, Sept. 16, 2012. "At least some of them, not necessarily the Militia as a whole, there is a division inside Ansar al-Sharia." el-Megarif said in his response about the the involvement of Ansar al-Sharia Brigades in the attack on the U.S. Consulate. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon) (16 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO MH103 (09/16/12)>>
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