Libya’s Volatility Keeping FBI Agents From Probing Attack
A team of FBI agents assigned to investigate the deaths of four Americans in Libya has not been able to get into the country because of the volatile situation there, according to law enforcement officials.
The team’s inability to get to the scene, secure vital forensic evidence and interview witnesses means that the task of identifying and prosecuting the assailants will be harder, according to former and current FBI agents.
The delay is probably only the first of many enormous challenges that U.S. authorities face in fulfilling President Obama’s vow to seek justice for the deaths of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in the attack on the U.S. Consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi.
Agents will have to help secure a charred crime scene that was left open to the public and looted by militants; sift through the ashes for shell casings, residue from explosives and other physical evidence; and track down people who may have witnessed or were part of the attack, which could mean venturing into unfamiliar, dangerous territory in a country with little security, according to several former and current FBI agents who have been involved in similar investigations in foreign countries.