WEBVTT - Benghazi: Episode 3 - Barefoot 0:00:16.271 --> 0:00:22.910 Pushkin. Hey Leon here, Before we get to this episode, 0:00:22.991 --> 0:00:24.631 I want to let you know that you can binge 0:00:24.671 --> 0:00:28.911 the entire season of Fiasco Benghazi right now, add free 0:00:28.951 --> 0:00:32.311 by becoming a Pushkin Plus subscriber. Sign up for Pushkin 0:00:32.351 --> 0:00:35.711 Plus on the Fiasco Apple podcast show page, or visit 0:00:35.751 --> 0:00:41.431 Pushkin dot fm slash Plus Now onto the show. Please 0:00:41.471 --> 0:00:44.790 note this episode contains descriptions of violence some listeners may 0:00:44.790 --> 0:00:53.911 find disturbing. Previously on Fiasco. 0:00:54.671 --> 0:00:57.111 The Arab Spring had arrived in Libya. 0:00:57.351 --> 0:01:00.031 They were saying, wake up, wake up, Benghazi. 0:01:00.231 --> 0:01:00.990 This is the day. 0:01:01.031 --> 0:01:02.431 If you are waiting. 0:01:02.151 --> 0:01:06.751 Forward, It's not usual to send in a diplomat and 0:01:06.791 --> 0:01:08.071 basically say make your way. 0:01:08.511 --> 0:01:10.231 I was very worried about it. Secure it eight. 0:01:10.271 --> 0:01:13.671 Six months after the uprising, Olivia is flooded with weapons 0:01:13.671 --> 0:01:16.511 and faces a potential power vacuum. The country is now 0:01:16.551 --> 0:01:19.151 at risk of being taken over by extremists. 0:01:19.231 --> 0:01:22.431 You Americans need to watch out because the people who 0:01:22.431 --> 0:01:26.991 you're dealing with are not your friends. 0:01:33.431 --> 0:01:37.351 Man plus X equals Islamic terrorist. 0:01:39.271 --> 0:01:41.471 Islamic terrorist minus X. 0:01:46.191 --> 0:01:46.951 Equals man. 0:01:47.751 --> 0:01:49.031 But what is X? 0:01:50.591 --> 0:01:53.911 You're listening to a scene from a low budget movie 0:01:54.031 --> 0:01:58.871 called Innocence of Muslims. It's not even really a movie technically, 0:01:59.031 --> 0:02:01.551 it's a fourteen minute trailer for a movie that was 0:02:01.591 --> 0:02:04.791 never released. The trailer was posted on YouTube in July 0:02:04.911 --> 0:02:05.711 of twenty twelve. 0:02:05.871 --> 0:02:09.671 Muhammed is all a messenger and the Kuwan is a constitution. 0:02:12.431 --> 0:02:15.471 The Innocence of Muslims video is a crude piece of 0:02:15.511 --> 0:02:20.471 anti Islamic propaganda. In it, the Islamic prophet Mohammad is 0:02:20.511 --> 0:02:23.791 played by a boyish white actor, and he's depicted as 0:02:23.831 --> 0:02:26.791 a charlatan, a womanizer, and a bloodthirsty tyrant. 0:02:27.111 --> 0:02:32.711 He kills men, captures women, and chills men, and what's more, 0:02:33.511 --> 0:02:36.031 he does this all in the. 0:02:36.151 --> 0:02:37.631 Name of God. 0:02:39.351 --> 0:02:40.911 What God is this? 0:02:41.471 --> 0:02:44.911 The video was produced in California by an Egyptian American 0:02:44.951 --> 0:02:48.831 man named Nicula Basselli. Nicula he said he made the 0:02:48.871 --> 0:02:52.071 film in protest of violence perpetrated around the world by 0:02:52.151 --> 0:02:58.311 Islamic extremists. It was an amateurish production. Nicula used his 0:02:58.351 --> 0:03:01.391 own house as a sound stage. He hired the actors 0:03:01.391 --> 0:03:04.351 through backstage dot Com and told them they were shooting 0:03:04.351 --> 0:03:08.031 an epic called Desert Warriors. According to the script he 0:03:08.111 --> 0:03:11.631 gave them, the film wasn't about Mohammed at all, but 0:03:11.991 --> 0:03:15.311 just some guy named George. It was only in post 0:03:15.311 --> 0:03:18.431 production that the name Mohammad was dubbed. In raised him 0:03:18.471 --> 0:03:19.511 as one of your slaves. 0:03:19.511 --> 0:03:21.391 If you must, what shall I call you? 0:03:22.231 --> 0:03:25.191 His name is Mohammed the father unknown. 0:03:25.311 --> 0:03:27.710 Nikola had his twenty one year old son post the 0:03:27.791 --> 0:03:32.150 video online and for a while it went virtually unseen. 0:03:33.551 --> 0:03:37.391 Then about two months later, in September of twenty twelve, 0:03:37.711 --> 0:03:40.871 a new version of the video appeared on YouTube, this 0:03:40.991 --> 0:03:42.791 time translated into Arabic. 0:03:43.151 --> 0:03:44.791 A mis alhand. 0:03:47.111 --> 0:03:50.631 Soon miss when clips from the video aired an Egyptian 0:03:50.631 --> 0:03:53.871 television with heated commentary from a pundit who called it 0:03:54.071 --> 0:03:57.231 unspeakable and asked how long will I be called a 0:03:57.311 --> 0:04:06.511 terrorist for growing my beard? The video exploded in Egypt. 0:04:07.391 --> 0:04:11.351 Political leaders and preachers publicly denounced it, and popular Facebook 0:04:11.351 --> 0:04:15.951 groups called for protests. As tensions continued to rise, the 0:04:15.991 --> 0:04:20.591 American Embassy in Cairo decided to address the video. Around 0:04:20.630 --> 0:04:24.191 noon on September eleventh, they released a written statement. 0:04:23.911 --> 0:04:26.551 Saying quote the Embassy of the United States and Cairo 0:04:26.671 --> 0:04:31.671 condemns the continuing efforts misguided individuals to hurt the religious 0:04:31.711 --> 0:04:35.631 feelings of Muslims. As we condemn efforts to offend believers 0:04:35.871 --> 0:04:36.951 of all religions. 0:04:37.311 --> 0:04:39.951 The statement did little to quell the outrage in Cairo. 0:04:40.951 --> 0:04:44.270 Within a matter of hours, hundreds of protesters had gathered 0:04:44.311 --> 0:04:45.831 outside the American embassy. 0:04:46.551 --> 0:04:51.031 Developing story out of Cairo, Egypt. I understand that protesters 0:04:51.111 --> 0:04:53.150 are outside the US embassy. They are there are about 0:04:53.151 --> 0:04:56.751 a thousand of them, and protesters have, from what we understand, 0:04:56.751 --> 0:05:00.471 storm the walls of the embassy and pull down US flags. 0:05:00.751 --> 0:05:04.031 Some of the protesters scaled the walls, tearing down an 0:05:04.031 --> 0:05:06.111 American flag and setting it on fire. 0:05:06.751 --> 0:05:09.431 Egyptian riot police are on the scene and they are 0:05:09.431 --> 0:05:11.070 trying to protect the walls. 0:05:11.191 --> 0:05:14.671 They are protesting a video they say the fames the 0:05:14.671 --> 0:05:16.431 prophet Muhammad Egyptian. 0:05:16.511 --> 0:05:19.111 The Cairo protest was only the latest flare up in 0:05:19.151 --> 0:05:22.071 a long running conflict over the depiction of Mohammad. 0:05:23.631 --> 0:05:27.431 Muslim protesters directed more violent anger today against newspapers in 0:05:27.511 --> 0:05:30.831 Denmark and other European countries that have printed cartoons of 0:05:30.911 --> 0:05:32.711 Mohammad from Cairo day. 0:05:32.751 --> 0:05:36.551 In most Islamic practices, it's considered blasphemists to create any 0:05:36.671 --> 0:05:41.471 visual representation of Mohammed. Over the years, some self described 0:05:41.471 --> 0:05:44.151 secularists have made a point of violating that rule in 0:05:44.151 --> 0:05:45.591 the name of free speech. 0:05:45.311 --> 0:05:49.631 Against cartoons portraying the prophet Mohammed as violent womanizing, first 0:05:49.671 --> 0:05:52.511 published in Denmark and since in seventeen other countries. 0:05:52.751 --> 0:05:55.431 One of the most dramatic examples occurred back in two 0:05:55.431 --> 0:05:59.311 thousand and six, after a Danish newspaper published several cartoons 0:05:59.311 --> 0:06:02.511 of Mohamed and protests broke out across the Arab world. 0:06:02.991 --> 0:06:10.511 They were Muslim protests in at least a dozen countries today, 0:06:11.631 --> 0:06:15.031 now in Cairo. In twenty twelve, it looked like the 0:06:15.071 --> 0:06:18.630 same thing again, with Egyptians rising up against the deliberate 0:06:18.711 --> 0:06:22.190 provocation that had originated in the West. And it was 0:06:22.231 --> 0:06:25.831 happening on the anniversary of the September eleventh attacks, when 0:06:25.871 --> 0:06:28.591 American embassies across the region were on high alert. 0:06:28.631 --> 0:06:32.791 Anyway, the embassy was closed for business that day as 0:06:32.791 --> 0:06:38.511 a security measure, and we were working from our compound 0:06:38.831 --> 0:06:39.831 for the most part. 0:06:40.431 --> 0:06:43.871 This is Gregory Hicks. In twenty twelve, he was the 0:06:43.911 --> 0:06:47.830 deputy Chief of the American Mission in Libya, Chris Stevens's 0:06:47.911 --> 0:06:51.471 number two at the embassy in Tripoli. On September eleventh, 0:06:51.751 --> 0:06:54.151 Hicks had been left in charge while Stevens took a 0:06:54.191 --> 0:06:56.111 short trip to Benghazi. 0:06:55.991 --> 0:07:00.071 And I remember texting Chris in Benghazi and asking him, 0:07:00.111 --> 0:07:02.391 are you watching what's going on in Cairo? 0:07:03.191 --> 0:07:06.231 Stevens told Hicks he had been unaware of the protests 0:07:07.071 --> 0:07:09.471 for all the tensions erupting in Egypt over the Innocence 0:07:09.551 --> 0:07:10.311 Muslims video. 0:07:10.991 --> 0:07:13.911 Libya was quiet, and then when the sun went down, 0:07:14.431 --> 0:07:17.711 we were kind of relieved, wiping the sweat off our brows, 0:07:17.751 --> 0:07:21.031 that we had not been targeted in Tripoli and they 0:07:21.031 --> 0:07:22.911 had not been targeted in Benghazi. 0:07:23.311 --> 0:07:26.671 It seemed like the day had passed without incident. Hicks 0:07:26.751 --> 0:07:27.351 was relieved. 0:07:27.951 --> 0:07:30.751 I had basically said, Okay, we're good, We're through the day. 0:07:31.271 --> 0:07:34.191 Nine to eleven is going to be over. And the 0:07:34.231 --> 0:07:37.391 only thing that happened was in Cairo. And so I 0:07:37.431 --> 0:07:46.551 went to watch a television program and about nine forty 0:07:46.631 --> 0:07:50.311 five or thereabouts, John Martinick, the RSO, ran up to 0:07:50.351 --> 0:07:53.591 my room. He's yelling Greg, Greg the consulates under attack. 0:07:54.111 --> 0:07:56.631 Hicks checked his phone and saw missed calls from both 0:07:56.711 --> 0:08:00.351 Ambassador Stevens and a number he didn't recognize. He tried 0:08:00.391 --> 0:08:03.391 to call back, but no one picked up. Then Hicks 0:08:03.391 --> 0:08:06.271 got through to Stevens by dialing the unknown number and he. 0:08:06.311 --> 0:08:09.871 Said, Greg, we're under attack. I think I said okay, 0:08:10.031 --> 0:08:12.791 and before I could say anything else, he cut the line. 0:08:13.471 --> 0:08:18.031 I'm Leon Navak from Prologued Projects and Pushkin Industries. This 0:08:18.351 --> 0:08:20.031 is fiasco Benghazi. 0:08:20.351 --> 0:08:23.271 I could hear these shots. I can heard the greenades. 0:08:23.511 --> 0:08:25.711 I turned to the ambassador and said, I'm going to 0:08:25.751 --> 0:08:28.831 start shooting, and when I die I want you to 0:08:28.871 --> 0:08:30.711 pick up my rifle and keep on fighting. 0:08:30.831 --> 0:08:34.871 It's taken to a hospital and the government won't tell 0:08:35.030 --> 0:08:36.391 us where it is. 0:08:36.511 --> 0:08:38.751 We already got the buddy, we got the remains. 0:08:38.871 --> 0:08:41.391 I thought I was alone. I thought everybody else was dead. 0:08:43.430 --> 0:08:54.430 Episode three, Barefoot, The Attack in Benghazi. We'll be right back. 0:08:59.271 --> 0:09:04.271 Chris arrived to Bengazi Airport Monday morning, Monday. This is 0:09:04.351 --> 0:09:07.631 the day, was September tenth, So I was there at 0:09:07.670 --> 0:09:08.910 the airport to we'll come here. 0:09:09.550 --> 0:09:13.391 This is Baker Habib, born and raised in Libya. He 0:09:13.471 --> 0:09:16.350 started working with the State Department when the US reconciled 0:09:16.351 --> 0:09:20.710 with the Gadafi regime after the Libyan Revolution. Habib became 0:09:20.790 --> 0:09:24.030 especially close with Chris Stevens. When Stevens was posted in 0:09:24.070 --> 0:09:28.071 Benghazi as an envoy to the anti Gaddafi opposition. Now 0:09:28.271 --> 0:09:31.670 with Gaddafi gone, Stephens was coming back to Benghazi to 0:09:31.751 --> 0:09:33.350 check in with his local contacts. 0:09:33.710 --> 0:09:35.751 And I remember when I told him was came back, 0:09:36.070 --> 0:09:38.151 and he said, I'm pretty glad to be back home. 0:09:38.950 --> 0:09:40.511 So he considered Bengazi as home. 0:09:41.550 --> 0:09:44.751 Why exactly Stephens decided to make his trip to Benghazi 0:09:44.790 --> 0:09:47.991 when he did has never been firmly established, but the 0:09:48.070 --> 0:09:51.030 general reason was that he understood the city's importance as 0:09:51.030 --> 0:09:55.311 one of Libya's cultural and political centers. Benghazi was the 0:09:55.430 --> 0:09:59.151 seat of the revolution that had toppled Gadafi. If Tripoli 0:09:59.190 --> 0:10:02.871 was Libya's Washington d C. Benghazi was New York or LA. 0:10:03.790 --> 0:10:06.790 Stephens believed that the US needed a strong presence there 0:10:10.030 --> 0:10:13.391 Island Town, Stevens was going to preside over the opening 0:10:13.471 --> 0:10:15.631 of a kind of study center at a local school 0:10:15.950 --> 0:10:19.111 that was owned and operated by Baker Habib. It would 0:10:19.111 --> 0:10:22.671 be called the American Corner. The idea was that Libyans 0:10:22.670 --> 0:10:25.951 could take English classes there, find information on college admissions 0:10:25.991 --> 0:10:28.591 in the US, and so on. It would be an 0:10:28.631 --> 0:10:32.870 engine of what some might call American soft power. When 0:10:32.871 --> 0:10:36.790 Stevens arrived in Benghazi. He and Habib set about finalizing 0:10:36.830 --> 0:10:38.030 the details for the opening. 0:10:38.670 --> 0:10:42.350 I spent all day long with him on Monday and Tuesday. 0:10:42.830 --> 0:10:44.391 I went out a little bit. 0:10:44.471 --> 0:10:46.991 I'm back again. Last time I saw him it was 0:10:47.030 --> 0:10:51.710 about fiveish. He had an appointment with the Turkish councilor 0:10:51.751 --> 0:10:53.910 at that time, so I would say the last time 0:10:53.950 --> 0:10:56.751 I saw Chris Stevens, I walked with him, it was 0:10:56.790 --> 0:10:59.871 about five five ten something like that. 0:11:00.471 --> 0:11:03.670 After Habib left, Stevens took his last meeting of the 0:11:03.710 --> 0:11:06.231 day with a Turkish diplomat at the American Compound. 0:11:07.070 --> 0:11:10.351 Our compound was in a residential neighborhood and it didn't 0:11:10.471 --> 0:11:13.551 look unlike any of the other houses in the area, 0:11:13.710 --> 0:11:17.231 so about as long as one of their blocks, like 0:11:17.271 --> 0:11:21.551 a city block almost. It had cement walls all the 0:11:21.550 --> 0:11:22.310 way around it. 0:11:23.030 --> 0:11:26.111 This is Scott Wickland, trained in the Navy as a 0:11:26.111 --> 0:11:29.630 specialist in conducting rescue missions. In twenty twelve, he was 0:11:29.670 --> 0:11:33.071 working for the State Department as a DS agent DS 0:11:33.111 --> 0:11:37.591 short for Diplomatic Security. On September eleventh, Wickland was on 0:11:37.710 --> 0:11:40.151 day forty one of a seventy day posting at the 0:11:40.151 --> 0:11:41.270 compound in Benghazi. 0:11:42.231 --> 0:11:46.751 We had four buildings on it a little orchard on it. 0:11:47.231 --> 0:11:51.790 We had a pool. We had a soccer field where 0:11:51.871 --> 0:11:54.231 the guards would play soccer, and sometimes we would go 0:11:54.310 --> 0:11:55.550 play with them. 0:11:55.670 --> 0:11:58.870 As you heard in episode two, the American compound in 0:11:58.910 --> 0:12:01.670 Benghazi had been leased by the State Department after the 0:12:01.670 --> 0:12:05.391 Libyan Revolution. The four structures on the grounds included a 0:12:05.391 --> 0:12:09.071 barracks for local Libyan guards, a canteen, and a building 0:12:09.231 --> 0:12:12.791 known as Villas, where Stevens slept and met with visitors. 0:12:13.950 --> 0:12:16.790 After Stevens's final meeting of the night, business at the 0:12:16.790 --> 0:12:21.351 compound began to wind down, Stevens retired to his residence 0:12:21.351 --> 0:12:24.591 in Villa C. One of his State Department colleagues, an 0:12:24.631 --> 0:12:27.431 IT specialist named Sean Smith, was in his bedroom in 0:12:27.471 --> 0:12:30.551 the same building, playing a video game called Evonline and 0:12:30.631 --> 0:12:33.711 chatting with other gamers. One DS agent was in the 0:12:33.710 --> 0:12:37.591 compound security center. Scott Wickland and two other agents were outside. 0:12:38.190 --> 0:12:41.391 At the end of the evening. We were sitting by 0:12:41.430 --> 0:12:45.591 the pool and talking. You know, I was wearing flip flops, 0:12:46.151 --> 0:12:47.190 just kind of relaxing. 0:12:49.310 --> 0:12:53.670 Then a little after nine thirty pm, Wickland heard a 0:12:53.710 --> 0:12:54.711 sound in the distance. 0:12:55.190 --> 0:12:58.511 It sounded like chanting to me, you know, like a 0:12:58.590 --> 0:13:03.471 crowd chanting something. I didn't know what it was, and 0:13:03.511 --> 0:13:07.510 then the sound kind of came nearer and nearer, approaching 0:13:08.070 --> 0:13:14.030 the compound, and when I made out alahu Akbar. With 0:13:14.151 --> 0:13:16.830 our current risk profile, we need to do something. 0:13:17.231 --> 0:13:19.991 Wickland and the other DS agents snapped into action. 0:13:20.790 --> 0:13:24.511 We're already stressed out because the ambassadors here. It's a 0:13:24.590 --> 0:13:27.910 dangerous location at September eleventh, we're on this kind of 0:13:27.991 --> 0:13:30.030 high alert. We don't know if they're armed, we don't 0:13:30.070 --> 0:13:33.271 know if they're peaceful. We just don't know. And the 0:13:33.351 --> 0:13:36.310 automatic response from my end was I need to go 0:13:36.310 --> 0:13:39.671 get ready in case. So I turned to the other 0:13:39.710 --> 0:13:41.950 guys and I said, go get your stuff. 0:13:46.070 --> 0:13:48.551 The DS agents who were with Wickland by the pool 0:13:48.790 --> 0:13:51.910 ran to get their weapons. Wickland already had some of 0:13:51.950 --> 0:13:54.271 his gear with him, so he took the role of 0:13:54.271 --> 0:13:58.511 securing Ambassador Stevens and Sean Smith, the IT specialist. Both 0:13:58.550 --> 0:14:00.391 of them were in the living quarters of Villa C, 0:14:01.030 --> 0:14:03.470 which were separated from the main area by what Wickland 0:14:03.511 --> 0:14:05.591 describes as a metal jail cell door. 0:14:06.190 --> 0:14:12.710 I ran into Phili C and the building ran over 0:14:12.910 --> 0:14:15.870 into kind of our living area, and I locked this 0:14:16.070 --> 0:14:19.751 jail cell door. You could like stick your arm through 0:14:19.751 --> 0:14:23.311 the door, but a person could not crawl through. 0:14:24.431 --> 0:14:27.551 As Wickland secured the villa's living quarters, he could tell 0:14:27.590 --> 0:14:29.991 that the group he had heard approaching the compound was 0:14:30.031 --> 0:14:33.710 breaching the main gate outside. It appeared that most of 0:14:33.751 --> 0:14:37.350 the Libyan guards on duty had scattered, allowing the attackers 0:14:37.391 --> 0:14:41.591 to rush in effectively unopposed. Sean Smith tapped out a 0:14:41.590 --> 0:14:43.711 message to the people he was playing video games with. 0:14:44.631 --> 0:14:44.871 Fuck. 0:14:44.911 --> 0:14:50.791 He wrote, gunfire. Wickland ran into his bedroom and put 0:14:50.791 --> 0:14:52.151 on body armor and a helmet. 0:14:52.391 --> 0:14:54.871 And as soon as I came out of my bedroom, 0:14:55.111 --> 0:14:59.231 Investor Stevens was standing kind of in this common area. 0:15:00.031 --> 0:15:02.191 He was ready for bed, you know. He was wearing 0:15:02.231 --> 0:15:05.231 shorts and like a white T shirt. He had his 0:15:05.271 --> 0:15:07.351 body armor with him in his helmet and he was 0:15:07.431 --> 0:15:11.031 kind of finishing putting that on, and right away I 0:15:11.111 --> 0:15:13.111 told him that we needed to get him in the 0:15:13.111 --> 0:15:16.830 safe haven. Seawn Smith came out shortly after that, and 0:15:17.111 --> 0:15:21.871 I put Shawn Smith in the safe haven and we sat. 0:15:24.271 --> 0:15:27.071 The safe haven was essentially a big closet surrounded by 0:15:27.071 --> 0:15:30.871 cement walls. Wickland turned off the lights as he ushered 0:15:30.871 --> 0:15:32.470 Stevens and Smith inside. 0:15:32.991 --> 0:15:36.711 There was a sliding door on it that I had opened. 0:15:36.751 --> 0:15:40.071 And I was kind of kneeling in the entryway of 0:15:40.111 --> 0:15:43.391 the save haven, and I had a shotgun, a pistol 0:15:44.151 --> 0:15:46.231 and an M four And I think that this is 0:15:46.271 --> 0:15:49.551 actually where I kicked off my sandals, because crouching down 0:15:49.590 --> 0:15:52.470 on sandals it just wasn't comfortable. 0:15:54.511 --> 0:15:57.631 Now barefoot, Wickland steadied his M four rifle in the 0:15:57.671 --> 0:16:11.470 darkness of the safe haven and waited. Around nine pm, 0:16:11.631 --> 0:16:14.751 Chris Stevens's friend, Baker Habib got a call from one 0:16:14.791 --> 0:16:18.191 of the DS agents in the compound. He addressed Habibe 0:16:18.191 --> 0:16:20.511 by the nickname Stevens had given him Bo. 0:16:20.911 --> 0:16:23.471 The diplomatic security agents. One of them he called me 0:16:23.791 --> 0:16:29.591 and tell me, hey, Bo aranda attack. So for me, 0:16:30.111 --> 0:16:34.031 I couldn't possess my reaction. Oh and there is sand 0:16:34.830 --> 0:16:37.631 at that time. What he meant by attack, it cannot be. 0:16:38.431 --> 0:16:41.311 Habib didn't want to believe that the compound was under attack, 0:16:42.031 --> 0:16:43.231 but he knew what he was hearing. 0:16:43.631 --> 0:16:46.510 I could hear these shots. I can heard the grenades. 0:16:47.431 --> 0:16:49.791 Habib jumped in his car and headed to the compound 0:16:49.830 --> 0:16:52.231 where he had been with Chris Stevens four hours earlier. 0:16:57.991 --> 0:17:00.671 From his position in the safe haven, Scott Wickland could 0:17:00.710 --> 0:17:04.271 hear the gunfire too. He could also hear the attackers 0:17:04.311 --> 0:17:07.031 begin to hit the main doors of villas trying to 0:17:07.071 --> 0:17:11.111 break in. Then suddenly he could see them. 0:17:11.431 --> 0:17:16.071 I could see through the jail cell door into this 0:17:16.830 --> 0:17:20.511 entryway into Villa C, which is where I saw all 0:17:20.511 --> 0:17:25.791 the attackers rush in when they finally blew open the doors. 0:17:27.590 --> 0:17:30.231 I saw him come in the building and I saw, 0:17:30.711 --> 0:17:34.350 you know that they were carrying weapons. I saw AK 0:17:34.551 --> 0:17:42.031 forty seven's the RPG, I saw grenades. I knew that 0:17:42.071 --> 0:17:47.991 we were in trouble. I was immediately on the radio saying, 0:17:49.110 --> 0:17:53.390 where is everybody? Where's my backup? Where are you guys? 0:17:53.671 --> 0:17:55.831 And I had to whisper because people were in the building, 0:17:56.031 --> 0:18:00.031 and I said, they're in the building. I need immediate assistance. 0:18:00.590 --> 0:18:04.551 And I said this over and over, and I didn't 0:18:04.590 --> 0:18:05.630 hear a response. 0:18:07.390 --> 0:18:10.751 There were four other DS agents in the compound, but 0:18:10.830 --> 0:18:12.670 none of them were answering Wicklan's calls. 0:18:13.551 --> 0:18:18.711 I was scared, wondering if, like the other guys, okay, 0:18:19.791 --> 0:18:23.950 were they killed, you know, were they captured? You know? 0:18:23.991 --> 0:18:26.311 I had no idea. 0:18:26.830 --> 0:18:29.830 As the attackers rushed into the villa, Wickland could hear 0:18:29.870 --> 0:18:32.711 the commotion they were causing. It sounded like they were 0:18:32.711 --> 0:18:36.350 breaking glass, ripping paintings off the walls, and destroying furniture. 0:18:36.870 --> 0:18:40.751 As people started to flood into the building, I start thinking, well, 0:18:40.791 --> 0:18:43.110 this is it. I mean, it's only a matter of 0:18:43.110 --> 0:18:47.910 time before they come over and find us. And sure enough, 0:18:48.350 --> 0:18:52.590 two individuals came over to the jail cell door. One 0:18:52.590 --> 0:18:55.830 of the individuals started fumbling with one of his grenades, 0:18:55.870 --> 0:18:58.311 and I thought, you know, he's going to blow the 0:18:58.311 --> 0:19:02.151 locks up with his grenades. And that's when I turned 0:19:02.150 --> 0:19:05.471 to the ambassador and said, if they blow the locks, 0:19:05.671 --> 0:19:09.311 I'm going to start shooting, and when I die, I 0:19:09.390 --> 0:19:11.751 want you to pick got my rifle and keep on fighting. 0:19:14.791 --> 0:19:17.231 Wickland trained the site of his rifle on the chest 0:19:17.231 --> 0:19:19.271 of one of the men standing at the jail cell door, 0:19:20.071 --> 0:19:22.510 but he held his fire, figuring that as soon as 0:19:22.511 --> 0:19:25.071 he pulled the trigger, he would reveal his location to 0:19:25.110 --> 0:19:26.950 all the other attackers. 0:19:27.951 --> 0:19:31.791 Instead of using the grenades, one of the guys uses 0:19:31.870 --> 0:19:33.990 the butt of his rifle and just kind of bangs 0:19:34.031 --> 0:19:38.111 on the door a little bit, but nothing happened. After that, 0:19:38.191 --> 0:19:42.191 they turned and walked away. That was a massive sigh 0:19:42.271 --> 0:19:45.751 of relief for me. I thought, my gosh, maybe we're 0:19:46.311 --> 0:19:48.590 going to survive. Maybe we're going to be in the clear. 0:19:49.551 --> 0:19:52.830 Shortly after that, Wicklan saw the attackers start to leave 0:19:52.870 --> 0:19:55.551 the building and he breathed the tentative sigh of relief. 0:19:56.271 --> 0:19:59.110 What I didn't realize was that they had taken some 0:19:59.231 --> 0:20:03.271 fuel cans and started pouring it on all those broken 0:20:03.350 --> 0:20:08.630 frames and the furniture, and they lit it on fire. 0:20:12.791 --> 0:20:16.271 The compound had recently acquired a new generator. It was 0:20:16.311 --> 0:20:18.830 stored near the main gate, next to big jugs of 0:20:18.870 --> 0:20:22.751 diesel fuel. It seemed that before leaving the villa, the 0:20:22.791 --> 0:20:25.471 attackers had poured the fuel all over the premises. 0:20:27.711 --> 0:20:30.271 I got a hint of that smell, and it was smoke, 0:20:30.991 --> 0:20:33.950 and I didn't know how bad it was. I didn't know, 0:20:34.511 --> 0:20:36.950 you know, I couldn't see any fire. I couldn't tell it, 0:20:36.991 --> 0:20:40.871 but I could smell it. And then I knew, well, 0:20:40.911 --> 0:20:47.150 now we have a different problem on our hands. 0:20:49.390 --> 0:20:53.031 From his post in Tripoli, four hundred miles away, Deputy 0:20:53.150 --> 0:20:55.470 Chief of Mission Greg Hicks was trying to get a 0:20:55.471 --> 0:20:58.750 handle on what was happening in ben Ghazi. He had 0:20:58.791 --> 0:21:02.230 spoken to Stevens just after nine forty five PM when 0:21:02.271 --> 0:21:06.271 Stevens told him the mission was under attack. Now Hicks 0:21:06.271 --> 0:21:07.551 had to figure out how to help. 0:21:07.751 --> 0:21:10.431 The first thing I'm doing is, Okay, track down all 0:21:10.431 --> 0:21:14.150 of our embassy leadership people, get them to the operations center, 0:21:14.350 --> 0:21:17.990 and say get on the horn with everybody you know 0:21:18.071 --> 0:21:20.871 and find out what exactly is going on. 0:21:21.791 --> 0:21:24.190 Hicks and his colleagues in Tripoli developed a kind of 0:21:24.231 --> 0:21:27.710 phone tree. Some were trying to reach the DS agents 0:21:27.711 --> 0:21:31.990 of the compound. Meanwhile, Hicks was communicating with Libyan government 0:21:31.991 --> 0:21:34.671 officials in hopes of mobilizing some kind of rescue. 0:21:35.431 --> 0:21:39.551 I was calling senior officials in the government in Tripoli 0:21:40.431 --> 0:21:45.791 because they are the individuals who have the responsibility to react. 0:21:45.830 --> 0:21:49.390 I mean, this was a criminal attack on a diplomatic 0:21:49.431 --> 0:21:51.870 facility in Libyan territory. 0:21:52.671 --> 0:21:55.670 But the process was hampered by the reality of telecommunication 0:21:55.830 --> 0:22:00.071 in Libya. Service inside the embassy was so unreliable that 0:22:00.191 --> 0:22:02.711 Hicks and his team had to go outside to their courtyard. 0:22:03.350 --> 0:22:07.350 We're all walking around. It's dead dark except for the 0:22:07.390 --> 0:22:11.671 stars overhead and the like that are on in our compound, 0:22:11.711 --> 0:22:17.830 and we're all walking around dousing for telephone signals. When 0:22:17.870 --> 0:22:20.910 we got the signal, we would immediately start dialing on 0:22:20.951 --> 0:22:23.590 our phones frantically to try to make the next phone call. 0:22:24.110 --> 0:22:27.911 And then we would ammeble like kind of come together 0:22:27.991 --> 0:22:31.391 and we would share the information that we had gathered, 0:22:31.830 --> 0:22:36.750 and then we would all spread out again, dousing for signal, 0:22:36.791 --> 0:22:38.471 and then we would be on the phone again. 0:22:38.991 --> 0:22:41.110 He was through these phone calls that Hicks and his 0:22:41.150 --> 0:22:44.190 State Department colleagues formed a rough understanding of how the 0:22:44.231 --> 0:22:46.071 attack in Benghazi was playing out. 0:22:46.271 --> 0:22:49.751 We heard, you know. It was dozens of armed individuals 0:22:49.751 --> 0:22:54.630 had entered the compound, rocket pelt grenades and rifle fire 0:22:54.671 --> 0:22:58.311 and automatic fire and was taking place. 0:22:58.870 --> 0:23:02.991 As Hicks dialed out, he tried Ambassador Stevens again and again. 0:23:03.511 --> 0:23:07.191 I was trying to call him every few minutes and 0:23:07.390 --> 0:23:11.231 getting no answer. He probably had his phone on silence 0:23:11.551 --> 0:23:16.031 to not attract attention to their presence. I don't know, 0:23:16.590 --> 0:23:18.311 but he'd never answered the phone again. 0:23:21.231 --> 0:23:24.190 When he wasn't calling Stevens's phone or his contacts in 0:23:24.231 --> 0:23:27.551 the Libyan government, Deputy Chief of Mission Greg Hicks was 0:23:27.551 --> 0:23:31.430 calling the CIA. Specifically, he was calling the station chief 0:23:31.431 --> 0:23:35.671 at the CIA outpost in Benghazi, a facility known internally 0:23:35.751 --> 0:23:38.991 as the CIA Annex. It was located less than a 0:23:38.991 --> 0:23:40.711 mile from the State Department compound. 0:23:41.150 --> 0:23:44.430 I was in touch with the Annex chief, so I 0:23:44.630 --> 0:23:48.510 was talking to him about the security team from the 0:23:48.551 --> 0:23:53.510 Annex in Benghazi moving expeditiously to rescue our people at 0:23:53.551 --> 0:23:54.311 our facility. 0:23:54.911 --> 0:23:57.750 The annex was home base for about two dozen Americans, 0:23:58.031 --> 0:24:02.031 including some CIA agents and the team of private security contractors. 0:24:02.830 --> 0:24:05.391 In an agreement between the CIA and the State Department, 0:24:05.951 --> 0:24:09.071 those contractors could be tapped to respond to an emergency 0:24:09.271 --> 0:24:13.231 at the diplomatic nearby. That was why Greg Hicks wanted 0:24:13.271 --> 0:24:14.710 to talk to the station chief. 0:24:15.031 --> 0:24:18.471 And I asked him quite pointedly, are you going to 0:24:18.511 --> 0:24:21.871 be able to meet your obligations under our agreement? 0:24:22.511 --> 0:24:26.311 Separately, the contractors at the CIA annex heard distress calls 0:24:26.311 --> 0:24:29.871 from the compound. They pulled on their gear, grabbed their weapons, 0:24:29.911 --> 0:24:33.830 and loaded up into armored cars. But before they could leave, 0:24:34.150 --> 0:24:36.870