– Political issue –
The Benghazi attack shocked Washington and became a highly charged political issue, raising questions about security at US missions. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton faced hostile questioning before lawmakers over the issue.
Republicans alleged that the White House failed to respond decisively and then tried to hide some facts in the grisly episode.
The Obama administration has accused critics of politicizing a tragic event and says that it has divulged all the details of the case.
US federal prosecutors have charged Khatallah with murder, carrying a weapon and offering material support to “terrorism,” according to an indictment. The first charge potentially carries the death penalty.
The charges reflect accounts from Libyan officials and witnesses who have singled out Khatallah as allegedly taking part in the assault that day.
Khatallah has been seen in public often and gave an interview to The New York Times last year, striking a defiant tone over a strawberry frappe at a cafe in a luxury hotel in Benghazi.
But US officials dismissed suggestions that the suspect was “hiding in plain sight” or that the operation could have been conducted much sooner.
– No Guantanamo –
The State Department had identified Khatallah as a senior leader of Ansar al Sharia, a Libyan Islamist group it brands a “terrorist” organization responsible for a spate of attacks and assassinations.
Some critics have already blasted the administration for holding Khatallah at sea instead of at the US-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he could be treated as an “enemy combatant” and held without trial.
But the administration plans to try him in a civilian court, where some other prominent terror suspects have been prosecuted.
In October last year, US special operations forces staged a similar raid in Tripoli, apprehending Abu Anas al Libi, a suspect linked to the 1998 Al-Qaeda bombings of US embassies in East Africa.
He was taken to New York, where he faces federal charges over his alleged role in the bombing.
“The system has repeatedly proven that it can successfully allow us to gather intelligence, handle the threat that we continue to face, and prosecute terrorists,” said National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden.
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