Libyans Remorseful that Obama ‘Getting the Heat’ After Benghazi Attack

Many Libyans are still trying to make sense of the attack in Benghazi that happened five weeks ago Tuesday and most of the Libyans I’ve been talking to are contrite, and hope for continuing close relations with Washington.

I spoke with Salehdin Alashhab, an oil engineer who moonlights as a cashier at his brother’s grocery store in Tripoli and asked him what he would say to Americans who wonder if Washington should have helped Libya, given what happened.

“Actually, there’s nothing to say, just that we’re very very sorry,” Alashhab said. “I’m very sorry, from
my heart.”

I also spoke with a Tripoli ad agent named Rida, who said: “The way we see it is: Obama stood by Libya. Libya messed up. And now he’s getting the heat for it, basically. I don’t know if that’s making it too simple, but that’s how we see it.”

Many Libyans are aware that the Benghazi attack has figured prominently in the latest presidential election debates. Heba, a Libyan freelance journalist using only her first name says a victory by Republican nominee Mitt Romney could be a major set-back for Libyan democracy.

“Personally I think the Libyan-American relation could be harmed if Romney wins. He’s clearly stubborn when it comes to foreign policy and he takes us back to the Bush administration kind of attitudes, which pretty much scares a lot of decision makers here in the Middle East,” Heba said. “A lot of them are afraid if Romney wins, it could mean frozen relations between American and Libya.”

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Marco Werman: Correspondent Marine Olivesi is in Tripoli, Libya, and as we just heard in that piece from Jason Margolis, Marine, five weeks after the attack in Benghazi, it continues to be a contentious issue here. What are Libyans saying about the different accounts of the September 11th assault on the US consulate in Benghazi?

Marine Olivesi: Talking with people here in Tripoli, we can still feel an overwhelming mix of shock and contrition and sadness over the Benghazi attack. Take Salehdin Alashhab, who is an oil engineer. He moonlights as a cashier at his brother’s grocery store and that’s where I met him last night. Salehdin remembers Ambassador Stephens and says he still can’t make sense of what happened.

Salehdin Alashhab: This guy, you know, he go out to the street and he mix with the public people here. He wants to help Libyan people, you know? So what happens very, very, very, very bad, you know.

Olivesi: What would you tell an American who says, we shouldn’t have helped them. See how they say thanks, why did we help them? That was a mistake.

Alashhab: Actually there is nothing to say. Just we are very, very, very, very sorry. I’m really sorry, now it’s from my heart, yeah?

Werman: Apparently Ambassador Chris Stephens still looms large for many Libyans. Are Libyans aware of how the Benghazi attack and its aftermath are playing out in the US presidential campaign, Marine?

Olivesi: They don’t know much about the nuts and bolts of the congressional hearing and of the back and forth between the Obama and the Romney campaigns, but still they do have an idea of the general picture and here’s how one Libyan describes it.

Rida: The way we see it is, Obama stood by Libya. Libya messed up. And now he’s getting the heat for it, basically. I don’t know if that’s making it too simple, but that’s how we see it right now.

Olivesi: So that’s Rida. He works in an ad agency and he’s been very active on social media during and after the revolution. Rida says that even if Libyans are not well aware of all the political wrangling going on in the US, most do feel a sense of guilt right now at the idea that Libya has turned into a liability for the Obama administration.

Werman: Whom do Libyans blame for the tragic events that happened five weeks ago today?

Olivesi: Rida, the social media activist we just heard, was joking this morning after he heard Hillary Clinton declared she was taking responsibility. He said, well, Hillary Clinton says it’s her fault, right, so it’s not ours. And of course that’s a joke and it speaks about the fact that for most Libyans the reason of the attack is actually pretty straightforward. It’s really not about failure of US intelligence or the State Department, but it has everything to do with failure from their own transitional government. To them the attack illustrated that one undeniable fact of Libya today which is the government is weak and the militias are still on the loose.

Werman: Let me ask you this, Marine, are you able to get a general sense of how closely Libyans are following the US election and what they think is at stake for them in this vote in November?

Olivesi: Many Libyans here remember the last Republican president, George W. Bush, whose foreign policy wasn’t really popular at all in the Arab world. And I interviewed this morning one Libyan free lance journalist, Heba al-Shebani, and she says she is, for one, really following very closely the US election, and she’s holding her breath over the result.

Heba: Personally I think the Libyan-American relation could be harmed if Mitt Romney wins. He’s clearly stubborn when it comes to foreign policies and he takes us back to the Bush administration kind of attitude, which pretty much scares a lot of decision makers here in the Middle East in general. A lot of them are afraid if Mitt Romney wins, that could mean frozen relationship between America and Libya.

Werman: Well, one voice there, of course. Correspondent Marine Olivesi in Tripoli. Good to speak with you Marine. Thank you.

Olivesi: Welcome.

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