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Fourteen years after the cowardly assault on our diplomatic compound in Benghazi, the Justice Department announced that a man identified as Zubayr al-Bakoush has been taken into U.S. custody to face an indictment tied to the murders of Americans in that attack. This long-delayed arrest is a vindication for the families who have waited over a decade for accountability for the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and his colleagues.
Officials say al-Bakoush was picked up overseas and flown to an airfield near Washington in the predawn hours, where he arrived in custody and will answer charges that include murder, terrorism and arson under an eight-count indictment. The facts of the case — surveillance of the compound, attempts to access U.S. personnel and the setting of fires — are chilling reminders of the brutality those men faced.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI leaders made clear at a Justice Department news conference that this was the result of persistent investigative work and international cooperation, and they vowed to prosecute the alleged perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law. It is worth noting that this result came under a Justice Department that is finally treating attacks on Americans overseas as the grave crimes they are, not as political talking points.
We should not forget the victims: Ambassador Stevens, information officer Sean Smith, and contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty lost their lives protecting American interests in a chaotic post-Gaddafi Libya. Previous prosecutions — including convictions of Ahmed Abu Khatallah and Mustafa al-Imam — underscored that some level of justice was possible, but many Americans rightly felt the full measure of accountability was still missing until now.
Conservatives have long argued that chaos after regime change in Libya invited jihadi elements to flourish, and that security failures and bureaucratic indifference made our people targets. Questions about the adequacy of diplomatic security and the decisions of the Obama-era State Department, which was led by then-Secretary Hillary Clinton, still hang over this tragedy, and those questions must never be brushed aside in the name of political convenience.
This administration’s vow to track down those who butchered Americans abroad should be welcomed by every patriot. Justice delayed has been painful, but the arrest sends a message: the United States will not forget its dead, and when law enforcement prioritizes these cases, even the most elusive perpetrators can be brought to American soil to stand trial.
Now is the moment for Congress and the American people to insist on real answers, stronger protections for diplomats, and a foreign policy that recognizes enemies by name and acts with the clarity of purpose our citizens expect. For the families who have suffered, for the memory of the fallen, and for the safety of future generations, we must turn this long-overdue arrest into permanent lessons and unshakable resolve.
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