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Dark Forces: The Truth About What Happened in Benghazi – A Sobering Account of Failed Foreign Policy and the September 11, 212 Libya Attack
The New York Times bestselling author of Shadow Warriors investigates the tragedy of Benghazi to answer the what really happened—and why?
We know the Obama administration’s story, of a demonstration caused by an Internet movie that went out of control. But what actually did happen in Benghazi on the night of September 11, 2012?
Dark Forces is the story of clandestine arms deliveries by the United States and its allies to Libya that wound up in the hands of Islamist guerrillas. It’s a story of a romantic diplomat, in love with the Middle East and with a mystical version of Islam. It’s a story of bald-faced lies, heroic acts, and the deepest corruption.
But Dark Forces is not only a retelling of events. It puts those events into the larger context of Obama administration policy toward the Middle East. It will examine the administration’s record of systematically supporting Muslim Brotherhood and extremist groups in their efforts to overthrow pro-U.S. autocrats in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.
It shows how President Obama’s obsessive outreach to the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran led the Iranian regime to dismiss him as a weak, ineffective leader who would not fight back. And it shows why and how this deadly combination cost the lives of four Americans on Sept. 11, 2012.
We know the Obama administration’s story, of a demonstration caused by an Internet movie that went out of control. But what actually did happen in Benghazi on the night of September 11, 2012?
Dark Forces is the story of clandestine arms deliveries by the United States and its allies to Libya that wound up in the hands of Islamist guerrillas. It’s a story of a romantic diplomat, in love with the Middle East and with a mystical version of Islam. It’s a story of bald-faced lies, heroic acts, and the deepest corruption.
But Dark Forces is not only a retelling of events. It puts those events into the larger context of Obama administration policy toward the Middle East. It will examine the administration’s record of systematically supporting Muslim Brotherhood and extremist groups in their efforts to overthrow pro-U.S. autocrats in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.
It shows how President Obama’s obsessive outreach to the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran led the Iranian regime to dismiss him as a weak, ineffective leader who would not fight back. And it shows why and how this deadly combination cost the lives of four Americans on Sept. 11, 2012.
469 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 24, 2014
30 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth R. Timmerman
21 books21 followersMy first Middle East reporting trip took me to Beirut in July 1982, and I've been going back ever since. I've lived in Egypt and Lebanon, have worked with freedom fighters in Iran and Iraq, and been held hostage by Muslim terrorists in a war zone. You can read an illustrated bio here or download a 1-page author's bio here.
My latest book, And the Rest is History, is a real life adventure story of how I became a hostage, an arms dealer, and an Israeli spy. Dennis Prager called it "a relentlessly interesting book." In my day job, I help victims of terrorism fight the state-sponsors who murdered their loved ones.
I was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize by the former deputy prime minister of Sweden, Per Ahlmark, for my work in exposing Iran's nuclear weapons program.
My latest book, And the Rest is History, is a real life adventure story of how I became a hostage, an arms dealer, and an Israeli spy. Dennis Prager called it "a relentlessly interesting book." In my day job, I help victims of terrorism fight the state-sponsors who murdered their loved ones.
I was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize by the former deputy prime minister of Sweden, Per Ahlmark, for my work in exposing Iran's nuclear weapons program.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 30, 2018
My expectations were actually low coming into this book. All I really wanted out of it was some general gathering of facts and a basic chronology. Like many, I'm burned out from all the bitching between Right and Left, so I had largely tuned out the Benghazi story. I vaguely sensed it had to do with CIA gun running (to Syria), and the possibly avoidable deaths of Ambassador Steven and those trying to protect him. I wasn't expecting, at this time, a real history to such a convoluted event so close in time. Such books usually fall into a gray area that assemble incomplete facts and trumpet polemic. Timmerman's take (Right leaning) is indeed that kind of telling, but it's far more restrained than such books usually are. So much so, that if I had been reading this as a draft, I would have encouraged the author to take out (or mute) his occasional digs at the Obama administration, change the lurid title, and let the damning facts speak for themselves. That said, I have no doubt this book will be a factual foundation for future historians looking into this depressing mess. One primary reason is that Timmerman understands, thoroughly, the murky world of Middle Eastern gun dealing. His ability to discern, and untangle deals, the multiple actors involved, and their motivations, is first rate.
"Dark Forces" is really more about this administration's policies toward the Middle East, and Terrorism. We are living -- bewilderingly -- with them right now as we watch events in Syria and Iraq bloodily unfold. Oh, the attack, and events leading up the attack, are all here. But Timmerman also spotlights an almost insane preoccupation with this administration's need to define ("workplace violence," "ISIS" vs. "ISIL") and control the narrative. Here, Hilary Clinton's need to call Libya a diplomatic success, prior to Obama's election, despite the obvious ongoing turmoil, is yet another example of politics trumping reality -- and with deadly results for Ambassador Stevens. On top of that, with Qaddafi's fall (as engineered by the U.S.), dragon's teeth, in the form of shoulder held rocket launchers, are now sprinkled throughout the Middle East. Timmerman's conclusion that it's only a matter of time before a commercial airline is brought down by a Stinger missile, is hardly far fetched. There's every reason to believe that the downing (in Afghanistan) of the helicopter bearing members of Seal Team 6 (whose identities should never have been revealed), was done by a Stinger-like missile that came from Libya. And, in the future, we should not be surprised at similar shoot downs of our aircraft now bombing ISIS, by weapons provided by the U.S. to support the Syrian "moderates."
Attempts to uncover the dimensions of the (disgusting) cover-up are ongoing. The story about the offending "anti-Muslim" video is about as thin as it gets, and really is an indictment of both Clinton and an acquiescent media. As big lies go, it's far worse than "yellowcake." There is, of course, some speculation by Timmerman. Most of it is grounded in surrounding facts, just not proven yet. And the author himself admits to not knowing. He also knocks down a few stories, such as Stevens being raped and tortured before his death. One real and believable nugget that jumped out at me is how CIA director Petraeus was probably pushed out. His affair was known about for months. but Petraeus was also not following the Benghazi script. John Brennan, the current director, was heavily involved in the events leading up to Benghazi, and a more trustworthy gatekeeper for the investigations to come. All in all, an infuriating read, but an important one.
"Dark Forces" is really more about this administration's policies toward the Middle East, and Terrorism. We are living -- bewilderingly -- with them right now as we watch events in Syria and Iraq bloodily unfold. Oh, the attack, and events leading up the attack, are all here. But Timmerman also spotlights an almost insane preoccupation with this administration's need to define ("workplace violence," "ISIS" vs. "ISIL") and control the narrative. Here, Hilary Clinton's need to call Libya a diplomatic success, prior to Obama's election, despite the obvious ongoing turmoil, is yet another example of politics trumping reality -- and with deadly results for Ambassador Stevens. On top of that, with Qaddafi's fall (as engineered by the U.S.), dragon's teeth, in the form of shoulder held rocket launchers, are now sprinkled throughout the Middle East. Timmerman's conclusion that it's only a matter of time before a commercial airline is brought down by a Stinger missile, is hardly far fetched. There's every reason to believe that the downing (in Afghanistan) of the helicopter bearing members of Seal Team 6 (whose identities should never have been revealed), was done by a Stinger-like missile that came from Libya. And, in the future, we should not be surprised at similar shoot downs of our aircraft now bombing ISIS, by weapons provided by the U.S. to support the Syrian "moderates."
Attempts to uncover the dimensions of the (disgusting) cover-up are ongoing. The story about the offending "anti-Muslim" video is about as thin as it gets, and really is an indictment of both Clinton and an acquiescent media. As big lies go, it's far worse than "yellowcake." There is, of course, some speculation by Timmerman. Most of it is grounded in surrounding facts, just not proven yet. And the author himself admits to not knowing. He also knocks down a few stories, such as Stevens being raped and tortured before his death. One real and believable nugget that jumped out at me is how CIA director Petraeus was probably pushed out. His affair was known about for months. but Petraeus was also not following the Benghazi script. John Brennan, the current director, was heavily involved in the events leading up to Benghazi, and a more trustworthy gatekeeper for the investigations to come. All in all, an infuriating read, but an important one.
August 17, 2014
Amazing the lies and the deceit done all in the name of a quest for power! Where have all the leaders with integrity gone?it is a sad commentary on the state of this country if we feel the American people can't handle the truth and a very sad day for all when our leaders can lie and deceive those they were elected to serve.
November 22, 2020
A must read to truly understand what happened in Benghazi and it has nothing to do with...
February 26, 2015
A good book attempting to find the truth about what happened in Benghazi in 2012. Will the full truth ever be told?
July 13, 2025
Kenneth Timmerman is a journalist with expertise in the international arms trade. In the 1980's, he helped collect information to assist Democrat members of Congress who were investigating the Reagan Administration's funding of Contras in Nicaragua with money from arms sales to Iran. In "Dark Forces," Mr. Timmerman again documents a scandal involving sale of dangerous weapons, but this case involves Hilary Clinton and the Obama White House. He explains why the U.S. ambassador to Libya (J. Christopher Stevens) and three other Americans were killed in a siege of the U.S. station at Bengazi on the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 attack in 2012. It reads like a spy novel.
Readers will recall that in the mid-1980's, the dictator of Libya (Colonel Muammar Qaddafi) created international tensions by excluding all foreign traffic from the Gulf of Sidra. When the U.S. and NATO responded by sending in three carrier battle groups to maintain international shipping, Qaddafi attacked with fighter jets and missiles. Escalating tensions led the Libyans to place a series of bombs, culminating in late December 1988 when a 747 commercial airplane exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. Qaddafi denied responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing, but when a forensic analysis proved Libyan involvement, the United Nations imposed sanctions on Libya.
Meanwhile, the 9/11 attacks in 2001 prompted an American expedition to defeat Saddam Hussein in Iraq. When Hussein was caught and killed in December 2003, Muammar Qaddafi apparently decided that he didn't want to experience a similar fate. He therefore negotiated with the George W. Bush Administration to have economic sanctions lifted if Libya terminated its nuclear weapons program and gave up its weapons of mass destruction. This seemed to offer a chance to re-integrate Libya with the world economy (and to reopen the country to tourism).
In January 2009, Barak Obama became president and appointed Hilary Clinton as his secretary of state. According to the auth0r of this book, these two U.S. leaders naively believed that they could promote a new wave of democracy in North Africa by toppling the authoritarian governments of Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. Timmerman also notes that the Republican presidential nominee in 2008 (Senator John McCain) shared President Obama's optimism that the rebels against Qaddafi would help usher in democracy. In what became known as the "Arab Spring," the Obama Administration achieved its goal of regime change, supporting a civil war in Libya that resulted in the arrest and murder of Qaddafi in October 2011. As the 2012 presidential election campaign got underway, Obama and Clinton wished to convey an impression that they had brought peace and stability to Libya, while keeping jihadist forces from taking control in the wake of Qaddafi.
This where the "dark forces" of Timmerman's book come in. He explains that Qaddafi had accumulated large stockpiles of man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), capable of shooting down sophisticated U.S. helicopters. In the vacuum created when the Obama Administration overthrew Qaddafi, hundreds if not thousands of these dangerous weapons started disappearing, later ending up with Syrian rebels, Hamas in Gaza, or even with al Qaeda terrorists.
Meanwhile, the author explains that U.S. Ambassador Stevens was sent to Benghazi to prepare a "photo op" where Secretary Clinton could demonstrate her success in pacifying Libya, while at the same time she was trying to locate and buy back the MANPADS that had disappeared from Qaddafi's stockpiles. When Stevens arrived in Benghazi, he quickly saw that it was far from pacified. On multiple occasions he requested further security support. When additional support did not arrive, in part for political reasons, the Benghazi station was attacked and burned by more than 100 terrorists. Timmerman documents the attack in careful detail (recreated in the movie "13 Hours").
Secretary Clinton thereafter announced that the attack was nothing more than a spontaneous street protest, responding to a video in which a Florida pastor announced (two years earlier) that he would burn copies of the Koran. According to Timmerman, Clinton's effort to blame the Benghazi attack on the Florida video was knowingly false. Instead, he believes the U.S. government knew that the Benghazi attack was carefully planned by the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, following a Tehran fatwa that authorized killing Americans at that location. Timmerman then documents a cover-up that sought to keep U.S. voters from learning that the Obama Administration's Libyan policy of pacifying Libya had failed fundamentally.
The book connects many dots and explains hidden relationships between al Qaeda terrorists, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the governments of Qatar, Turkey and Iran. It paints a dark but fascinating picture that should be considered whenever the U.S. contemplates efforts to promote regime change in the volatile Middle East.
Readers will recall that in the mid-1980's, the dictator of Libya (Colonel Muammar Qaddafi) created international tensions by excluding all foreign traffic from the Gulf of Sidra. When the U.S. and NATO responded by sending in three carrier battle groups to maintain international shipping, Qaddafi attacked with fighter jets and missiles. Escalating tensions led the Libyans to place a series of bombs, culminating in late December 1988 when a 747 commercial airplane exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. Qaddafi denied responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing, but when a forensic analysis proved Libyan involvement, the United Nations imposed sanctions on Libya.
Meanwhile, the 9/11 attacks in 2001 prompted an American expedition to defeat Saddam Hussein in Iraq. When Hussein was caught and killed in December 2003, Muammar Qaddafi apparently decided that he didn't want to experience a similar fate. He therefore negotiated with the George W. Bush Administration to have economic sanctions lifted if Libya terminated its nuclear weapons program and gave up its weapons of mass destruction. This seemed to offer a chance to re-integrate Libya with the world economy (and to reopen the country to tourism).
In January 2009, Barak Obama became president and appointed Hilary Clinton as his secretary of state. According to the auth0r of this book, these two U.S. leaders naively believed that they could promote a new wave of democracy in North Africa by toppling the authoritarian governments of Libya, Tunisia and Egypt. Timmerman also notes that the Republican presidential nominee in 2008 (Senator John McCain) shared President Obama's optimism that the rebels against Qaddafi would help usher in democracy. In what became known as the "Arab Spring," the Obama Administration achieved its goal of regime change, supporting a civil war in Libya that resulted in the arrest and murder of Qaddafi in October 2011. As the 2012 presidential election campaign got underway, Obama and Clinton wished to convey an impression that they had brought peace and stability to Libya, while keeping jihadist forces from taking control in the wake of Qaddafi.
This where the "dark forces" of Timmerman's book come in. He explains that Qaddafi had accumulated large stockpiles of man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), capable of shooting down sophisticated U.S. helicopters. In the vacuum created when the Obama Administration overthrew Qaddafi, hundreds if not thousands of these dangerous weapons started disappearing, later ending up with Syrian rebels, Hamas in Gaza, or even with al Qaeda terrorists.
Meanwhile, the author explains that U.S. Ambassador Stevens was sent to Benghazi to prepare a "photo op" where Secretary Clinton could demonstrate her success in pacifying Libya, while at the same time she was trying to locate and buy back the MANPADS that had disappeared from Qaddafi's stockpiles. When Stevens arrived in Benghazi, he quickly saw that it was far from pacified. On multiple occasions he requested further security support. When additional support did not arrive, in part for political reasons, the Benghazi station was attacked and burned by more than 100 terrorists. Timmerman documents the attack in careful detail (recreated in the movie "13 Hours").
Secretary Clinton thereafter announced that the attack was nothing more than a spontaneous street protest, responding to a video in which a Florida pastor announced (two years earlier) that he would burn copies of the Koran. According to Timmerman, Clinton's effort to blame the Benghazi attack on the Florida video was knowingly false. Instead, he believes the U.S. government knew that the Benghazi attack was carefully planned by the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, following a Tehran fatwa that authorized killing Americans at that location. Timmerman then documents a cover-up that sought to keep U.S. voters from learning that the Obama Administration's Libyan policy of pacifying Libya had failed fundamentally.
The book connects many dots and explains hidden relationships between al Qaeda terrorists, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the governments of Qatar, Turkey and Iran. It paints a dark but fascinating picture that should be considered whenever the U.S. contemplates efforts to promote regime change in the volatile Middle East.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2024
Have read 13 hours, then decided to try this one.
Very interesting with some own angle about prehistory. Reccomend.
Very interesting with some own angle about prehistory. Reccomend.
October 26, 2015
Please: Read this book if you are thinking about voting for Hillary Clinton as our next President.
I walked away from this book with the full realization that there is ZERO accountability in the American government. We destroyed the country of Libya by funding radical islam to overthrow the secular government and it was played as a success by the current administration. Hillary joked, "We came, we saw, he died," referring to the overthrow of Gaddafi (an American ally in the Middle East). This current administration was so desperate to spin this as a "victory" that they told one lie after another to portray Libya as a free state due to American intervention. The reality was that Libya was in total anarchy and that the war was an utter failure. Ansar Al Sharia and Al Qaeda roamed the streets with weapons provided by the Americans and the former regime's looted stockpiles. The blood of many innocent lives was shed, yet nobody was held accountable. This book will frustrate you if you are a taxpayer whose hard earned money is being wasted to run guns and overthrow governments around the world.
I walked away from this book with the full realization that there is ZERO accountability in the American government. We destroyed the country of Libya by funding radical islam to overthrow the secular government and it was played as a success by the current administration. Hillary joked, "We came, we saw, he died," referring to the overthrow of Gaddafi (an American ally in the Middle East). This current administration was so desperate to spin this as a "victory" that they told one lie after another to portray Libya as a free state due to American intervention. The reality was that Libya was in total anarchy and that the war was an utter failure. Ansar Al Sharia and Al Qaeda roamed the streets with weapons provided by the Americans and the former regime's looted stockpiles. The blood of many innocent lives was shed, yet nobody was held accountable. This book will frustrate you if you are a taxpayer whose hard earned money is being wasted to run guns and overthrow governments around the world.
June 20, 2016
While I definitely give the author credit for his meticulous research, I, personally, was overwhelmed by the amount of information. This story of Benghazi starts with a look back at events in the Middle East in the 1980's and works it's way up to 9/11/2012, the day of the Benghazi attack. This detailed historical examination, though nearly impossible to digest, showed me that blame for Benghazi could be assigned to many events and many people all through the last 30+ years, but the author made it clear from the outset that he put his money on Hillary Clinton. His slanted viewpoint made it hard for me to read this book as an objective narrative and spoiled my desire to learn the facts and come to my own conclusions. If you already believe Ms. Clinton is the sole bad guy in this tragedy, you'll like this book. If you have doubts, you'll find yourself questioning the veracity of the author's facts and ending up, as I did, deciding that no one person can be totally responsible for any world event.
February 12, 2017
Excellent and well researched
February 9, 2015
Biased not all facts correct.
June 26, 2016
Unbelievable
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews