by forces earlier this month. >>> his name is ahmed abu chattalah. he is the main suspect in an attack on the u.s. mission in benghazi libya on september 11th, 2012. that attack killed u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three of his staff. earlier on saturday ahmed abu chattalah was flown to washington by helicopter from a u.s. navy ship. he was held on board and interrogated by investigators since his capture two weeks ago in libya by special forces. on saturday he appeared here, ahmed abu chattalah plead note, insisting he is innocent, and did not direct the assault on the u.s. consulate. the u.s. justice department charged ahmed abu chattalah on three counts, including murder and providing support to terrorists. security analyst jj green was in the courtroom and said the appearance in federal court was the first opportunity for the judge to determine if ahmed abu chattalah was fit to chant mile. >> people were trying to get an idea of what state of mind and health he was in. a number of people wanted to make sure that he would, indeed, clear and pr

early on saturday ahmed abu chattalah was flown to washington by helicopter by a u.s. navy ship.e'd been held on boar since his capture two weeks ago by libyan special forces. on seat he appeared before a special judge. he pled not guilty insisting he is innocent and did not direct the assault on the u.s. consulate. the u.s. justice department charged ahmed abu chattalah on three counts, including murder and providing material support to terrorists. security analysts jj green was in the courtroom and says the appearance in federal court was the first opportunity to determine if ahmed abu chattalah was fit to stand trial. >> people were trying to get an idea what kind of state of mind he was in, and the state of health. a number of people wanted to make sure that he would, indeed, clear and pren. >> the attack it controversial. in the united states, days before it occurred an anti-islam video splashed protests at u.s. emyaus in the muslim world. the obama administration blamed the benghazi attack on what it said was spontaneous protests against the video. later it emerged that it

ahmed abu chattalah ahme chattalah >>> this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. captured - the chief suspect in the benghazi attack arrested and in u.s. custody. >>> closing in - rebels in iraq moving the fight towards baghdad. our special report - iraq under siege. >>> guns around the world - despite living under threat, why so few israelis own guns. >>> freedom - gaoled but never charged. an al jazeera journalist is finally released. >>> and the world cup wizard tries to conjure up a win for mexico. >>> we begin in libya where the man accused of orchestrating the deadly attack on the american consulate in benghazi is in custody. the raid in 2012 killed four americans, including u.s. ambassador chris stephens. mike viqueira joins us from the white house. tell us about the suspect and the arrest. >> it was a long time coming, but the administration announced the first breakthrough in holding those responsible for the attacks to justice and an attack that has become a political flashpoint at home. >> reporter: it took almost two

ahmed abu khatallah is being held under very tight security.d in the 2012 attacks that killed u.s. ambassador chris stephens and two other americans. he was captured two weeks ago and brought to the u.s. aboard a navy battleship where he was reportedly questioned about his role in the attacks. now, nearly two years after the deadly raid on our consulate, the wheels of justice are finally moving. we are bringing in our legal panel to talk about what happens next. i want to start with the former federal prosecutor. how does this change? now, is he basically like any other federal suspect? >> absolutely. well, he has been indicted. so he is not a suspect anymore and he is a defendant and he will go through an arrangement, and he will plead not guilty and be asked whether he understands the charges against him and then there will be a bail hearing. right now -- >> does he get a lawyer? >> absolutely he will get a lawyer. if he cannot afford one, one will be appointed to him just like an american citizen would get. >> now that he is a federal defend

ahmed abu chattalah was captured two weeks ago by special forces and swept away by u.s. s "new york." he was arrested and tape full court. >> reporter: his name is ahmed abu chattalah, he is the main suspect in an attack on the u.s. mission in benghazi, libya, on september 11th, 2012. that attack killed u.s. ambassador chris stevens, and three of his staff. earlier on saturday ahmed abu chattalah was flown to washington by helicopter, from a u.s. navy ship. he'd been held on board and interrogated by investigators since his capture. amid tight security she pleaded not guilty, assisting he is incident, and did not direct the assault on the u.s. consulate. the u.s. consaulate department -- consulate department charged ahmed abu chattalah on three counts including murder and providing military support to terrorists. jj green was in court and said it was the first opportunity for the judge to determine if ahmed abu chattalah was fit to stand trial. >> people were trying to get an idea what kind of state of mind he was in, what state of health he may have been in. clear ly a

there are two camps behind ahmed matiq and abdullah al-thinni. we were at a press conference where ahmed matiq was going to speak at the prime minister's office. he showed up. everywhere was surprised. he said "i'm not going to hand over until there is a verdict from the court. ahmed matiq's camp was telling us that no one has jurisdiction other that the g.n.c. it's an unclear picture and not helpful in a situation where the country is so divided about this. >> this comes weeks away from elections. what does that mean. how will it affect that? >> well, it's really putting things in a difficult situation. we spoke to the head of the election commission, and he said that no one is talking to him. which government to speak to, technically there's two deposit and prime ministers. it's an unclear picture. perhaps the elections will not go ahead. people are unhappy. they want to elect a new body than the controversial gn c, but those against ahmed matiq are against. it's a big whole study, they don't know how that will pay out. it's complicated, someth

he that ahmed abu khattala was a well-guarded man. as you may recall a year ago, cnn interviewing abu khattala. my colleague arwa damon did an interview. he did not seem to be hiding. he seemed to be out there in plane sight. but u.s. officials say since these interviews has gone into hiding. the main concern after the capture of talk mud abu khattala here in syria is if we will see any backlash by islamic groups that are really very active and powerful in this country. the last time the united states carried out a raid here, in tripoli, back in october. and captured a terror suspect suspected of being a member of al qaeda and responsible for bombings, the target of the u.s. embassies of the 1990s in africa, we saw what was retaliation after a couple of days. here in the capital, they kidnapped the libyan prime minister for two days after what they said seemed to be the libyan government's cooperation with the u.s. so this is something to keep an eye on here. >> many people are asking why this didn't happen within the past year, if in

you actually met this man, ahmed abu khattalah, in libya, more than a year ago. you sat down with him. i want to show our viewers your fascinating report. it aired on cnn september of last year. >> u.s. officials have often suggested that they would be interested in speaking to a man named ahmed abu khattalah about the events the night of the attack. he's really not that difficult to find. we met with ahmed abu khattalah in public at the coffee shop of a well-known hotel here in benghazi for around two hours. he seemed to be confident, his demeanor most certainly not that of a man who believed he was going to be detained or targeted any time soon. and he agreed to let us film audio, but not video, of our conversation. he doesn't deny that he was there the night of the attack. [ speaking foreign language ] he claims he didn't even know the americans had a consulate in benghazi. never mind having any information about a specific location. his narrative is unclear and at times seems to be contradictory. he says when he arrived at the perimeter of the compound, he sa

his name is ahmed abuhl khattalah. cnn has learned he is now in u.s. custody outside of libya. my cnn colleague arwa damon has met this the man. she joins me live now from iraq with much much more. you'll have to remind us who this man is, what he is suspected to have done, with regards to this attack. you were probably one of the first reporters on that outpost. take us through what this means, arwa. >> ahmed abdul khattalah was one of the main suspects in the benghazi attack that killed chris stevens as well as members of his security detail. khattalah was believed by the u.s. to be a leader of the islamist group that's believed to be behind the attack. we met him about a year ago. he did not seem to be acting like a man would was in hiding. he was very confident. we met in a public space in benghazi at a fairly well known hotel at a coffee shop. he was accompanied by a few members of one of the other islamist militias. he was debbing any sort of direct involvement in what took place at the u.s. consulate. he was not denying that he was actually on the scene. he claims to hav

ahmed abu chattalah was captured by special forces. james weddick is a former special agent with the federal bureau of investigation and explained why it too so long to arrest ahmed abu chattalah despite knowing where he was. >> they needed to affect the rest and make sure those that made the arrest could turn to the u.s. safely, as well as kat articlea. i have a number of high value arrests, and sometimes those plans go on for a little longer than most people think. when you have something with international waters and territory, you can imagine it would take a long time. >> we prosecuted a number of terrorists, they'll be given their rights, and it will be chaired by a judge. i don't expect there to be a problem presenting the evidence, and i don't expect his defense team will have a problem defending him. it will be difficult for the defense team and the prosecutors. it will be up to the judge to maintain, you know, a fair decorum in the courtroom, and make sure that everybody gets their fair shake, if you will, at making their case

we have the full story. >> reporter: his name is ahmed abu chattalah. he is the main suspect in an attack on the u.s. mission in benghazi, libya, on september 11th, 2012. that attack killed u.s. ambassador chris stevens, and three of his staff. early on saturday ahmed abu chattalah was flown to washington by navy ship. he'd been held on board since his capture two weeks ago. saturday he appeared here before a federal judge. ahmed abu chattalah pled not guilty insisting he is innocent and did not direct the assault on the u.s. consulate. the u.s. justice department charged ahmed abu chattalah on three counts, including murder and providing military support to terrorists. the appearance in federal court was the first opportunity for the judge to determine if ahmed abu chattalah was fit to stand trial. >> people were trying to get an idea of the state of mind he was in, what state of health he may have been in. clearly, a number of people wanted to make sure that he was clear and present. >> reporter: the attack is controversial. in the united states, days

libya's constitutional court ruled the election of ahmed matiq was unconstitutional. he was elected in parliament. security forces were back in chrome. 29 were killed during a siege. the pakistani taliban claimed responsibility. let's go live to islamabad, where kamal hyder joins us. the taliban claimed responsibility as we mentioned. have they mentioned a motive for the attack? >> well, the responsibility also said that the attack was carried out in revenge for the killing of the leader of the pakistan taliban, and the military access in north waziristan, so the message clear from the taliban-pakistan that they were in a state of war and attacks would continue. it is important to know that even though the heavily armed attackers, with the purpose of destroying of aircraft. it was attacks that pipped down and prevented them causing more damage, and was none of the aircraft were hit. it would be a success story. there would be a question mark as to how the people got into the airport according to reports that we had. they entered from two different perspent ifs. >> do

ahmed abu khattala was taken into custody during a secret raid on sunday.e have the details. >> september 11, 2012, the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya, coming under attack from a group of islamic militants. the american ambassador, christopher stevens, was killed in the assault along with three of his compatriots. up until now, none of the suspects has been captured by u.s. forces, but in a secret raid, they have apprehended ahmed abu khattala, one of the alleged ringleaders. the commander-in-chief of the united states military conducted a mission to capture ahmed abu khattala. khattala has been charged for his role in the attacks in benghazi, libya, on september 11, 2012. the united states is taking him to a secure location outside libya. >> the obama administration has faced strident criticism or not doing enough to find those responsible, so a rare success for a president struggling with overlapping crises in syria and now iraq. >> it is important for us to send a message to the world that when americans are attacked, no matter how long it takes, we w

add -- the focus is on benghazi and the capturing of ahmed khatallah.abu khatallah was hiding in plain sieg, openly giving interviews to reporters? >> that is absolutely true, bret, that he was in a certain part of libya, and he was well protected, and to try to mountain operation such as was carried out successfully on sunday posed different challenges than the ones that our intelligence forces faced in trying to actually pinpoint bin laden and then carry out a dangerous operation. but my point is that what we try to do in this country and i think what was made abundantly clear by this latest effort is we have an unwavering commitment to go after anyone, no matter how long it takes who is responsible for harming americans and everybody around the world who thinks about that, plans that, needs to know that will be the outcome. >> should khatallah be read his miranda rights and be tried in u.s. civilian court? >> i don't know what all the details about what the plans are. if you were president. >> if i were president and the fbi and the justice departmen

also right now, benghazi suspect ahmed abu khattalah is on a slow boat trip to the united states. once he arrives, what kind legal battle does he face? and was the u.s. capture legal to begin with? right now, a new ruling hits the washington redskins where it hurts in the wallet. will this be enough to finally convince the team to change its name?

his name is ahmed abu khattala. he was captured two weeks ago in libya. until now, he's been under interrogation aboard the "uss new york." owe 0 officials say now he's being held under tight security at a federal courthouse 0 in d. where he will answer to charges for his role in the september 11, 2012, attack in libya that killed four americans, including u.s. ambassador chris stevens. our national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live outside the direct courthouse in d.c. right now. how, jennifer, was khattala brought to the courthouse today? >> reporter: well, kelly, u.s. officials tell us that he -- the "uss new york" came into the chesapeake bay and a u.s. helicopter brought him from the ship to a base, a national park service helipad over in an acos acosta. he was brought by vehicle by land to the courthouse behind

we have new details this morning on where ahmed abu khatallah is being held and new allegations from the u.s. that he may have been planning more attacks. >> four americans, including ambassador chris stevens, died in the benghazi attack. it happened during hillary clinton's tenure as secretary of state, and during cnn's town hall with clinton last night, she spoke about the lingering controversy. >> there are answers, not all of them, not enough frankly. i'm still looking for answers because it was a confusing and difficult time, but i would hope that every american would understand, number one, why we were there, because we need to be in dangerous places, and,

we have new details this morning on where ahmed abu khatallah is being held and new allegations from the u.s. that he may have been planning more attacks. >> four americans, including ambassador chris stevens, died in the benghazi attack. it happened during hillary clinton's tenure as secretary of state, and during cnn's town hall with clinton last night, she spoke about the lingering controversy. >> there are answers, not all of them, not enough frankly. i'm still looking for answers because it was a confusing and difficult time, but i would hope that every american would understand, number one, why we were there, because we need to be in dangerous places, and, number two, that we're doing the best we can to find out what happened. >> we have complete coverage beginning with pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, tell us more about what we're learning about the capture of khatallah. >> reporter: good morning, kate. u.n. ambassador smith samantha pour says khatallah may have been planning more attacks against americans, that being report by the reuters

ahmed abu khatallah was lured to a location south of benghazi, u.s. officials from multiple agencies tell cnn. army delta force commandos, fbi and intelligence agencies were watching and waiting for days. khatallah, a key operative in ansar al sharia, the group played for the 2012 attack on the u.s. compound in benghazi. intelligence gleaned from local libyans helped draw khatallah to the location. u.s. commandos captured him with no shots fired, no one getting hurt. a surprising feat, one former libyan official tells cnn, because khatallah usually surrounded himself with guards. u.s. commandos whisked him to a navy ship in the mediterranean to begin undergoing questioning for his role in the attack and anything else he knows about terrorist activity. officially the pentagon will say little. >> i'm not going to get into specifics on the actual execution of the operation. >> reporter: president obama touted the capture. >> it's important for us to send a message to the world that when americans are attacked, no matter how long it takes, we will find th

. >> glor: ahmed abu khattala was captured over the weekend. justice correspondent bob orr is in washington. bob. >> reporter: well, jeff, this operation had been planned for well over the last year. u.s. officials now tell us they believe that this is a picture of ahmed abu khattala. officials say they wanted to move on him when he was least protected and least likely to resist. that opportunity came sunday night. after the benghazi attacks, khattala often appeared in public, unconcerned about any potential capture. but after word leaked last summer that he'd been charged by the u.s. justice department, sources say khattala became more cautious and frequently changed locations, often joined by just a few close friend. but u.s. intelligence ultimately tracked khattala to a small seaside villa south boston of benghazi. sunday evening after dark, u.s. commandos and f.b.i. agents silently converged on the home and quickly captured khattala without firing a shot. no one was hurt. pentagon spokesman admiral john kirby. >> the important thing for eve

one of the senior sunni names we're hearing floated, and also we're hearing the name of ahmed chalabiiite being floated. if you remember, he was the name associated most with helping to pull the u.s. into that war. so see how far things have come. people don't quite know who to get into power. but one of the things i'm being told also is that the shiites are genuinely terrified still. they're very afraid that what is going to happen now is that the sunnis might think that they can again take over. >> bobby, you've worked in iraq for a long, long time. you've known maliki for a long time. do you have any belief that he is the kind of leader who can bring the country together, who can reach out to sunnis, reach out to kurds? >> no, anderson. he's had plenty of opportunities to do that. and he is doing none of it. he hasn't even been doing this in the last 72 hours when the pressure on him has been so great to do so. and it is clear that his policies are not succeeding. he hasn't showed any kind of flexibilities. at all. i've known him for a long time. i first met him long before he was

but ahmed abu khattala has been very much on the mintsds of our law enforcement, our military and intelligence professionals since that night in september of 2012. >> and obviously, you've been asked so many questions about this so many times. but certainly some of the family are still very distraught. one of the mothers said that she still feels all this time that she has not had the sufficient answers. how do you relate to her as a mother? >> oh, i totally relate to her as a mother or to any of the family members of the four americans who were killed that night. i can see why she and others are inconsolable. there have been, as you know, a number of investigations, including the independent one that the state department commissioned as well as many in congress. there are answers, not all of them not enough, frankly. i'm still looking for answers because it was a confusing and difficult time. but i would hope that every american would understand, number one, why we were there because we need to be in dangerous places and number two, that we're doing the best we can to find out what happened a

ahmed abu khattala was arrested in libya two weeks ago. he's been traveling on a navy warship since then. that is until this morning. let me bring in pete williams, who has been following developments for outside the federal courthouse. please give us the update and what can we expect here in the next -- i guess any moment, but certainly the next few hours. >> about 3:30 actually will be the time for the arraignment for ahmed abu khattala. a big deal. almost two years ago, to face a federal judge here in the united states. he arrived in the u.s. on u.s. soil this morning, brought off the navy ship by helicopter. they landed here not a couple of miles away from this federal courthouse at the foot of capitol hill and he's been in the courthouse since about 8:30 this morning eastern time. a little over five hours, waiting for his hearing this afternoon before a federal judge. it will be a very brief hearing. he'll simply be told of the charges against him. it's a formal arraignment. and then i assign the judge will set the time for the rest o

ambassador and three others. >> reporter: held on the "uss new york" ahmed abu khattala is described by a u.s. official as compliant but not forth coming with his interrogatointerrogato. on a recent guantanamo tour reporters were told detainees who have been in the camp for years are still providing useful intelligence about their network of contacts. >> the valve it is not determined the day we hear about it. it could be something that turns out to be of more value later on when they are able to make some connections. >> reporter: crypts including republican senator kelly ayotte want a full read out about ahmed abu khattala at what point he was read his reits and stopped talking. >>> no grapevine tonight so we can concentrate on today's supreme court rulings. and where do we go from here? keep smoking... ...because it was easier to smoke than it was to quit. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it's a non-nicotine pill. chantix reduced the urge for me to smoke. it actually caught me by surprise. some people had changes in behavior, thinkin

now ahmed abu khattala is being held. a live report coming your way. >>> iraqi forces going on the offensive backed by helicopter and gunships. they try to take back the northern city of tikrit from sunni militants. president obama hasn't authorized air strikes in iraq but armed u.s. drones are flying over baghdad at this hour. we'll have a live report from the middle east. plus congressman ed royce, chairman of the house foreign affairs committee will be here to weigh in. >>> could the missing lois lerner lost e-mails turn up by the end of next week? that's what the irs chief is telling the house ways and means committee he hopes happens. maybe just in time as one congressman proposes offering a $1 million reward for the e-mails' return. a live report on that coming up. >>> and news this week that the world's biggest economy, ours, is shrinking as the gdp takes a big dive. we'll have how the economy can make a comeback. >>> obamacare is not the answer. tax increases are not the answer. >> i'm uma pemmaraju, america's new

add -- the focus is on benghazi and the capturing of ahmed khatallah. there a difference in this case in that abu khatallah was hiding in plain sieg, openly giving interviews to reporters? >> that is absolutely true, bret, that he was in a certain part of libya, and he was well protected, and to try to mountain operation such as was carried out successfully on sunday posed different challenges than the ones that our intelligence forces faced in trying to actually pinpoint bin laden and then carry out a dangerous operation. but my point is that what we try to do in this country and i think what was made abundantly clear by this latest effort is we have an unwavering commitment to go after anyone, no matter how long it takes who is responsible for harming americans and everybody around the world who thinks about that, plans that, needs to know that will be the outcome. >> should khatallah be read his miranda rights and be tried in u.s. civilian court? >> i don't know what all the details about what the plans are. if you were president. >> if i were presid

the election of the prime minister ahmed al matik is held unconstitutional. >>> battle for the eastern part of the country. one of the findings on claims of hard line muslim takeover in 21 u.k. schools. hello there welcome to the news hour. brazilian riot police have attacked striking metro workers with tear gas in sao paulo. subway workers have been on strike for five days demanding higher wages. the strike is causing chaos for commuters, in brazil's biggest city. students have been supporting the strike workers. gabriel alesando has the report. >> riot police are out in front blocking any protesters from getting inside the immediate trow station. completely shut down because of the strike. you'll see what's left from the morning when a couple hundred protestors, most reply university student activists started burning trash in the street, completely blocking traffic in this major intersection. that's when the riot police came in broke the entire thing up. these student protesters were basically just showing their support for the metro workers that are on strike. the metro workers now

after being arrested ahmed abu khatallah claimed that it was. now he's in washington, d.c. it's something that we'll find out for sure. >> iraqi government forces are conducting a major counter offensive just north of baghdad today. army soldiers have surrounded takrit and have begun an aeria an air bombardment. al jazeeral jazeera has more. >> reporter: after an intense day long battle the iraqi army said it's in the outlying area of takrit. it's famous of being the hometown of former iraqi leader saddam hussein. social media accounts are telling us that they have the iraqi army on the run. the only thing that both sides can agree on is that there are fierce clashes ongoing and the battle of takrit city is about to begin. now what we're see something that the iraqi army used two different types of forces. one regular infantry, and the other shia militia to go back into takrit. they are backed by iraqi army helicopters. it will be key to see how it plays out because it is the first major ground offensive in a city held by sunni rebels and the islamic state in iraq and the l

ahm ahmed abu khatallah. he's the prime suspect.ur greg pal could have -- original straighter behind the benghazi attacks almost two years ago. >>> meanwhile president obama in the middle of all this landing in new york city moments ago. he's in town to raise money with fund-raiser starting with the senate majority pac fund-raiser. still another by the lgbt ga la for the democratic national committee. we know the president can multitask because he committed these 275 troops to baghdad. images count and pat kadel doesn't think they count for much. >> he left this weekend when all of iraq is falling apart to fly to california and do fund-raisers. now, he's back one day and he's in new york. i've never seen anything like this when a president checks out and takes care of whatever politics. remember the morning after benghazi, he wasn't in the situation room the night of benghazi. it's nice we finally got somebody. they have really been rushing to do that. the timing is coincidence. we do know the next morning he was in las vegas raisin

now we have a lot of fight left to handle here. >> was ahmed abu khattala the master mind?ave we broken the back of this conspiracy? >> oh, i wouldn't say we have broken the back by any stretch of the imagination. it's an important -- this was an important activity to happen. to take someone like khattala off the battlefield and sends a clear message in libya we haven't gone away. that's important. there's over a dozen individuals of interest. i think that the united states needs to gather up. this is one. it's an important step. i think with some hope, he'll cooperate with the united states and provide us information that will lead to the bringing justice of others who are involved in the benghazi attack. >> and your take as an intelligence expert on what group was responsible for this now all these years later? >> for benghazi? >> yep. >> yeah. ansar el shariah clearly involved in this event, an al qaeda-minded organization that had a lot of freedom of operation. we know through intelligence reports they were interested in an event like this happen and probably a conglome

barbara starr tonight report. >> reporter: ahmed abu khatallah was lured south of benghazi.commandos, the fbi, and intelligence agencies had been watching him for days. they swooped in sunday night. the chairman of the joint chiefs hinting at how dangerous it all was. >> the abu khatallah operation though it may have looked rather routine, it took us months of preparation and intelligence. >> reporter: khatallah, a key operator in ansar al sharia, the group the u.s. blames for the compound in benghazi. intelligence gleaned from local libyans helped draw khatallah to the location. they captured him with no shots fired, no one getting hurt. then u.s. commandos whisked him to the uss new york in the mediterranean. he is now undergoing questioning. delta force commandos had been in libya before. in october, they captured alleged operative anas al libi in tripoli in a raid that took less than 30 seconds. some wonder why it took so long to get to khatallah when journalists like cnn's arwa damon found and talked to him more than a year ago. >> we met with ahmed abu khatallah in pub

months of intelligence research went into capturing ahmed abu khattala. a week ago, two u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s and at least two fbi agents slipped into libya by sea to nab him and took him to a u.s.-bound navy ship for interrogation. the u.s. justice department plans to try him in a federal court in the u.s. joining me from london is timothy stanley, a writer and historian for britain's "daily tell l telegraph." how is it, justified or out of bounds? >> i think it's probably justified, although, of course, there's anxiety about the u.s. carrying out such extraordinary renditions like this. what the arrest won't do is asp the key questions was the u.s. support for the downfall of kadafi worth it? with groups in libya, governments coming and going, some people doubt that. but also it doesn't answer the question of why did the u.s. government respond the way that it did? and many people still feel, rightly or wrongly, that it responded too slowly, or else it tried to pass the buck upon blaming that controversial video. >> what do you mean responding like it did? you're talking abou

was able to capture ahmed abu khattalah, the leader of an islamist terrorist group in libya. >> stephen: yes, we got our man. justice has been served. u-s-a! u-s-a! u-s-a is what they want us to think. but it's going to take more than what we demanded to satisfy us. >> why did it take so long to bring this guy in? >> what took so long? >> for those keeping track, it's been 642 days. >> it took 642 days after the attacks to land one suspect. >> this guy has been drinking strawberry frappes and lattes for 642 days. what's up? >> stephen: what's up? why did it take so long? khattalah was interviewed by "the new york times" sipping a strawberry frappe on a patio. they could have just looked for the terrorist with the frosty pink mustache. [laughter] president bush did not wait 642 days to catch bin laden. if he couldn't catch him right away, he wasn't going to catch him at all. that's called having some pride. folks, we will have more on this story as soon as i can figure out why it's bad. but in the meantime, there are people out there who will continue to tell you that hillary clinton's a

ahmed an duh ka n abu khattala captured. there's strong debate over how to handle the suspect, susan. >> good morning, anne-marie. here's the essence of the amail. some want him held at guantanamo bay and interrogated at length. some say the u.s. court system is the right length to gain intelligence from him and bring him to justice. u.s. officials believe this is a photo of ahmed abu khattala. it's the first arrest connected to the assault that killed u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans. >> when americans are attacked, no matter how long it takes, we will find those responsible and we will bring them to justice. >> u.s. military commandos tracked him to a small seaside villa in benghazi. khattala is reportedly on a u . u.s.ship in the mediterranean. >> we're looking for a couple of things, his particular role in this attack and then, of course, any particular inform hgs e can provide about others. >> many democrats support white house plans to prosecute khatallah in the criminal justice system but some w

. >> commandos with drones overhead grabbed ahmed abu khattala, whisking him off to navy warship. >> u.s. intelligence tracked him to small seaside villa and quickly captured khattala without firing a shot. no one was hurt. >> jon: no shots, no wounds, no errors. the commanders even spruced up the villa for the next b&b guests, which i thought was very nice. great news all around, well-planned operation, executed flawlessly, terrorists captured without casualties. cannot find a single thing wrong, which is probably why i don't work at fox. >> what took the obama administration so throng capture ahmed abu khattala. >> 641 days after the president vowed to bring the killers to justice. >> jon: for god's sake, obama good night the guy you have been come make about. why are you being such moby dicks about this. oh, melville, why did you name your symbol of evil if a modern world? how easy should it have been for us to get him? >> khattala had been living in plain sight. >> he always met with journalists in public fairched sipping lattes at a local hotel in bank of england. >> sitting out

two of abu ahmed lafraiji's sons volunteered to sight in samarra, the site of one of the holist shia shrines. we asked him why they went. "to defend the country, of course," he said. after the grand cleric called for jihad, we all just go to fight jihad. >> pelley: clarissa is joining us from baghdad. we got a sense of the gravity of the situation from secretary kerry earlier. what are officials there telling you? >> reporter: certainly, scott, when you tuck to officials, particularly when you speak to them privately, it's striking just how pessimistic they are. there's a real sense that the iraqi army simply cannot win this on the battlefield without major international support, and that means all hopes are pinned on iraqi leaders quickly being able to form a national unit government which frankly would be a departure from past experience here. >> pelley: something that never happened before, a stable government in iraq. thank you very much, clarissa. well, no surprise americans are torn over iraq. a new cbs news "new york times" poll out tonight say 42% says the u.s. has a responsi

ahmed abu khatallah was captured in libya two weeks ago, by u.s. special forces, and was formally arraigned late today in a washington courthouse. he is charged with providing support for the attack that left ambassador christopher stevens and three other americans dead and ignited a political firestorm here at home over how the obama white house responded and first characterized the attack. our justice correspondent pete williams has late developments for us. pete, good evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening. it was a brief court hearing lasting about ten minutes, but a very significant one. the first suspect arrested in the benghazi attacks, making a highly unusual weekend appearance before a federal judge here in washington. under heightened security, he was brought early this morning to the federal courthouse at the foot of capitol hill. ending a 5,000 mile journey that lasted nearly two weeks. ahmed abu khatallah, around 43 years old, now faces a charge of providing material support to terrorists, contained in a grand jury indictment unsea

designated ahmed abu chattalah as a terror unfortunate. describing himself as a leader for a libyan armed group with links to al qaeda. he is faces criminal discharges with more to follow. >>> republicans this congress launched a series of investigations, many accusing the administration of downplaying terrorism in the attacks. two months before the presidential election. a main republican tart hillary clinton, secretary of state at the time of the attacks. clinton was defiant. >> we send americans into perilous dangerous places all the time. i believe that is the right decision. people have every right, but when they say the united states shouldn't be in the dangerous places, i disagree. >> on tuesday, many wondered what took long to capture him. >> we did it as expeditiously as possible, taking into account a range of factors. >> i can't speak for his living habits. let's say for argument's sake he's living in plane sights. >>> the struggle to bring to those responsible, an attack in benghazi, a political fire storm. >>> mike viqueira at

. >> commandos with drones overhead grabbed ahmed abu khattala, whisking him off to navy warship. >>acked him to small seaside villa and quickly captured khattala without firing a shot. no one was hurt. >> jon: no shots, no wounds, no errors. the commanders even spruced up the villa for the next b&b guests, which i thought was very nice. great news all around, well-planned operation, executed flawlessly, terrorists captured without casualties. cannot find a single thing wrong, which is probably why i don't work at fox. >> what took the obama administration so throng capture ahmed abu khattala. >> 641 days after the president vowed to bring the killers to justice. >> jon: for god's sake, obama good night the guy you have been come make about. why are you being such moby dicks about this. oh, melville, why did you name your symbol of evil if a modern world? how easy should it have been for us to get him? >> khattala had been living in plain sight. >> he always met with journalists in public fairched sipping lattes at a local hotel in bank of england. >> sitting outside

ahmed abu khattala is undergoing intens questioning right now aboard a u.s.anean sea. abc's brian ross has more on the capture. >> reporter: the u.s. had quickly determined the man it believed was one of the masterminds of the massive deadly tax in benghazi, but it was not until now, 21 months later, that the u.s. was able to capture ahmed abu khattala, the leader of an islamist terrorist group in libya. >> our special forces showing incredible courage and precision were able to capture an individual, abu khattala, who is alleged to have been one of the masterminds of the attack. >> reporter: u.s. officials tell abc news that khattala had been under surveillance in libya for months. in fact, he was interviewed by reporters for cnn and others, denying his involvement and flaunting his presence in benghazi. >> if a cnn reporter can have an interview with him openly in a cafe, why couldn't we get to him sooner? >> reporter: u.s. officials say a plan to capture abu khattala was delayed after public outrage in libya over this video of the takedown of another accus

, who was - who is alleged to have been a master mind of the attack. >>> but the enthusiasm about ahmed abu chattalah's capture has been tempered by questions of why it took so long to find a subject that many had interviewed on a number of occasions since the attack. the special forces operation to arrest ahmed abu chattalah comes as obama administration is considering sending special forces troops to advice and train the iraqi military. senate and congressional leaders was invited to the white house over amounting concerns of sectarian fighters in iraq. forces are struggling to control bacuba, with reports that u.s. intelligence has been hampered. we are joined by rear-admiral john kirby, the pentagon press secretary. good to have you on the show. let's start with the raid in libya. why did it take so long to get the guy. reporters like cbs news elizabeth palmer spoke with him weeks after the attack and reported that he didn't look like a wanted man, that he was sipping mango juice in a benghazi hotel. >> what matters is he has no longer sipping maquarie banko juice in libya. he's in

ahmed abu khatalla was captured. susan mcginnis is in washington where there's sharp debate over how to handle the suspect. susan. >> good morning, anne-marie. here's the essence of the e-mail. some want him held at guantanamo bay and interrogated at length. some democrats say the u.s. federal court system is the right place to gain intelligence from him and bring him to justice. u.s. officials believe this is a photo of ahmed abu khatalla. the libyan militant who was on his way to the u.s. to face trial for his alleged role in the deadly 2012 attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. it's the first arrest connected to the assault that killed u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans. >> when americans are attacked, no matter how long it takes, we will find those responsible and we will bring them to justice. >> u.s. military commandos tracked khatalla to a small seaside villa south of benghazi. following months of planning, they captured him sunday without firing a single shot. khatalla is report lid o

. --2004, he said to talk more about ahmed chalabi we are joined by andrew cockburn, his latest pieceor harper's, "the long shadow of a neocon." talk about what you understand is happening in this battle right now over whether prime minister malik he will be overthrown and what role chalabi could play in this. is thenderstanding americans have made it clear in baghdad that they want malik you to go, even to the point of saying that there would be no aid of any kind, military, airstrikes, what have you, while malik he was leader of the government. they view him as the source of their troubles, which is not totally inaccurate. there is a certain irony in this because he is in power thanks to the u.s.. then ambassador to baghdad, khalil zeid, in 2006, selected maliki. he said, how would you like to become prime minister? said are you serious? again in 2010rmed when he had lost the election in the u.s. and iran -- the irony here -- rammed him back down the throats of the iraqi people. now to be saying that he has to go, is rich with irony. your article talks about his influence in afghani

ahmed abu khattala is interrogated following capture. >>> a large storm rolled through nebraska againhis time the twisters were not close to any communities. on monday, two tornadoes touched down wiping out 75 percent of the small town. the governor said that the damage and by far the worst he has ever seen. >> five, the parents of a four-year-old sunnyvale have their neighbors to thank for saving their son's life spotting the child face down at the apartment complex on monday and pulled him to safety. a fencing crew have reinforced the gate. >>> check out the sunshine about to spread over all of our neighborhoods and the coolest is when summer starts on saturday with the seven-day forecast coming up. >> seven, the bay bridge toll plaza show as few extra cars coming into the tolls from the maze, and, all in all a quiet start to the morning with one accident that was cleared and, i will tell you where the congestion is building, coming up in a few minutes. >>> the southern california mayor would was caught on camera thoughing a bag of dog feces into the yard of his political opponent r