The 2012 Benghazi attack—and much more so, America’s reaction to it—sped political polarization and, despite claims to the contrary, played a decisive role in the 2016 election; the resulting wave of risk aversion helped shape the trajectory of several Middle East conflicts, and pulled the United States back from contests of influence with Russia, Iran and China. The war in Ukraine may strike many as very far from Benghazi—but linkages are clear if you look carefully. If Iran winds up with a nuclear weapon, traces of Benghazi will be on it.
The book is an effort to try to correct deeply flawed partisan narratives, and to provide essential, long-term context to the events surrounding the “Other 9/11.” But it’s also a deeply personal account of my experience with the Benghazi attack and political saga, and with Libya, a country I grew to love as a diplomat, as the co-director of a medical NGO working in Benghazi, and as a researcher and writer.
Kirkus Reviews had this to say about Benghazi! |
