‘Anti-terror’ Marine task force and 2 Navy Destroyers headed to Libya for added security
When the Pentagon called out the Marines on Wednesday and dispatched them to Libya, it wasn’t the first wave of an invading force.
Instead, the 50 Marines are part of an elite rapid-response team and they were sent to assess and reinforce security in Libya in the aftermath of the attack in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador there and three other Americans.
The Marines’ Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team (FAST) detachment is specially trained to deploy rapidly to protect government workers overseas.
Speaking at the White House early on Wednesday, Obama pledged that the incident would not “break the bonds” between the two countries.
He condemned the attack, calling it “outrageous and shocking”, and said he had ordered increased security at US diplomatic posts around the world.
“No act of violence will shake the resolve of the United States of America,” he warned later on Wednesday at the start of a campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“We will not be deterred – we will keep going, we will keep going because the world needs us,” the president said. “We are the one indispensable power in the world.”
The attack in Benghazi and protests in Cairo, Egypt, were apparently prompted by the video trailer for a small-budget film said to be produced by man claiming to be an “Israeli-American real-estate developer in California” that gives an insulting depiction of the Prophet Muhammad.
The Pentagon also ordered two Navy destroyers to the Libyan coast. Officials said the ships, the USS McFaul and USS Laboon, which carry Tomahawk cruise missiles, did not have a specific mission, but they give commanders flexibility to respond to any mission ordered by the president. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said the U.S. military regularly takes precautionary steps when potential contingencies might arise in a given situation. He did not comment on ship movements.
[…] targets the swirling discussions of retaliation and US response to these Embassy attacks. As US warships approach Libya and a FAST Marine Corps is deployed for additional security, the former Arizona Governor questions the […]