The anniversary of 9/11 — and not a ridiculously anti-Islamic that’s infected YouTube — drove Libyan terrorists to launch attacks that killed US Ambassador Chris Stevens, that country’s president said.
The strange flick, “Innocence of Muslims,” had been on the web for months, so it’s far more likely that Islamic extremists attacked the US consulate in Benghazi two weeks ago — on Sept. 11 — for symbolic effect, according to Libyan President Mohamed Magarief.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
“Reaction should have been, if it was genuine, should have been six months earlier. So it was postponed until the 11th of September,” he told NBC News.
“They chose this date, 11th of September to carry a certain message.”
The consulate raid, which killed three other Americans, has been largely chalked up the weird, low-budget movie trailer that’s been tied to a shadowy, coptic Christian in California.
Magarief pointed out that there had been no protesters at the consulate in Benghazi leading up to the deadly attack, which included a rocket-propelled grenades fired on the consulate before mortars were launched at a safe house.
That level of blood-thirsty precision, the Libyan president said, can only mean it had been planned 9/11-themed attack.
“It’s a pre-planned act of terrorism,” he said.
The president said “Innocence of Muslims” had “nothing to do with this attack.”
Magarief praised the United States and begged American citizens to believe the murder of Stevens, information management officer Sean Smith and former Navy SEALs and security personnel Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty do not represent the people Libya.
“These Libyans [who led the attack] do not represent the Libyan people or Libyan population in any sense of the word,” Magarief said.
“We consider the United States as a friend, not only a friend, a strong friend, who stood with us in our moment of need.”
Meanwhile, later today, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama considers the deadly assault on the U.S. consulate in Libya a terrorist attack.
Carney said it is “certainly the case that it is our view as an administration, and the president’s view, that it was a terrorist attack.”
With AP