Brit Paper Says US Ignored Warnings of Violence

British newspaper the Independent has caused a ruckus by giving huge play to allegations that the US ignored warnings that American sites would come under attack this week. Quoting anonymous sources, it declares: "The US State Department had credible information 48 hours before mobs charged the consulate in Benghazi, and the embassy in Cairo, that American missions may be targeted, but no warnings were given for diplomats to go on high alert." The Drudge Report is giving the story prominent play, too.

US officials quickly denied the report. “This is absolutely wrong. We are not aware of any actionable intelligence indicating that an attack on the US Mission in Benghazi was planned or imminent," a intelligence spokesman tells Politico. The British story speculates that al-Qaeda planned the attack in advance, possibly in retaliation for a drone strike that killed a top operative from Libya. (More Libya stories.)