Last week’s prison break in Benghazi is just the latest indicator that Libya, and Benghazi in particular, is sliding deeper into chaos and sectarian violence. Between the prison breaks, riots, bombings, and shootings, there is something else that has gone overlooked. While much of the violence appears to be tribal in nature (with Libya roughly divided into three regions, East, West, and South), or conflict between the moderates and Islamists, or even a liquidation of Gaddafi era officials, there is also another player on the scene. One that is keeping a much lower profile.

Our first indication that something was up came in the aftermath of the attack on the U.S. consulate and CIA annex in Benghazi on 9/11/12. The details of the attack itself are laid out in Benghazi: The Definitive Report, which I wrote with Brandon Webb. But here is an additional piece of information not in the book. When Ambassador Chris Stevens was lost in the smoke caused by a fire lit by the Ansar Al-Sharia militia, a Diplomatic Security Service member made several valiant attempts to go back into the fire to find him. Eventually, he had to break off his search due to smoke inhalation. The last time I inquired about this individual, I was told that he was still in the hospital due to the smoke inhalation he suffered. Ty Woods then arrived at the annex with his Global Response Staff element and they fought off Ansar Al-Sharia, recovered the remains of Sean Smith, and saved the other Americans. But Stevens was nowhere to be found and Ty’s element had to retreat back to the annex with the other Americans.

Recall the video of the Ansar Al-Sharia terrorists dragging out the body of Chris Stevens at the consulate as they shouted “allah akbar.”  As the fire died down, the terrorists were able to retrieve Chris Stevens’ remains. Contrary to other claims, he was almost certainly deceased at this point. The body was then transported to a hospital controlled by Ansar Al-Sharia, which was also confirmed by acting Ambassador Gregory Hicks in his testimony to Congress.

This is where it gets interesting. Elements of the United States and European governments initiated crisis planning. With a U.S. ambassador now missing in action, a counter-terrorist force was spun up at Ft. Bragg to stage for a hostage rescue mission in Libya. Elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment were placed on standby as well. Assets that should have been oriented towards the Mediterranean in the days prior to the anniversary of 9/11 in anticipation of escalating violence were now shuffled around the chess board. Yes, there was an AC-130 gunship. In Italy. Several days after the attack on the consulate. In the immediate aftermath of Benghazi, planners were bracing themselves for Libya to become a major theater of war which would look like “Iraq in 2007.”