Hollywood Benghazi Film Sparking Controversy Inside Libya

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Even before the film's release, Hollywood director Michael Bay's new action movie is stirring controversy among government officials and residents of Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city and the birthplace of the uprising against longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Based only on the trailer, which has recently made rounds on Libya's social media, Benghazi locals and officials slammed "Transformers" director Bay for his unreleased film, calling it an "insult" to the north African nation. "The people of Benghazi always wanted to be part of the international community," the Foreign Ministry spokesman for Libya's internationally-recognized government Salah Belnaba said. Bay, Gawaari said, "turned America's failure to protect its own citizens in a fragile state into a typical action movie all about American heroism." In Benghazi, Libyan army forces have been battling armed factions led by Islamic extremist commanders for months. A Republican-led Congressional panel investigating the attacks has been criticized by Democrats as politically motivated attempt to damage Clinton's presidential campaign.