WASHINGTON - Five men are under round-the-clock U.S. surveillance in Libya, wanted for questioning in the attack last year on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.
U.S. officials say that the White House believes that there is enough proof for a military force to seize the five as terrorist suspects but that it prefers to wait until investigators have enough evidence to try them in a U.S. civilian courtroom.
The decision not to seize the men militarily underscores the White House aim to move away from hunting terrorists as enemy combatants.
Instead, the White House is looking toward a process in which most terrorist suspects are apprehended and tried by the countries where they are living, or arrested by the U.S. with the host country's cooperation and tried in U.S. criminal courts.