The right wing is losing its last two marbles over Benghazi
Former Secretary of State Condi Rice went on Fox News Wednesday to discuss the Obama administration’s handling of the Benghazi attacks. Given her background and experience, she actually knows a thing or two about such issues, and it showed in her comments.
“When things are unfolding very very quickly, it’s not always easy to know what’s going on on the ground…,” she told Greta Van Susteren. “There’s a big picture to be examined here but we don’t have all of the pieces and I think it’s easy to try to jump to conclusions about what happened here. It’s probably better to let the relevent (investigative) bodies do their work.”
“The problem is when there is a fog of war like this, there are a lot of competing stories coming in, there’s a lot a competing information coming in, and it takes a little while to know precisely what has happened,” she went on to explain.
Even now, a month later, what Rice refers to as “the fog of war” has yet to lift. It took 10 days after the attack to even get FBI agents on the ground in Benghazi. To this day, there are still indications that the anti-Muslim video and the protests in Egypt played some role in what happened. There are still serious doubts whether the local militia group believed responsible has any ties whatsoever to al Qaida. And there is very good reason to believe that the attack was a crime of opportunity rather than some carefully planned military operation.
All in all, the tumult on the right about this story probably has the lowest content-to-noise ratio of any of the fake outrages fabricated so far by the right-wing media, and yes, I understand that’s saying a lot. Conservatives can’t even articulate what they’re mad about, only that they’re mad and somehow it’s Obama’s fault.
Michael Hirsh, a journalist with extensive overseas and warzone experience, does a good job of putting the fake scandal in context in a piece for National Journal. Take, for example, the newly released e-mails in which the State Department was notified that an Islamist group had claimed credit on Facebook for the Benghazi attacks. (The Facebook posting also called for an attack on the embassy in Tripoli, which never took place).
As Hirsh notes:
“The e-mails in question contained nothing more than “raw” intelligence, uncorroborated and unverified, that often flows in after an event. Intelligence officials typically don’t deliver their assessments until they have “finished” reports based on multiple sources, and corroborated evidence, and Obama officials such as (UN Ambassador Susan) Rice certainly would not have been out in front of the TV cameras citing raw intelligence. And as the government’s most senior officials say, the Benghazi case has taken them a long time to finish. “People forget that a Palestinian group was the first to claim credit for 9/11,” the intelligence official said. “There was no message from the field in those first hectic days that would have eliminated questions or proven who was behind the attack.”
He can believe him, or you can believe what the Sean Hannitys of the world are saying, which goes something like this:
– Jay Bookman
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899 comments Add your comment
Is it me are does Obama look like.......
October 25th, 2012
7:26 pm
It is official! Obama has the biggest ears of any Kenyan I have ever seen!
Ron
October 25th, 2012
7:26 pm
AJC got rid of Tucker…nest up…Bookman and Luckodick.
Mr_B
October 25th, 2012
7:27 pm
“Agreed. Even Nordstrom has said that. Outside of a platoon, only perhaps Rambo could have saved the day.”
Or Scout with only a bayonet.
Ron
October 25th, 2012
7:29 pm
That would be “next up” (although both live in a cuckoo’s nest).
Jay
October 25th, 2012
7:29 pm
Bring it on, Ron.
Jay
October 25th, 2012
7:30 pm
My editor’s name is Kevin Riley. He can be reached at kriley@ajc.com.
USA Patriot
October 25th, 2012
7:30 pm
JB – Lt. Co. Wood during the congressional hearings -”Not surprised, we were the last flag standing, we were the target”. Hmmmm???
They BOTH suck
October 25th, 2012
7:31 pm
Scout
My dad has, but I have not. Maybe I will borrow it from him and check it out.
Orange12
October 25th, 2012
7:31 pm
Finally. Some local good news.
http://www.ajc.com/news/business/economy/atlanta-jobless-rate-lowest-since-late-2008/nSnqy/
Towncrier
October 25th, 2012
7:32 pm
“Towncrier: so why did Congress cut $300 million for embassy security after repeated requests for more funding? You can’t add security personnel without money to pay them for the job. It’s not about who requested it as much as who was responsible for providing it and how when funding was cut.”
I personally am not pointing fingers at the Obama administration for denying requests. My only “problem” with the very tragic Benghazi at this point is the seeming attempt to define it as a spontaneous mob attack when it was clearly unknown what it was – to selectively call it one thing instead of maintaining the uncertainty you expressed the first day or two..
fair and balanced
October 25th, 2012
7:33 pm
How soon we forget:
“”"”Washington, D.C., February 10, 2005 – The National Security Archive today posted the widely-debated, but previously unavailable, January 25, 2001, memo from counterterrorism coordinator Richard Clarke to national security advisor Condoleezza Rice – the first terrorism strategy paper of the Bush administration. The document was central to debates in the 9/11 hearings over the Bush administration’s policies and actions on terrorism before September 11, 2001. Clarke’s memo requests an immediate meeting of the National Security Council’s Principals Committee to discuss broad strategies for combating al-Qaeda by giving counterterrorism aid to the Northern Alliance and Uzbekistan, expanding the counterterrorism budget and responding to the U.S.S. Cole attack. Despite Clarke’s request, there was no Principals Committee meeting on al-Qaeda until September 4, 2001.
The January 25, 2001, memo, recently released to the National Security Archive by the National Security Council, bears a declassification stamp of April 7, 2004, one day prior to Rice’s testimony before the 9/11 Commission on April 8, 2004. Responding to claims that she ignored the al-Qaeda threat before September 11, Rice stated in a March 22, 2004 Washington Post op-ed, “No al Qaeda plan was turned over to the new administration.”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/02/10/91627/-Condi-Lied-Declassified-Memo-from-Clarke
sandiegodawg
October 25th, 2012
7:34 pm
wow- some seriously asenine comments on here- Since so many ppl are missing the point, let me chop it up for you. The problem starts with Obama giving the Libyan “freedom fighters” billions (WITHOUT asking Congress). The attack was on 9/11- Ring a Bell??? Yet without any record of protests of a video, the Obama admin. runs with that story- But wait, I thought they were investigating it. Why say it’s about an anti- Mohammed vid if you need to find out more. You folks who are so willing to give Obama a pass on this fiasco are the same ppl who think it’s okay that he promised to cut the deficit in half but instead more than doubled it in only four years. Please don’t bother to talk politics- you’re embarrasing yourself.
Jay
October 25th, 2012
7:34 pm
My only “problem” with the very tragic Benghazi at this point is the seeming attempt to define it as a spontaneous mob attack when it was clearly unknown what it was – to selectively call it one thing instead of maintaining the uncertainty you expressed the first day or two..
And Crier, you think that issue justifies this entire melodramatic BS?
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 25th, 2012
7:35 pm
JAY,
If Romney was president and the exact same set of circumstances with respect to the bumbling communication that occurred in this event..do you suppose you would stand by him and argue against the folks who felt something was fishy?
bookman parrot
October 25th, 2012
7:35 pm
the lib scum are out in force and nasty today.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
October 25th, 2012
7:35 pm
Brosephus:
You missed my pun/point. I was simply quoting another poster who was complaining about going after Powell but had no problem with someone else going after McCain.
I was just trying to bring some consistency to his brain.
Get Real
October 25th, 2012
7:36 pm
Sorry Jay….you are completely and totally full of crap on this subject. Obama and his administration completely bungled this and dug their hole deeper and deeper every time they opened their mouth. Anyone with an ounze of sense, left or right, agrees on this. Ms. Cutter is leading you astray on this article…shake up the etch-a-sketch and start over pal….
josef
October 25th, 2012
7:36 pm
Is it me are does Obama look like…….
October 25th, 2012
7:26 pm
“It is official! Obama has the biggest ears of any Kenyan I have ever seen!”
http://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/2009/11/9/129022639364453214.jpg
weetamoe
October 25th, 2012
7:37 pm
Meanwhile Mr Nakoula languishes in solitary and in a tautology worthy of Orwell the NYT managing editor solemnly asserts that *the optics are not what they look like.*
Jack
October 25th, 2012
7:37 pm
Liberals will go to any length to try to insulate a left-wing president from criticism; trying to water down the murder of Americans by Muslims is their latest attempt. It’s shameful.
RF
October 25th, 2012
7:37 pm
“to selectively call it one thing instead of maintaining the uncertainty you expressed the first day or two..”
double-edged sword. You get attacked by the media if you don’t give an answer, and you get attacked if you change it. When you look at how long it was uncertain whether or not it was safe to send in the FBI, and when you consider Panetta’s statements today, clearly it was a long time before even the military had any credible intelligence. To stand by that would have been media suicide in my opinion. It’s never okay to say “we don’t know for sure” for long, and that’s regrettable for anyone in the position of having to make the call, regardless of political party. I don’t support the continued emphasis on the video, but the information out of the consulate as the crowd built outside was all anyone knew for sure that could be released until classification of information could be done.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
October 25th, 2012
7:38 pm
Bookman: “And Crier, you think that issue justifies this entire melodramatic BS?”
Yes ………. for one reason.
If the situation were reversed with a Republican president it would be the subject matter of your blog (excluding charter schools and MARTA of course) for weeks on end !!!!!
Jay
October 25th, 2012
7:38 pm
Well, Stevie Ray, since I didn’t do that after 9/11, or after our consulates in Pakistan were attacked with serious loss of life, or after a number of other “opportunities” under GOP presidents, I think I can safely say that no, I also would not have done it in this case if Romney had been president.
Like attacks in Benghazi itself, this whole political storm is unprecedented in size or ferocity.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 25th, 2012
7:39 pm
JAY,
Why is this cat Ron want to escalate your opinions to the leader of your pack? My thought is that whoever that is would maybe consider patting you on the back…Getting such heated dialogue is a good thing until the name calling starts…
I think you should offer to have your leader contact Ron directly..
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
October 25th, 2012
7:39 pm
They BOTH suck:
By the way ………. check out his awards !
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hackworth
RF
October 25th, 2012
7:40 pm
“Liberals will go to any length to try to insulate a left-wing president from criticism”
We learned it at from the supporters crying foul for Bushie-boy over the years. He couldn’t have possibly done anything wrong either, could he? Oh yeah, where was he at the convention?
They BOTH suck
October 25th, 2012
7:40 pm
Scout
My dad as plenty to say about Johnson and Nixon as well the generals and bureaucrats in regards to Vietnam.
After OCS he had a choice to go to Germany or Thailand to be an adviser. He chose Thailand.
He has told me of how the US government would rent cruise ships off the off the coast of Thailand. The generals would fly in on Friday afternoon from Vietnam and fly back on Sunday as if they were going back to the office.
Jay
October 25th, 2012
7:41 pm
In fact, the best analog I can think of would be:
What if the entire Democratic Party went off the deep end post-9/11 in the fashion that Cynthia McKinney did, blaming Bush for knowing the attack was coming, etc.?
That tragedy was a lot bigger than this one, but other than that, the comparison would be valid.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 25th, 2012
7:41 pm
JAY
Comparing this to 9/11 is ridiculous and you and your followers know it…some idiots attack our shore and kill 3000…our stupid response cost another 5000 or so lives…and you are comparing your reponse to 9/11/01 to 9/11/12?
Jay, I’m sorry but that is unusually weak and unlike you…
Mighty Righty
October 25th, 2012
7:43 pm
A republican ad not for the faint of heart or the whimpering left who will not admit the truth about their boy wonder.
http://thehayride.com/2012/09/maybe-the-best-ad-of-the-political-season-so-far/?utm_source=Nooner%2c+9-5-12&utm_campaign=Nooner+1-25-12&utm_medium=email
Jay
October 25th, 2012
7:43 pm
Whatever, Stevie. Your “poutrage” is duly noted.
Brosephus™
October 25th, 2012
7:44 pm
Scout
I was scanning trying to catch up. If I missed that, then my apologies for misreading your post. Reading it by itself, one would not reach such a conclusion.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 25th, 2012
7:44 pm
JAY,
Your comparison of the two is nothing short of ridiculous….they don’t compare…apples and…dog fecal matter..
Yes if the shoe were on the other foot in a heated election you and your left followers would certainly push the outer limits on this thing…just like if BO loses, the DEMS will become the new obstrutionists…
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
October 25th, 2012
7:44 pm
They BOTH suck @ 7:40
I believe it.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
October 25th, 2012
7:45 pm
“Yes if the shoe were on the other foot in a heated election you and your left followers would certainly push the outer limits on this thing…just like if BO loses, the DEMS will become the new obstrutionists…”
Thank you ………. hit the nail on the head !
Orange12
October 25th, 2012
7:47 pm
“Why is this cat Ron want to escalate your opinions to the leader of your pack?”
One thing you people need to remember is that Jay gets paid to do this job. Like it or not, that’s the way it is. Does he believe in what he’s doing? One can never say. I must give Jay credit though. He gets under people’s skin (so to speak) very nicely.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
October 25th, 2012
7:47 pm
Brosephus:
I hear you. Had to explain it to another poster also. Should have done a better job.
Again, my main point was that if you’re upset about someone “blasting” Powell then you should be consistent concerning McCain.
Jay
October 25th, 2012
7:47 pm
Then why did you ask the question if you already “know” the answer, Stevie Ray?
My answer remains what it was: No, I would not. But I do note your indirect acknowledgement that this is largely political from the conservative side, rather than on its merits.
Thulsa Doom
October 25th, 2012
7:48 pm
Jay is breathing fire tonight!
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 25th, 2012
7:48 pm
JAY
There you go again…POUTAGE…what on earth does that mean? Deflecting again…as much as the lunatic right and lunatic left seem different, they are all the same…fight and defend no matter what…your guy never makes mistakes…there guy never lies…its all crap..
Our government is failing us more everyday…and all everyone wants to talk about is whether red or blue..it won’t matter…
N-GA
October 25th, 2012
7:49 pm
Thank God USMC is no longer in uniform…what an embarrassment!
Jay
October 25th, 2012
7:49 pm
Orange, everything I write, I believe. I could never do this job on any other terms. Whatever else you think of my work, it is at least sincere.
Towncrier
October 25th, 2012
7:50 pm
“The CIA assessments are the final intelligence product, the best synthesis at that time of all the information available to them and the official stance of the US intelligence community. Rice would have been condemned if she had NOT used them as the basis for her public comments, and properly so.”
Well, I have seen the “memo” quoted but have not yet seen it published. Besides, I disagree with you about whether or not it was “…the best synthesis at that time of all the information available to them and the official stance of the US intelligence community…”:
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/10/22/white-house-keeps-muddying-benghazi/
But I will stand by what I said: nothing in what is quoted from the CIA “memo” claims anything more than what was “suggested” by the evidence. Rice more than once used the phrase “in fact”. Carney said there was no evidence that the attack was planned. Such statements are false – period.
josef
October 25th, 2012
7:50 pm
getalife
The Israeli view…
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=289359
Jay
October 25th, 2012
7:50 pm
Not any longer, Thulsa.
Baseball beckons.
Brosephus™
October 25th, 2012
7:50 pm
Yes if the shoe were on the other foot in a heated election you and your left followers would certainly push the outer limits on this thing…
Speculative bullsh*t. You can only opine what people would do. You honestly don’t know anybody here to suggest what they would do. None of us do.
just like if BO loses, the DEMS will become the new obstrutionists…
Isn’t that how it’s done. You obstruct the things that are damaging to the country in order to protect the country. Once the precedent is set, you can’t turn it back. Thank the GOP for that.
Tom
October 25th, 2012
7:51 pm
Yet another story from a left wing hack who will rationalize anything that Obama does. Obama is perfect and, if you disagree, you are a racist.
TaxPayer
October 25th, 2012
7:53 pm
Poor cons. Their leaders have given them instructions to whine about this matter and to lie and carry on as though they had stuck themselves with their own bayonets and that is what they will do. Like the obedient little cons that they are.
The desperation in their attacks grows smore obvious with each of their con posts. 
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 25th, 2012
7:54 pm
JAY,
Nobody knows if it is political. The timeline merits explanation by commander in chief…
You have attacked the righties for things of fractional importance to this…no way you and yours wouldnt be as or more hysterical and giddy…BO can’t improve anything ( I was optimistic that he was going to be different and actually take on lobbyists and special interests…he did dick.) and certainly neither an Romney…you are no different than those on the right…defend no matter what..
Towncrier
October 25th, 2012
7:55 pm
“And Crier, you think that issue justifies this entire melodramatic BS?”
I am not sure to what you are referring – what I have said or what others are saying? I think clearly mistakes were made that cost lives, but that could have happened on anyone’s watch. I am merely suspicious of Obama politicizing things as much as the next politician.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 25th, 2012
7:58 pm
BRO,
Call it BS if you want but if you really think after all the insignificant crap and character assassination by BO’s re-election agenda that they wouldn’t have siezed the opportunity? Wake up BRO…Heck they are still whining about jobs Romney alledgedlly shipped overseas and none of that actually occurred on his watch…
Dems would be holding hearings, the NYT would be opining daily on how they can’t get a straight story…Romney says one thing in the Rose Garden then his minions disagree with him suggesting as much cohesion as the Three Stooges..
josef
October 25th, 2012
7:59 pm
TOM
Scroll back…you’re the first and only one to bring in race…this discussion has been blessedly free of that this p.m.
Peter
October 25th, 2012
8:00 pm
“The American Public is losing its Patience with The Obama regime over Benghazi”
YES let’s invade ! Invade Invade !!!!!!
Don’t we have an extra Trillion just sitting around for that event ?
Heck no……. because the Republican’s made America weak. cause ” Deficits don’t matter ” !
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 25th, 2012
8:00 pm
BRO,
BTW, the first stone in the obstructionist strategy was cast by an arrogant BO after election but before inauguration…documented well in various outlets..check out Woodwards book (that is also hard on the idiot GOP…
Peter
October 25th, 2012
8:01 pm
Tom……… No one is perfect, that was a silly statement !
Mr_B
October 25th, 2012
8:01 pm
Out for tonight. G’day mates.
Kenyatta
October 25th, 2012
8:02 pm
“…and it takes a little while to know precisely what has happened,” she went on to explain.”
Exactly, which is why the administration’s lightspeed rush to blame the Benghazi attack on a You Tube video was so suspect. The unavoidable takeaway was that they wanted to provide a convenient justification for the Muslim terrorists’ action.
Bethey
October 25th, 2012
8:02 pm
Stevie Ray
Poutrage = combination of pouting and outrage….very appropriate at times on this blog!
SouthernGent
October 25th, 2012
8:02 pm
Man the kook aid is strong with Jay and a lot of folks in Lanter. Benghazi is way worse than Watergate. No one died in Watergate. 4 Americans died at Benghazi because of the incompetence of this administration. I don’t care how quickly they learned, but it was certainly sooner than 14 days, but I do care that when they did not know, the chose to lie and blame a video. That was and is inexcusable. That anyone could still believe in this administration is beyond belief. That Collen Powell could is inexplicable. This administration has the worse foreign record since Jimah Cartah. Ol’ Jimah is happy though, because he is now no longer the worse President ever.
MeatAndGreet
October 25th, 2012
8:08 pm
The new tack is to attack Romney, McCain and Bush for the Bengazhi debacle. Fact is a US Ambassador was horribly killed and all the admin has tried to do is push the whole incident under a rug. After claiming that it was not a terrorist attack, they now have ‘an ongoing investigation’ into the matter…even the level headed libs who love science should be able to see through this – that includes you Jay.
Brosephus™
October 25th, 2012
8:08 pm
Stevie Ray
The beginning salvo in the character assassination game was thrown by Romney during the GOP primary, long before it was settled. Your synopsis regarding posters here IS speculation. You know it whether you agree with it or not.
Bob Woodward can say grass is pink, but it still doesn’t absolve the GOP of their unprecedented obstructionism.
josef
October 25th, 2012
8:09 pm
Bethey
Ça dépend … ça pourrait soutenir l’argument!
seabeau
October 25th, 2012
8:10 pm
Jay! In a country that had just went thru a violent civil war, on the aniversity of 9-11, where were the Marines Jay! Where were the Marines! Its far,far better to lose you marbles than to lose your life! Libya,Fast and Furious Scandal,Failure to uphold the laws of the land(DOMA),which can be considered an impeachable offense,per his oath of office! You just can make this kind of stuff up!
getalife
October 25th, 2012
8:12 pm
I want to get the terrorists that did the attack not our President.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 25th, 2012
8:13 pm
seabiscuit: You just can make this kind of stuff up!
Yes apparently you can…. its just not believable. Many crazy people make things up. Its just surprising they are all Republicans.
Thulsa Doom
October 25th, 2012
8:13 pm
I’m going to try and watch the world series. I wonder if those capitalist pig bastuds are going to drag a 3 hour game out to a 4 1/2 hour game with all the incessant commercial time. They do this crap every year. Maybe the cons and libs can at least agree that it’s a little ridiculous.
DannyX
October 25th, 2012
8:14 pm
Wow, looks like Obama is getting a nice Benghazi bump in the state polls the last 2 days.
getalife
October 25th, 2012
8:14 pm
There are no scandals with this President.
media tried to create some but failed.
Lets get the terrorist that attacked in Libya and not our President.
Where is your patriotism?
RF
October 25th, 2012
8:16 pm
“but I do care that when they did not know, the chose to lie and blame a video. That was and is inexcusable.”
You sir, are no gent. That was based on reports from the CIA station chief in Libya that stated that the “protests” were used as a cover for the militants to gather and initiate the attack. Even the CIA believes the “crowd” gathering outside the consulate wanted to give the impression of a protests as cover.
Also, there’s this:
“US intelligence officials say in this case the delay was due in part to the time it took to analyze various conflicting accounts. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the incident publicly, explained that “it was clear a group of people gathered that evening” in Benghazi, but that the early question was “whether extremists took over a crowd or they were the crowd”.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/19/cia-report-benghazi-attack-militants
While I agree that blaming it on a protest over a video may seem ridiculous in hindsight, that was about all anyone knew for sure until the CIA could analyze all the information coming in and determine what really happened. It would have been foolish and could have caused much more trouble to have gone any further in making statements until all the information coming in could be verified. As we’ve learned all too well in our history, careful, measured responses that develop as verifiable facts come in are what we should wait for instead of flying off half-cocked into a response that would have only made the situation worse.
Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (aka "Knuckle-Dragger")
October 25th, 2012
8:16 pm
Whatever it is, it reeks of incompetence. These are the folks that want to be in charge of our healthcare. Might as well hand it over to the Post Office.
getalife
October 25th, 2012
8:16 pm
doomy,
commie, prime time capitalism.
USMC
October 25th, 2012
8:22 pm
“AJC got rid of Tucker…nest up…Bookman and Luckodick.”–
No, don’t do that. We all won’t have anywhere to go during the day while we wait for the Postman to bring our welfare check and food stamps….. plus Jay Bookman is cool!
woodie
October 25th, 2012
8:22 pm
Obama has been in full campaign mode almost since he’s been in office. We need a leader that doesn’t care about being on a moronic tv talk show, but is about the business of running this great nation.
getalife
October 25th, 2012
8:23 pm
“In Libya, witnesses say members of a radical Islamist group called Ansar al-Sharia protested near the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, where NATO jets established no-fly zones last year to halt ground attacks from then-Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.
The group then clashed with security forces in the city, blocking roads leading to the consulate, witnesses said.”
Why would they attack us after we helped free them?
.
Pssst, witnesses said it was the movie.
Mighty Righty
October 25th, 2012
8:23 pm
Jay
There is a serious problem with your reasoning or Democrat supplied talking points or what ever you want to call your summary.
Even now, a month later, what Rice refers to as “the fog of war” has yet to lift. It took 10 days after the attack to even get FBI agents on the ground in Benghazi. To this day, there are still indications that the anti-Muslim video and the protests in Egypt played some role in what happened.
This is disputed by the Obama administration actions of quickly sending out their apologists to spread the anti-Muslim video tail The president himself, his secretary of state, and his UN ambassador quickly pulled the trigger using the video within a matter of hours in spite of the “fog of war”. To this day I do not recall anyone in the administration mentioning “war”. To date what evidence is there that the so called anti-Muslim video palyed any part what so ever? I have seen no evidence of the video while there is ample evidence of it being a planned attack even to the point of the ambassador himself predicting it days in advance. It was indeed a strange spontaneous demonstration by a group who happened to show up simultaneously while armed with “war” making weapons. I guess the media line is that it was a coincidence that it happened on 9/11! Our ambassador was a fortune teller then according to his requests for help in andvance of knowing about the video. Today, a father of one of the murdered seals reported on a Portland radio station that at the ceremony for the dead held by the white house, Hillary Clinton told him,”We are going to arrest the film maker and put him in jail.” Forget freedom of speech with these clowns. The poor man is still in Jail. This abuse of power was planned by the administration while the “fog of war” was still lingered obscuring all facts except the self serving convenient myth being used by the white house.
This is not a minor thing. Serious crimes were committed that may include high crimes and misdemeanors. It is likely, the weapons used by the terrorists were supplied by this Administration possibly in violation of International law.
My question is this Jay: Just what in the H was the president doing while our people were under attack for six hours? For six hours our fearless leader, the killer of Bin Laden, did what? Did he have his sleeves rolled up while watching the attack take place Was he in the situation room? Were Panetta, the Joint Chiefs breathlessly waiting for his tough decision to protect american citizens and property? Was Valerie Jarrett there to give political advice? Or, was he too busy planning his political trip to Las Vegas? Each new revelation, each new excuse by the media, sheds more light on the incompetence of this administration.
USMC
October 25th, 2012
8:24 pm
“Orange, everything I write, I believe. I could never do this job on any other terms. Whatever else you think of my work, it is at least sincere.”–Jay Bookman
Yeah, that’s the great part about it, Jay actually believes this stuff the Party Operatives tell him to write.
josef
October 25th, 2012
8:25 pm
getalife
“Lets get the terrorist that attacked in Libya and not our President.”
Looks like they’re getting there…but, then, this was yesterday’s news…
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57539382/tunisia-libya-consulate-attack-suspect-arrested/
james
October 25th, 2012
8:27 pm
Bookman cannot even keep straight the facts that are known. The question is, once the emails were received, why was NO action taken? In fact, even all this time later NO action has still been taken. The only position that’s been taken by Obama & Co., is that “we will hold those responsible accountable.” Gee…… I feel so much better now. Obama and his whole crew are a bunch of amateurs.
David Herrington
October 25th, 2012
8:27 pm
WHERE are the JOBS????? WHERE are the “shovel-ready” JOBS????
Tmgotech
October 25th, 2012
8:28 pm
There is and has always been a higher level of intelligence and raw sense in support of the theory that this was a planned terrorist attack, and yet the administration was almost universal in its confidence that an obscure video was to blame. Set aside the “fog of war” and the willingness to discount “raw” intelligence. If the administration was truly not ready to point to one cause or the other, they had plenty of opportunities to say exactly that. And yet they trotted out mouthpiece after mouthpiece to state that this was a spontaneous attack by an enraged mob spurred on by a movie trailer.
I for one would have respected the administration if they had simply said “we don’t know enough yet ; we are trying to figure out what happened here”. But they played us all for fools, perhaps in fear of questions about why, in the presence of valid intel that said something was afoot, and requests by those on the ground, they chose not to provide adequate security for a US diplomatic outpost in one of the most volatile corners of the world. On the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on our country.
But thank God the embassy in Barbados had a contingent of Marines at high alert. Hotspot that it is.
RF
October 25th, 2012
8:28 pm
Righty: read the comments from Panetta today. The military were well aware of what was going on and the general in charge of forces in the region was hesitant to launch a military response, even as it became evident that this was no ordinary protest and was, in fact, an attack. When the general on the ground can’t clearly determine what’s going on and what should be done, how can you expect the WH to know anything more than he does? He was the closest commanding officer to the situation with any ability to do anything about it, and even he (General Ham) didn’t have enough information to engage military forces without hesitation.
josef
October 25th, 2012
8:28 pm
USMC
“No, don’t do that. We all won’t have anywhere to go during the day while we wait for the Postman to bring our welfare check and food stamps….. plus Jay Bookman is cool! ”
Hey, you leave my food stamps and welfare check outta this…and I better not catch you sneaking around my mail box again…
tom
October 25th, 2012
8:30 pm
As a Retired Military Officer who served two combat tours in Vietnam I take exception to this we are not sure yet. Total Incompetence all around. Heads should roll. 9-11 and repeated requests for an upgrade in security. Why are we not talking about that issue. Forget every thing else.
fair and balanced
October 25th, 2012
8:30 pm
If only we had a president like Saint Ronald who was tough on terrorists:
“”"”"”"”"”October 23, 2012 was the 29th anniversary of the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, by Lebanese terrorists supported and directed by Iran. The attack, which killed 241 American servicemen (220 Marines, 16 Navy personnel, and 3 Army soldiers), was the deadliest single-day death toll for the Marines since the World War II battle of Iwo Jima and the deadliest for the U.S. military since the 1968 Tet offensive in Vietnam. The suicide truck bombing, along with a similar bombing that day that killed 58 French paratroopers, was perpetrated by the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah (“Party of God”), which was created, supported, and directed by Iran.
The bombing led to the February 1984 withdrawal from Lebanon of the Multinational Force (MNF), a peacekeeping contingent composed of American, British, French and Italian troops, that had been deployed to stabilize Lebanon . Although the United States had mounted two previous successful peacekeeping operations in Lebanon in 1958 and earlier in 1982 (to facilitate the evacuation of P.L.O. forces from Beirut that had been defeated by Israel), the ignominious end of the MNF intervention brought disastrous consequences.
The failure of the peacekeeping mission led to renewed fighting between Lebanese factions and the ascendancy of Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria. Moreover, the Marine barracks bombing, which was the deadliest terrorist attack against Americans before the 9/11 attacks, later inspired Osama bin Laden, who viewed the United States as a “paper tiger” because of its rapid withdrawal of peacekeeping forces from Lebanon and Somalia after suffering casualties. Al Qaeda members were later dispatched to Hezbollah training camps in Lebanon, according to the 9/11 Commission Report (p. 68). “”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"
Today is the 26th anniversary of the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, by Lebanese terrorists supported and directed by Iran. The attack, which killed 241 American servicemen (220 Marines, 16 Navy personnel, and 3 Army soldiers), was the deadliest single-day death toll for the Marines since the World War II battle of Iwo Jima and the deadliest for the U.S. military since the 1968 Tet offensive in Vietnam. The suicide truck bombing, along with a similar bombing that day that killed 58 French paratroopers, was perpetrated by the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah (“Party of God”), which was created, supported, and directed by Iran.
The bombing led to the February 1984 withdrawal from Lebanon of the Multinational Force (MNF), a peacekeeping contingent composed of American, British, French and Italian troops, that had been deployed to stabilize Lebanon after the September 14, 1982, assassination of Lebanese President-elect Bashir Gemayel by a Lebanese faction aligned with Syria. Although the United States had mounted two previous successful peacekeeping operations in Lebanon in 1958 and earlier in 1982 (to facilitate the evacuation of P.L.O. forces from Beirut that had been defeated by Israel), the ignominious end of the MNF intervention brought disastrous consequences.
The failure of the peacekeeping mission led to renewed fighting between Lebanese factions and the ascendancy of Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria. Moreover, the Marine barracks bombing, which was the deadliest terrorist attack against Americans before the 9/11 attacks, later inspired Osama bin Laden, who viewed the United States as a “paper tiger” because of its rapid withdrawal of peacekeeping forces from Lebanon and Somalia after suffering casualties. Al Qaeda members were later dispatched to Hezbollah training camps in Lebanon, according to the 9/11 Commission Report (p. 68).
Today is the 26th anniversary of the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, by Lebanese terrorists supported and directed by Iran. The attack, which killed 241 American servicemen (220 Marines, 16 Navy personnel, and 3 Army soldiers), was the deadliest single-day death toll for the Marines since the World War II battle of Iwo Jima and the deadliest for the U.S. military since the 1968 Tet offensive in Vietnam. The suicide truck bombing, along with a similar bombing that day that killed 58 French paratroopers, was perpetrated by the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah (“Party of God”), which was created, supported, and directed by Iran.
The bombing led to the February 1984 withdrawal from Lebanon of the Multinational Force (MNF), a peacekeeping contingent composed of American, British, French and Italian troops, that had been deployed to stabilize Lebanon after the September 14, 1982, assassination of Lebanese President-elect Bashir Gemayel by a Lebanese faction aligned with Syria. Although the United States had mounted two previous successful peacekeeping operations in Lebanon in 1958 and earlier in 1982 (to facilitate the evacuation of P.L.O. forces from Beirut that had been defeated by Israel), the ignominious end of the MNF intervention brought disastrous consequences.
The failure of the peacekeeping mission led to renewed fighting between Lebanese factions and the ascendancy of Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria. Moreover, the Marine barracks bombing, which was the deadliest terrorist attack against Americans before the 9/11 attacks, later inspired Osama bin Laden, who viewed the United States as a “paper tiger” because of its rapid withdrawal of peacekeeping forces from Lebanon and Somalia after suffering casualties. Al Qaeda members were later dispatched to Hezbollah training camps in Lebanon, according to the 9/11 Commission Report (p. 68).
http://blog.heritage.org/2009/10/23/the-1983-marine-barracks-bombing-connecting-the-dots/
USMC
October 25th, 2012
8:31 pm
“WHERE are the JOBS????? WHERE are the “shovel-ready” JOBS????”–David
Breaking News: The Obama Administration is now pivoting to JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!
Oh wait!
TGT
October 25th, 2012
8:32 pm
“Bring it on Ron”
Jay channels his inner Lawrence O’Donnell.
You libs are becoming unhinged. I get it. You sense the inevitable come Nov. 6.
From Senator Paul:
Two of the most potentially vulnerable or dangerous American embassies are in Iraq and Libya. In Iraq, we have roughly 17,000 people guarding our ambassador. Not all of them are Marines, but some several hundred are, and they guard our ambassador behind a 10-foot-high walled fortress. In Iraq, we cannot afford to take any unnecessary risks with our diplomats and go to great lengths to ensure that there are plenty of armed personnel between our representatives and any potential threats.
In Libya, there were no uniformed Marines guarding our ambassador. Originally, there was a 16-person security team led by Col. Andrew Wood, who had requested to stay in Libya. In July, Stevens sent memos to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee requesting an “extension of tour of duty (TDY) personnel.” Stevens was referring to Col. Wood’s 16-man team, which was scheduled to leave in August. Stevens requested on Aug. 2 — just six weeks before his murder — to keep security personnel in Libya “through mid-September,” calling the conditions there “unpredictable, volatile and violent.”
Col. Woods has also said that he repeatedly requested to remain in Libya because he felt both the environment and the ambassador were unsafe. Now, after the tragic fact, no one knows what happened to Stevens‘ original request.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
October 25th, 2012
8:33 pm
My postman meets me at the Whole Foods so I can spend the stamps and checks right there on booze and prom dresses. Hey usmc, what size prom dress do you wear? I bet you are a few sizes bigger than when you used to play dress up while in the barracks.
YouLibs
October 25th, 2012
8:33 pm
USMC leads a miserable life. Afflictive emotions rule his rage.
He feels self-righteous as he stands in here hour after hour flinging his anti-Obama poo.
I just wish he wouldn’t involve the honor of the Marine Corps by using that moniker. Honor is not his thing.
USMC
October 25th, 2012
8:33 pm
“Hey, you leave my food stamps and welfare check outta this…and I better not catch you sneaking around my mail box again…”–josef
I know better than to mess with your stuff, josef!
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt(and scars)!
RF
October 25th, 2012
8:36 pm
Tmgotech: go back and read a few pages here. The ambassador was there of his own volition, and chose to go there with a small security contingent. He didn’t know of any pending threat that caused him to stay in Tripoli, where he should have been. There’s also the fact that Congress (led by Republicans) voted to CUT embassy security funds, thus negating the possibility of paying for much more than what they had. Nobody seems to have had any idea this attack was coming, and certainly the CIA should have known if anyone would have. The WH reported what information the CIA deemed credible based on its procedures for vetting information that was coming in with conflicting details as the days passed. The WH can’t know more than its intelligence operations can discover and verify. This was clearly a situation noone knew enough about, and the story was due to change as they learned more. If anything, the WH fed the desire in the public to know everything immediately, even though the sum total of facts may not be known for months. That was wrong, and the mistake was in not telling us that they didn’t know enough about it. But even that would have gotten them skewered by their critics, so there was no way to deal with this that would have satisfied everyone, no matter what. So do you think a President Romney would have handled it better, considering the hasty, wrong commentary he issued from the start?
WAR EAGLE
October 25th, 2012
8:37 pm
Jay,
What did you want Bush to do? Be a fireman and go rescue people? to paraphrase what Obama said on a late night talk show that 4 people dying was not that monumental. Gee Jay- what would you have done if that were YOUR dad that was the Ambassador? This black man of a president had NO skills and NO reason to be President. He was elected b/c of his skin. And for Powell to back obama and turn his back on his own party- that is a disgrace! Powell voted for obama b/c he was a black man. All I can say is, When Romney wins, I hope all the rioters are shipped to Swaziland! Get them the heck out of this country and take Michiganistan with you!
josef
October 25th, 2012
8:39 pm
tom
“As a Retired Military Officer who served two combat tours in Vietnam…”
With all due respect, what the hell does that have to do with the price of eggs in Funkiang? The price of eggs being the rest of your post.
“I take exception to this we are not sure yet. Total Incompetence all around. Heads should roll. 9-11 and repeated requests for an upgrade in security. Why are we not talking about that issue. Forget every thing else.”
Thomas Heyward Jr
October 25th, 2012
8:39 pm
The federal tapeworms left us unprotected
On both fateful September days.
If we were a truly free
And democratic nation
Somebody up high would pay,
And, to be sure, there would be
A proper investigation,
But, wouldn’t you know, it is we
Who get detained and inspected.
.
DCDave
Mighty Righty
October 25th, 2012
8:40 pm
RF
“As we’ve learned all too well in our history, careful, measured responses that develop as verifiable facts come in are what we should wait for instead of flying off half-cocked into a response that would have only made the situation worse”
As you say, “flying off half cocked” is exactly what the administration did when it dispatched its minions all over TV talking about a video for which it had no evidence to back up its assertion other than word of mouth while Ignoring tangible evidence of a planned military assault.
Unless the administation knew what really happened and had to quickly come up with an alternative theory, a wise decision would have been to just say, we don’t know what happened. Their actions delineate what the knew.
RF
October 25th, 2012
8:40 pm
“Hey, you leave my food stamps and welfare check outta this…and I better not catch you sneaking around my mail box again…”
awwww, dangit, do I have to start watching the mailbox again so I can get mine too? It sure is tough being part of that 47% and getting my due without somebody trying to get me up off the couch to do something useful. Well, I guess I could just put the couch out on the porch like the neighbors in the trailer park do.
lmno
October 25th, 2012
8:40 pm
The Democrats have once again screwed up an othewise easily won election. Maybe they get lucky, but it shouldn’t even have been close.
When the video of Mitt talking to wealthy supporters came out, that should have been it. Instead of focusing on the worst two things he said, they focused on the 47% comment.
Had they focused on his total ignorance of saying, “If I was born Mexican this election would have been easier” and “We’re using Ann sparingly so people don’t get tired of her”, then they would have sufficiently alienated latinos and women from Romney. The 47% issue, while bad, is too convoluted of an argument for your average reality tv voter.
At this point, bilboards should hang in each town with the words, “We’re using Ann Sparingly” everywhere.
Also, why is there no mention by anyone of what it is that Mormons believe?
Would it be so hard for a reporter to just pose the question, “Mr. Romney, Do you believe that Native Americans have darker skin because they were cursed from turning away from the teachings of American Jesus?”
Good God Almighty. A Massachusetts moderate who invented Obamacare, is mormon, and has a history of supporting abortion is the darling of the Southern Baptist! What is wrong with you Axelrod? CAn’t you cream a cream puff like this guy?
What would Reagan Do
October 25th, 2012
8:41 pm
Hmmm- a muslim country attacks our embassy. What would Reagan, the best President of this century do? He would Have the AC 130 helicopters blasting their guns at the towel men. Then send bombers to turn Libya into a sand box. On the way back to the base, do the same to Iran. Problem solved and the world is on it’s way to peace. THAT is what presidential leadership is. Not cowtowing to the Muslim King of Saudi Arabia or the midget of Iran.
josef
October 25th, 2012
8:44 pm
fair and balanced…
Yep. Your mouth to G-d’s ears.
You Libs
If you only knew…USMC is one of the happiest people on the blog, and he thanks you…
GET REAL
As the old queens would say, “Rest, girlfriend!”
RF
October 25th, 2012
8:45 pm
“As you say, “flying off half cocked” is exactly what the administration did when it dispatched its minions all over TV talking about a video for which it had no evidence to back up its assertion”
Just my opinion for the penny it’s worth in this economy, but that’s better than sending in planes, troops, and tanks before you even know who you should be blowing to kingdom come….
“ignoring tangible evidence of a planned military assault.”
There’s no evidence anyone “ignored” anything as it became verifiable. Even General Ham, who as I’ve posted several times this evening was the general on the ground in the region, didn’t have enough reliable intel to launch a military response at the time. He didn’t feel it was safe to go in with the military, and he should know if anyone would have at that point. The attackers used the element of surprise brilliantly and there wasn’t time for anyone, even the CIA apparently, to know what was coming and respond in time.
Really
October 25th, 2012
8:47 pm
While Reagan did order the bombing of Libya, you must be slightly uninformed about a little thing called Iran/Contra.
People in his administration sold weapons to Iran……… a declared enemy of the state
So fantasy island crap is not that factual…………
Remember? Reagan claimed he didn’t either