Emails show White House knew of terrorists’ Benghazi claim within two hours. So why blame a video for two weeks?
The Obama administration/campaign’s story about what happened in Benghazi on Sept. 11 keeps having run-ins with the facts. The latest comes from Reuters:
Officials at the White House and State Department were advised two hours after attackers assaulted the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11 that an Islamic militant group had claimed credit for the attack, official emails show.
The emails, obtained by Reuters from government sources not connected with U.S. spy agencies or the State Department and who requested anonymity, specifically mention that the Libyan group called Ansar al-Sharia had asserted responsibility for the attacks.
The brief emails also show how U.S. diplomats described the attack, even as it was still under way, to Washington.
U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the Benghazi assault, which President Barack Obama and other U.S. officials ultimately acknowledged was a “terrorist” attack carried out by militants with suspected links to al Qaeda affiliates or sympathizers.
Administration spokesmen, including White House spokesman Jay Carney, citing an unclassified assessment prepared by the CIA, maintained for days that the attacks likely were a spontaneous protest against an anti-Muslim film.
The story goes on to say officials referred to evidence that the violence “erupted spontaneously” — an apparent reference to the alleged protests about an alleged anti-Muslim video. But as we now know, there was no protest leading up to the attacks on the consulate, so it’s hard to understand what sort of evidence they could have been describing. A claim of responsibility by an al-Qaida affiliate, on the other hand, would seem to have been sufficient evidence not to frame the issue even once as a matter of First Amendment freedoms gone wrong.
Unless, of course, one happened to be running for re-election and basing one’s pitch to voters in large part on the idea that al-Qaida is on its way to defeat.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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382 comments Add your comment
getalife
October 24th, 2012
1:14 pm
Bruno,
That is a lie.
He used both.
Read the transcript.
BW
October 24th, 2012
1:14 pm
Kyle
Sorry man…this won’t be an October surprise nor is it a conspiracy but just keep on trying to make it one….maybe you can pull a Trump and offer $5M to charity for full disclosure
getalife
October 24th, 2012
1:15 pm
When the reports show it was the movie, I think Kyle should write an apology to our President.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
October 24th, 2012
1:15 pm
It was an obvious cover up and it is intellectually dishonest to try and parse every word to find some defense for all the lies. It actually started with the Little Rock shooting of soldiers at the recruiting station, Obama/Witholder conspired to say this was not an act of terror. Then we had Ft Hood and Allah Akbar Hassan shooting and killing multiple American service men and women. Again Obama/Witholder defied common sense and labeled this as work place violence, rather than another terrorist attack. Even when emails showed that Hassan had been in touch with the Mullah Looneytunes in Yemin. So, why not continue the charade of we have had no terrorist attacks on America, during the Obama regime, it worked before, the press bought it.
It is actually no different than Watergate, except this is more serious. I can still hear Sen Ervin asking, what did the President know, and when did he know it? We need Sen Ervin today to expose this fiasco. Eventually a whistle blower is going to come out and explain why they tried to dupe us, but it will be after the election. So, if Obama wins, then we can have impeachment talk once again in America. Hopefully, we will impeach him on 6 Nov.
Bruno
October 24th, 2012
1:17 pm
I don’t recall Obama apologizing for the video. What he actually said was “The U.S. rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others” and yes I agree with that.
I think a much stronger, more effective response would have been to emphasize that we support freedom of speech, however offensive that speech may come across. By sympathizing with the protestors, I think Obama sent a mixed message at best, a weak message at worst.
As for the harassment of the filmmaker…not sure what you are referring to…it seems he had some legal issues of his own already and they should be pursued. If private parties have harassed him they should not, however it seems that one should expect it in such cases.
Kind of coincidental that his prior legal issues only became important after the Obama Admin began blaming him for the ME protests. Last I heard, the guy was being held without bail.
JDW
October 24th, 2012
1:19 pm
@Rafe…”It is actually no different than Watergate, except this is more serious. ”
Tom(Independent Viet Vet-USAF)
October 24th, 2012
1:22 pm
getalife@1:15 – You seriously need some help bad. Or better yet, you probably should run for political office as your fav(Democrat). The movie theory is ridiculous. Those Muslim fools should go straight to hades, if that is what a video encourages them to do! Most of you libs need to be living in the same country as those fools.
Kyle Wingfield
October 24th, 2012
1:22 pm
Bruno @ 1:08: “will anyone be talking about this 2 or 3 years from now??”
If we are, it will be in terms of one of the first, clearest, most lethal signs that al-Qaida and its affiliates didn’t die when bin Laden did — and that the Obama administration had exaggerated its success in “decimating” them. But that, of course, depends on what happens over the next 2-3 years …
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 24th, 2012
1:23 pm
getalife, they are looking into whether ?Mittens lied under oath.
The case was his good friend’s divorce. Mitt said Staples wasn’t worth much in order to limit his friend’s payout to his wife.
That’s all.
getalife
October 24th, 2012
1:24 pm
Who claimed aq died with obl Kyle?
You did.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 24th, 2012
1:25 pm
Actually, Kyle, AQ was decimated by the end of W’s reign of terror, errr, I mean W’s administration..
getalife
October 24th, 2012
1:25 pm
Thanks Finn.
Just wondering.
getalife
October 24th, 2012
1:27 pm
Perhaps Kyle should listen to our President.
The war on terror never ends.
getalife
October 24th, 2012
1:29 pm
Tom,
I will go with the eyewitnesses instead of unpatriotic Americans focused on getting our President and not the terrorists.
Thanks.
Tom(Independent Viet Vet-USAF)
October 24th, 2012
1:30 pm
Finn@1:07 – Fox News is very informative, #1 in ratings every year. Having beautiful blondes on, does not seem to hurt either. But I also watch CNN to get a differing perspective at times. Also watch Bill Maher occasionally(don’t really know why though), I guess to see the long-nosed fool and his lib audience, acting like turds.Perhaps you should watch something besides CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and Rachel Madcow.
Thomas Heyward Jr.
October 24th, 2012
1:31 pm
Al-Qaida will only give us REAL trouble if and/or when the CIA reneges on their individual pension plans.
.
I think at present.thery’re considered G-11s or something.
getalife
October 24th, 2012
1:31 pm
Fox News is very informative for gop lies.
Ronald Nussbeck
October 24th, 2012
1:32 pm
Obama must resign, shameful deriliction of duty and out right lying to the American public, this is not the first time Obama has resorted to Serial lying. We are a Nation of laws and when the President breaks the law like in Fast and Furious he must be charged or he becomes a Dictator not our President.
Del
October 24th, 2012
1:32 pm
Perhaps Kyle should listen to our President.
Get, as the facts keep coming out on Benghazi and the loss of American life due to a less than competent as well as truthful administration, its doubtful many will listening to the president much longer.
antinewt
October 24th, 2012
1:32 pm
K-17:”Lies, lies and more lies. Does it ever stop?”
Precisely. When will the shameless right, Kyle included, quit lying for political gain. This has never been anything more than a desperate GOP trying to make a mountain out of a molehill to try to salvage Romney’s failing candidacy. You’ve been lying since January 21st 2009. How unpatriotic!
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
October 24th, 2012
1:34 pm
JDW
Nixon lied about a politically inspired burglary, it was all the lying that forced him to resign.
Obama lied about why 4 diplomatic personnel died. We also do not know why no help came, and why security was not beefed up after multiple requests. Why you can’t see that this is more serious, amazes me, but then again, knowing your loyalty to the Mistake, maybe not.
This one is going to be around for awhile. There will be hearings for a longtime, much like the Watergate hearings and if the Congress can find a John Dean in the Obama regime, well follow the script.
John Dean report for duty!
antinewt
October 24th, 2012
1:36 pm
The unhinged right: bearing false witness for the GOP since 2009. If one of your nuts ever succeeds in assassinating Obama the blod will be on all your lying hands.
nclee
October 24th, 2012
1:37 pm
Let’s take politics out of the election: Four US patriots were murdered in Benghazi. Let’s say that Obama called the action a terrorist attack the next day. Why did it take so long for Obama’s administration (Obama included) to say that it was a terrorist attack and not based on the anti Muslim video? Susan Rice, Jay Carney, Obama, etc. told us all (US citizens) that the attack was based on the anti Muslim video. The fact is that our President and his administration lied to us to cover up their failure to protect our Ambassador Chris Steven even when requests were denied to beef up security and all signs showed that this was an almost forgone conclusion. How can anyone trust someone (a leader) who is going to lie to us? This should be considered a criminal action. This was worse than any other presidential administration foible.
antinewt
October 24th, 2012
1:37 pm
blood
antinewt
October 24th, 2012
1:40 pm
“Let’s take politics out of the election”
Dumbest post or the decade.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 24th, 2012
1:40 pm
With two weeks to go, let’s see what the betting line in Vegas is like for winning the White House….
http://www.oddschecker.com/specials/politics-and-election/us-presidential-election/winner
Romney is still the underdog by a 1.5-1 to around a 2-1 margin. How lovely.
Matz
October 24th, 2012
1:41 pm
“I’m not an objective journalist. I’m an opinion writer.”
There are no truly “objective” journalists, because there are no truly objective people. The information each person receives is colored by his or her own personal filters: experience, prejudice, desires, ambitions, etc. The information one shares with others is also colored by these filters.
What we have, instead, are varying degrees to which people endeavor to support their opinions with FACTS when sharing them with others. This variation in the population (as within the journalism community) is broad.
Facts exist independently of how one thinks or feels about them, or whether they’re even known, but most people have no problem sharing opinions with OR without them. Just sayin’.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 24th, 2012
1:46 pm
Romney’s latest debate myths:
17)“I would tighten those sanctions. I would say that ships that carry Iranian oil, can’t come into our ports. I imagine the E.U. would agree with us as well.”
Iranian oil has not come into the United States since Ronald Reagan signed an executive order in 1987 banning all U.S. imports from Iran.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 24th, 2012
1:47 pm
Romney’s latest debate myths:
23) “I was in a state where my legislature was 87 percent Democrat. I learned how to get along on the other side of the aisle.”
Given Romney’s 844 vetoes as governor, Massachusetts legislators dispute this claim. As the New York Times has noted, “The big-ticket items that Mr. Romney proposed when he entered office in January 2003 went largely unrealized, and some that were achieved turned out to have a comparatively minor impact.”
~ThinkProgress
Tom(Independent Viet Vet-USAF)
October 24th, 2012
1:49 pm
Just a thought here- If they both end up tied at 269 Electoral votes a piece, then the House selects the President and the Senate selects the VP. A Romney/Biden ticket could be fun for 4 years?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 24th, 2012
1:50 pm
Tom, keep dreaming.
Bruno
October 24th, 2012
1:51 pm
There are no truly “objective” journalists, because there are no truly objective people. The information each person receives is colored by his or her own personal filters: experience, prejudice, desires, ambitions, etc. The information one shares with others is also colored by these filters.
If what you say is true, Matz, and I believe it is, why do so many of your Lib cohorts have trouble admitting that the media as a whole has a liberal bias?? When 90% + of the media votes Democrat, is it such a stretch to believe in a natural bias??
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 24th, 2012
1:51 pm
More Romney debate myths:
10) “So I’d get rid of [Obamacare] from day one. To the extent humanly possible, we get that out.”
Romney cannot unilaterally eliminate a bill passed by Congress and his plan to grant states waivers may also be a non-starter.
~ThinkProgress
Mike Towers
October 24th, 2012
1:56 pm
The White House and Obama and Carney and Clinton and Rice made up a story. Al Quida is in 30 countries. Obama has bragged that Al Quida is dead. Obama told us Osama is dead. There is a cover-up going on. Obama wants to be re-elected. This attack would undermine his re-election. Obama did nothing. He let 4 people die. Two of the people died in the latter hours of a 7 hour attack. There were multiple requests for security. Obama is in denial so that his construction of reality does not take a hit. Obama’s story was that A Quida was dead. He created an artificial reality. Obama cannot even bring himself to talk about terrorism. In his world there is no terrorism. He lives in an alternate world created through his own delusions and ideology. He killed Osama, therefore there is no more terrorism.
Matz
October 24th, 2012
1:57 pm
Bruno @ 1:51,
That’s a good question. I believe I have a better question, though:
Why do some people continue squawking about “liberal” media bias, despite massive quantities of, and such broad variations in, what is currently considered “media,” citing a statistic they have absolutely no possible way of knowing, let alone validating?
DawgDad
October 24th, 2012
1:58 pm
Hillary Clinton stood in front of the victims’ coffins at the memorial service and lied to the world about the incident. Susan Rice lied to the world. Obama lied to the world. These people don’t respresent me.
antinewt
October 24th, 2012
1:59 pm
“Obama told us Osama is dead”
Bald-faced lie, sir.
antinewt
October 24th, 2012
2:01 pm
“Hillary Clinton stood in front of the victims’ coffins at the memorial service and lied to the world about the incident. Susan Rice lied to the world. Obama lied to the world. These people don’t respresent me.”
Bear false witness much?
Bruno
October 24th, 2012
2:02 pm
My post was not about the President, past or present. It was about the arrogance and double standards of ignorant, entitlement-minded average schmoes. Thanks for helping make my point.
BTW, Matz, what happened to your “We’re all in this thing together” sentiment you laid on me a few weeks ago??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n45ZFgNyF9o
antinewt
October 24th, 2012
2:03 pm
“Obama’s story was that A Quida was dead.”
This is a bald faced lie. Obama saying Osama was dead is in fact the truth.
antinewt
October 24th, 2012
2:05 pm
As lies go, this has been a good one because, like the bunny, it just keeps going.
Matz
October 24th, 2012
2:07 pm
Bruno,
Nice pivot. As to your question about my sentiment, let’s just say I was “corrected.”
Bruno
October 24th, 2012
2:10 pm
Why do some people continue squawking about “liberal” media bias, despite massive quantities of, and such broad variations in, what is currently considered “media,” citing a statistic they have absolutely no possible way of knowing, let alone validating?
Surely you, as a journalism major, understand the power of the press. Perhaps you can then understand the frustration that those of us on the Right side of the aisle feel when the mainstream media throws away all pretense of being politically neutral around election time. In plain terms, Obama has pretty much gotten a free pass the last 4 years.
cc
October 24th, 2012
2:14 pm
The truest statement made in the final debate was uttered by the moderator when he made reference to “Obama bin Laden”.
Aquagirl
October 24th, 2012
2:20 pm
The truest statement made in the final debate was uttered by the moderator when he made reference to “Obama bin Laden”.
The problem with being bugeyed crazy is you apparently don’t realize sane people are staring at your bugeyed craziness.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 24th, 2012
2:23 pm
CC has a life-size cut out poster of Shawn Hannity.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 24th, 2012
2:25 pm
the mainstream media throws away all pretense of being politically neutral around election time
Just around election time? Or are you Cons ALWAYS the victims in everything?
Matz
October 24th, 2012
2:25 pm
Bruno,
Get back to me when you can successfully rewrite history so that the Bin Laden threat was not obsured for more than a year, and the President himself not subpoenaed away from important duties, by the relentless proseuction and media frenzy surrounding the President’s zipper. Or when the same kind of attention was paid to Pres. AWOL’s ongoing alcohol abuse. Or maybe you think the “liberal media” was just trying to fool us? How insidious!
AtlCoug
October 24th, 2012
2:26 pm
Think of how much world attention was brought (falsely) on the video by Obama and others in his administration. They created more violence and protests by perpetuating an untruth.
Old News
October 24th, 2012
2:39 pm
This is all you can come up with? Didn’t you see Mitt Romney officially endorse Obama’s foreign policy, to a worldwide audience no less?