Snowballing in Benghazi

Published: October 7, 2012, 3:27 pm

Snowballing in Benghazi

The twisted saga at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in the murders of four U.S. citizens, including U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, has become even more twisted. A brief recap may help: The U.S. had several credible warnings of impending terrorist attacks in Benghazi. The State Department chose to ignore those warnings, likely because they didn't track well with the Obama administration's Middle East fairytale that holds that the Arab Spring was a huge success, that everyone in the Middle East -- including all of Libya, of course -- now loves America and freedom, and Obama's bow-to-your-enemy appeasement turned out to be a winner. Predictably, a 9/11-anniversary terrorist strike did occur, and Team Hope 'n' Change instinctively blamed anyone and everyone but itself, deciding in the end that ultimate blame rests with a "hatemonger" who posted a YouTube movie trailer insulting Mohammed. When this alibi cratered under the weight of a cursory laugh test, blame then shifted to the standard fallback -- the intel community.

The only problem is that overwhelming evidence now surfacing highlights that the intel wonks nailed the threat, warned about the high probability of impending terrorist attacks, and were effectively told by the State Department to "shut up and stay between the lines of your coloring books." Additionally, three days before the attack, Libyan security officials warned U.S. officials in the region of the imminent danger of terrorist attacks in Benghazi. Not only did the State Department fail to beef up security in response to intel reports and the Libyan warning, it also sent Ambassador Stevens on a highly public tour into the city.

After three weeks of excuses and delays, FBI investigators finally investigated the site this week -- for a whole 12 hours -- and now we await their findings. Those responsible for the egregious security lapses should account for them.

One thing is sure: Obama officials at the highest levels of the State Department (think: Hillary Clinton) misjudged the threat from the start, despite clear warnings; failed to act accountably when predictable failure came and instead acted like children ("The video did it -- honest! It's not our fault!"); and failed to apologize for the deaths directly resulting from their negligence. Currently, the administration only admits that it has "revised [its] initial assessment to reflect new information that it was a deliberate and organized terrorist attack." Apparently, the Libyans had the bubble on this fact a week before the crack team at State. No wonder Congress is hot. Meanwhile, back stateside, 24 Marines laid the caskets of the four slain to rest. That's 24 more than were posted when the consulate was attacked.

Entry #337

Comments

emilyg - Oct 7, 2012, 4:36 pm

Will this administration ever accept blame?

Snowballing in Benghazi

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