Marines carry the remains of one of four Americans killed in Benghazi in an attack on the U.S. Embassy on September 11, 2012. PHOTO: AP
Remember this, from one week after the attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi?
President Barack Obama jets off to campaign events Monday in the critical swing state of Ohio, even as Libyan officials and locals have shredded his defensive claim that a spontaneous protest against a Californian’s anti-Islam video caused the Sept. 11 killing of four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.
“The idea that this criminal and cowardly act was a spontaneous protest that just spun out of control is completely unfounded and preposterous,” Libyan President Mohammed el-Megarif told the liberal National Public Radio network.
Instead, the killing was a military-style attack, he said.
It’s been a long time coming but we’re finally seeing the lid come off.
Weekly Standard has published some emails you will want to see.
If the House report provides an accurate and complete depiction of the emails, it is clear that senior administration officials engaged in a wholesale rewriting of intelligence assessments about Benghazi in order to mislead the public. The Weekly Standard sought comment from officials at the White House, the State Department, and the CIA, but received none by press time. Within hours of the initial attack on the U.S. facility, the State Department Operations Center sent out two alerts. The first, at 4:05 p.m. (all times are Eastern Daylight Time), indicated that the compound was under attack; the second, at 6:08 p.m., indicated that Ansar al Sharia, an al Qaeda-linked terrorist group operating in Libya, had claimed credit for the attack. According to the House report, these alerts were circulated widely inside the government, including at the highest levels. The fighting in Benghazi continued for another several hours, so top Obama administration officials were told even as the fighting was taking place that U.S. diplomats and intelligence operatives were likely being attacked by al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists. A cable sent the following day, September 12, by the CIA station chief in Libya, reported that eyewitnesses confirmed the participation of Islamic militants and made clear that U.S. facilities in Benghazi had come under terrorist attack. It was this fact, along with several others, that top Obama officials would work so hard to obscure.
Lying to the American people about an Al Qaeda-connected attack that killed Americans is very serious business, folks.
CNN reports today that “several sources” have shared with them that several Al Qaeda members took part in the attack.
James Rosen has the names of whistle-blowers in the administration who will be testifying.
Some conservative activists are calling for Barack Obama to be impeached. I think it’s unwise to focus on political revenge. Let’s focus on informing the American people of the reality of the situation first. Let the truth be aired widely…first. Otherwise, the uninformed may view this as a politically-motivated investigation. We need for Americans to be able to process and absorb the truth before anything else occurs.
