The Effort to Disappear Benghazi

[Valin]

National Review

The scandal won't fade away, nor should it.

Daniel Foster

5/20/13

 

The Benghazi scandal a word that already minimizes the significance of what happened there is falling apart, we are told, by everyone from Talking Points Memo to Mother Jones to the Washington Post. The scandal is disappearing, they say, in the wake of admittedly troubling reports that Republican sources in Congress oversold tendentious paraphrases of administration e-mails as verbatim quotes, coloring with editorial prejudice the account of how the administration crafted its Benghazi talking points.

 

(Snip)

 

Because the news about the paraphrased quotes is the latest on the scandal, and because we are cognitively disposed to give greater weight to more recent information, it might feel like the whole affair has been doctored, and thats certainly the narrative that the port side of the media is pushing. But when you throw out the less accurate picture of the talking-points process suggested by the dubious paraphrases and objectively read everything else we know about the attacks and their aftermath, is there really no scandal there? Hardly.

 

(Snip)

 

This is all the stuff we know or if you want to get scholastic about it, stuff we know insofar as we can know anything at all through the sworn testimony, documentary evidence, and background facts that all parties would (I presume) admit as established. And its all still true even in light of the unfortunate business with the paraphrases. If theres no scandal here anymore, than maybe we ought to revise our definition of that word.

[Draggingtree]

Weapons recovery/MANPAD program

Benghazi Exclusive: State Department Denies Libya Weapons Buyback program Exists

By Marinka Peschmann (Bio and Archives) Tuesday, May 21, 2013

 

Danger. Danger. Al Qaeda’s Syrian wing also known as “rebels” bent on overthrowing Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad (mirroring the Saudi, the Obama administration and Republican Senator John McCain’s position), have taken over the oilfields that once belonged to Assad.

 

If that wasn’t bad enough it gets worse. We are a hair trigger away from World War III. Reportedly Assad is preparing missile strikes against Tel Aviv if Syria is attacked again.

 

Meanwhile, back in Obama’s America, don’t call Libya’s weapon recovery program “buyback” that then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton funded using $40 million of your tax dollars after the Obama—Clinton regime toppled Col. Muammar Gaddafi because if you do, the State Department will deny it exists. You can however refer to it as the MANPAD program—Man-Portable-Air-Defense Systems or

Yes, that’s right. The unaccounted for weapons recovery program in Libya started in Benghazi. Are you awake yet? http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/55350

[Valin]

Official Rumor

 

PJM EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Diplomats Report New Benghazi Whistleblowers with Info Devastating to Clinton and Obama

Roger L Simon

5/21/13

 

More whistleblowers will emerge shortly in the escalating Benghazi scandal, according to two former U.S. diplomats who spoke with PJ Media Monday afternoon.

These whistleblowers, colleagues of the former diplomats, are currently securing legal counsel because they work in areas not fully protected by the Whistleblower law.

 

According to the diplomats, what these whistleblowers will say will be at least as explosive as what we have already learned about the scandal, including details about what really transpired in Benghazi that are potentially devastating to both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The former diplomats inform PJM the new revelations concentrate in two areas what Ambassador Chris Stevens was actually doing in Benghazi and the pressure put on General Carter Ham, then in command of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and therefore responsible for Libya, not to act to protect jeopardized U.S. personnel.

 

Stevens mission in Benghazi, they will say, was to buy back Stinger missiles from al-Qaeda groups issued to them by the State Department, not by the CIA. Such a mission would usually be a CIA effort, but the intelligence agency had opposed the idea because of the high risk involved in arming insurgents with powerful weapons that endanger civilian aircraft.

Hillary Clinton still wanted to proceed because, in part, as one of the diplomats said, she wanted to overthrow Gaddafi on the cheap.

This left Stevens in the position of having to clean up the scandalous enterprise when it became clear that the insurgents actually were al-Qaeda indeed, in the view of one of the diplomats, the same group that attacked the consulate and ended up killing Stevens.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

]The Hill: Benghazi witness points finger at Clinton on lapses in consulate security

Julian Pecquet

05/21/13

 

The star witness in the Benghazi investigation said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton personally ordered Ambassador Chris Stevens to set up a permanent post in the restive city and should have known about deteriorating security.

The revelations from the second-ranking U.S. diplomat in Libya at the time come as the audit that cleared the former secretary of State of any wrongdoing has come under fire for not interviewing Clinton or her top lieutenants.

 

Republicans say they’ll press the audit’s co-chairman for answers after the House Oversight panel subpoenaed retired Ambassador Thomas Pickering to appear for a transcribed deposition on Thursday. Pickering co-authored an Accountability Review Board (ARB) report on the Sept. 11, 2012, attack.

“There’s no answers we’ve gotten [from the ARB] about the role of senior officials [regarding security in Benghazi],” a Republican staffer told The Hill. “What controversies were brought to their attention?”

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

Sources challenge White House claim of all-hands-on-deck pursuit of Benghazi suspects

Adam Housley

May 21, 2013

 

(Snip)

 

Sources who have worked in and around Benghazi since last October spoke out after White House Press Secretary Jay Carney repeatedly said at a briefing more than a week ago that the administration was going after the suspects in the Sept. 11 terror attack. "From the beginning, the president has committed all the resources of this administration, of this government, to finding out who was responsible and to bringing them to justice," Carney said, as he faced a barrage of critical questions from the press on the heels of reports that challenged the administration's Benghazi narrative.

 

"Carney just said they want to bring those responsible to justice -- that's a big ole negative," said one special operator who watched the press conference with part of his team and disputed Carney's characterization of the administration's efforts in the wake of the attack.

 

According to well-placed sources, the administration has known where some of the perpetrators are, based on information given to the Pentagon back in January, but no action has been taken to capture or kill them.

 

Further, sources said they are being restricted from any reconnaissance or advanced force operations to go after those responsible in the eastern part of Libya.

 

"We know exactly where the mastermind lives," one U.S. official said.

 

(Snip)

 

(Vid At Link)

[SrWoodchuck]

Sources challenge White House claim of all-hands-on-deck pursuit of Benghazi suspects

Adam Housley

May 21, 2013

 

(Snip)

 

Sources who have worked in and around Benghazi since last October spoke out after White House Press Secretary Jay Carney repeatedly said at a briefing more than a week ago that the administration was going after the suspects in the Sept. 11 terror attack. "From the beginning, the president has committed all the resources of this administration, of this government, to finding out who was responsible and to bringing them to justice," Carney said, as he faced a barrage of critical questions from the press on the heels of reports that challenged the administration's Benghazi narrative.

 

"Carney just said they want to bring those responsible to justice -- that's a big ole negative," said one special operator who watched the press conference with part of his team and disputed Carney's characterization of the administration's efforts in the wake of the attack.

 

According to well-placed sources, the administration has known where some of the perpetrators are, based on information given to the Pentagon back in January, but no action has been taken to capture or kill them.

 

Further, sources said they are being restricted from any reconnaissance or advanced force operations to go after those responsible in the eastern part of Libya.

 

"We know exactly where the mastermind lives," one U.S. official said.

 

(Snip)

 

(Vid At Link)

 

I can see their plan. Lull those bastids into lethargy......and let Father Time kill them all....

[Valin]

I can see their plan. Lull those bastids into lethargy......and let Father Time kill them all....

I think he would just as soon this whole thing just go away. He considers in an...annoyance. Foreign Arrairs is just not very high on his list.

So in a way you are correct. Keep blowing smoke...blowing smoke...blowing smoke, and eventually (hopefully) people will get bored with it, and end of problem. We move on to the next thing.

It just occurred to me that this the way they deal with all these "little problems".

[clearvision]

Does FOX want another reporter investigated for high crimes?

[Rheo]

The next name under the bus!...or the name ya'll know already and I missed it.

 

 

Advisers Urged Obama Early On To Release Comprehensive Benghazi Timeline

 

WASHINGTON — The White House Counsel’s office advised senior Obama officials to keep quiet about the attack in Benghazi during the weeks preceding last year’s November presidential election, according to two administration sources.

 

BuzzFeed has learned that key members of President Obama’s national security team, including deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes, pushed to release a comprehensive timeline of events documenting the attack that would also synthesize the views of the various government agencies into one report. The CIA also wanted the White House to put out such a timeline, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

 

Those plans were quashed, however, when the White House Counsel’s office, which is led by Kathryn Ruemmler, advised the officials to not release any information to the public out of fear it could be used against them in any subsequent investigations and other legal complications.

The White House told BuzzFeed any suggestion that Ruemmler shot down the release of the Benghazi timeline was “off base” — but an official said the White House would not comment “on leaks out of purported internal deliberations.”

 

BuzzFeed’s sources said the legal advice proved frustrating for a number of officials in the president’s orbit, who felt they would have better served to put to rest controversy that has lasted nine months.

 

“It was aggravating,” one administration official said. “It comes back to Kathryn Ruemmler, Kathyrn Ruemmler, Kathryn Ruemmler. I hate to say it, as it sounds like piling on, but it’s on her doorstep too.”

 

Ruemmler has also come under fire this week for not making the president and others aware of the IRS investigation.

[Valin]

The next name under the bus!...or the name ya'll know already and I missed it.

 

 

Advisers Urged Obama Early On To Release Comprehensive Benghazi Timeline

 

WASHINGTON — The White House Counsel’s office advised senior Obama officials to keep quiet about the attack in Benghazi during the weeks preceding last year’s November presidential election, according to two administration sources.

 

BuzzFeed has learned that key members of President Obama’s national security team, including deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes, pushed to release a comprehensive timeline of events documenting the attack that would also synthesize the views of the various government agencies into one report. The CIA also wanted the White House to put out such a timeline, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

Accidental Journalism from Buzz Feed?

[righteousmomma]

More from PJ Medias exclusive:

 

"According to the diplomats, what these whistleblowers will say will be at least as explosive as what we have already learned about the scandal, including details about what really transpired in Benghazi that are potentially devastating to both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

 

The former diplomats inform PJM the new revelations concentrate in two areas what Ambassador Chris Stevens was actually doing in Benghazi and the pressure put on General Carter Ham, then in command of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and therefore responsible for Libya, not to act to protect jeopardized U.S. personnel.

 

Stevens mission in Benghazi, they will say, was to buy back Stinger missiles from al-Qaeda groups issued to them by the State Department, not by the CIA. Such a mission would usually be a CIA effort, but the intelligence agency had opposed the idea because of the high risk involved in arming insurgents with powerful weapons that endanger civilian aircraft.

 

Hillary Clinton still wanted to proceed because, in part, as one of the diplomats said, she wanted to overthrow Gaddafi on the cheap.

 

One of the most important unanswered questions about the Benghazi attack has been why Stevens was in Benghazi on the anniversary of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. If the whistleblowers information turns out to be credible, it could be a huge break in the investigation into what really happened.

 

According to PJ Medias report, Clintons plan to reaquire the stinger missiles left Stevens with the responsibility to handle the aftermath of the alleged gun-running operation after it was clear that the insurgents in Libya were really radical Islamists aligned with al-Qaeda.

 

The former diplomat who reportedly talked exclusively with PJ Media, likened the Obama administrations plan in Libya to the amateurish covert war depicted in the Mike Nochols film, Charlie Wilsons War. The movie tells the story of an arrogant Texas congressman, Charlie Wilson, who supplies Stinger missiles to the Afghan guerillas to help them fight the Soviets.

 

Its as if Hillary and the others just watched that movie and said Hey, lets do that! the diplomat reportedly said.

 

........

 

He added that he and his colleagues think the leaking of General David Petraeus affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell was timed to silence the former CIA chief on these matters, PJ Media reports."

[Valin]

More from PJ Medias exclusive:

 

 

He added that he and his colleagues think the leaking of General David Petraeus affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell was timed to silence the former CIA chief on these matters, PJ Media reports."

 

I'm gonna go waaaay out on a limb and say David is not happy over this. As the old saying goes Paybacks a Bitch. You do not reach the levels David Petraeus did with out knowing how to...deal with obstacle. If I were certain people in DC, I'd be concerned...what does he know (a great deal I suspect) and who is he talking to.

[nickydog]

 

More from PJ Medias exclusive:

 

 

He added that he and his colleagues think the leaking of General David Petraeus affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell was timed to silence the former CIA chief on these matters, PJ Media reports."

 

I'm gonna go waaaay out on a limb and say David is not happy over this. As the old saying goes Paybacks a Bitch. You do not reach the levels David Petraeus did with out knowing how to...deal with obstacle. If I were certain people in DC, I'd be concerned...what does he know (a great deal I suspect) and who is he talking to.

 

 

 

I have thought all along that the timing of revealing that affair was planned. The only thing that might hold Petraeus back would be consideration for his family -- not wanting to put himself back into the spotlight which would dredge up that whole mess all over again.

[Valin]

 

 

More from PJ Medias exclusive:

 

 

He added that he and his colleagues think the leaking of General David Petraeus affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell was timed to silence the former CIA chief on these matters, PJ Media reports."

 

This depends on just how ticked off he is.

I would imagine he will be testifying some fairly soon. That should be....interesting.

 

I'm gonna go waaaay out on a limb and say David is not happy over this. As the old saying goes Paybacks a Bitch. You do not reach the levels David Petraeus did with out knowing how to...deal with obstacle. If I were certain people in DC, I'd be concerned...what does he know (a great deal I suspect) and who is he talking to.

 

 

I have thought all along that the timing of revealing that affair was planned. The only thing that might hold Petraeus back would be consideration for his family -- not wanting to put himself back into the spotlight which would dredge up that whole mess all over again.

 

[Valin]

http://youtu.be/uaA7RcYGUoM

[Valin]

It’s not just Republicans up in arms about Benghazi. That’s a problem for President Obama.

Sean Sullivan

May 22, 2013

 

Last year’s deadly attack on a diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya is shaping up as a real political problem for President Obama, with concern extending well beyond the conservative base. More than half of Americans say his administration is trying to cover up the facts of the attack, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

 

Fully 55 percent say the Obama administration is trying to hide the facts, while just 33 percent say it has honestly disclosed what it knows of the incident. It’s not just Republicans crying foul: Six in 10 independents and nearly three in 10 Democrats say the administration is not being forthright.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

Benghazi: Theres More to Come

5/22/13

 

With the IRS and AP scandals picking up steam, Benghazigate seems to have become a little neglected of late, getting sustained attention only outside the MSM in the right-wing blogosphere. A good bit of reporting by Eli Lake of the Daily Beast on the interagency fight between the State Department and CIA shows, however, that this scandal still has legs:

 

 

While the State Department was responsible for elements of the security for the diplomatic mission at Benghazi, the mission itself was used primarily for intelligence activities and most the U.S. officials there and at the nearby annex were CIA officers who used State Department cover.

 

That purposeful ambiguity between diplomatic and intelligence efforts abroad has meant that at home, the State Department has taken almost all of the public blame for an error that was in part the fault of the CIA.

This is a combustible situation. In the struggle to defend themselves, each of these dueling bureaucracies is likely to leak information that casts its rival in a poor lightand there are some signs that there may indeed be more shadows in need of illumination. More headlines about Benghazi are the last thing that Team Obama, as well as Team Hillary, want to see right now. But if Benghazi cant be buried, these teams, too, will get in on the Blame Game.

 

(Snip)

[Casino67]

I still think it was the CIA operation that the Islamists were trying to destroy. The ambassador was an unfortunate collateral victim.

 

But what the hell do I know?

[Valin]

I still think it was the CIA operation that the Islamists were trying to destroy. The ambassador was an unfortunate collateral victim.

 

But what the hell do I know?

If you pay very close attention you may notice I am not disagreeing with you. As for what you know, I obsess on this stuff and I don't know either....so.

Ansar al-Sharia is a Sunni group and these arms were going to Shia rebels. Not that these clowns need much of a reason to kill we evil infidels.

[nickydog]

 

I still think it was the CIA operation that the Islamists were trying to destroy. The ambassador was an unfortunate collateral victim.

 

But what the hell do I know?

If you pay very close attention you may notice I am not disagreeing with you. As for what you know, I obsess on this stuff and I don't know either....so.

Ansar al-Sharia is a Sunni group and these arms were going to Shia rebels. Not that these clowns need much of a reason to kill we evil infidels.

 

 

 

Or each other.

[Valin]

 

 

I still think it was the CIA operation that the Islamists were trying to destroy. The ambassador was an unfortunate collateral victim.

 

But what the hell do I know?

If you pay very close attention you may notice I am not disagreeing with you. As for what you know, I obsess on this stuff and I don't know either....so.

Ansar al-Sharia is a Sunni group and these arms were going to Shia rebels. Not that these clowns need much of a reason to kill we evil infidels.

 

 

Or each other.

 

Very good point!

[Geee]

Art Imitating Life: Benghazi, Obama, and Kirk Douglas

Lloyd Marcus

Talk about art imitating life.
I landed upon a classic movie while surfing TV channels. Kirk Douglas played a down-on-his-luck news reporter. When I began watching the movie, a man named Leo was trapped in a collapsed cave. Douglas managed to crawl within a few feet of Leo and was chatting with Leo, assuring the scared man that he would be rescued ASAP.
But secretly, Douglas had other plans. Keeping Leo trapped for at least seven days could revive Douglas's career. He had exclusive access to Leo. Writing daily updates could produce tremendous financial rewards; it could land Douglas a job with a major newspaper and a possible Pulitzer Prize.
Now here is the despicable aspect of the story: the engineer said his crew could get Leo out of the hole in sixteen hours.
Douglas manipulated the corrupt local sheriff, who was seeking re-election, to pressure the engineer to use a slower technique that would take at least five days to remove Leo from the hole. On the fifth day, when the crew was within a few feet of reaching him, Leo died.

 

http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/art_imitating_life_benghazi_obama_and_kirk_douglas.html

[Rheo]

Benghazi auditor will appear for congressional deposition on June 3

 

The co-author of the State Department's independent report on Benghazi has agreed to be deposed by congressional Republicans on June 3, the State Department said Thursday.

House oversight chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Wednesday that he'd lifted his subpoena mandating Thomas Pickering's appearance after the retired diplomat “voluntarily” agreed to appear for a closed-door deposition with committee staff. But the State Department made it clear Thursday that Pickering still feels compelled to appear.

[Casino67]

Why does this idiot keep saying 'we ended the war in Iraq and Afghanistan'? We threw up our hands and quit. Left our allies to fend for themselves.

[Valin]

Benghazi auditor will appear for congressional deposition on June 3

 

The co-author of the State Department's independent report on Benghazi has agreed to be deposed by congressional Republicans on June 3, the State Department said Thursday.

House oversight chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Wednesday that he'd lifted his subpoena mandating Thomas Pickering's appearance after the retired diplomat voluntarily agreed to appear for a closed-door deposition with committee staff. But the State Department made it clear Thursday that Pickering still feels compelled to appear.

 

Benghazi Investigation Deepens: Lawmakers Seek Interviews of 13 Officials Involved

STEPHEN F. HAYES

May 23, 2013

 

As the investigation into the Obama administrations handling of the attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi intensifies, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are seeking to conduct transcribed interviews with thirteen top State Department officials in the coming weeks in order to learn more. Those named in the letter include a wide range of current and former State Department personnel, from senior advisers to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to mid-level career officials with responsibility for diplomatic security.

 

Among those officials: Jacob Sullivan, then deputy chief of staff and director of policy planning (and currently national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden); Victoria Nuland, then State Department spokesman; Raymond Maxwell, deputy assistant secretary of state for near east affairs; Patrick Kennedy, undersecretary of state for management; and Eric Boswell, former assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security.

 

(Snip)

 

Republicans on the committee hope that the next round of interviews will provide a better sense of the State Departments role in providing security before the attacks, in the deliberations about a military response during the attacks and in the creation of the administrations public narrative after the attacks.

 

(Snip)