Benghazi: A Desperate GOP Attack By Sen. Barbara Boxer | HuffPost | 05/13/2013 8:01 pm Excerpts: If my Republican colleagues are serious about conducting real oversight on the tragedy in Benghazi, they should start by looking in the mirror. Their first order of business should be examining the abhorrent cuts that House Republicans made to our State Department's embassy security budget - cuts that put American lives at risk. The truth is - between fiscal years 2011 and 2012, the Republican-led House of Representatives sought to cut more than $450 million from President Obama's budget request for embassy security funding. Although the Senate was able to restore some of this critical funding, it was not enough. Rather than taking responsibility for the budget cuts that they championed - cuts that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned would be "detrimental to America's national security" - Republicans are desperately trying to create a political scandal in an effort to hurt the Administration and Hillary Clinton in particular, for obvious reasons. The facts are clear: The day after the attack, President Obama appeared in the White House Rose Garden and called the events in Benghazi an "act of terror." And within eight days of the attack, Matthew Olsen - the director of the National Counterterrorism Center - appeared before the Senate Homeland Security Committee and said that the "attack on our diplomatic post in Benghazi" is "proof" that "acts of terror and violence continue to threaten our citizens and our interests around the world." The administration sought to relay the best information it had at the time. When Ambassador Susan Rice appeared on Face the Nation - sharing information that was prepared and signed off on by multiple government agencies - she made clear that the information was preliminary and warned that "we'll want to see the results of that investigation to draw any definitive conclusions." But Republicans choose to ignore these facts and are instead running negative ads and raising campaign dollars off the tragic events in Benghazi. Republicans tried and failed during the 2012 presidential election to use this tragedy for political gain and now appear eager to recycle these failed attacks. As a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I well remember Secretary Clinton's testimony following the Benghazi attack. She took responsibility and pledged to do everything in her power to put corrective measures in place. And she didn't gloss over the profound pain and suffering this tragedy caused for the families of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. Republicans are shamelessly seeking to turn this tragedy into "Benghazi-gate"- comparing it to the Watergate scandal. Let's remember: Watergate involved Republicans paying campaign money to break in and bug the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Benghazi involves Republicans cutting money for embassy security - funding that was clearly desperately needed. It is time to end this witch-hunt and focus on how we can secure our diplomatic posts and protect American interests in the future. That is why we must work to pass the critical increases for embassy security included in President Obama's 2014 budget request. There is no argument that Congress has a duty to conduct proper oversight of federal agencies, and I enthusiastically support bipartisan efforts to address the real issues brought to light by the Benghazi attack. But Republican efforts to manufacture a controversy surrounding this tragedy are not only disingenuous, they are dangerous because they take our eye off the ball and divert attention from where it should be: protecting the American people and those who bravely serve our country overseas. read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-barbara-boxer/benghazi-a-desperate-gop_b_3269291.html ........ IMO: This Benghazi affair was one of sadness that the Embassy was not fully protected and cost the lives of 4 Americans and it lies at the feet of the very republicans that are now trying to blame the Democrats. The House refused funds that were requested for more security; hence there were the four Americans killed because the House refused to fund the costs of more security in a threatened area. The ball is still squarely in the republicans court, and they are still trying to make the Benghazi tragedy the Democrats fault, when it is rightfully theirs for not providing sufficient funds asked for to pay for extra security for the Embassy. There is something so repulsive in their effort to attempt to throw the blame onto someone else for what they are guilty of, but that is the mantra of the family values party. Their actions prove their own lack of morality in their latest frantic effort to besmirch the Democrats. Every legislator involved in this latest republican fiasco should be impeached or fired for negligence in the Benghazi attack.
The reason this entire thing blew up was because of reports of whistle blowers in the state department. First we were told there was none, now we know there was. now there are people who were on the ground in Libya that night who want to tell their story. This is not about the GOP. at all
Ms Boxer is spot on. There is nothing to see here. It's not like anyone died, got injured or sovereign American property was attacked
It appears to me that the GOP and their flufflers at FOX (note that I am of the opinion that both parties are capable of this) have taken a tragedy and attempted to politicize the deaths of Americans for political gain. Shoulda, woulda, coulda. It is very easy for folks not involved to criticize those who actually made the immediate decisions. The finger pointing going back and forth serves no purpose, in my wise and generally correct opinion, other than to curry favor with mindless partisan drones.
Interesting, as I never said he did. Are you simply making random statements blathering some obscure fact? Fox has, to the best of my knowledge, provided non stop right wing spank bank material on Benghazi, acting as a sort of cheerleader for folks, goading, encouraging, completely removing the need for rational thought and logic for it's viewers, when it comes to the tragedy of the consulate office attack. In my wise and correct opinion.
That old moonbat would shlob any democrat knob no matter what they say or do. Cut funding? lol...then please, explain the 2 billion in the coffers for such? Yawn, the left just keeps trotting out the same old tired talking points and lies. The Tawana Brawley celebration the other day is proof you can fool some of the people all of the time.
You bring up Fox, the reason this entire thing is so big today, is because of the Whistle Blowers. Read and keep up with what is going on and stop living in Obamaland.
I do thank you very much for the sound advice. i will honestly take it to heart. That being said, i am standing by my opinion as being completely correct, that the right wing attack machine has sat around in a more than 6 month circle jerk, whipping this up for pure political reasons.
What? This entire thing hasn't "blown up", it is an orchestrated poltical campaign. The "attorney" for the "whistleblower" is a Republican political activist and Fox News employee with several of these campaigns on her resume. Her "whistleblowers" turned out to be three guys who had already testified and told the committee nothing they hadn't already heard. The Jake Tapper wrote a story about the talking points. Turns out Issa's committee and Admiral Mullen and Ambassador Pickering had seen them months ago, and they had no bearing on the outcome in Bengazi. But they did detail a bureucratric struggle between State and CIA. The "consolate" in Benghazi was a CIA operation, something no one seems to want to admit. The GOP aims to keep this thing "blown up" at least through the 2016 election. After which it will be quickly and promptly forgotten about.
So wanting to know why talking points were changed, why we were told that it was a protest over a video and not a 7 hour long attack including mortar fire on the 9/11 anniversary, that there were stand down orders given, is now a circle jerk. Got it.
No. I don't care who the guys attorney is, the fact is he was the next in line in Libya. He was the one who got the call from Stevens that they were being attacked. So again, why were we told it was because of a video and not an actual attack, we were told it was a protest. we were lied to. Then we have people being threatened if the speak up.
Maybe you could explain it. I saw a link from October with Republican Issa (the same one who led the charge to cut embassy security funding) claiming this, but I've found no independent information corroborating his claim about this $2.2 billion pot of money available for embassy security. Maybe you can share it with us if you know of it.
The reaction to it? Most certainly it has been a right wing attack, absolutely mindless and ignoring all facts readily available. It is as if the sycophants int eh right wing media did not like the reality of the situation so instead they have substituted it with talking points, which your post clearly demonstrates have been absorbed by some of the general public
Better yet, since Issa heads the House security committee and sees the budgets for them why don't you link us to evidence disproving Issa? If you think he's lying prove it.
I am well aware of the accusations., I simply think folks have their chones in a wad for purely partisan reasons, and have opted to ignore logic and fact in a desire to further an agenda.
You could be right. But it is a sad period in the history of our republic when only conservative Republicans care about the death of 4 Americans in Libya. Only the fact that Dems are shielding the incompetence and corruption of a Dem president and Sec of State makes this a partisan issue.
How Profound. Except for a few points you seem to clearly ignore (could it be for pure political reasons?), like the lies repeated via the administration shortly after the attack despite evidence to the contrary and their efforts to silence the whistle blowers. So, would you like share why wanting to the truth to come out in this case ranks in your play book as pure partisan? I'm sure we'd all like to hear that.
The main thing for me was why blame it on a video? It all stems from that. The misdirections and obfuscating from those involved is rather telling and I would actually like to know what's going on.