Engaging in some pre-nomination diplomacy, Susan Rice and acting CIA Director Michael Morell sat down this morning with Republican Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte, hoping to clear the air on the Benghazi attack. How'd it go? Not well.
For those who can't watch clips online, Graham told reporters, "Bottom line: I'm more disturbed now than I was before." He added, in reference to the intelligence community's talking points written just four days after the attack, "I think it does not do justice to the reality at the time and in hindsight clearly was completely wrong. But here's the key, in real time, it was a statement disconnected from reality."
Let's unpack this a bit, because it's awfully difficult to take Graham's complaining seriously.
When Rice appeared on Sunday shows the week of the attack, she explained that it was too early to draw "definitive conclusions," but the "best information we have to date" suggested the violence "began spontaneously ... as a reaction to what had transpired some hours earlier in Cairo" in response to the anti-Islam internet video.
The ambassador then added, "But soon after that spontaneous protest began outside of our consulate in Benghazi, we believe that it looks like extremist elements, individuals, joined in that effort with heavy weapons." Asked about a possible al Qaeda role, Rice said this was unclear, explaining, "I think this is one of the things we'll have to determine."
Why did she make these comments? Because the CIA prepared talking points, reflecting the combined judgment of the intelligence community, which told her and others this was the best available information. Rice stuck closely to the CIA materials, and embellished nothing.
What Graham argued this morning, in effect, is that Rice shouldn't have believed the intelligence community -- indeed, he thinks the intelligence community shouldn't have believed the intelligence community -- and everyone involved had all of the knowledge they needed four days after the attack to understand exactly what happened.
What's more, this may be inconvenient timing for such details, but for all of Graham's huffing and puffing about the intelligence being "completely wrong" and "disconnected from reality," maybe now is a good time to point out that the talking points have actually stood up pretty well. We know more now than we did two months ago about the events in Benghazi, but the week of the attack, the intelligence community said the anti-Muslim video helped lead to violence, the attack was hardly planned out well in advance, and extremists seized an opportunity, exacerbated by inadequate consulate security.
And do we know now? As Joe Klein explained:
There were two attacks in Benghazi that night. The first was a spontaneous response to the anti-Islamic film that had caused similar protests in Cairo and elsewhere. That is important: there would have been no terrorist attack if the film hadn't provided the opportunity for mayhem. Most of the protesters were members of local salafist militias, who quickly realized that the security at the consulate was nearly nonexistent. They organized a second attack with heavier weapons, including mortars. And so we have four essential facts that do not contradict one another:
1. the attack was a spontaneous reaction to the film
2. it was followed by an organized attack.
3. both attacks were populated and organized by terrorist militias, with loose ties to Al-Qaeda.
4. security at the consulate was inadequate
In other words, what the CIA told Rice and other officials four days after the attack looks pretty accurate with the benefit of hindsight.
So what is Graham so "disturbed" about?
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Graham and McCain are both disturbed. They act like little boys looking for a fight, but when the fight comes to them they run away and hide.
The Three Amigos are just three losers looking to publicity
Ha ha,,, Any one that follows politics knows that Lynsey Graham is a joke. He is the New Larry Craig. I can't wait until he gets caught in the Minneapolis men's room.
They were going to be "disturbed" no matter what Rice said. The talking points for the press conference were drawn up before the meeting. I don't know where the three of them are going with this but they are going to get as much press out of it as they can. = waste of everyone's time as usual
Get the hook to take these guys off stage.... if they keep this up, they'll lose more seats in 2014, on second thought, let 'em keep making a fool of themselves and the GOP, making 2014 so much easier to win more seats.
Watch the movie Safe House with Denzel. Substitute the title with Benghazi. Is it possible this is why it looks so much like a cover up? Is this our intelligence community at work? Don't know, just asking. It would explain alot.
He finally told the truth, he is indeed more disturbed than before, it that is possible. He is a very very disturbed individual in a lot of ways.
Where was Graham, when we waged a trillion dollar, misdirected war after 3000 American's were killed in NY City? 4500 US soldiers killed, and 35,000 "officially" wounded because the intelligence community under a republican president erroneously advised us of weapons of mass destruction. Where was Graham then?
What about the thousands of soldiers and citizens of the middle east that have died because of weapons of mass destruction? Where was the outrage then?
Republicans = Incoherent.
Lindsey Graham is in the closet. We need to find his gay lover and expose him so he will shut up and go away! His mindset is dangerous for our country!
I think they're afraid of Rice's influence if she gets the Secretary of State position. She would not only be good at her job, she would help strengthen the Obama administration.
That or they're trying to find any way possible to obstruct things. I normally wouldn't believe that considering these are supposed to be adults working together but... well... yeah.
You are so right, Graham, you are even more disturbed than you were before. You are a very disturbed individual.
So Graham is complaining that Rice stuck to the CIA talking points instead of deciding on her own that the CIA was lying.
Anyone else, besides me, remember Nancy Pelosi saying that the CIA had NOT told her about torture and the Republicans going ballistic about Pelosi calling the CIA liars?
And who was in the MIDDLE of all of that? None other than Lindsey Graham!
This. In the last 15 years, Al-Qaeda has had no greater friend in all the world than the treasonous GOP. Why should that change now?
Susan Rice isn't responsible for overseeing security for international consulates; why do McCain and Graham keep pretending she is?
The talking points the CIA gave Susan Rice were also given to Congress. No one else questioned them. Why are McCain and Graham miffed that Susan Rice, out of all the people given the talking points, didn't single-handedly second-guess the CIA's talking points?
Why do McCain and Graham keep pretending Susan Rice didn't qualify her statements in real time to emphasize that the investigation was ongoing?
Condoleezza Rice was National Security Advisor on Sept. 11, 2001. She was part-and-parcel of the Bush administration's manipulative and dishonest push for the invasion of Iraq (although we're all supposed to "play nice" now and vanish that down the memory hole). McCain and Graham weren't "disturbed" at all with Condi Rice's promotion to Secretary of State. They championed it. They have zero credibility -- why does the media keep pretending otherwise?
Graham, McCain and Ayotte don't understand that the intelligence community may not have wanted to tip their hands while investigating this tragedy. All their inquisition proves is that the election and the voice of the people still don't get through their thick skulls. Their myopic view of this tragedy sadly makes me think not one thing will change in Washington DC.
It appears this situation is damned if you, damned if don't. The repubs never would have stood for Graham's assertion to not provide information if there is none available. If the administration had in fact stated that information is unclear at this point and will not be providing any details about what happened, they would have been criticized for being unprepared or "secretive" (code=word cover up) about the what happened. When they release information as they did, they are now being criticized for not being accurate. 2 things here: 1) We are dealing with classified information which SHOULD NOT be on the evening news. 2) It takes time to find out what happened. The repubs are truly irreconcilable over this. No explanation will satisfy them. The fact is they do not want an explanation, they just want make noise whether they make sense or not. We are wasting time over this nonsense. I say tell them to go spit and move on.
This meeting was a baaaaad idea from the start. The notion that one can reason with hateful, publicity-seeking partisans is absurd. It wouldn't matter what facts and common sense Rice and Morell provided at the meeting.
Of course, McCain, Graham, and Ayotte were going to use the opportunity to ratchet up their attacks and use the meeting as an opportunity to grandstand. They're Republicans. It's what they do.
Amb Rice is very smart. She met with these jokers just to show that she's the bigger person. They are irrelevant. If President Obama wants her for the Sec of State position, she will be the Sec of State. There is nothing that McCain/Graham and this unknown woman can say. Amb Rice thanks for showing that you are smarter at the political games the GOP like to play and is playing than they are. Let the GOP keep showing there ignorance!!!
Trolling is as trolling does. McCain and Graham are masters at it. It's quite remarkable how they speak of minority and female outreach on Sunday, and then impugn the reputation on baseless grounds of a minority female on Monday.
I am REALLY sick of this crap. McCain, Graham and Ayotte ought to be slapped. They are 'more disturbed'. Listen up MSM. They are playing 'apples and oranges'...Rice came on the Sunday shows and said what the CIA gave her. The three stooges learned AFTER THE FACT that this was incorrect. They have tried to bamboozle the public that they knew at the EXACT SAME TIME as Rice that she was 'lying'. THEY are the liars. The only thing THEY knew is what RICE knew unless they skipped THAT briefing too. Get the microphones away from these fools.
Graham is just trying to save face. What the Administration has communicated was entirely accurate, from independent accounts, to what happened as they received the info. The Republicans should have learned from this election is that their lying and obsfucations are no longer going top be tolerated. Graham is always trying to grab the limelight just like he did during Clinton years. Who gives flying F what that @!$%# has to say.
Why have the FBI interviews with survivors of the attack not yet been released to political representatives with a right to know what they said? Why is there no concern by this blog and its commenters about this point made by one of the Senators? The quickest way to dispel suspicion is for those transcripts to be made available. The refusal to allow scrutiny is wrong.
Perhaps the interviews are classified? Perhaps the interviewing is not yet complete? Perhaps there are ongoing operations based on information already received from those interviews and, for some strange reason, the CIA doesn't trust Senators Graham, McCain and Ayotte to keep their big mouths shut?
I've got more, if you're really interested.
This exactly the fight Obama wants. This reaction has all but sewn up the nomination of Susan Rice as SofS. The GOP just lost an election because they showed that they cannot empathize with those who are not the real Americans and here there are emphasizing that very point. It is hilarious to see Ayotte wiggle because she is clearly not a true-believer. Welcome to GOP leadership, where you have to make convoluted political-speak arguments on every point and have your lines all very well rehearsed.
Well consider the facts here......
* We have an AFRO-AMERICAN President (Who despite MASSIVE Right Wing obstructionism & other manuevers is STILL in the White House) who's also A DEMOCRAT
* They met with an ALL REPUBLICAN group of Senators (Who aren't even the party of power in that body in the first place)
* The VAST MAJORITY of ALL Right Wing politicians are a bunch of QUACKS anyway
* Sen. McCain is old & senile (Has also become a flip-flop as well - Says one thing one day to the MSNBC audience & THEN goes on to say THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE by the next day, most likely to the Fox News audience)
Given all these factors (Plus a few others I can't even think of right now) HOW COULD ANYONE expect this meeting to be a bed of roses?