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?
Leave a Comment:
McCain and Graham are disturbed because they can't find a cover-up, no matter how hard they look!
"Disturbed"...
Putting it mildly.
Looks like Rachel is going to have her John McCain 2012 Sunday Calendar filled up for the remainder of the year. Fox News??? Oh, I am sure they are "spinning" in their own poop right now.
Graham... please... come out of the closet... and please go back in forever.
Ayotte... more than likely banging her head in the wall repeating the same thing over and over again.
(dramatic strings playing in the background)
Until these Republican Senators (and other Republicans in Congress) begin speaking truthfully, there's little hope for Congress to get back to the work of governing.
Rice is the wrong person to question. She did her job during a crisis, repeating the talking points set by responsible people. To have gone "off message" would have been a dereliction of duty and a danger to assets and operations in the battlefield.
If the GOP wants to get answers on Benghazi, the right people to speak with are the current and former heads of the CIA (OK, done), the Secretaries of State and Defense, the National Security Advisor and the POTUS.
Quoting Senator Graham, "I'm more disturbed now than I was before." Glad he finally admits what most of us already knew about him!
Beware of Bitter Old Men, Seeking Glory in the destruction of Obama.
This is what happens when you attempt to appease the enemy. John McCain has not forgotten the failed predictions of his father, and is digging his own grave and is willing to take others with him. May the oil companies will pay taxes sufficient to pay for the U.S. Military invasion of the Middle East.
Sen. John McCain, Sen. K. Ayotte, Sen. Lindsey Graham are Obama's enemies, the tactic used combination of Southern Civil war and a Texas Council Strategy.
They used 'Obama's' strength against him, in the same way that Lincoln's First Inaugural outlined the futility of civil way, and definitely laid out the promise not to ever take military action against the south. The treacherous southern strategists sought to counter this famous and persuasive speech by starting the war themselves. The southern strategy worked because by attacking the north first; all of Lincoln's words would ring true throughout history the warning, warning that the consequence of that civil war would motivate the southern forever against peace with the north.
The fact that 'Obama' as successfully baited in to the trap set by the Republican conspirators, means that his Second Term stands to be destroyed. To be futile, to be brought to null. (McCain et tu, Brute)
This is the length and depth of Republican hatred for what America has become, for Republicans feel that all America has been lost. So it is perfectly reasonable for Republicans to turn the Middle East, the world energy supply, into a war zone of for no other reason than to restore power to themselves. Yes the Republicans like the South 150 years ago wished to and set about to turn the nation into rubble, to destroy the energy supply to strangle the economy, to feed the military, caring not for their enemies, not for their allies, not for their friends and not for their country, but only that their own names go down in history.
The die has been cast led by not just one John McCain, but also all the John McCains (III, Jr., Sr.), driven by irrational fear and all too cunning attack, attack, attack.
In one word Senators RESIGN!
The only action Obama can now take, against this blatantly and treacherous attack is to make sure his enemies are hit so hard that they cannot recover.
Yes Mr. Lincoln (Obama) you will have to counter the attack now, as you can see that the enemies of American have taken up all the time that we and that they have penetrated to the heart of America's future.
Your only effective counter to this is to identify which of your many, many enemies led the killers to the planned 9/11 murder of the Ambassador.
Obama must save his own presidency, it is not enough to win, and your enemies must lose, or their treachery will make lasting peace and prosperity impossible.
Senator Hold, Senator Block, Senator Filibuster
Nominations: Sen. John McCain, Sen. K. Ayotte, Sen. Lindsey Graham
Four O'Clock http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_O'Clock
"Four O'Clock" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.
Oliver Crangle is a fanatic who maintains records of people he deems evil, calling and writing their employers to alert them of their evil acts, demand their immediate firing, and threaten to involve higher authorities if they don't comply. Unsatisfied with the results of his anonymous threats, he searches for a more effective way to eliminate all evil from the world. He settles on the idea of shrinking the "evil" people to two feet tall. He cackles at the idea of that plan.
His acts attract the attention of the government, and Agent Hall is sent to investigate. Crangle tells him that he has finally devised a plan to shrink every "evil" person down to two feet tall at 4:00 that afternoon through sheer force of will. Hall dismisses him as a crank, recommends psychiatric help and leaves. Before departing, Crangle warns that Hall will be two feet tall but is ignored.
When 4:00 rolls around, Crangle is dismayed to find that he himself has been shrunk to two feet tall. His parrot, Peter, calls him a "nut" for his actions.
I guess these three expected amb Rice to issue baseless claims that were contrary the to intelligence information that she had been provided. Did they forget that she is not Republican???
Then they would be having a melt down about that of course
The gop are there only to obstruct our constitutional gov from operating like it should , and see their jobs as making it so completely dysfunctional , that it will never work again
These same kkklowns will be given microphones a month from now to complain about how DC does not work for america
How disturbed was MCcain when He missed the Benghazi meeting? And now we have 3 Senators that are disturbed, Are they disturbed Because Ms. Rice told them the Truth of what she knew or that she told them they are A$$holes. Come on, Did WE really expect to hear anything different? Of course not.
What a colassal waste of time and money. I wish they would stop wasting my tax payer money making up problems where none exist and start focusing their time on important issues like the fiscal cliff, immigration, civil rights, the economy. John McCain could have gone down in history as a great senator. Now he is just making himself to be one big joke.
Obama told these guys to come after him.
Instead they are still attacking a woman.
#GOPFail
Gee, lets make a mountain out of another molehill - these Republicans have stopped surprising me with how petty and vitriolic they are. President Obama's gloves are off, I hope!
After they lose the anonymous and cowardly filibuster, we'll see some solutions to real and present problems; and we can leave these whiners behind.
Neil
From reading the comments we agree our Senate and House Representatives have been remiss in operating with less than a full use of the Laws of the Constitution. We number several hundred million adults , a number totalling more than the 400 wealthiest families. We outnumber the various commercial boards of directors. When do we wake up and restore our people power to our Governments ?
I want to know if these people are wasting tax payer money with this bull-
Lyndsey is going through menopause. This is one of those hot flashes.
My rebuttal to right wing fanatics regarding Benghazi is actually a question:
"The tea party led house of republicans routinely denied State department requests for funding for embassies, consistently reducing the budget further and further. Even Hillary Clinton stated that the lack of funds being allocated would pose a serious security risk. Can you please provide some evidence of your outrage at the tea party house on this matter, that led to Americans being killed on foreign soil?"
That usually shuts them up.
Americans got bad information. Wow. Is he trying to claim that Fox News has the copyright on delivering bad information?? Is THAT the problem?? Care to lay any odds what Fox News had to say about that video which supposedly instigated that FIRST attack?? Above and beyond all that, I suspect his biggest gripe right now is that he doesn't have anything LEFT to gripe about. It's all right there, laid out in public. From here on out, he mentions Benghazi and everyone around him is going to frown, grimace, and yawn. Which is actually pretty small potatoes compared to what is going to happen to McCain...
"Bottom line: I'm more disturbed now than I was before."
As other's have alluded to in this post, no truer words have EVER been spoken from a Republican! The No.1 2016 Democratic talking point has just been written.
Interesting how McCain and Graham are so disturbed by Susan Rice and her supposed lies, which turn out to be nothing more than her repeating the talking points given to her by the CIA, but were so supportive of Condoleeza Rice when she knowingly lied to them and the rest of Congress over and over again in the run up to the Iraq War. They don't have a problem with Susan Rice because she is a black woman, they have a problem because she is a Democratic black woman working for a Democratic black president. Where was the outrage when Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz lied to their faces over and over again? Where was the outrage when Gen. Shinseki was fired before the war for testifying that the Iraq War would be longer, cost more money and take more troops than the administration was claiming? They are perfectly happy to be lied to when it is their own people telling the lies, but when a dem has the audacity to come before them and tell the truth, it has to be challenged!
It is the intent of the Republican party to challenge the Obama administration in every possible dishonest and baseless manner in order to create a negative aura in relation to this President and deem him unacceptable in the eyes of the nation. Of course, they would follow the same pattern to further this intent. It reeks of blatant racism.
Maybe Graham is "disturbed" about his closeted sexuality.
It is the intent of the Republican party to challenge the Obama administration in every possible dishonest and baseless manner in order to create a negative aura in relation to this President and deem him unacceptable in the eyes of the nation. Of course, they would follow the same pattern towards Rice to further this intent. It reeks of blatant racism.
The underlying claim is that Obama didn't want to admit that Al Quaida had attacked? And that instead saying the people of Libya, whose revolution he backed so strongly, were responsible. Why is it that the latter was preferable?
It wasn't. In fact, the Libyans demonstrated the following days FOR the Americans...
There is not one iota of logic in it.
It's very clear neither Graham nor McCain are a part of the "intelligence community." McCain would have made a similar idiotic remark at the conclusion of this meeting but he's still a little gun shy after being blasted by the truth the last time he opened his mouth about this topic. That'll last just about as long as it takes his constant craving to be the center of attention to rebound. As Shinri (above) noted, Lindsey Graham supported Condeleeza Rice for Sec of State even after she joined the Bush-Chaney misinformation circus re: WMD's in Iraq, and McCain....well he thought Sarah Palin was qualified to be a female human being.
Graham: "I'm more disturbed now than I was before."
Well, perhaps he needs to add another counseling session into his schedule. Fortunately, mental health services are covered under his health insurance plan (compliments of the tax payers by the way).
Everyone on this blog has it WRONG. It has nothing to do with Ms. Rice or the intelligence. Senator Graham made it clear that this was political retaliation for the John Bolton nomination. Since Senator's Graham and McCain could not fight the Clinton nomination. They are getting their revenge for John Bolton with Susan Rice. Plain and simple POLITICAL REVENGE !!!