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The independent investigation of the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi did not hold back in its scathing criticisms of the State Department. The panel tasked with getting answers pointed to "systemic failures" and "management deficiencies," which culminated in four American deaths.
But while the investigation concluded with a sharp rebuke of relevant officials and agencies, it did not bolster what the far-right has been arguing for months -- that there was a cover-up, motivated by campaign politics. Dave Weigel had a good piece on this, noting that "Republican charges of a cover-up" were "pure fiction."
So far, three State Department officials have fallen on their swords in response to this report. That was what investigators asked for, basically, blaming the circumstances in Benghazi on "senior State Department officials" who "demonstrated a lack of proactive leadership and management ability." They failed to provide security before Sept. 11. On Tuesday, describing the video he'd been able to watch of the attack, Sen. Bob Corker told reporters that the compound was so wanly protected that "you or I could have walked right in."
That doesn't suggest a real-time campaign of cowardice. It doesn't suggest a cover-up, either. It suggests that the neglected budget for embassy security needs a harder look in 2013. When that happens -- or when it doesn't happen -- we'll know what politicians learned from Benghazi.
A whole lot of Republican politicians, including figures the political establishment takes very seriously -- I'm looking in your direction, John McCain -- recklessly threw around all kinds of ridiculous charges, alleging elaborate schemes and borderline-criminal cover-ups.
We now know such irresponsible rhetoric was baseless, and the people who casually asserted vast conspiracies either (a) didn't know what they were talking about; (b) made up scurrilous nonsense to score cheap points; or (c) both.
This is not to say security at the U.S. mission at Benghazi was handled responsibly; it's quite obvious it was not. But the blame for that failure can be spread around -- Congress' budget cuts are certainly relevant -- and this week's findings nevertheless make months of Republican scandal-mongering look ridiculous.
When will there be consequences for those politicians who keep saying things that are proven false? Expect to hear more about this on tonight's show.
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You still think reality has anything to do with influencing anything Republicans believe or do?????
Happy Holidays to my favorite "rhetorical Pollyanna". :-)
Reality concerning Libya is that the Honorable Senators from Arizona and South Carolina were buddies of the bloody bastard that formerly ran the country, and were visiting him, smiling for the cameras, and shaking his blood-soaked hand right up to the start of the Arab Spring.
Reality? Why would the GOP bring up reality?
Luckily, IOKIYAR!
There are never any consequences for lying or slander if you are an elephant.
"The GOP responded to requests for expanded funding of State Department security by saying "That's what Aircraft Carriers are for""
Not until they're dead. You cannot teach an old dog new tricks!
Will we get Rice back in the running for Sec O' State and keep Kerry in Congress where he belongs? No.
Keep Kerry in Kongress!!
The entire episode was created, fed, and propagated by Fox News, period.
It was fed by the admin insisting it was, initially, about a video. The report debunks that.
Congress bears all the responsibility, the State Department has been asking for more security for over 20 years now and not on cent has been forthcoming. In fact the budget has been cut. McCain and his cohorts are the ones who should be forced out.
This whole brouhaha by the Republicans over Benghazi was typical of how they have treated Democratic presidents since Reagan thanks to Gingrich - since Obama doesn't mess around with interns, they are struggling to find "something".
Cliff,
Grow a brain and then come back - we really DON'T NEED your Fox reruns
People like you
Will McCain or Fox apologize to Rice, to the President, to the American people? No.
Apologies for blatant falsehoods is now as rare as truth in the news.
Meanwhile, conservative leaders blame gay marriage for moral decline of our country.
Fox thinks the report proves everything they said about Benghazi was right. They do not live within reality.
fux is so far from reality that NASA couldn't find them with the new Spitzer space telescope.
unfortunately they are terrifyingly good at creating what is assumed to be reality in the empty heads of so many Americans.
so, marshal your facts, prepare your unassailable arguments, take a calmness pill and face every fux viewer you can find and try to pry open their heads. it's a dirty job and i need help.
The contrast between the investigating committee, who apparently did actually get to the bottom of what happened in Benghazi and why, and McCain et al who were blowing smoke about a "cover-up," is stark. Fortunately the smoke didn't deter the investigators from finding out where the problems lay. But it was no thanks to McCain and his knuckleheaded crew that it turned out that way. McCain would be laughable if the incident had not been so tragic and the situation at other diplomatic outposts around the world so serious.
Most humans are not bright enough to create- let alone carry out- "Conspiracies."
("Three men can keep a secret, if two of them are dead" -B. Franklin, Distinguished Philadelphian.)
Well how surprising more GOP failures. Seem's like the GOP have a history of failures. Oh wait they do and it goes all the way back to 1929. Now conservatives on the other hand have a failure record that goes all the way back to the humans living in tree times.
We as a nation were stupid for the past 40 years but we have finally woken up. There are still those stupid dogs who think by agreeing with the "rich", they will get the scraps from the table.
I do have a question for you, though Cliff, since you seem to be such a "mouthpiece":
When you bend over, do you ask them to PLEASE PLEASE use Vaseline???
No conservatives do not have most of the money in fact there are more liberals with money then conservatives the thing is unlike conservatives liberals do not sell out their principles for cash nor do they whine and moan that they have to pay taxes. To bad for you that all you seem to have is wealth envy, you for some odd reason measure everything based on money, really you are never going to have money because the 1% don't want you in their club.
Again you lie the only thing you do is dream of hiring people how do we know this why rather simple business people do not brag on blogs about themselves because they are paranoid people will find out who they are and will boycott their business. Really no one will do business with anyone who can't seem to grasp that by looking down at their customers they are cutting their own throats. Funny how you just can't grasp that without customers businesses fail, which is another clue to your lying.
Ah, he's just a troll. I sincerely doubt he has a job or any kind of life. He's probably been rejected so many times that now he gets off on it. Why else would he be posting here?
Well we can see just how delusional you are now. No one lied about anything except you and your twisted spin on what I posted. Go back to free republic I'm sure they will welcome another delusional person. So jerry how soon will it be before this name gets banned. BTW, Ike didn't have a problem taxing the hell out of the wealthy so why are you whining about the wealthy having to pay taxes, they are not going to tinkle down on you no matter how much you whine.
jerry nice touch you even lie with the Santa myth, really jerry lying to kids about Santa instead of being honest to children about what Xmas is about just shows how dishonest you are. Gee now you throw Ike under the bus what next you going to admit that Ronnie Reagan was a lunatic who couldn't tell reality from the delusions his diseased mind were causing.
Ronnie is finally doing a service to his country, he is worm food.
So will Shooter and the other trolls finally retire the "Obama lied, people died" line, a cutesy rhyme with no basis in reality (but then again, almost nothing they write has said basis)?
Nope they still blame Clinton for the bj that caused GWB to crash the market in 08. Conservatives never let facts get in their way of their paranoid delusions of conspiracy, why on one of the gun topics one of them was whining about the ATF gun running scam they credit to Holder when it was the GWB AJ that had the gun running operation failure.
It's time for McCain to hang up his spurs and ride off int the sunset. He's outlived his usefulness to this country; everything political, nothing constructive, rahter divisive and destructive....
As for the Benghazi report, there still hasn't been informaiotn on why the decision was made to go the Benghazi Mission if they had the intelligence of the security situation there. Furhter, even if they had made the decion to go to Benghazi with understnding of the security risks, why was no additional security sent to accompany the Ambassador? Now, if the situation on the ground were that becuase of the CIA annex and the desire to keep a low profile, with the impossiblilty of senidng additional forces resulting from Libyan authority, what good would it have been to even suggest that additional forces were needed at Benghazi. Given what has been released, if anything, thre decision makers on the ground in Benghazi should have obtained authority to pull all personnel out of the Mission and abandon it. Unless of course, if the CIA wanted a cover for their annex. Then we would have been screwed anyway....
McCain should be checked for Alzheimers Disease. Either than or his need for "revenge" has taken over his common sense - he isn't making much sense these days - not that he ever did!
That is the real issue with Benghazi. Why did Stevens think it was "safe" to go to this area, particularly on 9/11? He was an Ambassador, so it is likely that he either "believed" the Libyan government officials who were telling him there were no real safety issues and he ignored the obvious threats, or the temporary State Dept employees at Benghazi failed him by not letting him know how bad it really was.
There were SO many red flags, including the "protection" by February 17 whom the people on the ground knew were mixing in various "factions", some not friendly to the US.
We know for a fact that the State Department senior staff failed him and the State Department employees at Benghazi.
I know from accident investigations that when "bad things" keep happening and nothing is done about them, the people who need to be protected from the "bad things" start thinking of them as "routine" and ignore how dangerous the "bad things" are, until someone dies.
Beghazi is not over and a toltal of 4 people has either lost their job or cannot promote into a higher postion . Get real dems / libs the repubs will correct a flaw in the state dept . This knowledge is in the report . There were systematic failures . So you can critize conservatives all you want . Sec clinton and the state dept will be held accountable . for 4 deaths of brave americans , along with lies tols about this video . Calling names and demonizing senators who held susan rice andother accoutable is honorable . If all you dem/ libs can do is not face facts that are staring you in face the face is beyond me . i could care less what someonesaid for there resignations only a dummy would not understand why andnot connect it to benghazi . Cant blame this on bush lol lol although im sure you would try .
Right a right wing Reagan worshiper knows whats going on in the real world by starting a new conspiracy about Clinton. A rightie who doesn't realize his hero was 52 cards short of a full deck.
Listen to what? All Reagan ever said was "I never said that" and "There they go again".
You are not quite aware of the definition of "systematic". Systematic means standard previously established protocol when followed is flawed. If the failures are systemic that means the rules themselves are at fault not the individuals who followed them.
From the official report you haven't read:
The report denies a need for criminal or disciplinary action.
Susan Rice has nothing to do with the events of Benghazi. She did not go to campaign, she did not make up her own narratives and there is no reason to suspect otherwise. The security of Benghazi had nothing to do with Susan Rice. You could say she should have more articulate or prepared in her statement but to imply any intentional deception with no motive is laughable.
I'm sure you think Sandy Hook was planned and executed by Obama to take everyone's guns after spending the past for years making it easier to get guns.
Intelligence is always going to have flaws. If Susan Rice intentionally lied then McCain did the same because he has said the exact thing Rice said. So obviously McCain is also part of the atheist kenyan muslim plot to take over the world.
I don't recall the right wanting to hold bush accountable for zero WMD's in Iraq when he claimed there were. Darth Cheney still stands by saying everything they did was right, that they made no mistakes. Condeleeza Rice pushed for the Iraq war over Saddam's alleged nukes. No calls for action against her. McCain, Graham, and Lieberman went to Libya and had dinner with Moammar Qaddafi himself. They had dinner with the tyrant and pledeged to help murdering Moammar get those planes Libya bought but was never given because they supported our enemies. Of course Libya never actually stopped funding terror until the dictator was taken down.
The rest of your post is in such poor quality no sense can be made of it not to mention the 1st grade grammar mistakes.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2012/images/12/18/202446.pdf
All Susan Rice had to say was ...' i don't know yet, we are still looking in to it'. Unless of course her ego and the ego of the administration got in the way.
Speaking of the State Dept saying the lack of funds may have contributed, blah, blah, blah. No one has known for the last 5 years or so where the State Dept has been spending and how much they have been spending. Except maybe Ms. H. Clinton in her culinary exchange program.
And in other news Fox news viewers posting Fox news fake outrage are the most misinformed people in the world, why even those who watch no news are more informed then the Fox news viewer.
Luckily for Ambassador Rice that she did in fact say that
We already knew John McCain was feeling irrelevant so he made stuff up in order to get on the corporate teevee. It's sad really. He coulda been a contender if he took a stand on something real like gun reform or Citizen's United or breaking up media monopolies or credit card usury, but he's too much of a coward to do that.
That was from this thread
Below is from earlier
oncearepublican
EVEN THO MCCAIN THE REPUBLICAN IS LOONY TOONS ????
MAKE UP YOUR MIND MCCAIN VOTER!!
Patango,
Believe it or not, I can think McCain did the right thing for the wrong reasons.
Were McCain's motives righteous? NO!!!
Did he do a good thing inadvertently anyway? YES!!!
Come on, Patango, life isn't black and white - there are many shades of gray!!!
Sorry that I can't go along with your "groupthink", but I have always been an independent thinker and that isn't going to change!!!
What changed my mind about Susan Rice was that report on Benghazi. No senior staff/politico member of an agency should be "rewarded" for showing the wanton disregard for the safety of their workers that the State Department showed. And I am not talking just about Ambassador Stevens - I am also talking about all those junior level, temporary employees that the State Department sent to Benghazi without giving them a decent level of security.
Maybe someone from the "outside" can help them clean up their act!