THE BENGHAZI WHITEWASH
Clinton Allies’
Distasteful Attempt To Rewrite The Benghazi Debacle Begins
Today in a new e-book , long-time partisan political operative and Clinton ally David
Brock began the Democrats callous, politically motivated attempts to whitewash the failures leading up to and attempted cover-up following the fatal terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, ahead of a 2016 presidential run. Instead of taking responsibility for the gross mismanagement and lack of security preparation the Democrats continue to try to spin the facts. Here are the top
things you need to know about Hillary Clinton’s handling of the attack
in Benghazi:
#1: Clinton Had To Be Aware Of Requests For Additional Security, Which
Were Denied
SPIN: In
The Benghazi Hoax,
Brock Argues That Claims That Clinton Had Any Role In
Security Decisions Is “Driven By A Basic Misunderstanding Of State Department Protocol.”
“But one things remained constant for two decades: The desire to win at the so
-called
‘politics of personal destruction,’ always precluding the facts. This time, the Republican attacks on Clinton’s supposed role in decreasing security at diplomatic facilities in Libya were driven by a basic misunderstanding of State Department protocol.”
(David Brock and Ari-Rabin Havt,
The Benghazi Hoax
, 10/21/13)
FACT: According To Former State Department Regional Security Officer Eric
Nordstrom, Clinton Would “Absolutely” Been Made Aware Of Requests For More
Security And That The Specific Request Made
“Must Be Signed By The Cabine
t Head, Secretary Clinton.
”
REP. DOUG COLLINS (R-
GA): “
Mr. Nordstrom I want to follow up on a question from Mr. Lankford earlier about a March 28th cable asking for more security. He asked you about your intended recipients (sic) of that cable. Now, did you expect Secretary Clinton to either have read or to be briefed about that cable?
” ERIC NORDSTROM,
FORMER REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICER IN LIBYA:
“
Absolutely. I certainly expected given the fact that she had an involvement in the security process. If I could take a step back. By virtue of having the SST teams there, because they were an Department of Defense asset, the process for that is something called an exec-sec. That exec-sec is a -- literally a request from one cabinet head to another. In this case, State to DOD. That request must be signed by the cabinet head, Secretary Clinton.
”
(Eric Nordstrom, Hearing, U.S. House of Representatives, Government Oversight And Reform Committee, 5/8/13)
#2: Despite Being Told It Was A Terrorist Attack, Clinton Blamed The
Attack On An Unrelated YouTube Video
SPIN: In
The Benghazi Hoax,
Brock Argues That It Made Sense For Officials In Washington To Assume The Attack In Benghazi Was The Result Of A Protest Stemming From The Offensive Video.
“News of the Cairo statement began to circulate through the media
not long before the first news flashes out of Benghazi, where the shots that information officer Smith had first reported were devolving into a noisy attack as a large, growing fire illuminated the sky. The implication seemed clear at the time: The protests over the YouTube video had deteriorated and spread, the to embassy wall that had been breached in Egypt to an all-out attack in the neighboring
Libya.”
(David Brock and Ari-Rabin Havt,
The Benghazi Hoax
, 10/21/13)
FACT: On The Night Of The Attack, Former Deputy Chief Of Mission In Libya Gregory Hicks Told Leaders In Washington That The Consulate Was Under A Terrorist Attack,
Saying “I Did Use The Word Atta
ck. That There Were At Least 20 Armed Intruders In The Compound.
”
ABC’S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: “Months earlier the State Department
had forged an agreement that in the event of an attack on the vulnerable Benghazi Mission, Security personnel would response from a nearby facility called The Annex, run by the CIA. I know that you can't say so, but we know it was a CIA facility, and we know that the CIA facility was getting protection
and more security than the diplomatic facility.” FORMER DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISS
ION IN LIBYA
GREGORY HICKS: “The numbers are clear about twice as many in terms of trained security providers.” STEPHANOPOULOS: “What did you tell Washington?” HICKS: “I called Washington
right after I talked to the Annex Chief and I told them that the con
sulate was under attack. That the…” STEPHANOPOULOS: “You used the word attack?” HICKS: “I did use the word attack. That there were at least 20 armed intruders in the compound and that help was on the way from the Annex.”
(ABC’s “This Week,” 9/9/13)
Hicks Dismissed An Anti-Islamic Film And Related Protest That The Administration Initially
Blamed For The Attack As A “Non
-
Event” Adding “We Had Heard Nothing About Protests.”
STEPHANOPOULOS: “Had you heard anything earlier in the day about any
kind of pro
test or were you worried at all because of these reports of this video?” HICKS: No it was
a non-event, the video, in Libya. And we had heard nothing about protests. The building had been set on fire by the attackers and our Diplomatic Security Agents there
were heavily outnumbered.”
(ABC’s “This Week,” 9/9/13)
Hicks Testified That He Spoke Directly With Clinton That Night.
HICK
S: “During the
night, I am in touch with Washington keeping them posted of what's happening in Tripoli and to the best of my knowledge what I am being told in Benghazi. I think at about 2 p.m. the
–
2 a.m., sorry, the Secretary of State Clinton called me along with her senior staff were all on the phone,
and she asked me what was going on. And, I briefed her on developments.”
(Gregory Hicks, Hearing, U.S. House of Representatives, Government Oversight And Reform Committee, 5/8/13)
Yet Days Later, At A Ceremony Bringing Home The Remains Of The Americans Who Were Killed In The Attack And
In Accordance With The Obama Administration’s
Misleading Spin, Clinton Blame
d The “Awful Internet Video” For The Attack.
CLINTON:
“
This has been a difficult week for
the State Department and for our country. We’ve seen the heavy assault on our post in Benghazi that took the lives of those brave men. We’ve seen rage and violence
directed at American embassies over an awful internet video that we had nothing to do with. It is hard for the American people to make sense of that because it is senseless, and it is totally unacceptable.
”
(Secretary Hillary Clinton, Remarks At The Transfer of Remains Ceremony to Honor Those Lost In Attacks In Benghazi, Libya Andrews Air Force Base,
MD, 9/14/12)
#3: Clinton
’s State Department Pushed To Edit Intelligence Committee
Talking Points To Removed References To Terrorism Or Previous Security
Warnings To Avoid Bad Publicity
SPIN: In
The Benghazi Hoax,
Brock Argues That Misleading Talking Points Were
Edited To Remove References To Terrorism “In Order To Preserve The Criminal Investigation.”
“Over the next 24 hours, a set of talking points was drafted by the CIA’s Office of
Terrorism Analysis, and then altered multiple times through an interagency process involving the State Department, the White House and others. In the end, much of the int
elligence agency’s specifics
about the suspected perpetrators of the attack were removed in order to preserve the criminal
investigation.”
(David Brock and Ari-Rabin Havt,
The Benghazi Hoax
, 10/21/13)
FACT: State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland Objected To Talking Points Referencing CIA Warnings About Al-
Qaeda Threats In Benghazi “Because It ‘Could Be
Abused By Members [Of Congress] To Beat Up The State Department For Not Paying Attention To Warnings.
”
“State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland rais
ed specific objections
to this paragraph drafted by the CIA in its earlier versions of the talking points: ‘The Agency has
produced numerous pieces on the threat of extremists linked to al-
Qa’ida in Benghazi and eastern
Libya. These noted that, since April, there have been at least five other attacks against foreign interests in Benghazi by unidentified assailants, including the June attack against the British
Ambassador’s convoy. We cannot rule out the individuals has previously surveilled the U.S. facili
ties,
also contributing to the efficacy of the attacks.’ In an email to officials at the White House and the
intelligence agencies, State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland took issue with including that
information because it ‘could be abused by members
[of Congress] to beat up the State Department
for not paying attention to warnings, so why would we want to feed that either? Concerned …’ The paragraph was entirely deleted.”
(Jonathan Karl, “Benghazi Talking Points Underwent 12 Revisions, Scrubbed Of Terror Reference,”
Nuland Also Objected To Naming An Al Qaeda-Affiliated Group That The CIA Said Participated In The Attacks.
“Like the final version used by Ambassador Rice on the Sunday shows, the CIA’s first drafts said the attack appeared to have been ‘spontaneously inspired by the protests at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo’ but the CIA version went on to say, ‘That being said, we do
know that Islamic extremists with ties to al-
Qa’ida participated in the attack.’ The draft went on to
specifically name the al-Qaeda-affiliated group named Ansar al-Sharia. Once again, Nuland objected to naming the t
errorist groups because ‘we don’t want to prejudice the investigation.’”
FACT: Secretary Clinton, Argued Her Department Had A Minimal Role In Editing The Benghazi Talking Points Saying,
“It Was An Intelligence Product.”
CLINTON: “It was an
intelligence product. They are, as I again understand it, working with their committees of jurisdiction to try to unpack that. But I will say that all of the senior administration officials, including Ambassador Rice, who spoke publicly to this terrible incident, had the same information from the
intelligence community.”
Secretary Clinton: “The Inte
lligence Community Was The Principal Decider About
What Went Into Talking Points.”
CLINTON: “Well, there –
there was evidence, and the evidence was being sifted and analyzed by the intelligence community, which is why the intelligence community was the principal decider about what went into talking points. And there was also the added problem of nobody wanting to say things that would undermine the
investigation. So it was much more complex than I think we're giving it credit for, sir.”
Reward Your Curiosity
Everything you want to read.
Anytime. Anywhere. Any device.
No Commitment. Cancel anytime.
