The Republican campaign to demonize Hillary Clinton’s actions after the attack on a US facility in Benghazi, Libya is a good case study of a largely false narrative being effectively used for political gain. Here is summary of some facts which contradict commonly-stated accusations against Clinton. Note: this was written at the end of the Obama administration.
-Barry A. Klinger, 3 June 2016
Clinton Statement Night of Attack (9/11/2012):
“I condemn in the strongest terms the attack on our mission in Benghazi today…. Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others… But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.”
Did Clinton say that protesters attacked the embassy? No.
Why bring up a video? There were violent protests against US embassies in several cities by people who blamed the videos on the US government. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/10/30/is-hillary-clinton-a-liar-on-benghazi/
Republican-Led House Intelligence Committee:
1) “Appropriate U.S. personnel made reasonable tactical decisions that night, and the Committee found no evidence that there was either a stand down order or a denial of available air support.” (p. 1)
2) State Dept. official Susan Rice’s public statements (Sept 16, 2012) were based on intelligence information available at the time:
“On September 12 the CIA assessed that the attacks were inspired by the September 11 storming of the US Embassy in Cairo [during a public protest]. On September 12, the DIA [Defense Intelligence Agency] reported that… attackers “likely leveraged a target of opportunity amidst security vulnerabilities created by protest activity” (pp 25-26).
“On September 16, 2012 the Directorate of Intelligence agreed… that clandestine reporting… ‘suggests the attackers opportunistically seized on earlier protests in Cairo—and possibly planned protests in Benghazi’… ‘contradictory reporting about whether nonviolent demonstrations occurred prior to the directed attack on the US Consulate'” p. 32.
After receiving new information September 18-22, “CIA now assessed that no protest had occurred.”
“Investigative Report on the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities…”
What Difference Does It Make?
Clinton was exasperated with the bizarre Republican focus on what exactly she and Susan Rice said in the week following the attack. This has been distorted to imply she didn’t care about Americans being killed. Here is what she actually said in the Senate IC (Intelligence Committee) hearing:
Republican Senator R. Johnson: No, again, we were misled that there were supposedly protests… and the American people could have known that within days and they didn’t know that.
Clinton: With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided that they’d they go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator… The IC has a process, I understand… to explain how these talking points came out… it is, from my perspective, less important today looking backwards as to why these militants decided they did it than to find them and bring them to justice, and then maybe we’ll figure out what was going on in the meantime.
If a news outlet claimed that Clinton lied about the Benghazi attack, prevented rescue from coming, or made light of American casualties, maybe you should question that outlet next time they accuse their political opponents.
So everything Clinton and Obama did in Libya was okay?
No, its reasonable to fault the administration for not having adequate security in place in Benghazi in the first place. Its one of hundreds of facilities the US has to guard all over the world, but the buck stops at the President’s desk. Libya as a whole has been a mess since Qaddafi was toppled, and Obama himself called the aftermath of the regime change his biggest mistake.
Unlike Obama, I believe that the President did not have a strong justification for helping to overthrow Qaddafi. US participation in the effort was more or less a declaration of war, which can not be made without Congressional approval.