Three Reasons Why Reviving Benghazi is Stupid (For the GOP)

[homersapien 11,812]

This sums the politics of Benghazi up nicely:

http://www.huffingto...hp_ref=politics

Three Reasons Why Reviving Benghazi is Stupid (For the GOP)

House Speaker John Boehner has made what appears to be the remarkably stupid decision to set up a "select" committee of the House to once again "investigate" the 2012 Benghazi incident in which U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stephens was killed.

He apparently believes that another "investigation" of this tragedy will be politically advantageous to Republicans in the mid-term elections -- and somehow tarnish the reputation of the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she prepares a potential run for the White House in 2016.

Already the GOP has bet heavily that its obsession with Obamacare will bolster its political position -- a bet that increasingly looks like a loser. Now, in its never-ending attempts to mollify the tea party fringe, the GOP leadership has turned down another political blind alley.

There are at least three reasons why their renewed obsession with "Benghazi" is politically stupid for the GOP.

Reason #1: There is no "there," there. The Benghazi attack has been investigated over and over and there is simply no evidence that there is any scandal to be had at all.

The latest "revelation" is that Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes wrote an email aimed at helping former ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice frame her description of what happened in Benghazi before she went on various talk shows. Problem is that his suggestions were entirely in line with the talking points produced by the intelligence community -- which believed early on that the attack was mainly the result of reaction to an anti-Muslim videotape and demonstrations that had erupted in Cairo in protest.

Of course, it turned out later that there was more to the story -- though both The New York Times and the Senate Intelligence Committee investigation of the event did in fact confirm that the response to the video tape did play a role -- and Al Qaeda did not.

David Corn of Mother Jones pointed out that The New York Times, after a comprehensive investigation, reached this conclusion:

Months of investigation...centered on extensive interviews with Libyans in Benghazi who had direct knowledge of the attack there and its context, turned up no evidence that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault. The attack was led, instead, by fighters who had benefited directly from NATO's extensive air power and logistics support during the uprising against Colonel Qaddafi. And contrary to claims by some members of Congress, it was fueled in large part by anger at an American-made video denigrating Islam.

The Times continued:

Benghazi was not infiltrated by Al Qaeda, but nonetheless contained grave local threats to American interests. The attack does not appear to have been meticulously planned, but neither was it spontaneous or without warning signs...

The violence, though, also had spontaneous elements. Anger at the video motivated the initial attack. Dozens of people joined in, some of them provoked by the video and others responding to fast-spreading false rumors that guards inside the American compound had shot Libyan protesters. Looters and arsonists, without any sign of a plan, were the ones who ravaged the compound after the initial attack, according to more than a dozen Libyan witnesses as well as many American officials who have viewed the footage from security cameras.

The Senate intelligence committee report released in January concluded that the attack was, "not a highly coordinated plot, but was opportunistic."

It went on to say:

It remains unclear if any group or person exercised overall command and control of the attacks or whether extremist group leaders directed their members to participate. Some intelligence suggests the attacks were likely put together in short order, following that day's violent protests in Cairo against an inflammatory video.

And is anyone really surprised that the actual circumstances surrounding the attack were unclear at the outset? The same was true of the circumstances surrounding the Boston bombing and the Newtown shootings that took place right here in the United States -- events involving our own law enforcement. That is the nature of chaotic violent events.

The right wing has done everything in its power to turn "Benghazi" into a politically salient scandal without success. CBS'

Sixty Minutes

even bought into the right wing narrative when correspondent Lara Logan based an entire story on a tale about Benghazi that turned out to be entirely fictional. The story was fabricated by contractor Dylan Davies in order to sell his book. Ultimately CBS suspended Logan as a result.

On its face, the loss of life at Benghazi demonstrated a breakdown in diplomatic security. That's why the independent State Department Inspector General did a study of what went wrong and how to prevent a future loss of life. Procedures needed to be changed. But there was never a shred of evidence that any U.S. official did anything intentionally -- or because of some political motivation -- that caused this event.

And what did the Republicans who are so fixated on embassy security do in response? They actually cut the budget for State Department security.

If you were in the position of making it harder to prevent future attacks like the one at Benghazi would you really want to focus attention on the subject?

Reason #2: The "Benghazi scandal" does not resonate with most voters -- except, of course, the extreme right wing.

Republicans counter that polls show a plurality of Americans disapprove of the way the Benghazi attack was handled. In fact, a Huffington Post/You.gov poll show showed 42 percent disapprove and 27 percent approve of the way "Benghazi" was handled by the administration. But of course people are dissatisfied with the way the event was handled -- four people were killed.

The real question is whether "Benghazi" is an issue ordinary people care about. The fact is that the Benghazi issue has no political saliency. It never appears on the list of major concerns the voters express might affect their choices in the 2014 mid-terms. That is partially because there is no real "Benghazi scandal." It is also because ordinary people have much more important questions on their minds like the need to increase their wages and standards of living.

The fact is that "Benghazi" does not have the elements that have made "scandals" of the past -- like Watergate or the Monica Lewinski affair -- relevant to the voters.

To be politically salient, a "scandal" must include two key elements that are not present in "Benghazi":

• Real "scandals" do not involve flawed procedures. They must involve actions taken -- or not taken -- for improper or immoral reasons. There is no indication whatsoever that the American ambassador or anyone in the administration short-changed security in Benghazi to advance their political fortunes or to make money. Instead you have a brave American Ambassador who was willing to risk harm to himself to accomplish his mission but with inadequate security procedures. The ambassador was President Obama's personal emissary -- the last thing he wanted to do was risk his death.
  

• To have staying power, real "scandals" generally involve a cover-up. The Republicans argue that the administration's taking points after the event somehow constituted a "cover-up." But instead they reflected the best information from the intelligence community at the time. Instead of a "cover-up," what followed was an independent State Department Inspector General report that was very critical of procedures and proposed changes -- but found no "scandal" whatsoever.
  

By reaching out for "Benghazi" the GOP looks desperate for something to talk about. And that's for good reason. On virtually every other major issue that is really of concern to ordinary Americans, the Democrats have the high political ground -- e.g. the minimum wage, unemployment benefits, the power of big money in government, immigration reform, equal pay for equal work, voting rights, reproductive choice, contraception, gay and lesbian rights, and increasingly even Obamacare -- which by Election Day could actually help Democrats (especially with turnout).

Reason #3: Do the Republicans really want to turn the conversation to foreign policy?

The GOP launched the Iraq War -- the most disastrous foreign policy catastrophe in the last half-century -- and they want to talk about competency and honesty in foreign policy?

In fact, some of the same people who regularly go on Fox News to rail on about the "Benghazi conspiracy" helped promote the notion that we were invading Iraq because Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction -- the most pernicious lie ever used in recent American politics.

The War in Iraq was an unmitigated disaster -- killing hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, costing thousands of American lives, costing our economy trillions of dollars, and spoiling America's reputation throughout the world.

Frankly, no self-respecting media outlet should allow any of the people who intentionally lied to the American people about Iraq on the air ever again.

If you were the political party that presided over such a horrific foreign policy disaster would you really want to turn the political conversation to the question of who is best equipped to conduct America's foreign policy?

Apparently so. It appears possible that the Republican leaders are just as inept at formulating their own political strategy as they were at conducting America's foreign policy.

Robert Creamer is a long-time political organizer and strategist, and author of the book Stand Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win, available on Amazon.com. He is a partner in Democracy Partners and a Senior Strategist for Americans United for Change. Follow him on Twitter @rbcreamer.

[icanthearyou 4,468]

I think number 3 is the most compelling and one of the primary reasons Obama is a two-term President. I don't believe Benghazi or Iraq will make any difference in 2016. What the Republicans do with control of the House and Senate will determine what happens in 2016.

[AUUSN 823]

Classic strawman article.

There are plenty of questions that need answered. It's stupid to attach a Republican or Democrat tag on this. A freaking American Ambassador was murdered and paraded through the streets. That, in any sane world would be a precursor to war.

[AUDub 11,424]

...A freaking American Ambassador was murdered and paraded through the streets....

Sure about that?

[TheBlueVue 177]

"I think thou doth protesteth too much". if the White House had been compliant with the investigation and willingly turned over requested relevant documents from the beginning I believe this would have never come to this. However, they have stonewalled every request to the extent that the documents they finally did turn over were so heavily redacted they were useless.

This is the reason Judicial Watch filed their lawsuit against the administration using FOIA precedent and WON. The bottom line is the White House created this monster and now along with their lap dog media they're trying their best to make special committee efforts look like a witch hunt.

This is a long way from over and with each passing day, the administration is looking more and more like they're guilty as sin of covering up their initial cover up and playing politics as usual with the lives of 4 dead patriots that they ignored and hung out to dry. The american people need to know, among other things, why the Commander in Chief and Secretary of State were so disengaged and unavailable at the time this was going down.

When it is revealed that Tommy Vietor, a former limo driver, was apparently "running things" in the situation room....folks we got a MAJOR PROBLEM!

[homersapien 11,812]

Classic strawman article.

There are plenty of questions that need answered. It's stupid to attach a Republican or Democrat tag on this. A freaking American Ambassador was murdered and paraded through the streets. That, in any sane world would be a precursor to war.

Help me out. What exactly is the "straw man" issue?

[AUUSN 823]

...A freaking American Ambassador was murdered and paraded through the streets....

Sure about that?

Yes.

[AUDub 11,424]

...A freaking American Ambassador was murdered and paraded through the streets....

Sure about that?

Yes.

Source it, please.

[TheBlueVue 177]

I personally think it is awesome how the liberal media is so determined to convince conservatives that they're stupid if they carry on an investigation that is sure as hell to reveal even more unsavory facts about this administrations inner working and foreign policy failures

[homersapien 11,812]

....the White House created this monster and now along with their lap dog media they're trying their best to make special committee efforts look like a witch hunt.

.......playing politics as usual with the lives of 4 dead patriots....

It is a "witch hunt" and we all know who the "witch" is. And it's clear who is playing politics with the lives of the victims.

[homersapien 11,812]

I personally think it is awesome how the liberal media is so determined to convince conservatives that they're stupid if they carry on an investigation that is sure as hell to reveal even more unsavory facts about this administrations inner working and foreign policy failures

I think it's awesomely funny how a Foxbot blames the "liberal media" (everyone but Fox?) for making them look stupid.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/06/fox-news-benghazi-weather_n_5272277.html

[TheBlueVue 177]

....the White House created this monster and now along with their lap dog media they're trying their best to make special committee efforts look like a witch hunt.

.......playing politics as usual with the lives of 4 dead patriots....

It is a "witch hunt" and we all know who the "witch" is. And it's clear who is playing politics with the lives of the victims.

Far be it from me to accuse the democrats of EVA playing politics! LMGDAO....this is world in which we live homie. get used to it because this hasn't even gotten started yet.

[TheBlueVue 177]

I personally think it is awesome how the liberal media is so determined to convince conservatives that they're stupid if they carry on an investigation that is sure as hell to reveal even more unsavory facts about this administrations inner working and foreign policy failures

I think it's awesomely funny how a Foxbot blames the "liberal media" (everyone but Fox?) for making them look stupid.

http://www.huffingto..._n_5272277.html

I personally think it is awesome how the liberal media is so determined to convince conservatives that they're stupid if they carry on an investigation that is sure as hell to reveal even more unsavory facts about this administrations inner working and foreign policy failures

I think it's awesomely funny how a Foxbot blames the "liberal media" (everyone but Fox?) for making them look stupid.

http://www.huffingto..._n_5272277.html

Using Huff-Po....HAHAHAHAHAHA you're just as guilty of what you're accusing conservatives of.

[icanthearyou 4,468]

...A freaking American Ambassador was murdered and paraded through the streets....

Sure about that?

Yes.

Source it, please.

This would refute AUUSN's claim as well: (see 8:30) http://www.factcheck.org/2012/10/benghazi-timeline/

[homersapien 11,812]

I personally think it is awesome how the liberal media is so determined to convince conservatives that they're stupid if they carry on an investigation that is sure as hell to reveal even more unsavory facts about this administrations inner working and foreign policy failures

I think it's awesomely funny how a Foxbot blames the "liberal media" (everyone but Fox?) for making them look stupid.

http://www.huffingto..._n_5272277.html

I personally think it is awesome how the liberal media is so determined to convince conservatives that they're stupid if they carry on an investigation that is sure as hell to reveal even more unsavory facts about this administrations inner working and foreign policy failures

I think it's awesomely funny how a Foxbot blames the "liberal media" (everyone but Fox?) for making them look stupid.

http://www.huffingto..._n_5272277.html

Using Huff-Po....HAHAHAHAHAHA you're just as guilty of what you're accusing conservatives of.

Check the video clip. Just because HP publishes it doesn't make it false. It's called actual hard evidence for their claim. Undoubtedly as a Foxbot, you are much more familiar with unfounded implications.

Fox News Cuts Away From Obama Press Conference Because Nobody's Asking About Benghazi

http://www.huffingto..._n_5254590.html

[AUUSN 823]

...A freaking American Ambassador was murdered and paraded through the streets....

Sure about that?

Yes.

Source it, please.

This would refute AUUSN's claim as well: (see 8:30) http://www.factcheck...ghazi-timeline/

"Conversely, the Ambassador and Sean Smith were killed at the Temporary Mission Facility by attackers who easily

gained unfettered access to the compound."

http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/benghazi2014/benghazi.pdf

[AUDub 11,424]

...A freaking American Ambassador was murdered and paraded through the streets....

Sure about that?

Yes.

Source it, please.

This would refute AUUSN's claim as well: (see 8:30) http://www.factcheck...ghazi-timeline/

"Conversely, the Ambassador and Sean Smith were killed at the Temporary Mission Facility by attackers who easily

gained unfettered access to the compound."

http://www.intellige...14/benghazi.pdf

I bolded your claim that the ambassador's body was paraded through the streets. That's the claim I'm questioning.

[AUUSN 823]

...A freaking American Ambassador was murdered and paraded through the streets....

Sure about that?

Yes.

Source it, please.

This would refute AUUSN's claim as well: (see 8:30) http://www.factcheck...ghazi-timeline/

"Conversely, the Ambassador and Sean Smith were killed at the Temporary Mission Facility by attackers who easily

gained unfettered access to the compound."

http://www.intellige...14/benghazi.pdf

I bolded your claim that the ambassador's body was paraded through the streets. That's the claim I'm questioning.

Sigh, I was exhibiting some hyperbole for effect in order to bring attention to the fact that a member of our Diplomatic corps was killed overseas, yet you want to argue the merits of parading?

Was he carried out of the safe house? Yes. Is that parading? Possibly.

[TheBlueVue 177]

So what have we learned? Those who dont want to endure seeing the effects of this Benghazi investigation are calling it all politics and a witch hunt even before it starts. Those who feel the administration should account for their egregious mishandling of the situation want to see the committee do their job.

When MSM starts screaming that "nobody cares" red flags start flying.

Americans overwhelmingly, 72%, want the truth of what happened and they should ... it is their government

http://usfinancepost...hazi-18151.html

[icanthearyou 4,468]

...A freaking American Ambassador was murdered and paraded through the streets....

Sure about that?

Yes.

Source it, please.

This would refute AUUSN's claim as well: (see 8:30) http://www.factcheck...ghazi-timeline/

"Conversely, the Ambassador and Sean Smith were killed at the Temporary Mission Facility by attackers who easily

gained unfettered access to the compound."

http://www.intellige...14/benghazi.pdf

I bolded your claim that the ambassador's body was paraded through the streets. That's the claim I'm questioning.

Sigh, I was exhibiting some hyperbole for effect in order to bring attention to the fact that a member of our Diplomatic corps was killed overseas, yet you want to argue the merits of parading?

Was he carried out of the safe house? Yes. Is that parading? Possibly.

Isn't that commonly referred to as lying? You went from absolutely sure to maybe in two posts.

[homersapien 11,812]

I don't remember much GOP outrage after the following attacks:

January 22, 2002. Calcutta, India. Gunmen associated with Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami attack the U.S. Consulate. Five people are killed.

June 14, 2002. Karachi, Pakistan. Suicide bomber connected with al Qaeda attacks the U.S. Consulate, killing 12 and injuring 51.

October 12, 2002. Denpasar, Indonesia. U.S. diplomatic offices bombed as part of a string of “Bali Bombings.” No fatalities.

February 28, 2003. Islamabad, Pakistan. Several gunmen fire upon the U.S. Embassy. Two people are killed.

May 12, 2003. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Armed al Qaeda terrorists storm the diplomatic compound, killing 36 people including nine Americans. The assailants committed suicide by detonating a truck bomb.

July 30, 2004. Tashkent, Uzbekistan. A suicide bomber from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan attacks the U.S. Embassy, killing two people.

December 6, 2004. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda terrorists storm the U.S. Consulate and occupy the perimeter wall. Nine people are killed.

March 2, 2006. Karachi, Pakistan again. Suicide bomber attacks the U.S. Consulate killing four people, including U.S. diplomat David Foy who was directly targeted by the attackers. (I wonder if Lindsey Graham or Fox News would even recognize the name “David Foy.” This is the third Karachi terrorist attack in four years on what’s considered American soil.)

September 12, 2006. Damascus, Syria. Four armed gunmen shouting “Allahu akbar” storm the U.S. Embassy using grenades, automatic weapons, a car bomb and a truck bomb. Four people are killed, 13 are wounded.

January 12, 2007. Athens, Greece. Members of a Greek terrorist group called the Revolutionary Struggle fire a rocket-propelled grenade at the U.S. Embassy. No fatalities.

March 18, 2008. Sana’a, Yemen. Members of the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic Jihad of Yemen fire a mortar at the U.S. Embassy. The shot misses the embassy, but hits nearby school killing two.

July 9, 2008. Istanbul, Turkey. Four armed terrorists attack the U.S. Consulate. Six people are killed.

September 17, 2008. Sana’a, Yemen. Terrorists dressed as military officials attack the U.S. Embassy with an arsenal of weapons including RPGs and detonate two car bombs. Sixteen people are killed, including an American student and her husband (they had been married for three weeks when the attack occurred). This is the second attack on this embassy in seven months.

[TheBlueVue 177]

"Isn't that commonly referred to as lying? You went from absolutely sure to maybe in two posts."

Meanwhile 4 american patriots are still dead largely because they were ignored long before the episode even went down, during the event itself, and afterward, the presentation of the facts have been obscured from the american people for political reasons for 20 months

[TheBlueVue 177]

I don't remember much GOP outrage after the following attacks:

January 22, 2002. Calcutta, India. Gunmen associated with Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami attack the U.S. Consulate. Five people are killed.

June 14, 2002. Karachi, Pakistan. Suicide bomber connected with al Qaeda attacks the U.S. Consulate, killing 12 and injuring 51.

October 12, 2002. Denpasar, Indonesia. U.S. diplomatic offices bombed as part of a string of “Bali Bombings.” No fatalities.

February 28, 2003. Islamabad, Pakistan. Several gunmen fire upon the U.S. Embassy. Two people are killed.

May 12, 2003. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Armed al Qaeda terrorists storm the diplomatic compound, killing 36 people including nine Americans. The assailants committed suicide by detonating a truck bomb.

July 30, 2004. Tashkent, Uzbekistan. A suicide bomber from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan attacks the U.S. Embassy, killing two people.

December 6, 2004. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda terrorists storm the U.S. Consulate and occupy the perimeter wall. Nine people are killed.

March 2, 2006. Karachi, Pakistan again. Suicide bomber attacks the U.S. Consulate killing four people, including U.S. diplomat David Foy who was directly targeted by the attackers. (I wonder if Lindsey Graham or Fox News would even recognize the name “David Foy.” This is the third Karachi terrorist attack in four years on what’s considered American soil.)

September 12, 2006. Damascus, Syria. Four armed gunmen shouting “Allahu akbar” storm the U.S. Embassy using grenades, automatic weapons, a car bomb and a truck bomb. Four people are killed, 13 are wounded.

January 12, 2007. Athens, Greece. Members of a Greek terrorist group called the Revolutionary Struggle fire a rocket-propelled grenade at the U.S. Embassy. No fatalities.

March 18, 2008. Sana’a, Yemen. Members of the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic Jihad of Yemen fire a mortar at the U.S. Embassy. The shot misses the embassy, but hits nearby school killing two.

July 9, 2008. Istanbul, Turkey. Four armed terrorists attack the U.S. Consulate. Six people are killed.

September 17, 2008. Sana’a, Yemen. Terrorists dressed as military officials attack the U.S. Embassy with an arsenal of weapons including RPGs and detonate two car bombs. Sixteen people are killed, including an American student and her husband (they had been married for three weeks when the attack occurred). This is the second attack on this embassy in seven months.

Moral equivalency, the stock and trade of the left, especially when its their failures that are being revealed. Its too bad you cant seem to grasp the reality here. Did any of those events occur in the middle of a presidential campaign and were they slanted in a total fictional narrative to support the campaign lie that AQ had been decimated? Its the COVER UP homie....get over it!

[homersapien 11,812]

"Isn't that commonly referred to as lying? You went from absolutely sure to maybe in two posts."

Meanwhile 4 american patriots are still dead largely because they were ignored long before the episode even went down, during the event itself, and afterward, the presentation of the facts have been obscured from the american people for political reasons for 20 months

"Still" dead? You think exploiting them for political purposes is going to bring them back?

(Nice try at diversion of the topic though. You must be a weaseling Foxbot.

[homersapien 11,812]

I don't remember much GOP outrage after the following attacks:

January 22, 2002. Calcutta, India. Gunmen associated with Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami attack the U.S. Consulate. Five people are killed.

June 14, 2002. Karachi, Pakistan. Suicide bomber connected with al Qaeda attacks the U.S. Consulate, killing 12 and injuring 51.

October 12, 2002. Denpasar, Indonesia. U.S. diplomatic offices bombed as part of a string of “Bali Bombings.” No fatalities.

February 28, 2003. Islamabad, Pakistan. Several gunmen fire upon the U.S. Embassy. Two people are killed.

May 12, 2003. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Armed al Qaeda terrorists storm the diplomatic compound, killing 36 people including nine Americans. The assailants committed suicide by detonating a truck bomb.

July 30, 2004. Tashkent, Uzbekistan. A suicide bomber from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan attacks the U.S. Embassy, killing two people.

December 6, 2004. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda terrorists storm the U.S. Consulate and occupy the perimeter wall. Nine people are killed.

March 2, 2006. Karachi, Pakistan again. Suicide bomber attacks the U.S. Consulate killing four people, including U.S. diplomat David Foy who was directly targeted by the attackers. (I wonder if Lindsey Graham or Fox News would even recognize the name “David Foy.” This is the third Karachi terrorist attack in four years on what’s considered American soil.)

September 12, 2006. Damascus, Syria. Four armed gunmen shouting “Allahu akbar” storm the U.S. Embassy using grenades, automatic weapons, a car bomb and a truck bomb. Four people are killed, 13 are wounded.

January 12, 2007. Athens, Greece. Members of a Greek terrorist group called the Revolutionary Struggle fire a rocket-propelled grenade at the U.S. Embassy. No fatalities.

March 18, 2008. Sana’a, Yemen. Members of the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic Jihad of Yemen fire a mortar at the U.S. Embassy. The shot misses the embassy, but hits nearby school killing two.

July 9, 2008. Istanbul, Turkey. Four armed terrorists attack the U.S. Consulate. Six people are killed.

September 17, 2008. Sana’a, Yemen. Terrorists dressed as military officials attack the U.S. Embassy with an arsenal of weapons including RPGs and detonate two car bombs. Sixteen people are killed, including an American student and her husband (they had been married for three weeks when the attack occurred). This is the second attack on this embassy in seven months.

Moral equivalency, the stock and trade of the left, especially when its their failures that are being revealed.

What failures?

All you have is unfounded accusations and calls for yet more "investigations". Of course, you weren't interested in investigating any of the failures of a GOP administration. What hypocrites you Foxbots are.