Hillary Clinton to CNN: ‘I take responsibility’ in Libya attack

[pwaldo]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/c...GFnZQ--;_ylv=3

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN in an interview Monday that she—not the White House—takes responsibility for the security situation in Benghazi, Libya, ahead of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack there that claimed the lives of four Americans, including the ambassador.

"I take responsibility," Clinton told CNN in one of a series of television interviews she gave after arriving in Peru. The comments from America's top diplomat came on the eve of President Barack Obama's second debate with Republican challenger Mitt Romney, a face-off that seemed likely to include questions about the administration's handling of the bloody assault.

"I want to avoid some kind of political gotcha" with just three weeks before the election, Clinton said, underlining that she—not Obama and Vice President Joe Biden—has the final word on security at America's diplomatic posts overseas.

The White House took heavy fire from Republicans for blaming the attack on Muslim anger at an Internet video ridiculing Islam—even though intelligence officials from the U.S., France, Britain and Italy had quickly labeled the assault an act of terrorism.

And Biden stoked the controversy when he said, in his debate with Republican rival Paul Ryan last week, that "we weren't told" of requests for more security on the ground. State Department officials had testified that such requests had been denied by Washington.

U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens was slain in the onslaught, making him the first American ambassador killed in such an attack since 1979. Romney has led Republican charges that the strike is a symptom of Obama's "unraveling" foreign policy.

In the CNN interview, Clinton blamed "confusion" after the attack for the initial focus on the video, which has fueled angry demonstrations across the Muslim world. The State Department has said it never blamed demonstrations for the bloodshed in Benghazi. The White House has said that the intelligence community initially believed that the film had played a role.

[pghin08]

Just hearing a politician utter the words "I take responsibility" is like music to my ears. I have lots of respect for Secretary Clinton, always have.

[tpeichel]

Then go ahead and submit your resignation and apologize to the families of the dead Americans.

[pghin08]

Then go ahead and submit your resignation and apologize to the families of the dead Americans.

So do you think Condi Rice should have resigned and apologized for the security lapses on 9/11, or that Bush should have resigned and apologized for sending troops in harms way in Iraq? Or just Democrats?

[tpeichel]

It was not only the security lapses, but also the cover up and misdirection with the video, completely pissing on the Constitution and the first amendment. Here are some excerpts from a recent interview with Charles Woods, the father of one of the killed seals, Tyrone Woods, when he met with Secretary Clinton.

“Well, this is what Hillary did,” Woods continues. “She came over and, you know, did the same thing—separately came over and talked with me. I gave her a hug, shook her hand. And she did not appear to be one bit sincere—at all. And you know, she mentioned that the thing about, we’re going to have that person arrested and prosecuted that did the video. That was the first time I had even heard about anything like that.”

Woods continued: “Apparently even the State Department had a live stream and was aware of their calls for help. My son wasn’t even there. He was at a safe house about a mile away. He got the distress call; he heard them crying for help; that’s why he and Glen risked their lives to go that extra mile just to take care of the situation. And I’m sure that wasn’t the only one received that distress call—you know, come save our lives … I’m sure that other people in the military, in the State Department, in the White House, received that same call that he would receive. And I’m sure that most military people would jump at the chance … to protect that life [and] not leave anyone behind.”

Woods made clear that he isn’t “mad,” but that he wants the “truth” to be told because he feels “abandoned.”

Woods says he was told by military officials that the military could have “come above [the area] and completely the carpeted area,” and therefore saved the officials in Benghazi, Libya, but that someone gave the command for the American military not to save them.

“When I heard, you know, that there’s a very good chance that the White House as well as other members of the military knew what was going on and obviously someone had to say, don’t go rescue them. Because every person in the military–their first response [would be], we’re going to go rescue them. We need to find out who it was that gave that command–do not rescue them.”


As I suspected all along, the arrest of the producer of this video had nothing to do with a parole violation and everything to do with trying to make the Benghazi incident look like it was not a terrorist attack. This is disgraceful.



Secretary Clinton is also accountable for not sending in reinforcement to help the seals that were killed.

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editor...azi.htm?p=full
At 4 a.m. local time on Sept. 11 — six hours and 20 minutes after the initial attack began — former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed at the CIA annex not far from the consulate by a mortar shell. The machine gun they were firing was encrusted with blood, an indication they continued to fight after being wounded.

During that eternity, Woods and Doherty might have wondered between gunfire and explosions where the military, with bases strewn across Europe, was. U.S. forces were indeed being moved like chess pieces as the attack unfolded, but none came to their aid because no one gave the order.
President Obama, perhaps preoccupied with his upcoming Las Vegas fundraiser, met with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office at 5 p.m. ET, a little more than an hour after the onset of the attack.

He could have given the order but did not, even after an email, in which the al-Qaida-tied group Ansar al-Sharia claimed responsibility, arrived at 6:07 p.m. ET to a distribution list that included the White House Situation Room.

A Special Operations force went from central Europe to Naval Air Station Sigonella in southern Italy, just 480 miles from Benghazi. F-16s and Apache helicopters remained parked and unused at Aviano Air Base in northern Italy. Two Navy destroyers already in the Mediterranean Sea were moved off the coast of Libya on the day of the attack but were never used.

The question is: Why not?

Resign....now.

[INTIMADATOR2007]

It was not only the security lapses, but also the cover up and misdirection with the video, completely pissing on the Constitution and the first amendment. Here are some excerpts from a recent interview with Charles Woods, the father of one of the killed seals, Tyrone Woods, when he met with Secretary Clinton.

“Well, this is what Hillary did,” Woods continues. “She came over and, you know, did the same thing—separately came over and talked with me. I gave her a hug, shook her hand. And she did not appear to be one bit sincere—at all. And you know, she mentioned that the thing about, we’re going to have that person arrested and prosecuted that did the video. That was the first time I had even heard about anything like that.”

Woods continued: “Apparently even the State Department had a live stream and was aware of their calls for help. My son wasn’t even there. He was at a safe house about a mile away. He got the distress call; he heard them crying for help; that’s why he and Glen risked their lives to go that extra mile just to take care of the situation. And I’m sure that wasn’t the only one received that distress call—you know, come save our lives … I’m sure that other people in the military, in the State Department, in the White House, received that same call that he would receive. And I’m sure that most military people would jump at the chance … to protect that life [and] not leave anyone behind.”

Woods made clear that he isn’t “mad,” but that he wants the “truth” to be told because he feels “abandoned.”

Woods says he was told by military officials that the military could have “come above [the area] and completely the carpeted area,” and therefore saved the officials in Benghazi, Libya, but that someone gave the command for the American military not to save them.

“When I heard, you know, that there’s a very good chance that the White House as well as other members of the military knew what was going on and obviously someone had to say, don’t go rescue them. Because every person in the military–their first response [would be], we’re going to go rescue them. We need to find out who it was that gave that command–do not rescue them.”


As I suspected all along, the arrest of the producer of this video had nothing to do with a parole violation and everything to do with trying to make the Benghazi incident look like it was not a terrorist attack. This is disgraceful.



Secretary Clinton is also accountable for not sending in reinforcement to help the seals that were killed.

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editor...azi.htm?p=full
At 4 a.m. local time on Sept. 11 — six hours and 20 minutes after the initial attack began — former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed at the CIA annex not far from the consulate by a mortar shell. The machine gun they were firing was encrusted with blood, an indication they continued to fight after being wounded.

During that eternity, Woods and Doherty might have wondered between gunfire and explosions where the military, with bases strewn across Europe, was. U.S. forces were indeed being moved like chess pieces as the attack unfolded, but none came to their aid because no one gave the order.
President Obama, perhaps preoccupied with his upcoming Las Vegas fundraiser, met with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office at 5 p.m. ET, a little more than an hour after the onset of the attack.

He could have given the order but did not, even after an email, in which the al-Qaida-tied group Ansar al-Sharia claimed responsibility, arrived at 6:07 p.m. ET to a distribution list that included the White House Situation Room.

A Special Operations force went from central Europe to Naval Air Station Sigonella in southern Italy, just 480 miles from Benghazi. F-16s and Apache helicopters remained parked and unused at Aviano Air Base in northern Italy. Two Navy destroyers already in the Mediterranean Sea were moved off the coast of Libya on the day of the attack but were never used.

The question is: Why not?

Resign....now.

The interview you have posted is heart wrenching coming from the father of the killed seal . If Hillary takes responsibilty she should resign . Lots of stories about Bill Clinton pressuring her to spill the beans to protect her run for 2016, This story is not over by a long shot .

[tpeichel]

I agree. I wish that in the last debate Romney would have taken the chance to answer the initial Benghazi question with something like:

I don't want to rehash my previous criticisms, but the American people still have a lot of questions about this tragedy.

1) Did the administration feel that the security was adequate? Why were the additional requests for security denied?
2) If the administration was unsure of the cause of the attack because of the "fog of war", why was the administration so definitive that the cause was the youtube video and very explicitly, not terrorism?
3) Who made the decision not to send in stronger reinforcements immediately to help the Americans on the ground?

A big missed opportunity for Romney. I'd still like to see the media pursue these questions, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Wickabee]

1: Did Paul Ryan voting for cuts to embassy defense make the embassy vulnerable to attack?

2: Was it the administration who so pushed the video explanation, or do the people have an incorrect idea because the media pounded on the video and spoke of nothing else at all for a full week?

3: Were reinforcements not sent due to a lack of funding as voted by Paul Ryan?


Questions go both ways.

[tpeichel]

1: Did Paul Ryan voting for cuts to embassy defense make the embassy vulnerable to attack?

2: Was it the administration who so pushed the video explanation, or do the people have an incorrect idea because the media pounded on the video and spoke of nothing else at all for a full week?

3: Were reinforcements not sent due to a lack of funding as voted by Paul Ryan?


Questions go both ways.

As far as point #2 is concerned, multiple sources from the administration pointed their fingers at the video as the culprit and the administration arrested the producer of the video just as Hillary promised she would.

[tpeichel]

1: Did Paul Ryan voting for cuts to embassy defense make the embassy vulnerable to attack?

2: Was it the administration who so pushed the video explanation, or do the people have an incorrect idea because the media pounded on the video and spoke of nothing else at all for a full week?

3: Were reinforcements not sent due to a lack of funding as voted by Paul Ryan?


Questions go both ways.

Questions #1 and #3 are essentially the same questions as mine except you are just focusing on one possible reason (funding) for not increasing security or sending reinforcements.

If you look at the numbers, they really haven't changed much since 2008. The big funding increase was asked for in FY 2013, which makes me think that the administration had a very good idea that the middle east and other areas had become much more dangerous. Funny how that happens when you overthrow governments. (I seem to remember lots of liberals howling about the neocon philosophy, but it seems like this administration has stolen their playbook. Hello? Anti-war movement? Where are you?)