The dominant response of the media to this story, when I read various reports this morning, was that Sarah Palin had committed a major gaffe and that the serious issue here is "racism."
Front page story of Yahoo all day.
So, Obama seems to be making the correct strategic calculation with his non-response.
What Condi Rice had to say about it: "So there’s a big picture to be examined here. But we don’t have all of the pieces, and I think it’s easy to try and jump to conclusions about what might have happened here. It’s probably better to let the relevant bodies do their work."
Last time I checked, Rice was no longer in the government. Those now in charge are just trying to keep this at bay for another week or so. I don't think it will work - I think the Romney campaign could make up a nice ad just quoting this official response. Put it out on November 5th.
“I have been asked by one of our spokespeople to relay ‘that we decline to comment,’” said White House National Security Staff aide Debbie Bird in a written response to CNSNews.com.
This administration doesn't much like that pesky first amendment, but they do seem to appreciate the 5th.
Why is the unspecified spokesperson relaying their empty statement through this Debbie Bird person? Isn't talking to the press kinda what a spokesperson is for? Does this make Ms. Bird a spoke-spokesperson?
Baron Zemo said...I read that Hillary had requested more security right before the attack and that the White House had nixed it so as to not upset the natives.
Slick Willie wants her to release the emails and memos but Hillary doesn't want to do it.
Yet.
big mistake trying to toss Hillary under the bus. Bubba has Ray Lewis type skills in an up close knife fight, and he won't leave any prints either.
Jimspice: "What Condi Rice had to say about it: "So there’s a big picture to be examined here. But we don’t have all of the pieces, and I think it’s easy to try and jump to conclusions about what might have happened here. It’s probably better to let the relevant bodies do their work."
Condi Rice is not a part of the administration and her comments reflect that, as an outsider, she is not privy to all the information.
Our resident obama fans are now chirping that it should be the same for all of the inside the admin players who DO have, and have had for quite some time now, ALL the information.
If it's impossible to get the story straight, Obama is in the building: Where was he born, was his mother married to his father, how did he do in college, did he write his books, did he become a Christian, did he listen to Rev Wright's sermons. And this inability to tell one story (let alone tell the truth) also characterizes the Benghazi incident - did he know it was terrorism, did he call it terrorism, did he blame the filmmaker, did he go to bed as the Ambassador was being killed, did he meet with his security council or did he go to Las Vegas, did he attend intelligence briefings, did he know that better security had been requested, did he deny the request??????????? And the same is now happening with the sequester - it came from Congress, it came from the White House, it will not stand, it will stand as part of an Obama plan to reduce the deficit??????????
Let's give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it's "Top Secret - Eyes Only" on what our Libyan people were up to. They might have been plotting the overthrow of, say, Islam. Wouldn't want to let that get out.
Why do you expect the President to have a position on a terrorist attack in a country that isn't even ours? That's not his business. His business is giving interviews on late night television, to MTV and Rolling Stone.
He probably thinks that the State Department are a bunch of bullsh***ers.
Jim, let me meet your Frank Zappa, and raise you with "Son of Orange County", from the same album.
[adated]
And in your dreams You can see yourself As a prophet Saving the world The words from you lips (It was not optimal) I just can't believe you are such A fool
I just can't believe You are such a fool I just can't believe You are such a fool
The White House is declining to say when President Barack Obama first learned of three e-mails that the State Department sent to the White House on Sept. 11, 2012, directly notifying the Executive Office of the President that the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was under attack...
How would rh put this? If you dont want to hear from somebody... you send them an email.
The emails are a distraction meant to delay.
Like when the pitcher is running out of gas... the manager signals somebody to go to the mound and stall the game because the reliever warming up is not ready yet.
Obama doesn't want to talk about this now... and for somebody who is supposedly confident about his own abilities... its got to be, at the very least, distressing.
Where are the "What did the President know and when did he know it?!" demands from the "media"? I mean it's not as if this is a simple hotel burglary.
I used to laugh at those "Bush lied and people died" bumper stickers. Now I'm seriously considering getting one that says "Obama lied when people REALLY died."
"So there’s a big picture to be examined here. But we don’t have all of the pieces, and I think it’s easy to try and jump to conclusions about what might have happened here. It’s probably better to let the relevant bodies do their work."
That all makes perfect sense in serious, professional organization, Jim, so please tell us why Obama and his minions on national programs jumped to the wrong (and politically expedient) conclusion about videos and riots.
I won't even bother to ask your reaction to a Republican if he did the same thing.
I also am pretty sure you were not citing Condi Rice as an authoratative source prior to 2009.
Just remember this... the same media that was able to send an army of "reporters" to literally root through Sarah Palin's garbage in hopes of finding some tiny bit of incriminating evidence does not have any interest in the White House's involvement in the death of an ambassador and three other Americans in the worst attack on an American diplomatic compound since the Iranian hostage crisis.
I mean just roll that around in your head for a while and think about it.
Jeffrey, manufacturing outrage over hyped up pseudo-scandals during Republican administrations is no more "doing their job" than ignoring blatant law-breaking and incompetence during a Democrat administration.
"Slick Willie wants her to release the emails and memos but Hillary doesn't want to do it.
Yet."
I've said previously that Clinton doesn't want Obama reelected, neither Clinton. Bubba wants to remain the only Dem president elected to a second term since FDR and Hillery chances of being elected president after four more years of Obama would be worse than if he is defeated.
I still am waiting for the press to walk down the hallway and knock on CIA Director Patraeus's door. Just to, you know, see if he knows or cares about this Benghazi thing...
Watergate played out over many months before it came to the attention of the majority of the public.
These things take a life of their own and Obama choose to keep stalling... which only aggravates the situation because its as if they are hiding something.
By the way... I forget where I heard this... in the anatomy of a political scandal it is better to use the pronoun they.
Makes me think Obama is pursuing the correct strategy.
Whether that is the best interests of the Republic is another question.
Of course it's the "correct" campaign strategy, and of course it's not in the best interests of the Republic.
The corruption of the MSM has corroded government and the people's faith in it. For some reason, this pleases those who claim to want people to trust their government to do ever more for them.
Baron Zemo said... I read that Hillary had requested more security right before the attack and that the White House had nixed it so as to not upset the natives.
I don't believe this. This is someone's what-if picked up as speculation and repeated as rumor.
The thing about nothing is that nothing is uncertain.
Bare with me...
What if there is nothing to this... what if there is a perfect explanation to their reaction to the events that transpired that day... not the policy mind you... but their reaction to it... lets say something we are not privy to because its conveniently classified its preventing them from being more forthcoming... meanwhile we are not talking about high unemployment along with the rest of the Obama disaster of a presidency.
(I used the word privi is a sentence... thats got to be worth something)
I do not understand all this jabbering about e-mails and cables, etc.
We do know what happened in Benghazi, and we do know that the State Dept. employees on the ground were talking to Foggy Bottom on their cell phones while the attack was under way.
It is also reasonable to assume that the CIA and other government agency employees on the ground were likewise talking to their home offices.
(The dead silence out of the CIA on this affair is rather puzzling; normally they would be leaking like a sieve about something like this. Perhaps Petraeus told them the first person to be caught leaking would be discharged and prosecuted in terms that made him believable?)
The important thing since the second this went wrong, back to and including the failure cascade of the previous months ("You don't need no stinkin' security") is punt-delay-lie-mislead-depend on the MSM-stonewall-punt, etc. is to get to Nov 7.
At that point the blame game, under bus throwing will become intense even though they will undoubtably expect the american people to have no stomach for a drawn out (and obviously partisan investigation). If Obama is re-elected that's a good assumption.
Let's take a rational look at what we know about Benghazi and the President's reaction to it.
We know that he and his team knew immediately that the attack had nothing to do with any mob protest or internet video. Indeed they knew within two hours that it was a deliberate attack by a well-armed and well-organized military force.
But they lied to the American people and the public for two weeks.
The question that should be getting asked is "why did they want the world to think that this was not a deliberate and well planned attack?"
That's an interesting question, and it's not one I've actually heard anyone ask any of the President's spokespeople.
There was no reason for all of that time to lie because of the murder of the ambassador and the three other Americans. That was already public knowledge.
So if they are hiding something, they are hiding something we don't know, and that something must be tied directly to the question of "why did they not want us to know this was a deliberate, planned, targeted attack?"
And that suggests that there was some other objective that the attackers had, one that we can only assume they achieved.
What could that objective have been? Why is hiding that objective worth all the lies the administration has told?
What else happened in Benghazi that the President doesn't want you to know about? What was Chris Stevens doing there in the first place? Who was he meeting with? What was he promising? Was he doing more than promising? Was he delivering?
These are the questions that an actual journalist would be asking, if we had any actual journalists in this country anymore.
The "Sergeant Schultz War" is indeed like "Fast & Furious." None of the stories we hear are believable, so there must have been something else going on. But what?
What do they have to say about Hillary telling Tyrone Woods' father that they will find the man who made the anti-Islam video and have him arrested and prosecuted?
Cosmic Conservative said... We know that he and his team knew immediately that the attack had nothing to do with any mob protest or internet video. Indeed they knew within two hours that it was a deliberate attack by a well-armed and well-organized military force.
There were of course 2 attacks. The first was effectively over in minutes when the attackers controlled the compound and our 2 guys died hiding in the smoke.
The other attack occurred at least an hour later and lasted for perhaps 4-5 hours. This was the attack on the CIA compound.
Hillary and State are responsible for the first two deaths in the Consulate, without reinforced security, poor ROE and no effective guards, this place was Jihadi catnip.
However, Obama bears the burden for the second failure, the loss of the CIA files and our ignominious retreat from Benghazi. The Infamous 3 AM call came at 3PM. If he had ordered the launch of F-18s from Sicily, or god willing, an AC-130, the second attack would have failed.
I think it is interesting, and perhaps relevant, that one of the targets of the Benghazi attack has been confirmed to be a CIA outpost, but there has not been a word from Patraeus.
I do suspect there is another shoe to drop in this, but it may well be months before we hear it.
What was Chris Stevens doing there in the first place? Who was he meeting with? What was he promising? Was he doing more than promising? Was he delivering?
You have to be more specific...
You are not giving me nothing... but you are not giving me something either.
And now it seems that House Speaker Boehner has jumped into the fray by writing a letter to Øbama asking him to address some of the questions that have surfaced about the attack: who knew what and when, etc.
Well Mr. Speaker, good luck with that. Let's all just hold our breath while we wait for an answer.
“ ‘A lot of people have talked to me about staying,’ Mrs. Clinton said, declining to be more specific. When asked if current events will force her departure date to slip, she said it was ‘unlikely,’ but for the first time left open that possibility for the short term.”
BO: "Hi, I'm Barack Obama and I killed Osama bin Laden, and I have killed many, many terrorists with drone missile attacks. I just want to assure everyone within the sound of my voice that Ambassador Stevens, and those other people...military or somthing...died, because of a protest about a video."
Reporter: "So are you expecting another backlash from muslims, for "spiking the football", with your new movie coming out 2 days before the election?"
Obama is an ideological liar. Clinton was an opportunistic liar. There is a HUGE difference in the two.
Obama will simply say whatever he thinks will advance his ideology. That's why he will tell a reporter on Monday that his "#1 priority" is immigration, and on Tuesday that his "#1 priority" is jobs. He has no "#1 priority" all he has is a desire to advance his agenda.
We have the Benghazi cover up and Obama is going to the swing states and talking about how the people can trust him because they know him, if he says something he means it.
You know it's amazing that assholes like garage and that fat fuck Bob Beckel shrug this off as a non story while they were absolutely apoplectic over the Valerie Plame kerfuffle, which REALLY was a non story.
At this point how much daylight is there between these scumbags and the Bolsheviks they have come to emulate through proxies such as Saul Alinsky?
dreams, imho Obama's current campaign strategy is a horrible one. Going out and calling your opponent a liar over dubious caricatures of his statements, while the evening news provides proof of your own lies about the murder of four human beings only focuses the attention on who the real liar is.
But Obama has no other arrows in his quiver now. All he can do is lie about Romney louder and louder and louder in the hopes that volume will eventually overcome the evidence of people seeing the real Romney right in front of them.
If Obama loses this election, make no mistake, Obama will have LOST this election through the same sort of rank incompetence and ideological blindness that people like me have been warning the country about since his first appearance on the political scene.
"We have the Benghazi cover up and Obama is going to the swing states and talking about how the people can trust him because they know him, if he says something he means it."
The fact is, there is no failure (or lie), or series of failures (or lies), critical enough, damaging enough or large enough to cause any committed Obama voter to change their mind.
They are heavily, emotionally invested in failure, so doubling down, or even tripling down on failure, is just another symptom.
I mean really, the party comes before all else. Truth, reason, justice, all jettisoned without a thought, for political expediency in the pursuit of absolute power. The left is built on the lie that they need power to wield in the pursuit of uplifting mankind, but they are just the worst type greedheads imaginable with a bottomless lust for power over others in the naked desire simply to be rulers.
Hillary is the October Surprise. Expect one of these a day until election day. She probably had the embassy in Kenya cook up an authentic looking Kenyan birth certificate for Obama.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis
Hillary's reputation for ruthlessness only applies to underlings. She sucks up to the boss man and lies for him, even falling on her own sword. She's done it with two democrat Presidents now.
Marshall said--"Whatever that's worth you lost by also using "bare" with me"
You mis-understood Lem. He started off literally. He's at home, naked in front of the laptop. He want's us all naked, in front of the laptop. I would just like to assure everyone that I am doing MY part to help Lem with his "Everyone Naked In Front of the Laptop" quest. A noble, valiant effort.
And isn't a privy an "outhouse"? Why would you use "outhouse" in that sentence? It makes no sense.
Cosmic Conservative said... Let's take a rational look at what we know about Benghazi and the President's reaction to it.
We know that he and his team knew immediately that the attack had nothing to do with any mob protest or internet video. Indeed they knew within two hours that it was a deliberate attack by a well-armed and well-organized military force ================ In defense of the CIA, there are some competing theories on the terrorism as driven by the Copt scumbag's video, if the attack was planned but the scumbag's video offered perfect timing and motivation for the regular low-level trigger pullers, or this was an attack that had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the scumbag's Prophet video.
My guess is this was a planned attack - but Ansar al-Sharia , Al Qaeda leaders were quick to understand this was a golden opportunity in timing. Other embassies were under seige and direct attack from the Prophet video. That meant that the Tripoli embassy and the US forces at the Cairo embassy were bunkered down, and no reinforcements would arrive from Tripoli or Cairo to interfere with the attack on the Consulate or CIA safehouse. And the attack might well be thought to be the 11th or 12 such attack by spontaneously outraged Muslims about the Prophet blasphemy, by distracted Americans - who would hopefully take hours to discern this was different.
And the Ambassador, who started his travel not knowing the Muslims would be erupting globally to the Copt scumbag's defamation.....was yet another gorgeous stroke of luck for the Islamoids.
And capping it all off, each fighter was made aware before battle with the enemy infidel of the Prophet defamation - to motivate them to fight harder (just as Americans used depections of Jap atrocities to help get Marine bloodthirst up before going into battle)
The CIA HAS been there and used assets in the region to ID and talk to some of the attackers and bystanders (looters, too). Apparantly all were aware of the Prophet defamation and blasphemy and many of the attackers were screaming they would be doing payback because of it
This of course was fed to the White House and formed the basis of Susan Rice's and Jay Carney's cover for Obama to avoid admitting it was a terrorist attack..
YES, THE SCUMBAG COPT's VIDEO WAS, REPEAT, WAS ....A FACTOR IN THE BENGHAZI ATTACK BY AL QAEDA AND OTHER GROUPS.
But Issa didn't bother to redact the names of Libyan civilians and local leaders mentioned in the cables, and just as with the WikiLeaks dump of State Department cables last year, the administration says that Issa has done damage to U.S. efforts to work with those Libyans and exposed them to physical danger from the very groups that had an interest in attacking the U.S. consulate.
Seems like the GOP is really good at outing CIA operations and personnel.
The fact is, there is no failure (or lie), or series of failures (or lies), critical enough, damaging enough or large enough to cause any committed Obama voter to change their mind.
I suppose you can quibble about the word "committed," but a friend of a friend, a liberal feminist, who voted for Obama in 2008 and planned to do so this year, says that she is voting for Romney and Benghazi was the last straw.
He will have to drag BenghaziGate around like a dog.
The thing about Obama is that whenever we thought he was down... (Obamacare, the debt deal) he bounced back up... part of it is embedded in the low expectation we have of him... the part that holds us responsible for electing an woefully untested man to the office.
No matter how promising the likelihood of a juicy scandal a second term holds, we cannot afford four more years of this man at the helm... I dont even want to entertain that possibility.
1)Charlene Lamb, an official of the department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, said the Benghazi compound was hit by “a full-scale assault that was unprecedented in size and intensity.” “We had the correct number of (security) assets in Benghazi at the time of 9/11 for what had been agreed upon,” she told lawmakers. She then put up satellite photos of the consulate and the "safe house" (That's the "safe haven" and CIA base) Both were attacked by Al Qaeda on 9/11/2012.
2)When the satellite photo was displayed, a senior committee Republican, Representative Jason Chaffetz, complained that the discussion was drifting into "classified issues that deal with sources and methods," and the photo was removed from public display. No one at the hearing used the term "CIA base" to describe the facility. Republicans objecting to a photograph displayed by the State Department of what appeared to be an aerial view of the Benghazi compound and the nearby area, saying it might reveal classified information.
A State Department official said the information was for public dissemination, and a Democratic lawmaker said: “You can Google it.” Democrats on the committee continued to ask questions regarding the safe haven with the Republican objecting to the line of questioning entering classified territory.
3)The next morning, Dana Milbank, a Washington Post columnist, wrote that the committee's "boneheaded questioning" of State Department witnesses left little doubt that the compound in the pictures was a "CIA base."
The Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank with ties to the Obama White House, followed up with a blog post accusing Republicans of revealing the "Location Of Secret CIA Base."
On Friday, Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, accused Republicans of mishandling secret information.
4) The Daily Kos and DU and all the usual suspects were all set to push the story that Republicans jeopardized national security by leaking info about the CIA base. Google this and you will find all these posts first--you have to go ten deep to find a discussion of what actually happened.
That there is a disagreement between Obama and Hillary and Hillary is playing hard ball?
I think that we are seeing what happens when you try to throw a Clinton under the bus - we now apparently know that the State Department had requested more security and it had been turned down by the Obama Administration, and we now apparently know that the State department had informed the White House situation room that an attack had begun, that it looked like a terrorist attack, and ultimately that mortars and RPGs were being used. All, of course, in real time.
Notice anything? Maybe that they both paint the State Department as being the good guys and the White House/Obama people as being the bad guys here?
More importantly, who would give a shit what Condi would say, or Gates, or Imaginary General Custer-Rumsfeld, or Imaginary General McClellan-Powell, et al, snot dripping infinitum.
Hell, we can just listen up to General Tweedledee Demspey, Secretary stack your USMC weapons before me ah'm ascairt bro-Panetta, ...or just listen to General Bought and Paid Petraeus esplain what his CIA was doing...or wasn't doing. Eh?
None of it matters. It only used to matter. Now, all it it is bullshit. The four relevant witnesses are dead...I'm sure to the relief of many in f'ing DC.
As I've in other posts, change up the Command, and if that fails, Hang Them one by one.
You fucking lying sack of shit, garage. You were on the bandwagon here spouting the same bullshit the day after that hearing. I called bullshit then, too.
You mean the activist outed by the White House? http://www.world-affairs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/authentic_voices_-_libya.pdf
Of course that was in 2011. Which is a smaller number then 2012. And numbers are hard for people like you and the president. Or did you get past 7th grade math? Then I'll have to admit you are smarter then Obama.
Paul said--"Hillary's reputation for ruthlessness only applies to underlings. She sucks up to the boss man and lies for him, even falling on her own sword. She's done it with two democrat Presidents now
In the Valarie Plame affair there was a chance that somebody could get killed.
Unlikely though - Plame was riding a desk at Langley. And, of course, everyone forgets why her employment came out - which was because she was instrumental in getting her husband the gig to the middle east, and that job is what gave him the credibility to write the op-ed critical of the Bush Administration. The question then was, why was a Democratic political operative being sent on this sort of mission by the Bush Administration? And, part of the answer was that his CIA wife had suggested his name.
"I suppose you can quibble about the word "committed," but a friend of a friend, a liberal feminist, who voted for Obama in 2008 and planned to do so this year, says that she is voting for Romney and Benghazi was the last straw."
I'm happy to read that.
The Republic's future rests on the ability of voters to learn from their mistakes.
That 5:20 comment is from Al Qaeda laughing at what a dumbass Garage Mahal is--and all the details of the secret CIA base that they knew since the CIA moved in initially.
Hillary's reputation for ruthlessness only applies to underlings. She sucks up to the boss man and lies for him, even falling on her own sword. She's done it with two democrat Presidents now.
That, at least, was what we thought was happening here. She made the gesture. But, then something apparently happened, and the Clinton people may have brought out their knives.
I think that what must be remembered here is that the Clintons still have a lot of power, esp. in the government. A lot of mid-level government employees seem to prefer Bill Clinton (and, by extension, his wife) to Obama. They really don't have much loyalty to Obama, because he has absolutely none to anyone outside his immediate circle.
"And, part of the answer was that his CIA wife had suggested his name."
Actually, her suggesting him for the assignment was the only reason he was sent.
Whether he went with malice aforethought is not fully resolved, but JCWIV's "sweet mint tea" chronicles suggest he did so, and found what he knew he was looking for: nothing.
garage links: Issa has done damage to U.S. efforts to work with those Libyans and exposed them to physical danger from the very groups that had an interest in attacking the U.S. consulate.
Any reports of reprisal attacks on those "exposed" Libyans?
I linked to an article about Issa posting 166 pages of senstive documents to his committee website.
Many of the documents the committee posted weren't provided by State. So there wasn't any discussion about their sensitivity prior to the committee revealing them for all to see," the official said. "Had State been given that opportunity, we'd have taken it and pointed out what documents needed to be handled with extreme care so as not to endanger anyone."
"That 5:20 comment is from Al Qaeda laughing at what a dumbass Garage Mahal is--and all the details of the secret CIA base that they knew since the CIA moved in initially."
Hmmmm.
My online translator reads: "...complimenting the dumbass Garage Mahal for distracting people from all the details of the secret CIA base that they knew since the CIA moved in initially."
Everything else is a match. You may want to try a new translator, as mine seems more plausible.
@garage ... how many times do we have to go over the issue of classification. "Sensitive" is NOT a classification.
"Sensitive" applies to a travel clerk hooking up with the IT Tech for for whoopee in the Server Room at lunch time. "Very Sensitive" is then the agency boss SES ranking meathead throws a half million dollar party for agency big wig gurls and guys and links up photos of it all.
That party was also an IQ test for the current SES Ranks ... room temperature is all they require if said exec's ass kissing is good enough. And Obama's crew can lick an ass and reach the tonsils. They're that good.
The most awesomest thing about Benghazi-gate is that unlike "lapses" in the presumed competence of Republican presidents, this one occurred overseas instead of in the heart of America's financial center, resulted in 4 deaths instead of thousands, and took place under the watch of A DEMOCRAT!!11!!! TOTALLY WINNING!11!1!!!!
"Sensitive" means embarassing to Democrats if it gets out.
Classified multi-billion dollar stealth satellite systems are fair game if you are Democratic Senators, namely Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who's also the ranking Dem on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
Ritmo ...don't both with cute response to anything I say, just scroll past as I usually do with your drivel. Your prior comment, at 6:oo PM, is classic comparative analysis failure for you. 4 deaths is winning?
...this one occurred overseas instead of in the heart of America's financial center, resulted in 4 deaths instead of thousands...
Thanks for the reminder. I'd forgotten how, on that fateful morning, airport security contacted the FBI to ask for increased security on four flights w/ suspicious persons boarding them, and how the WH rejected the FBI's recommendation that these people be prohibited from boarding.
Yes, these two cases are exactly alike. Only Republican partisans fail to see that.
It was Richard Armitage Colin Powell's assistant who oppose Bush's policy and Powell knew that the all the time but allowed the investigation to go on for years.
Armitage admits leaking Plame's identity SPECIAL COUNSEL
Share this on:Facebook Twitter Digg delicious reddit MySpace StumbleUpon LinkedIn September 08, 2006 Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage acknowledged Thursday that he was the source who first revealed the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame to syndicated columnist Robert Novak back in 2003, touching off a federal investigation.
Armitage told the CBS Evening News that he did so inadvertently.
"I feel terrible," Armitage said. "Every day, I think, I let down the president. I let down the secretary of state. I let down my department, my family, and I also let down Mr. and Mrs. Wilson
Key snip: "Should [Romney's 19 point lead with independents] stick, it would be the sharpest tilt among independents in a presidential election since Ronald Reagan’s 1984 landslide win."
Chip, it's good to see you trying for the honesty angle in a swamp of lies, but those little (and slantingly told) distinctions aren't going to add up. And as far as the "WE'RE ALWAYS RIGHT/THEY'RE ALWAYS WRONG" bit, remember Ron Paul's ideas about blowback. Your party sure does.
It wasn't him but he was convicted of perjury because his recollection of some of the events differed from Tim Russert. I consider it a national shame and Bush should have pardoned Libby who is a good man.
I have an extremely low opinion of Plame and her husband and of those who don't know the facts but still run their ignorant mouths.
Issa’s Benghazi document dump exposes several Libyans working with the U.S.
But Issa didn't bother to redact the names of Libyan civilians and local leaders mentioned in the cables, and just as with the WikiLeaks dump of State Department cables last year, the administration says that Issa has done damage to U.S. efforts to work with those Libyans and exposed them to physical danger from the very groups that had an interest in attacking the U.S. consulate.
Seems like the GOP is really good at outing CIA operations and personnel.
Shame shame shame.
I'm expecting those mass riot protests here in the US really soon at the release of these despicable documents that offends US foreign policy.
garage, You still haven't answered the question. Do you want the truth of Benghazi to come out before the election? You should want that, if everything was handled appropriately.
Chip, is the rush to comment tripping you up? You somehow remember Bush preventing 19 hijackers from boarding the airplanes they overtook? I sure don't.
Why can't they simply answer the question? I ask, because with a high degree of certainty, I don't think you would be giving a Republican the benefit of the doubt. This, unfortunately, makes much of what you say unprincipled. It doesn't matter what Ms. Rice says, the administration can give a straight answer, which so far they have refused to do. And in all of this, the dead Americans get lost in the shuffle as partisans continue their unprincipled talking-points approach.
If the president had information that this was a terrorist attack and yet for more than a week asserted it was because of a movie that is important, no?
You know what, a little bit of moral clarity would go a long way in allowing you to convince your opposites that you are a morally serious person. Instead, it is all spin all the time. I think there is a strong tradition of leaders shading the truth for political purposes--mostly because they reflect the rest of us; I don't think they are, on average, morally worse than the general population though they have greater temptations. But good leaders put this aside during a crisis and speak the truth. So far we have not seen that from the Obama admin.
American are dead, and there are many legitimate questions which the administration refuses to address. Remember Obama's high moral dudgeon in the second debate regarding the deaths? How does that look now as more and more information leaks out and he and his administration don't answer simple questions? if "his psople" are so important, why didn't he send in some aircraft for example? There may be a good reason, but he and his administration simply refuse to answer simple questions.
Do you even care that this may be a major scandal, or is politics your god--the one you subordinate all other needs and desires to?
Ritmo, My outrage at Obama has always been about the blame-shifting coverup. If he's got good reasons for the decisions made in real time, then I won't second-guess him. But his actions since then suggest that he doesn't have good reasons.
Either way, his stonewalling and scapegoating are not the actions of a trustworthy leader.
Scooter Libby's testimony didn't agree with that reporter's notes--even though the LUDs* did and the reporter admitted that he didn't record his notes when the event happened--even that same day, most times. But somehow the jury found it compelling. Like the jurors that talked about the shit was was on Left-wing blogs that was presennted in court.
"garage, You still haven't answered the question. Do you want the truth of Benghazi to come out before the election? You should want that, if everything was handled appropriately."
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383 comments:
1 – 200 of 383 Newer› Newest»Their response is not optimal.
Nothing is optimal.
"No comment" to me is sort of like Nolo contendere.
From the standpoint of the Obama campaign, this is probably the correct strategic move.
After all, the NY Times and the rest of the Legacy Media aren't going to report this story.
That just leaves the opposition out there flailing away.
Hey, that's what Amb. Stevens had to say, too.
I think we need to focus our attention on Mitt's testimony 20 years ago in a divorce case and move away from the Benghazi thing.
Let Obama eat his waffles, please.
Asking questions about the White House's response is so...political.
That is optimal arrogance. Only the One could have pulled this off without the media demanding his impeachment.
From the lyrics to Dummy Up
From the album Roxy and Elsewhere.
A musical dialogue between Frank Zappa and Napoleon Murphy Brock.
FZ: No no, the college-degree is stuffed with absolutely nothing at all, you get . . . you get nothing with your college-degree . . .
Napoleon:
Oh . . .
But that's what I want
FZ: . . . I forgot, I'm sorry
Napoleon:
Well,
You get nothin',
But that's what I want
FZ: A true Zen saying: Nothing is what I want . . . The results of a higher education!
Ambassador Stevens and 3 other Americans are unavailable for comment.
The dominant response of the media to this story, when I read various reports this morning, was that Sarah Palin had committed a major gaffe and that the serious issue here is "racism."
Front page story of Yahoo all day.
So, Obama seems to be making the correct strategic calculation with his non-response.
I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know no-thing.
- Feldwebel Hans Schultz, Luft Stalag 13, 1943
The Obama administration is known about town (DC) as a bunch of micro-managing assholes.
When micromanagers choke on pulling the trigger on a hard decision it paralyzes the whole command structure.
Gosh, does that look like what happened in Benghazi, or what?
Wag the dog coming soon though, and before the election.
Just to put a bit of an edge on it -
http://soundcloud.com/thelarslarsonshow/charles-woods-father-of-former
This link is for a short (14 minute) phone-in made yesterday by Charles Woods (former seal Tyrone Woods father). It is worth the time to listen to…
If this had been a Republican administration the MSM would have been rallying the nation for hearings and impeachment.
As it is? (crickets chirping)
Declined to comment = the Spin Machine isn't through processing the next obfuscation, yet.
Nice, Althouse, that you returned to today's "Nothing" theme.
Lots of it around!
Cadaver eyes upon me see... nothing.
What Condi Rice had to say about it: "So there’s a big picture to be examined here. But we don’t have all of the pieces, and I think it’s easy to try and jump to conclusions about what might have happened here. It’s probably better to let the relevant bodies do their work."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2k_LMTNLZXc
The Obama Tentacles have reached Condi Rice?
The Obama Tentacles have reached Condi Rice?
Why assume that others are reaching that conclusion?
I don't see any reason for Rice to jump into the fray on this one. If I were in her position, I'd say something negligible and non-committal, too.
That's doesn't necessarily reveal what she thinks.
Of course they don't.
They deny the ongoing failures of the president.
*Everything* is someone else's fault.
Nothing is Obama's fault.
The bus under which Obama throws people is decidedly bigger than Noah's Ark, by an order of magnitude.
#VoteObama,DoubleDownonFailure
As of this moment, there is no story about the e-mails on the front page of Yahoo.
However, there is a prominent story entitled Sarah Palin responds to ‘shuck and jive’ criticism.
When you've got the media in your pocket, as Obama does, why respond to the central issue at hand?
Nobody's demanding that from him.
I read that Hillary had requested more security right before the attack and that the White House had nixed it so as to not upset the natives.
Slick Willie wants her to release the emails and memos but Hillary doesn't want to do it.
Yet.
Last time I checked, Rice was no longer in the government. Those now in charge are just trying to keep this at bay for another week or so. I don't think it will work - I think the Romney campaign could make up a nice ad just quoting this official response. Put it out on November 5th.
No Nothing tag?
Jerry Rice didn't comment either.
But when they called Glenn Rice he said that Sarah Palin was one hot mama-jama.
That is going to be the lead story on Sports Center tonight.
“I have been asked by one of our spokespeople to relay ‘that we decline to comment,’” said White House National Security Staff aide Debbie Bird in a written response to CNSNews.com.
This administration doesn't much like that pesky first amendment, but they do seem to appreciate the 5th.
Why is the unspecified spokesperson relaying their empty statement through this Debbie Bird person? Isn't talking to the press kinda what a spokesperson is for? Does this make Ms. Bird a spoke-spokesperson?
Todays theme is brought to us by White Castle.
Is what we crave.
Baron Zemo said...I read that Hillary had requested more security right before the attack and that the White House had nixed it so as to not upset the natives.
Slick Willie wants her to release the emails and memos but Hillary doesn't want to do it.
Yet.
big mistake trying to toss Hillary under the bus. Bubba has Ray Lewis type skills in an up close knife fight, and he won't leave any prints either.
Jimspice: "What Condi Rice had to say about it: "So there’s a big picture to be examined here. But we don’t have all of the pieces, and I think it’s easy to try and jump to conclusions about what might have happened here. It’s probably better to let the relevant bodies do their work."
Condi Rice is not a part of the administration and her comments reflect that, as an outsider, she is not privy to all the information.
Our resident obama fans are now chirping that it should be the same for all of the inside the admin players who DO have, and have had for quite some time now, ALL the information.
LOL
"leadership"
Don't you know that Bird is the word?
ST, also "Romney still hasn't given up on Ohio"
If it's impossible to get the story straight, Obama is in the building: Where was he born, was his mother married to his father, how did he do in college, did he write his books, did he become a Christian, did he listen to Rev Wright's sermons. And this inability to tell one story (let alone tell the truth) also characterizes the Benghazi incident - did he know it was terrorism, did he call it terrorism, did he blame the filmmaker, did he go to bed as the Ambassador was being killed, did he meet with his security council or did he go to Las Vegas, did he attend intelligence briefings, did he know that better security had been requested, did he deny the request??????????? And the same is now happening with the sequester - it came from Congress, it came from the White House, it will not stand, it will stand as part of an Obama plan to reduce the deficit??????????
Let's give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it's "Top Secret - Eyes Only" on what our Libyan people were up to. They might have been plotting the overthrow of, say, Islam. Wouldn't want to let that get out.
Why do you expect the President to have a position on a terrorist attack in a country that isn't even ours? That's not his business. His business is giving interviews on late night television, to MTV and Rolling Stone.
Why do you expect the President to have a position on a terrorist attack in a country that isn't even ours? That's not his business.
No doubt the Vegas trip affected his thinking. What happens in Benghazi, stays in Benghazi.
The Benghazi Bellyflop.
He probably thinks that the State Department are a bunch of bullsh***ers.
Jim, let me meet your Frank Zappa, and raise you with "Son of Orange County", from the same album.
[adated]
And in your dreams
You can see yourself
As a prophet
Saving the world
The words from you lips
(It was not optimal)
I just can't believe you are such
A fool
I just can't believe
You are such a fool
I just can't believe
You are such a fool
Hey, the NY Times is on the case!
Front page headline: Both Romney and Obama Avoid Talk of Climate Change.
Can't tell the editorial pages from the news pages.
The NY Times can't even be bothered to weigh in on the Sarah Palin bashing!
The Benghazi Bellyflop.
Don't gloat too much yet, garage.
If Obama wins, we'll be stuck with a second term president that the mainstream press has effectively declared off limits.
Think about where that might lead.
The White House is declining to say when President Barack Obama first learned of three e-mails that the State Department sent to the White House on Sept. 11, 2012, directly notifying the Executive Office of the President that the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was under attack...
How would rh put this?
If you dont want to hear from somebody... you send them an email.
The emails are a distraction meant to delay.
Like when the pitcher is running out of gas... the manager signals somebody to go to the mound and stall the game because the reliever warming up is not ready yet.
Obama doesn't want to talk about this now... and for somebody who is supposedly confident about his own abilities... its got to be, at the very least, distressing.
What can they possibly say?
Where are the "What did the President know and when did he know it?!" demands from the "media"? I mean it's not as if this is a simple hotel burglary.
I used to laugh at those "Bush lied and people died" bumper stickers. Now I'm seriously considering getting one that says "Obama lied when people REALLY died."
Obama met with Gloria Allred. He is not a serious man.
IOW, more empty chair.
Hahaha. Obama's applying his leading-from-behind strategy to the news cycle.
Doofus ignores factual reports and chooses instead to spin fanciful yarns; Gallant states what he knows when he knows it--nothing more, or less.
Jim Spice citing Condi Rice
"So there’s a big picture to be examined here. But we don’t have all of the pieces, and I think it’s easy to try and jump to conclusions about what might have happened here. It’s probably better to let the relevant bodies do their work."
That all makes perfect sense in serious, professional organization, Jim, so please tell us why Obama and his minions on national programs jumped to the wrong (and politically expedient) conclusion about videos and riots.
I won't even bother to ask your reaction to a Republican if he did the same thing.
I also am pretty sure you were not citing Condi Rice as an authoratative source prior to 2009.
"Nothing."
Actually that's an improvement, but man are they slow learners.
Hoping O'Reilly will be on the case tonight.
Got a rehearsal, so I won't catch his 8 o'clock show. Have to catch the 11 p.m. re-run.
Wait and see.
Hillary will not go down easily.
That almost sunk the last Democratic President.
Just remember this... the same media that was able to send an army of "reporters" to literally root through Sarah Palin's garbage in hopes of finding some tiny bit of incriminating evidence does not have any interest in the White House's involvement in the death of an ambassador and three other Americans in the worst attack on an American diplomatic compound since the Iranian hostage crisis.
I mean just roll that around in your head for a while and think about it.
garage mahal said...
The Benghazi Bellyflop.
Are you riffing on the Bain Bellyflop?
Cowardice in the face of treachery as his traitorousness unfolds even more.
Are you riffing on the Bain Bellyflop?
never heard of that one.
I mean just roll that around in your head for a while and think about it.
Makes me think Obama is pursuing the correct strategy.
Whether that is the best interests of the Republic is another question.
@garage: Or were you riffing on the devasting "Stretch-A-Sketch" caricature of Romney as an arch-conservative?
I believe that the entire MSM is currently secretly hoping that Romney wins this election.
I think that come Nov 7 there will be this huge sigh of relief in the MSM...."we get to do our job again after that 4 year vacation"
The President's trick with Gloria Allred seems to have worked about as well as anything else he has done.
October surprizzzzzz.
Terror soldiers and No ones coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming
Four dead left all alone.
Annnd Benghazi is nolle prossed.
Baron Zemo said...
I read that Hillary had requested more security right before the attack and that the White House had nixed it so as to not upset the natives.
Slick Willie wants her to release the emails and memos but Hillary doesn't want to do it.
Yet.
Insta links to the article and I have here down in the Silver post.
One thing that is for sure:
Obama has the National Security Advisor he wanted and deserves.
Donilon is useless sycophantic lawyer pond scum.
Mika Emilie Leonia Brzezinski knows more about being the NSC than Donilon.
Jeffrey, manufacturing outrage over hyped up pseudo-scandals during Republican administrations is no more "doing their job" than ignoring blatant law-breaking and incompetence during a Democrat administration.
"Slick Willie wants her to release the emails and memos but Hillary doesn't want to do it.
Yet."
I've said previously that Clinton doesn't want Obama reelected, neither Clinton. Bubba wants to remain the only Dem president elected to a second term since FDR and Hillery chances of being elected president after four more years of Obama would be worse than if he is defeated.
Annnd Benghazi is nolle prossed.
I still am waiting for the press to walk down the hallway and knock on CIA Director Patraeus's door. Just to, you know, see if he knows or cares about this Benghazi thing...
I heard Allred say that she met Obama briefly once and he had very kind things to say about her.
That alone is enough to disqualify him for office.
@chickelit
I didn't get it from anywhere. I just made it up.
Watergate played out over many months before it came to the attention of the majority of the public.
These things take a life of their own and Obama choose to keep stalling... which only aggravates the situation because its as if they are hiding something.
By the way... I forget where I heard this... in the anatomy of a political scandal it is better to use the pronoun they.
Going after Obama directly is the wrong approach.
You gota smokem out.
"Donilon is useless sycophantic lawyer pond scum."
Pat Caddell says he knows Donilon and that is why he believes there will be an October surprise.
Quayle,
Awesome. I had forgotten those lyrics. I like the substitution of "not optimal" for "I am not a crook."
I'll have to "spin" Roxy tonight.
Makes me think Obama is pursuing the correct strategy.
Whether that is the best interests of the Republic is another question.
Of course it's the "correct" campaign strategy, and of course it's not in the best interests of the Republic.
The corruption of the MSM has corroded government and the people's faith in it. For some reason, this pleases those who claim to want people to trust their government to do ever more for them.
You see they don't want to have their fingerprints on it.
The Clintons are smart. They won't put these memo's out on their own. That would mean they would be seen submarining the Jug Eared Jesus.
But a congressional subpoena would shake them loose and they can walk away clean.
Stay tuned.
Baron Zemo said...
I read that Hillary had requested more security right before the attack and that the White House had nixed it so as to not upset the natives.
I don't believe this. This is someone's what-if picked up as speculation and repeated as rumor.
The thing about nothing is that nothing is uncertain.
Bare with me...
What if there is nothing to this... what if there is a perfect explanation to their reaction to the events that transpired that day... not the policy mind you... but their reaction to it... lets say something we are not privy to because its conveniently classified its preventing them from being more forthcoming... meanwhile we are not talking about high unemployment along with the rest of the Obama disaster of a presidency.
(I used the word privi is a sentence... thats got to be worth something)
Obama tomorrow will comment on the cable telegram.
He will BLAME BUSH for the mess he would inherit if he wins a second term!
(I used the word privi is a sentence... thats got to be worth something)
Whatever that's worth you lost by also using "bare" with me.
I'm sensing a theme today.
I do not understand all this jabbering about e-mails and cables, etc.
We do know what happened in Benghazi, and we do know that the State Dept. employees on the ground were talking to Foggy Bottom on their cell phones while the attack was under way.
It is also reasonable to assume that the CIA and other government agency employees on the ground were likewise talking to their home offices.
(The dead silence out of the CIA on this affair is rather puzzling; normally they would be leaking like a sieve about something like this. Perhaps Petraeus told them the first person to be caught leaking would be discharged and prosecuted in terms that made him believable?)
We have to wait and see.
I think Hillary would make sure to cover her butt.
Wait and see.
That would take a lot of coverage.
Just curious, garage, simple yes-no question: would you prefer that the truth about Benghazi come out today, or not?
Perhaps what they are hiding, is this scenario:
Staff: "Mr. President! We need a decision. Soon. Now. Our people are under attack."
POTUS: (afraid to decide, voting present, can't find Valerie Jarrett, etc) "".
Um, remember how we talked last year about maybe the story that Panetta did an end run on Zero and Jarrett to do the bin Laden hit?
Well, It's not such a maybe.
You know Hillary is just waiting to stick it to him.
"You are likable enough Hillary."
Insta-karma is a bitch baby.
The important thing since the second this went wrong, back to and including the failure cascade of the previous months ("You don't need no stinkin' security") is punt-delay-lie-mislead-depend on the MSM-stonewall-punt, etc. is to get to Nov 7.
At that point the blame game, under bus throwing will become intense even though they will undoubtably expect the american people to have no stomach for a drawn out (and obviously partisan investigation). If Obama is re-elected that's a good assumption.
Barry is lucky he was smart enough not to agree to go to that picnic at Fort Marcy Park. Just sayn'
WaPo endorses Obama. The people do not.
Romney winning 52% to 43% on handling the economy.
Independents side with Romney by 19 points.
Let's take a rational look at what we know about Benghazi and the President's reaction to it.
We know that he and his team knew immediately that the attack had nothing to do with any mob protest or internet video. Indeed they knew within two hours that it was a deliberate attack by a well-armed and well-organized military force.
But they lied to the American people and the public for two weeks.
The question that should be getting asked is "why did they want the world to think that this was not a deliberate and well planned attack?"
That's an interesting question, and it's not one I've actually heard anyone ask any of the President's spokespeople.
There was no reason for all of that time to lie because of the murder of the ambassador and the three other Americans. That was already public knowledge.
So if they are hiding something, they are hiding something we don't know, and that something must be tied directly to the question of "why did they not want us to know this was a deliberate, planned, targeted attack?"
And that suggests that there was some other objective that the attackers had, one that we can only assume they achieved.
What could that objective have been? Why is hiding that objective worth all the lies the administration has told?
What else happened in Benghazi that the President doesn't want you to know about? What was Chris Stevens doing there in the first place? Who was he meeting with? What was he promising? Was he doing more than promising? Was he delivering?
These are the questions that an actual journalist would be asking, if we had any actual journalists in this country anymore.
Whatever that's worth you lost by also using "bare" with me.
To the naked eye it may appear to have been done out of disrespect.... but let not your hart be troubled... it was done out of ignorance.
The "Sergeant Schultz War" is indeed like "Fast & Furious." None of the stories we hear are believable, so there must have been something else going on.
But what?
I think the old time journalistic advice in such cases was, "Follow the money!"
massaging the next message.(trying to think up a new lie)
I have a question...does Zero just go for the lie ny nature, or is it something he learned to do, and has been developed by Chicago politics?
What do they have to say about Hillary telling Tyrone Woods' father that they will find the man who made the anti-Islam video and have him arrested and prosecuted?
Cosmic Conservative said...
We know that he and his team knew immediately that the attack had nothing to do with any mob protest or internet video. Indeed they knew within two hours that it was a deliberate attack by a well-armed and well-organized military force.
There were of course 2 attacks. The first was effectively over in minutes when the attackers controlled the compound and our 2 guys died hiding in the smoke.
The other attack occurred at least an hour later and lasted for perhaps 4-5 hours. This was the attack on the CIA compound.
Hillary and State are responsible for the first two deaths in the Consulate, without reinforced security, poor ROE and no effective guards, this place was Jihadi catnip.
However, Obama bears the burden for the second failure, the loss of the CIA files and our ignominious retreat from Benghazi. The Infamous 3 AM call came at 3PM. If he had ordered the launch of F-18s from Sicily, or god willing, an AC-130, the second attack would have failed.
the phone rang. He voted present...
When I was in negotiations and the other side said nothing on a point or changed the subject, I knew that was their weakest point.
I think it is interesting, and perhaps relevant, that one of the targets of the Benghazi attack has been confirmed to be a CIA outpost, but there has not been a word from Patraeus.
I do suspect there is another shoe to drop in this, but it may well be months before we hear it.
What was Chris Stevens doing there in the first place? Who was he meeting with? What was he promising? Was he doing more than promising? Was he delivering?
You have to be more specific...
You are not giving me nothing... but you are not giving me something either.
How do we know the CIA had a compound at Benghazi?
Doesn't seem like something they would divulge freely.
why should the lying incompetents say anything? They have zero integrity. The Obama admin is covered by a corrupt and unprofessional media
And now it seems that House Speaker Boehner has jumped into the fray by writing a letter to Øbama asking him to address some of the questions that have surfaced about the attack: who knew what and when, etc.
Well Mr. Speaker, good luck with that. Let's all just hold our breath while we wait for an answer.
Oh no -- we're all turning blue!
Garage, I suppose since the story appeared on Fox News you'll immediately assume it's fake.
But Fox News reported that "US Officials" confirmed one of the targets was a CIA compound.
I've seen it referenced several other places. I don't think it's a secret now.
One would think a well-informed person on such a critical subject would have already known.
hmm…what does this mean? Hillary Clinton suggests she could stay at State:
“ ‘A lot of people have talked to me about staying,’ Mrs. Clinton said, declining to be more specific. When asked if current events will force her departure date to slip, she said it was ‘unlikely,’ but for the first time left open that possibility for the short term.”
BO: "Hi, I'm Barack Obama and I killed Osama bin Laden, and I have killed many, many terrorists with drone missile attacks. I just want to assure everyone within the sound of my voice that Ambassador Stevens, and those other people...military or somthing...died, because of a protest about a video."
Reporter: "So are you expecting another backlash from muslims, for "spiking the football", with your new movie coming out 2 days before the election?"
BO: "..."
Don't blame the victim.
The Ambassador was doing what all of them do under this administration. Kowtowing to barbarians and terrorists.
When they are not making apologies.
Look how that worked out.
I should have titled that, "Scenes that while never happen in our lifetime"
Carnifex said...
massaging the next message.(trying to think up a new lie)
I have a question...does Zero just go for the lie ny nature, or is it something he learned to do, and has been developed by Chicago politics?
I think it's second nature.
Willie did the same thing and both are raving sociopaths.
“I have been asked by one of our spokespeople to relay ‘that we decline to comment,’”
Most. Transparent. Administration. Ever.
Now those dudes in Cairo really know how to grovel.
I bet they all get promotions if Barry is re-elected.
Obama is an ideological liar. Clinton was an opportunistic liar. There is a HUGE difference in the two.
Obama will simply say whatever he thinks will advance his ideology. That's why he will tell a reporter on Monday that his "#1 priority" is immigration, and on Tuesday that his "#1 priority" is jobs. He has no "#1 priority" all he has is a desire to advance his agenda.
Clinton just lies to save his ass.
We have the Benghazi cover up and Obama is going to the swing states and talking about how the people can trust him because they know him, if he says something he means it.
You know it's amazing that assholes like garage and that fat fuck Bob Beckel shrug this off as a non story while they were absolutely apoplectic over the Valerie Plame kerfuffle, which REALLY was a non story.
At this point how much daylight is there between these scumbags and the Bolsheviks they have come to emulate through proxies such as Saul Alinsky?
The Watergate comparison is apt. What if Obama wins? He will have to drag BenghaziGate around like a dog.
At this point how much daylight is there between these scumbags and the Bolsheviks they have come to emulate through proxies such as Saul Alinsky?
+100
dreams, imho Obama's current campaign strategy is a horrible one. Going out and calling your opponent a liar over dubious caricatures of his statements, while the evening news provides proof of your own lies about the murder of four human beings only focuses the attention on who the real liar is.
But Obama has no other arrows in his quiver now. All he can do is lie about Romney louder and louder and louder in the hopes that volume will eventually overcome the evidence of people seeing the real Romney right in front of them.
If Obama loses this election, make no mistake, Obama will have LOST this election through the same sort of rank incompetence and ideological blindness that people like me have been warning the country about since his first appearance on the political scene.
hmm…what does this mean?
That there is a disagreement between Obama and Hillary and Hillary is playing hard ball?
The Watergate comparison is apt. What if Obama wins? He will have to drag BenghaziGate around like a dog.
garage mahal said...
How do we know the CIA had a compound at Benghazi?
Doesn't seem like something they would divulge freely.
How did the AlQueda know?
dreams said...
"We have the Benghazi cover up and Obama is going to the swing states and talking about how the people can trust him because they know him, if he says something he means it."
The fact is, there is no failure (or lie), or series of failures (or lies), critical enough, damaging enough or large enough to cause any committed Obama voter to change their mind.
They are heavily, emotionally invested in failure, so doubling down, or even tripling down on failure, is just another symptom.
Where is a tape recorder in the Oval Office when you need one?
Drill SGT said--"Mika Emilie Leonia Brzezinski knows more about being the NSC than Donilon
And a hella'lot better legs...woof!(in a good way)
I mean really, the party comes before all else. Truth, reason, justice, all jettisoned without a thought, for political expediency in the pursuit of absolute power. The left is built on the lie that they need power to wield in the pursuit of uplifting mankind, but they are just the worst type greedheads imaginable with a bottomless lust for power over others in the naked desire simply to be rulers.
There is a big difference there pal.
In the Valarie Plame affair there was a chance that somebody could get killed.
In Benghazi people actually got killed.
There was a big difference.
Only one of these could be blamed on Republicans!
Get with the program!
When asked if current events will force her departure date to slip, she said it was ‘unlikely,’
Hillary was a player in Watergate... she remembers what resignations meant to the Nixon white house.
Hillary is the October Surprise. Expect one of these a day until election day. She probably had the embassy in Kenya cook up an authentic looking Kenyan birth certificate for Obama.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
– C. S. Lewis
I know you missed him so I figured out where the Crack Emcee went!
Hillary's reputation for ruthlessness only applies to underlings. She sucks up to the boss man and lies for him, even falling on her own sword. She's done it with two democrat Presidents now.
Marshall said--"Whatever that's worth you lost by also using "bare" with me"
You mis-understood Lem. He started off literally. He's at home, naked in front of the laptop. He want's us all naked, in front of the laptop. I would just like to assure everyone that I am doing MY part to help Lem with his "Everyone Naked In Front of the Laptop" quest. A noble, valiant effort.
And isn't a privy an "outhouse"? Why would you use "outhouse" in that sentence? It makes no sense.
Cosmic Conservative said...
Let's take a rational look at what we know about Benghazi and the President's reaction to it.
We know that he and his team knew immediately that the attack had nothing to do with any mob protest or internet video. Indeed they knew within two hours that it was a deliberate attack by a well-armed and well-organized military force
================
In defense of the CIA, there are some competing theories on the terrorism as driven by the Copt scumbag's video, if the attack was planned but the scumbag's video offered perfect timing and motivation for the regular low-level trigger pullers, or this was an attack that had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the scumbag's Prophet video.
My guess is this was a planned attack - but Ansar al-Sharia , Al Qaeda leaders were quick to understand this was a golden opportunity in timing. Other embassies were under seige and direct attack from the Prophet video.
That meant that the Tripoli embassy and the US forces at the Cairo embassy were bunkered down, and no reinforcements would arrive from Tripoli or Cairo to interfere with the attack on the Consulate or CIA safehouse.
And the attack might well be thought to be the 11th or 12 such attack by spontaneously outraged Muslims about the Prophet blasphemy, by distracted Americans - who would hopefully take hours to discern this was different.
And the Ambassador, who started his travel not knowing the Muslims would be erupting globally to the Copt scumbag's defamation.....was yet another gorgeous stroke of luck for the Islamoids.
And capping it all off, each fighter was made aware before battle with the enemy infidel of the Prophet defamation - to motivate them to fight harder (just as Americans used depections of Jap atrocities to help get Marine bloodthirst up before going into battle)
The CIA HAS been there and used assets in the region to ID and talk to some of the attackers and bystanders (looters, too).
Apparantly all were aware of the Prophet defamation and blasphemy and many of the attackers were screaming they would be doing payback because of it
This of course was fed to the White House and formed the basis of Susan Rice's and Jay Carney's cover for Obama to avoid admitting it was a terrorist attack..
YES, THE SCUMBAG COPT's VIDEO WAS, REPEAT, WAS ....A FACTOR IN THE BENGHAZI ATTACK BY AL QAEDA AND OTHER GROUPS.
I knew I remember something about this.
Issa’s Benghazi document dump exposes several Libyans working with the U.S.
But Issa didn't bother to redact the names of Libyan civilians and local leaders mentioned in the cables, and just as with the WikiLeaks dump of State Department cables last year, the administration says that Issa has done damage to U.S. efforts to work with those Libyans and exposed them to physical danger from the very groups that had an interest in attacking the U.S. consulate.
Seems like the GOP is really good at outing CIA operations and personnel.
Shame shame shame.
The fact is, there is no failure (or lie), or series of failures (or lies), critical enough, damaging enough or large enough to cause any committed Obama voter to change their mind.
I suppose you can quibble about the word "committed," but a friend of a friend, a liberal feminist, who voted for Obama in 2008 and planned to do so this year, says that she is voting for Romney and Benghazi was the last straw.
I just typed the phrase "Benghazi CIA outpost" into Google and unearthed tons of information including a scathing report by Newsweek.
He will have to drag BenghaziGate around like a dog.
The thing about Obama is that whenever we thought he was down... (Obamacare, the debt deal) he bounced back up... part of it is embedded in the low expectation we have of him... the part that holds us responsible for electing an woefully untested man to the office.
No matter how promising the likelihood of a juicy scandal a second term holds, we cannot afford four more years of this man at the helm... I dont even want to entertain that possibility.
What happened at Issa's hearing--
1)Charlene Lamb, an official of the department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, said the Benghazi compound was hit by “a full-scale assault that was unprecedented in size and intensity.”
“We had the correct number of (security) assets in Benghazi at the time of 9/11 for what had been agreed upon,” she told lawmakers.
She then put up satellite photos of the consulate and the "safe house" (That's the "safe haven" and CIA base) Both were attacked by Al Qaeda on 9/11/2012.
2)When the satellite photo was displayed, a senior committee Republican, Representative Jason Chaffetz, complained that the discussion was drifting into "classified issues that deal with sources and methods," and the photo was removed from public display. No one at the hearing used the term "CIA base" to describe the facility. Republicans objecting to a photograph displayed by the State Department of what appeared to be an aerial view of the Benghazi compound and the nearby area, saying it might reveal classified information.
A State Department official said the information was for public dissemination, and a Democratic lawmaker said: “You can Google it.”
Democrats on the committee continued to ask questions regarding the safe haven with the Republican objecting to the line of questioning entering classified territory.
3)The next morning, Dana Milbank, a Washington Post columnist, wrote that the committee's "boneheaded questioning" of State Department witnesses left little doubt that the compound in the pictures was a "CIA base."
The Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank with ties to the Obama White House, followed up with a blog post accusing Republicans of revealing the "Location Of Secret CIA Base."
On Friday, Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, accused Republicans of mishandling secret information.
4) The Daily Kos and DU and all the usual suspects were all set to push the story that Republicans jeopardized national security by leaking info about the CIA base. Google this and you will find all these posts first--you have to go ten deep to find a discussion of what actually happened.
That there is a disagreement between Obama and Hillary and Hillary is playing hard ball?
I think that we are seeing what happens when you try to throw a Clinton under the bus - we now apparently know that the State Department had requested more security and it had been turned down by the Obama Administration, and we now apparently know that the State department had informed the White House situation room that an attack had begun, that it looked like a terrorist attack, and ultimately that mortars and RPGs were being used. All, of course, in real time.
Notice anything? Maybe that they both paint the State Department as being the good guys and the White House/Obama people as being the bad guys here?
What Condi Rice had to say about it..."
More importantly, who would give a shit what Condi would say, or Gates, or Imaginary General Custer-Rumsfeld, or Imaginary General McClellan-Powell, et al, snot dripping infinitum.
Hell, we can just listen up to General Tweedledee Demspey, Secretary stack your USMC weapons before me ah'm ascairt bro-Panetta, ...or just listen to General Bought and Paid Petraeus esplain what his CIA was doing...or wasn't doing. Eh?
None of it matters. It only used to matter. Now, all it it is bullshit. The four relevant witnesses are dead...I'm sure to the relief of many in f'ing DC.
As I've in other posts, change up the Command, and if that fails, Hang Them one by one.
I knew I remember something about this.
You fucking lying sack of shit, garage. You were on the bandwagon here spouting the same bullshit the day after that hearing. I called bullshit then, too.
@Garage ...
You mean the activist outed by the White House? http://www.world-affairs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/authentic_voices_-_libya.pdf
Of course that was in 2011. Which is a smaller number then 2012. And numbers are hard for people like you and the president. Or did you get past 7th grade math? Then I'll have to admit you are smarter then Obama.
Paul said--"Hillary's reputation for ruthlessness only applies to underlings. She sucks up to the boss man and lies for him, even falling on her own sword. She's done it with two democrat Presidents now
She sucks... the boss man, and lies with him...
FIFY
In the Valarie Plame affair there was a chance that somebody could get killed.
Unlikely though - Plame was riding a desk at Langley. And, of course, everyone forgets why her employment came out - which was because she was instrumental in getting her husband the gig to the middle east, and that job is what gave him the credibility to write the op-ed critical of the Bush Administration. The question then was, why was a Democratic political operative being sent on this sort of mission by the Bush Administration? And, part of the answer was that his CIA wife had suggested his name.
"I suppose you can quibble about the word "committed," but a friend of a friend, a liberal feminist, who voted for Obama in 2008 and planned to do so this year, says that she is voting for Romney and Benghazi was the last straw."
I'm happy to read that.
The Republic's future rests on the ability of voters to learn from their mistakes.
That 5:20 comment is from Al Qaeda laughing at what a dumbass Garage Mahal is--and all the details of the secret CIA base that they knew since the CIA moved in initially.
Hillary's reputation for ruthlessness only applies to underlings. She sucks up to the boss man and lies for him, even falling on her own sword. She's done it with two democrat Presidents now.
That, at least, was what we thought was happening here. She made the gesture. But, then something apparently happened, and the Clinton people may have brought out their knives.
I think that what must be remembered here is that the Clintons still have a lot of power, esp. in the government. A lot of mid-level government employees seem to prefer Bill Clinton (and, by extension, his wife) to Obama. They really don't have much loyalty to Obama, because he has absolutely none to anyone outside his immediate circle.
"And, part of the answer was that his CIA wife had suggested his name."
Actually, her suggesting him for the assignment was the only reason he was sent.
Whether he went with malice aforethought is not fully resolved, but JCWIV's "sweet mint tea" chronicles suggest he did so, and found what he knew he was looking for: nothing.
Wait a minute..
Did garage just get caught shooting first and aiming later?
hubba hubba.
garage links: Issa has done damage to U.S. efforts to work with those Libyans and exposed them to physical danger from the very groups that had an interest in attacking the U.S. consulate.
Any reports of reprisal attacks on those "exposed" Libyans?
What happened at Issa's hearing--
I linked to an article about Issa posting 166 pages of senstive documents to his committee website.
Many of the documents the committee posted weren't provided by State. So there wasn't any discussion about their sensitivity prior to the committee revealing them for all to see," the official said. "Had State been given that opportunity, we'd have taken it and pointed out what documents needed to be handled with extreme care so as not to endanger anyone."
Nice. Real nice.
Darrell said...
"That 5:20 comment is from Al Qaeda laughing at what a dumbass Garage Mahal is--and all the details of the secret CIA base that they knew since the CIA moved in initially."
Hmmmm.
My online translator reads: "...complimenting the dumbass Garage Mahal for distracting people from all the details of the secret CIA base that they knew since the CIA moved in initially."
Everything else is a match. You may want to try a new translator, as mine seems more plausible.
If Obama wins, we'll be stuck with a second term president that the mainstream press has effectively declared off limits.
Think about where that might lead.
To the fever dreamers finally addressing their own issues and paranoid delusions?
garage is showing initial stage symptoms of Issa Derrangment Syndrome.
"the Valarie Plame affair"
She wasn't even undercover and was never in any danger.
@garage ... how many times do we have to go over the issue of classification. "Sensitive" is NOT a classification.
"Sensitive" applies to a travel clerk hooking up with the IT Tech for for whoopee in the Server Room at lunch time. "Very Sensitive" is then the agency boss SES ranking meathead throws a half million dollar party for agency big wig gurls and guys and links up photos of it all.
That party was also an IQ test for the current SES Ranks ... room temperature is all they require if said exec's ass kissing is good enough. And Obama's crew can lick an ass and reach the tonsils. They're that good.
"the Valarie Plame affair"
She wasn't even undercover and was never in any danger.
Which is clearly THE BESTEST REASON EVAR to violate all principle, protocol and national honor by opportunistically outing her!!!
Oh, look...SQUIRREL!!
Expect a flurry of them between now and 06 November 2012.
The most awesomest thing about Benghazi-gate is that unlike "lapses" in the presumed competence of Republican presidents, this one occurred overseas instead of in the heart of America's financial center, resulted in 4 deaths instead of thousands, and took place under the watch of A DEMOCRAT!!11!!! TOTALLY WINNING!11!1!!!!
Oh look, a yipping little dog. Expect many of them between now and the election.
"Sensitive" means embarassing to Democrats if it gets out.
Classified multi-billion dollar stealth satellite systems are fair game if you are Democratic Senators, namely Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who's also the ranking Dem on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
"by opportunistically outing her!!!"
And who did that?
And who did that?
But remember you would not know if you read Kos,the DU, HuffPo, Firedoglake or any of the other Leftist blogs or the mainstream media bullshit.
Good ole fall guy Scooter Libby.
Ritmo ...don't both with cute response to anything I say, just scroll past as I usually do with your drivel. Your prior comment, at 6:oo PM, is classic comparative analysis failure for you. 4 deaths is winning?
Richard Armitage--if you do.
I expect Republicans to rally against the president on Libya the same way Democrats got the country to rally against Bush on 9/11.
You know. Because the American people find that sort of partisan patriotism VERY INSPIRING!
...this one occurred overseas instead of in the heart of America's financial center, resulted in 4 deaths instead of thousands...
Thanks for the reminder. I'd forgotten how, on that fateful morning, airport security contacted the FBI to ask for increased security on four flights w/ suspicious persons boarding them, and how the WH rejected the FBI's recommendation that these people be prohibited from boarding.
Yes, these two cases are exactly alike. Only Republican partisans fail to see that.
It was Richard Armitage Colin Powell's assistant who oppose Bush's policy and Powell knew that the all the time but allowed the investigation to go on for years.
Armitage admits leaking Plame's identity
SPECIAL COUNSEL
Share this on:Facebook Twitter Digg delicious reddit MySpace StumbleUpon LinkedIn September 08, 2006
Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage acknowledged Thursday that he was the source who first revealed the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame to syndicated columnist Robert Novak back in 2003, touching off a federal investigation.
Armitage told the CBS Evening News that he did so inadvertently.
"I feel terrible," Armitage said. "Every day, I think, I let down the president. I let down the secretary of state. I let down my department, my family, and I also let down Mr. and Mrs. Wilson
http://articles.cnn.com/2006-09-08/politics/leak.armitage_1_novak-and-other-journalists-cia-officer-valerie-plame-patrick-fitzgerald?_s=PM:POLITICS
ritmo: "TOTALLY WINNING!11!1!!!!"
Speaking of "totally winning", here you go:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/10/25/post-abc-tracking-poll-romney-50-percent-obama-47/
Key snip: "Should [Romney's 19 point lead with independents] stick, it would be the sharpest tilt among independents in a presidential election since Ronald Reagan’s 1984 landslide win."
Ouch.
That's going to leave a mark.
But we all remember how Bush blamed the 9/11/01 attacks on provocative videos, and saw to it that US citizens were jailed in retribution.
The parallels are eerie.
Three instances of incoherence in three sentences is quite an achievement for Aridog.
#Hypocrisy fail#English language fail#Sarcasm fail.
You know. Because the American people find that sort of partisan patriotism VERY INSPIRING!
These Einsteins never wonder why even Romney stopped bringing up Benghazi, and didn't mention it once during the last debate?
Armitage doesn't exist in the Shitmo universe--as you can see.
Chip, it's good to see you trying for the honesty angle in a swamp of lies, but those little (and slantingly told) distinctions aren't going to add up. And as far as the "WE'RE ALWAYS RIGHT/THEY'RE ALWAYS WRONG" bit, remember Ron Paul's ideas about blowback. Your party sure does.
Does he share a cell with Scooter Libby? Maybe he should.
These Einsteins never wonder why even Romney stopped bringing up Benghazi, and didn't mention it once during the last debate?
Because Obama was prepared for it? Because Obama was kept off-balance waiting for it and still not hearing it?
Never give the fuckers what they want.
"Good ole fall guy Scooter Libby."
It wasn't him but he was convicted of perjury because his recollection of some of the events differed from Tim Russert. I consider it a national shame and Bush should have pardoned Libby who is a good man.
I have an extremely low opinion of Plame and her husband and of those who don't know the facts but still run their ignorant mouths.
garage chides: These Einsteins never wonder why even Romney stopped bringing up Benghazi, and didn't mention it once during the last debate?
Because he thought giving him any more rope would be construed as racist? Sensitivities and all.
garage mahal said...
I knew I remember something about this.
Issa’s Benghazi document dump exposes several Libyans working with the U.S.
But Issa didn't bother to redact the names of Libyan civilians and local leaders mentioned in the cables, and just as with the WikiLeaks dump of State Department cables last year, the administration says that Issa has done damage to U.S. efforts to work with those Libyans and exposed them to physical danger from the very groups that had an interest in attacking the U.S. consulate.
Seems like the GOP is really good at outing CIA operations and personnel.
Shame shame shame.
I'm expecting those mass riot protests here in the US really soon at the release of these despicable documents that offends US foreign policy.
garage,
You still haven't answered the question. Do you want the truth of Benghazi to come out before the election? You should want that, if everything was handled appropriately.
Chip, is the rush to comment tripping you up? You somehow remember Bush preventing 19 hijackers from boarding the airplanes they overtook? I sure don't.
Garage,
"The Obama Tentacles have reached Condi Rice?"
Why can't they simply answer the question? I ask, because with a high degree of certainty, I don't think you would be giving a Republican the benefit of the doubt. This, unfortunately, makes much of what you say unprincipled. It doesn't matter what Ms. Rice says, the administration can give a straight answer, which so far they have refused to do. And in all of this, the dead Americans get lost in the shuffle as partisans continue their unprincipled talking-points approach.
If the president had information that this was a terrorist attack and yet for more than a week asserted it was because of a movie that is important, no?
You know what, a little bit of moral clarity would go a long way in allowing you to convince your opposites that you are a morally serious person. Instead, it is all spin all the time. I think there is a strong tradition of leaders shading the truth for political purposes--mostly because they reflect the rest of us; I don't think they are, on average, morally worse than the general population though they have greater temptations. But good leaders put this aside during a crisis and speak the truth. So far we have not seen that from the Obama admin.
American are dead, and there are many legitimate questions which the administration refuses to address. Remember Obama's high moral dudgeon in the second debate regarding the deaths? How does that look now as more and more information leaks out and he and his administration don't answer simple questions? if "his psople" are so important, why didn't he send in some aircraft for example? There may be a good reason, but he and his administration simply refuse to answer simple questions.
Do you even care that this may be a major scandal, or is politics your god--the one you subordinate all other needs and desires to?
It is Waiting for Godot.
"Because Obama was prepared for it? Because Obama was kept off-balance waiting for it and still not hearing it?
Never give the fuckers what they want."
I agree, that is why Obama was so upset at the end of the debate. He knew he might have won the battle but lost the war.
Ritmo, My outrage at Obama has always been about the blame-shifting coverup. If he's got good reasons for the decisions made in real time, then I won't second-guess him. But his actions since then suggest that he doesn't have good reasons.
Either way, his stonewalling and scapegoating are not the actions of a trustworthy leader.
Scooter Libby's testimony didn't agree with that reporter's notes--even though the LUDs* did and the reporter admitted that he didn't record his notes when the event happened--even that same day, most times. But somehow the jury found it compelling. Like the jurors that talked about the shit was was on Left-wing blogs that was presennted in court.
*Local usage dump--phone co. records.
Because he thought giving him any more rope would be construed as racist? Sensitivities and all.
Ah, you have much to learn in the ways of what racism is and how it is best avoided, young grasshopper.
Either way, his stonewalling and scapegoating are not the actions of a trustworthy leader.
Amazing that you can say this while apparently preferring a candidate who will change his convictions on command at a split-second notice.
...that was NOT presented in the court case.
@Ritmo: I etched a sketch of an autist once. It was a fine portrait. I still have the original.
GOod comeback ;-)
Obama told us all about ships in that last debate.
The only ship he knows nothing about is leadership.
exhelodrvr1 said...
"garage,
You still haven't answered the question. Do you want the truth of Benghazi to come out before the election? You should want that, if everything was handled appropriately."
Of course he doesn't.
Why?
Easy: Gallup has Romney at 50%.
And: Rasmussen has Romney at 50%.
And, finally: ABC News/Washington Post has Romney at 50%.
His failed president can't admit to any more failures, or any more bad news.
Final fact: No incumbent president polling under 50% has been reelected.
That isn't determinative, of course, but Obama has been polling under 50% for nineteen months now.
Voters are tired of America's failed president.
Romney will most very likely win.
How can they trust someone that changes stances by putting his finger in the air to see which way the wind blows?
Obama derangement syndrome is what drives these people.
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