Posted on 01/23/2013 3:28:40 PM PST by SeekAndFind
"What difference does it make?" an angry Hillary Clinton retorted when Senator Ron Johnson pressed her on why the administration pushed the false narrative on Benghazi. I've already responded, but in case that's not enough, CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson has a thought on that question:
It makes a difference.
— Sharyl Attkisson (@SharylAttkisson) January 23, 2013
The Washington Post's Erik Wemple explains why:
No matter your view of the media’s role in Benghazi; no matter your take on whether U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice leveled with the country on the Sept. 16 talk shows; no matter your view of Fox News’s Benghazi campaign, it surely does make a difference whether it was “because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they’d go kill some Americans.” It makes a difference to the media, the public, the government, everyone.
The trustworthiness of the administration’s version of events — even the early one — makes a difference. Whether it was hard-core terrorism or a spontaneous attack or something else — that makes a difference too, with strong implications for intelligence accountability. Goodness gracious, in her very own statement, Clinton herself even seems to acknowledge that it makes a difference, when she says, “It is our job to figure out what happened …”
At one point in the proceedings, Clinton stated, “Maybe we didn’t do a good enough job of explaining that we didn’t have a good picture.” Yes, that would have helped.
National Review’s Eliana Johnson points out that it mattered to the White House — when they could blame it on a YouTube video:
Setting aside Clinton’s bizarre decision to assign varying weights to these matters, her response is uncharacteristically flippant for someone of her stature. Isn’t it essential why four Americans were murdered, and why this information wasn’t promptly or accurately conveyed to the American people? Wasn’t answering that question one of the central purposes of today’s hearing?
Clinton’s dismissal of the impetus behind the attack also stands in stark contrast to nearly everything senior officials of the Obama administration said publicly about it in the days that followed, including both the president and Clinton herself — that is, when the administration was blaming the attack on a YouTube video. In opening remarks for a strategic dialogue with Morocco — video below — which occurred four days after the Benghazi attack, Clinton said, “There is no justification, none at all, for responding to this video with violence. We condemn the violence that has resulted in the strongest terms.”
The idea that the cause of the attack should now take a backseat to other concerns seems all too convenient.
And transparently so.
Ed Morrisey is right:
1) First, it mattered enough for the Obama administration to send Susan Rice to five different Sunday talk shows to insist that the sacking was a spontaneous demonstration of anger over a months-old YouTube video, while saying that there was “no evidence” that it was a terrorist attack. On one of those appearances, the president of Libya told US audiences the exact opposite — that it was the work of terrorists and that they had a pretty good idea of who they were. If it didn’t matter, what was Susan Rice doing when she tried pushing that meme, which the White House had to abandon within days as leaks within State and CIA made plain that there was no demonstration?
2) It also matters because Barack Obama at the time had been bragging about crippling al-Qaeda while on the campaign trail. That false narrative made it seem as though State and our intel community couldn’t have possibly known that the sacking would have occurred, and got blindsided by a grassroots reaction to the video. Instead, it turned out to be a planned terrorist action about which the US embassy in Libya had warned State for months, repeatedly requesting more security.
3) There’s also the matter of Barack Obama’s intervention in Libya and his undeclared war against Moammar Qaddafi. His actions, and that of NATO in following his initial lead, decapitated the ruthless regime that at least was keeping a lid on terrorist networks in eastern Libya. The rise of those networks in the Benghazi region should have been a predictable outcome from the power vacuum the US/NATO campaign left in the region, which resulted in the ability to conduct this attack. That also reflects on the decision to remove the military security at the consulate even with the deteriorating environment very clear to anyone paying attention. That also matters because of how the transfer of weapons to the militias in that US/NATO effort and the resultant power vacuum has destabilized Mali and potentially a wide swath of North Africa.
So it matters because of CREDIBILITY.
un-f'n believable.
I can only imagine what the media's reaction would be if this was a republican administration. The howls would be deafening.
Perhaps she's taking her lead from Obummer ... he characterized the murder of a US Ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi by Islamic terrorists as a 'bump in the road'.
Bump.
Hillary has lost all credibility. She ain’t runnin’.
US Embassy in Cairo quietly deletes its ‘we stand by our condemnation’ tweet; Update: More deleted tweets!
Here is Hillary pushing it again on Sept. 13th.
Clinton: Anti-Islam Video 'Disgusting' (video 2:56)
Here is a 'senior administration official' trying to distance 0bamugabe from Hillary's f-up and at the same time admitting by inference that she was the source of the 'video did it' meme.
Senior administration official: The Cairo embassy’s statement does not reflect the view of the U.S. government; Update: Romney calls embassy statement “disgraceful”posted at 10:34 pm on September 11, 2012 by Allahpundit
The White House is disavowing a statement from their own Cairo embassy that apologized for anti-Muslim activity in the United States.
“The statement by Embassy Cairo was not cleared by Washington and does not reflect the views of the United States government,” a senior administration official told POLITICO…
“Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a Tuesday statement.
And here 0bamugabe and Hillary work together to try to prop up her 'video did it' nonsense and spread it even further.
Obama and Hillary Apologize for Free Speech on Pakistani TV (taxpayer-funded ads) 09/20/2012
Scary to me that Hilary’s alternate explanation after a protest is “some guys taht decided to kill some Americans”!!!
She does not have the concept of terrorism in her head? She refers to Al Queda in such loopey unimportant terms????
“Mrs. Clinton, if Chelsea had been killed in an al Quaeda attack in Libya would it matter?”
Inyo-Mono~:” Bump. “
It was really : “ bump ,..bump .. bump, .. bump .. “
This is “Fast and Furious , Part Deux “
They saw the perps in immediate time , .. and then said it was caused by “the movie “.
The administration lied ! .. and they knew better !
and then Hillary couldn’t testify because she was out of the country in Australia on a wine tour.
And then Hillary had fallen and had a bump on the head
So after 4 1/2 months later she has finally offered testimony to a Congressional committee and says “ What does it matter ?”
Well , obviously , it doesn’t matter to her that she was responsible for 4 deaths of Americans which could have been prevented
Stall some more - like Holder in the original “Fast and Furious” ~ still waiting
still waiting for responsibility , and how high up the chain of command the knowledge went ..
and still waiting for the justification for the President’s order of “ Executive Priviledge “ .
Elite and Executive Priviledge , indeed !!
It’s little more than the elite looking down their noses with impunity saying :’ How dare you question me’ !!
The reason it makes a difference is that Americans were killed while in the service of their country.
It's called "lessons learned". We need to know how and why it happened so that we can learn to avoid future fiascoes.
Still unanswered : Who gave the order to ‘STAND DOWN’
Short of answering that question ~ there is no resolve to this incident !!
Obama is just a bump in the road.
The first thing out of this socialist frauds lips was. “I can’t believe they attacked us after we liberated them”. If that doesn’t clue you in to how far this CLUELESS LIBERAL’S head is up her rear end regarding foreign policy, nothing will. Security, Hell. There our friends, arn’t they.
What an SOB! EVERYTHING these CBS and WaPo people do is a campaign in favor of obama. At least this "campaign" could "make a difference."
What difference does it make Hillary?
I think you just shat upon ALL the AMERICANS killed and wounded in Iraq, F ghanistan, Benghazi, and ESPECIALLY on 9/11.
Congratulations there Hill. You have elevated yourself to an all time low.
RE: Hillary has lost all credibility. She ain’t runnin’.
Americans have very short memories and many don’t even know what Benghazi is all about (Especially the young ones). Yet, they DO vote.
Hillary will stake her 2016 campaign on this.
Hey, Hillary!
I guess if someone asked me if I thought you were more likely to die of natural causes or something else, I think I would be justified in saying “What difference does it make?”
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