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Obama admin recalibrating Benghazi narrative — again — before FP debate?
Hot Air.com ^ | October 20, 2012 | ERIKA JOHNSON

Posted on 10/20/2012 3:41:47 PM PDT by Kaslin

Since it now appears that the first two presidential debates did very much indeed have a resounding effect on the state of the race, Team O can’t afford to take any chances with Monday’s foreign-policy debate. Unfortunately, the Obama administration’s narrative on the president’s foreign-policy record has long been that all of those drone strikes and the death of Osama bin Laden have vastly deteriorated the strength and coordination of terrorism in the Middle East, and the attacks on the consulate in Benghazi and the death of four Americans on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11 put something of a damper on that narrative.

Now it looks like the White House might be trying to rejigger that narrative yet again align more favorably with President Obama’s self-stated successes, do some damage control on his administration’s incompetent and bungled response to repeated security threats in the region, and may be most particularly looking get any “al Qaeda”-related language out of the Libya story. Fox News reported last night:

The intelligence community on Friday once again modified its assessment of what caused the deadly terror attack last month on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya – returning in part to claims that the violence was in reaction to a protest at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo over an anti-Islam film.

At the same time, the latest assessment acknowledged there was no actual protest in Benghazi at the time of the attack and that “extremist” elements were likely involved. …

The latest assessment appears to fall somewhere between the flawed account U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice gave on Sept. 16 claiming the attack was “spontaneous” and a subsequent revision on Sept. 28 by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper claiming it was a coordinated terror attack.

Then, as Stephen Hayes summarized at the Weekly Standard this morning,

The administration’s new line takes shape in two articles out Saturday, one in the Los Angeles Times and the other by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. The Times piece reports that there is no evidence of an al Qaeda role in the attack. The Ignatius column makes a directly political argument, claiming that “the Romney campaign may have misfired with its suggestion that statements by President Obama and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice about the Benghazi attacks weren’t supported by intelligence, according to documents provided by a senior intelligence official.”

If this is the best the Obama administration can offer in its defense, they’re in trouble. The Times story is almost certainly wrong and the central part of the Ignatius “scoop” isn’t a scoop at all.

As Hayes goes on to point out, this new intelligence claiming that there is no evidence that al Qaeda was involved in the attacks, directly contradicts earlier reports and evidence claiming that al Qaeda and/or affiliates may very well have been involved in the attacks — and either way, none of this gets around the undeniable fact that the Obama administration failed to deal with longstanding security concerns.

It’s really quite jarring that Team Obama can accuse Mitt Romney & friends of trying to distort the Benghazi situation for political purposes, when it is abundantly clear that that is what’s going on with the White House here. This is raising some serious questions in the intelligence community and from Congress about the White House’s manipulative handling of the situation, and certain Republicans (rightly) aren’t going to let this go, per Politico:

The chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security late Friday demanded President Barack Obama release the intelligence reports behind the administration’s evolving explanation for the burning of the Benghazi consulate.

In a letter, Peter King (R-N.Y) echoed fellow House Republicans’ calls in demanding the release of intelligence that led the administration to initially conclude protests over an inflammatory Internet film led to the attack, and “subsequent Intelligence Community analyses which led your Administration to determine that the events of September 11, 2012 represented a terrorist attack.” …

In a letter to President Barack Obama sent earlier Friday, Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) called for a “full and immediate account” of the administration’s decisions leading up to and in the wake of the attack. …



TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: axelrod; coverup; morelies; msmcollusion; obamaosseiran; rewritinghistory
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To: Paladin2
Ppfffiitttt!!!

...recalibrating sounds a lot like flip/flop.....

...Maybe one of the mothers of the not-optimal dead fellows will offer a commernt on recalibrating !!!

21 posted on 10/20/2012 4:56:04 PM PDT by ptsal (E)
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To: Kaslin

The commies in the media are trying to cover up Buckwheat’s role in ordering the attack at Benghazi and save the oreo from standing trial for treason.


22 posted on 10/20/2012 5:08:34 PM PDT by sergeantdave (The FBI has declared war on the Marine Corps)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

1. Poverty rate: About one-third of Libyans live at or below the national poverty line.

2. Libya TV (also known as Libya Al-Ahrar TV) is a Libyan TV channel http://www.livestation.com/channels/125-libya-tv

3. “Inside the home of one Benghazi family “ (From 2011)http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12709350

4. Males have a 92% literacy rate in Benghazi, but Population with median age of 24.2, and a literacy rate of 88%

5. Gross national income per head: $12,020 (World Bank 2009)

Sources: Wikipedia, BBC,

However, there are now food and energy source. “Family Time in Benghazi”

Sunday, 12 June 2011

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/06/12/153019.html


23 posted on 10/20/2012 5:17:53 PM PDT by combat_boots (The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spiritui Sancto.)
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To: TEXOKIE

24 posted on 10/20/2012 5:17:58 PM PDT by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
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To: Paladin2

These aren’t the Jihadis you’re looking for.


25 posted on 10/20/2012 5:29:27 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: Kaslin

No matter what Obama says at this point, all Romney has to do is to point out how many times the official White House story has changed when they knew from the beginning that it was a terrorist attack.


26 posted on 10/20/2012 6:07:51 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

“Rejigger” is not the best choice of words in the same sentence as White House.”

Now now... Let’s not act niggardly with vocabulary choices.


27 posted on 10/20/2012 6:18:06 PM PDT by ViLaLuz (2 Chronicles 7:14)
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To: Kaslin
If America doesn't take to Benghazi Narrative 4.0 the WH has a surefire story ready in Benghazi Narrative 5.0...

"Uh, our latest intelligence tells us that, uh, our consulate was attacked by the Benghazi Westsiders soccer team who were irritated that Ambassador Stevens had unwittingly endorsed the Benghazi Southsiders by shaking hands with the Southsiders' team captain at a local coffee house. Uhhh, we're still investigating so please don't report anything that contradicts this."

28 posted on 10/20/2012 6:20:07 PM PDT by TigersEye (dishonorabledisclosure.com - OPSEC (give them support))
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To: ViLaLuz

[Now now... Let’s not act niggardly with vocabulary choices.]

I haven’t heard that word in a coon’s age.


29 posted on 10/20/2012 6:34:03 PM PDT by Brad from Tennessee (A politician can't give you anything he hasn't first stolen from you.)
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To: Iron Munro

LOL! Ben Gazzara. I was thinking about him in all of this TREASON. Some useful idiots probably think Ben Ghazi, is Gazzara’s cousin and is an up-and-coming actor.


30 posted on 10/20/2012 6:36:55 PM PDT by PGalt
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To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA

> ...The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq depleted a lot
> of Al Qaeda resources. These invasions also put rulers of
> other Muslim countries on notice — offering safe haven to
> Islamist terror organizations would not be tolerated.
> Now, all they see is weakness, prevarication, and geo-
> political-correctness.

Maybe they also see cooperation from Hussein and Hillary.


31 posted on 10/20/2012 7:14:50 PM PDT by Jyotishi (Seeking the truth, a fact at a time.)
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To: Kaslin

32 posted on 10/20/2012 7:57:48 PM PDT by Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears (John Roberts did more to endanger the lives of Americans than all 9/11 hijackers combined.)
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To: musicman

*GRIN*


33 posted on 10/20/2012 9:18:45 PM PDT by TEXOKIE (Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. EdmondBurke)
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To: Kaslin; All
The leftists want all to believe the war on terror is about over -the supposed beginning of the end ushered in with the death of Osama Bin Laden.

However, this of course can only be believed if one buys into the false premise that there is a good Islam and that this little war on terror blip is an isolated incident rather than simply the present state of the conflict that encompasses a historic war between Islam and the West that has been ongoing for centuries.

Why do many on the right go along with the false narrative from the left?

The West has only ever been successful maintaining peace because of Western strength -not pacifism.

Osama is dead -so what? Thanks to the Muslim 0zer0, Islam remains not only alive but now even more a threat to the West. Benghazi was but another one of many canaries in the coal mine of leftist delusion -another canary the pacifists and anti Americans attempt to bury and pretend away...

If the war is over WHY do we still staff TSA -Romney should ask these questions: When is the TSA drawdown scheduled? What date will TSA pullout from our airports?

34 posted on 10/20/2012 10:30:08 PM PDT by DBeers (†)
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To: Kaslin
The ONLY question should be..WHY WAS SECURITY LESSENED IN SUCH A DANGEROUS AREA??????

AMB. STEVENS and OTHERS BEGGED FOR HELP!!!

HUNDREDS of PEOPLE WATCHED THE DISASTER HAPPENING AND DID NOTHING!!

FORGET whether it was an attack or something else!!!! 4 PEOPLE ARE DEAD and THEY ASKED FOR SECURITY AND IT WASN"T GIVEN!!!

35 posted on 10/21/2012 4:30:07 AM PDT by Ann Archy ( ABORTION...the HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: PGalt
Some useful idiots probably think Ben Ghazi, is Gazzara’s cousin and is an up-and-coming actor.

As well as some useless idiots - Like Obama and Hillary.


36 posted on 10/21/2012 7:11:24 AM PDT by Iron Munro (Psalm 109:8 "Let his days be few, and let another take his office.")
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To: combat_boots

Thanks.


37 posted on 10/21/2012 12:39:17 PM PDT by Brad from Tennessee (A politician can't give you anything he hasn't first stolen from you.)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

You’re welcome.


38 posted on 10/21/2012 2:41:03 PM PDT by combat_boots (The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spiritui Sancto.)
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