Posted on 11/23/2012 9:37:03 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
As recently as yesterday, though, Rice doubled down on this defense:
"I relied soley and squarely on the information provided to me by the intelligence community. I made clear that the information was preliminary and that our investigations would give us the definitive answers."
At first glance, Rice's comments might not appear to move the ball, but they do tell us that the Administration has found its defense and intends to stick to it -- that defense being that Rice was only parroting the false information she was given. But now, thanks to some good reporting from CBS News, we know things weren't that simple.
Let's back up just a little bit…
Last week, former CIA Chief Davis Petraeus testified that within a day he knew the assault on our consulate in Benghazi was a premeditated terrorist attack committed by a Libyan militia with ties to al-Qaeda. As a result, Petraeus authorized the release of this information to the public in talking points to be given to the White House and to lawmakers.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
See #17.
Just for the record: The five Susan Rice statements:
ABC’s “This Week” - Sept 16, 2012:
JAKE TAPPER: So, first of all, what is the latest you can tell us on who these attackers were at the embassy or at the consulate in Benghazi? We’re hearing that the Libyans have arrested people. They’re saying that some people involved were from outside the country, that there might have even been Al Qaida ties. What’s the latest information?
MS. RICE: Well, Jake, first of all, it’s important to know that there’s an FBI investigation that has begun and will take some time to be completed. That will tell us with certainty what transpired.
But our current best assessment, based on the information that we have at present, is that, in fact, what this began as, it was a spontaneous — not a premeditated — response to what had transpired in Cairo. In Cairo, as you know, a few hours earlier, there was a violent protest that was undertaken in reaction to this very offensive video that was disseminated.
We believe that folks in Benghazi, a small number of people came to the embassy to — or to the consulate, rather, to replicate the sort of challenge that was posed in Cairo. And then as that unfolded, it seems to have been hijacked, let us say, by some individual clusters of extremists who came with heavier weapons, weapons that as you know in — in the wake of the revolution in Libya are — are quite common and accessible. And it then evolved from there.
CBS’s “Face the Nation” - Sept 16, 2012
MS. RICE: So we’ll want to see the results of that [FBI] investigation to draw any definitive conclusions. But based on the best information we have to date, what our assessment is as of the present is in fact what began spontaneously in Benghazi as a reaction to what had transpired some hours earlier in Cairo where, of course, as you know, there was a violent protest outside of our embassy– –sparked by this hateful video.
But soon after that spontaneous protest began outside of our consulate in Benghazi, we believe that it looks like extremist elements, individuals, joined in that– in that effort with heavy weapons of the sort that are, unfortunately, readily now available in Libya post-revolution. And that it spun from there into something much, much more violent.
BOB SCHIEFFER: But you do not agree with him that this was something that had been plotted out several months ago?
MS. RICE: We do not– we do not have information at present that leads us to conclude that this was premeditated or preplanned.
MR. SCHIEFFER: Do you agree or disagree with [the previous guest, the president of Libya’s general national congress] that al Qaeda had some part in this?
MS. RICE: Well, we’ll have to find out that out. I mean I think it’s clear that there were extremist elements that joined in and escalated the violence. Whether they were al Qaeda affiliates, whether they were Libyan-based extremists or al Qaeda itself I think is one of the things we’ll have to determine.
“Fox News Sunday” - Sept 16, 2012
CHRIS WALLACE: Let’s talk about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi this week that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. The top Libyan official says that the attack on Tuesday was, quote, his words “preplanned.” Al Qaeda says the operation was revenge for our killing a top Al Qaeda leader. What do we know?
MS. RICE: Well, first of all, Chris, we are obviously investigating this very closely. The FBI has a lead in this investigation. The information, the best information and the best assessment we have today is that in fact this was not a preplanned, premeditated attack. That what happened initially was that it was a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired in Cairo as a consequence of the video. People gathered outside the embassy and then it grew very violent and those with extremist ties joined the fray and came with heavy weapons, which unfortunately are quite common in post-revolutionary Libya and that then spun out of control.
But we don’t see at this point signs this was a coordinated plan, premeditated attack. Obviously, we will wait for the results of the investigation and we don’t want to jump to conclusions before then. But I do think it’s important for the American people to know our best current assessment.
NBC’s “Meet the Press” - Sept 16, 2012
DAVID GREGORY: Well, let’s talk– talk about– well, you talked about this as spontaneous. Can you say definitively that the attacks on– on our consulate in Libya that killed ambassador Stevens and others there security personnel, that was spontaneous, was it a planned attack? Was there a terrorist element to it?
MS. RICE: Well, let us– let me tell you the– the best information we have at present. First of all, there’s an FBI investigation which is ongoing. And we look to that investigation to give us the definitive word as to what transpired. But putting together the best information that we have available to us today our current assessment is that what happened in Benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo, almost a copycat of– of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo, which were prompted, of course, by the video.
What we think then transpired in Benghazi is that opportunistic extremist elements came to the consulate as this was unfolding. They came with heavy weapons which unfortunately are readily available in post revolutionary Libya. And it escalated into a much more violent episode. Obviously, that’s– that’s our best judgment now. We’ll await the results of the investigation. And the president has been very clear–we’ll work with the Libyan authorities to bring those responsible to justice.
CNN’s “State of the Union” - Sept 16, 2012, 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Ms. RICE: I have been to Libya and walked the streets of Benghazi myself. And despite what we saw in that horrific incident where some mob was hijacked ultimately by a handful of extremists, the United States is extremely popular in Libya and the outpouring of sympathy and support for Ambassador Stevens and his colleagues from the government, from people is evidence of that.
The fact is, Candy, that this is a turbulent time. It’s a time of dramatic change. It’s a change that the United States has backed because we understand that when democracy takes root, when human rights and people’s freedom of expression can be manifested, it may lead to turbulence in the short-term, but over the long-term, that is in the interest of the United States.
The mobs we’ve seen on the outside of these embassies are small minority. They’re the ones who have largely lost in these emerging democratic processes, and just as the people of these countries are not going to allow their lives to be hijacked by a dictator, they’re not going to allow an extremist mob to hijack their future and their freedom,. And we’re going to continue to stand with the vast majority of the populations in these countries.
Also, FYI: Sunday Morning Talk Show Thread 16 September 2012
Fine. Rice is not responsible, but obozo IS - he said it himself - the buck stops at him, AND, GO AFTER HIM, not Rice!
Please bombard your Republican congressmen to make obozo testify -
why lied for 2 weeks that it is ‘spontaneous protest resulting from the “video”’ ????
WHY???? considering intelligence report said it was terrorist act right at the beginning!
Even if obozo and gang were really afraid to reveal the truth, a simple ‘we don’t know who is responsible yet, will tell you when we find out for sure.’ will suffice!!!
Congress cannot let the lying murderers get away with the lies and the murders!
And see #19 also.
See #17 and #19.
My Congressman is Dana Rohrbacher.....he is doing fine on this topic.
CROWLEY: There is a "New York Times" story this morning that suggests that the administration thinks this is a foreshadowing of a fall that will see sustained instability. Does the administration expect to see these sorts of protests outside U.S. embassies and elsewhere throughout the fall?
MS. RICE: Well, Candy, first of all, let's recall what has happened in the last several days. There was a hateful video that was disseminated on the internet. It had nothing to do with the United States government and it's one that we find disgusting and reprehensible. It's been offensive to many, many people around the world.
That sparked violence in various parts of the world, including violence directed against western facilities including our embassies and consulates. That violence is absolutely unacceptable, it's not a response that one can ever condone when it comes to such a video. And we have been working very closely and, indeed, effectively with the governments in the region and around the world to secure our personnel, secure our embassy, condemn the violent response to this video.
And, frankly, we've seen these sorts of incidents in the past. We've seen violent responses to "Satanic Verses." We've seen violent responses to the cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed in an evil way. So this is something we've seen in the past, and we expect that it's possible that these kinds of things could percolate into the future. What we're focused on is securing our personnel, securing our facilities.
CROWLEY: Do you at this moment feel that U.S. embassies abroad are secure?
MS. RICE: We are doing our utmost to secure our facilities and our personnel and in various vulnerable places. We have demanded and we are receiving the cooperation of host governments. Host governments have also put out very strong messages in Libya, in Egypt, in Yemen and Tunisia condemning violence, saying that it's a completely unacceptable response to such a video. And we feel that we are now in a position doing the maximum that we can to protect our people.
CROWLEY: Why would one not look at what is going on in the Middle East now and say that the president's outreach to Muslims, which began at the beginning of his administration in Cairo and elsewhere has not worked because, yes, this video sparked it, but there is an underlying anti-Americanism that is very evident on the streets. So Why not look at it and think that this is this outreach has failed?
MS. RICE: For the same reason, Candy, when you look back at history and we had the horrible experience of our facilities and our personnel being attacked Beirut in 1981, we had the attack on Khobar Towers in the 1990s. We had an attack on our embassy in Yemen in 2008. There have been such attacks. There have been expressions of hostility towards the west.
CROWLEY: But this was sort of a reset, was it not? It was supposed to be a reset of U.S.-Muslim relations?
I agree. Proving motive is critical, but for this case to survive, it needs to be brought to critical mass, competently, aggressively and very quickly. The longer it takes, the longer it will take.... and other events will place this entire tragedy on the back shelf.
Turned up some other threads of interest ...some may have missed:
Benghazi. A view from Turkey (the Iskanderun port & Ali Sait Akin)
AND:
1)Has POTUS commented personally and officially on the investigation? That's instructive, it leads me to believe the complete truth is still to be discovered. Obama doesn't want to have to reconcile what he says NOW with the truth, which is yet to come out...
2) I note that the UN has also been tight-lipped. You would think that murder of a fellow ambassador and the violation of a consolate's sovereign territory would spark some sort of response from that international community.
Fact One:
1) Only the POTUS can authorize a CBA (cross border authority) command for a rescue mission in a foreign nation.
Plus Fact Two:
2) No rescue mission was attempted.
Equals Fact Three:
3) 0bama turned his back on 41 State Dept. and CIA employees refusing to issue a CBA command and went to bed so he could go to Las Vegas the next day.
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Something to e-mail to every talking head, every Senator and every House rep.
For additional info on this, see also threads and articles with keyword "clarelopez"
Notice how Rice used the following phrase or its equivalent in 4 out of 5 of the Sunday appearances (posts 22 & 27)
RICE: "They came with heavy weapons which unfortunately are readily available in post revolutionary Libya."
The only exception was her interview with CNN (designed especially, IMO, for the international audience)
Obama and Hillary Apologize for Free Speech on Pakistani TV (taxpayer-funded ads) Sept. 20, 2012
Which immediately resulted in this...
Pakistan: 17 killed in anti-Islam film protests Sept. 21, 2012
0bama then went to the UN and re-inflamed the Muslim world once again over the manufactured offense "Innocence of Muslims."
U.S. President Speaks to U.N. About YouTube Video 14 days after the attack!
Those apologies validated their anger.
In the second debate Obama reminded everyone he had called it an “act of terror” on the second day. So why did he keep saying “It’s the video?”
As recently as yesterday, though, Rice doubled down on this defense: “I relied soley and squarely on the information provided to me by the intelligence community.
If she relied solely on info from the intel community - then she’s saying the intel community told her it was because of some obscure video because that was said in her statements.
The only problem with that is “the intel community” states they never said such a thing - - - soooo we’re right back to the White Hut having edited her story!!!
Thanks Ernest.
As Biden would say, “this is a big fing deal”. I believe this entire mess is far more sinister than what most people think or are willing to consider.
This may be bigger than what our system can handle. I wonder if we will ever see justice and I wonder what that justice will look like.
It’s over. It’s forgotten. The public has no spare mental capacity to think about what happened in Benghazi. All the brain cells are taken up with the latest on Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Kim Kardashian and 2 1 / 2 men.
May as well just drop it. The public doesn’t give a damn, and the current thugs in the white house will never admit to what they did.
I do hope this was not meant to be a joke, but it is anyway.
The motive of the President was to be reelected (although that as we now know was a given, due to fraud). His motive, he is pure EVIL and a liar.
As a woman, I can walk and chew gum at the same time. For the issue of who changed what, when and where needs to be known, after they find out, then WHAT?
In the meantime...........get on with the investigation of who GAVE THE ORDER TO "STAND DOWN" and not send help. They need to throw as much at bozo ALL AT ONE TIME, then and only then will you see their wheels grinding and begin to make some big mistakes in their answers. Not one baby step at a time. Bombard him.
This REGIME can parse words ALL DAY LONG AND INTO THE NIGHT 24/7, it is what they do for a passtime. No, this Benghazi issue is going to die on this "WHO CHANGED THE DOCUMENTS" hill, and by design.
Yep. Just about anyway you look at it.
This article explains the Benghazi talking-points shell game better than most.
"Clapper is the president’s man. For all practical purposes, he is White House staff, as much as the national security adviser. He attends Oval Office meetings and discerns the wishes of the president and senior staff. "
Clapper, as head of DNI, is WH unofficially, and officially, DNI intel.
Going down memory lane, Clapper also said this in in February, 2011:
When mass demonstrations were bringing down Mubarak's presidency in Egypt, Clapper told a House Intelligence Committee hearing that:
"The term 'Muslim Brotherhood'...is an umbrella term for a variety of movements, in the case of Egypt, a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam," ... "They have pursued social ends, a betterment of the political order in Egypt, et cetera.....In other countries, there are also chapters or franchises of the Muslim Brotherhood, but there is no overarching agenda, particularly in pursuit of violence, at least internationally."
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