text:
Former general: Knew early that Benghazi was terrorist attack
By Elise Labott
Editor's note: This is one in a series of stories and opinion pieces surrounding the Aspen Security Forum currently taking place in Aspen, Colorado. Security Clearance is a media sponsor of the event, which is taking place from July 17 to 20 in Aspen, Colorado.
The former head of U.S. forces in Africa said the September 11, 2012, attack on the American mission in Benghazi quickly appeared to be a terrorist attack and not a spontaneous protest.
It was clear "pretty quickly that this was not a demonstration. This was a violent attack," former Gen. Carter Ham told the Aspen Security Forum on Friday. Ham is the former chief of U.S. Africa Command, commonly known as AFRICOM.
Five days after the attack, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice went on the Sunday news shows to say it was the result of a spontaneous demonstration, not a terrorist strike.
While the State Department has maintained that Rice's erroneous talking points were the result of getting and reacting to information in real time, critics accuse the Obama administration of orchestrating a politically motivated cover-up over a botched response, and continue to press for answers as to when the administration knew they were dealing with a terrorist attack.
When asked whether he specifically thought it was a terrorist attack, Ham said, "I don't know that that was my first reaction. But pretty quickly as we started to gain understanding within the hours after the initiation of the attack, yes. And at the command I don't think anyone thought differently."
Ham was in Washington for a meeting of all combat commanders when the attack was under way. Although a decision was made to send a drone from eastern Libya toward Benghazi, by the time it arrived above the facility, the attack on the mission was winding down.
Ham knew Ambassador Chris Stevens was missing and believed he could have possibly been kidnapped. Stevens and three other Americans died in the attack.
"In my mind, at that point we were no longer in a response to an attack. We were in a recovery and frankly, I thought, we were in a potential a hostage rescue situation," Ham said.
Ham said although he had authority to scramble a jet to the scene, he decided there was "not necessity and there was not a clear purpose in doing so."
"To do what?" he asked. "It was a very, very uncertain situation."
Ham said although U.S. officials were looking for indicators about a possible attack on US interests during the 9/11 anniversary, there was no information that an attack on the U.S. facility in Benghazi was imminent.
"It was on it everyone's mind....we really were looking very hard," he said. "Did we miss something? Was there something in the intelligence that indicated that an attack on the U.S. special mission facility in Benghazi was being planned or was likely? If that intelligence exists, I don't know."
Ham said that he didn't think Stevens, who lived in Libya, would have traveled to Benghazi if he had information about a possible attack.
"If he felt there was a risk in Benghazi, I don't think only for himself, but he would not have put others at risk by going to Benghazi he felt was an increased likelihood of violence occurring in that place," Ham said. "I'm convinced that he didn't have any indications."
Ham said the fact there is not a stable government in Libya makes the country "a very significant threat," noting that al Qaeda has established itself in eastern and southwestern Libya. The United States, he said, is trying to strengthen the capacity of the Libyan authorities to deal with the threat.
Post by: CNN Foreign Affairs Reporter Elise Labott
Filed under: Aspen Security Forum • Benghazi • Carter Ham • Libya • US Africa Command
Obama is a great president, he really is. He's fixed the economy, passed a healthcare program that everyone loves and understands, lowered the unemployment rates for minorities, fixed immigration, created stricter gun laws, united blacks and whites, reduced the national deficit and debt, regained international trust for the US, stopped Iran from making a bomb, fixed the ticking time bomb in N. Korea, has equalized pay for women, protected his ambassadors from terror attackers instead of focusing on campaigning...etc
This is what happens when a community organizer becomes president – he fails at all the above, and much more.
But I know, liberals will go to their fallback response "oh, and Bush was better???"
John, Jr.
What is going on? FREEDOM
No I was going to say if you think you can do any better then go ahead and run for President then? Oh, wait, you are to much of an extremist so you wouldn't even get selected as a candidate.
To quote RWR: "There you go again" ... making up facts to support your feelings. FREEDOM, look at the facts: real unemployment (U6#) hove rs around 15% and higher in the minority community; BHO has retreated from Iraq and is retreating from Afghanistan and letting the Taliban take over; he's fiddling with his 5 iron while the country burns; his policy mantra is The Tyranny of the Minority; his wife and kids wear $550 sneakers to feed the poor; we don't have the money to tour the WH, but we have $100 million for him to tour Africa; cities are declaring bankruptcy; the best healthcare system in the world is on life-support. Where are his accomplishments???
July 21, 2013 at 2:59 pm |
John Y
Yes President Obama is ending the illegal and unnecessary wars that President Bush lied us into after his either allowing or participating in the planning of the 911 attacks. You remember, the worst attack ever on American soil that GWB was so clearly and extensively briefed about when he took was APPOINTED to office after LOOSING the election.
Orygun Duck
Well, the last time I made so much in the stock market was when Clinton was President, so draw your own conclusion. Actually, I like Bush as well. He kept our nation safe. But don't forget there was over 10 attacks against our diplomats during his term and none drew a military response.
Bush kept our Nation safe? Do you recall 911? Anthrax attacks against those in Congress who didn't swallow the story? Bush is a four letter word!
Fall back? Bush was lightyears worse than Obama could ever hope to be even if he was a foreign mole hellbent on destroying the country as so many wackjob Republicans think he is. Bush's mismanagement allowed 9/11 to happen, he started a decade-long revenge war with a Iraq that cost thousands of American lives and billions upon billions of US tax dollars - and all based on a lie about WMDs. And, finally, in his coup de grace, he oversaw the near-meltdown of our economy through his "No Regulations" policy regarding Wall Street. That anyone dares put Obama anywhere near that category of criminal incompetence, is astounding.
It was Clinton who refused Sudan's offer to arrest Bin Ladin; If it's any president's fault that 9/11 happened it's Slick Willy, who was too busy with Monica to tend to his duties.
Jerry's just slightly misinformed from the Hatestream Media a few things that he missed are
1) The Dow Jones gaining almost 9,000 points and EVERYONE's 401k or Retirement Pension gaining.
2) The GOP War in Iraq ending.
3) TERRIFIC success on the REAL War on Terror
4) The first 3 States that have embraced Obama's version of RomneyCare lowering their Insurance Costs
5) The CIA talking points of the Benghazi Attack being followed due to the Covert Operation they were conducting not being compromised any further.
6) 420 filibusters Obstructing this Administration
7) North Korea shutting up after being told to do so.
Don't blame yourself Jerry, you've been misinformed by design.
In his little speech on the Zimmerman verdict, Obama made it very clear that he's not the POTUS....he's the President of black Americans and that's it.
colkurtz
Where was GOP outrage when 11 US embassies were attacked, with 51 US citizens killed while George was in the White House? Answer: There was none.
Republicans are 'end justifies the means' hypocrites. They couldn't care less about any of them, they just want to use Benghazi as an excuse to slime Obama, and it's obvious. They, and their minions have become a running punch line in this country.
Subnx
Bush didn't mislead the public about the cause of those attacks. And before you go off on a WMD discourse those weapons are now in Syria. Being wrong is different from being deliberately misleading.
Subnx there were no WMDs period. I suggest you actually get the real information instead of looking up that conservapedia stuff.
You cry about this, yet Bush's administration failed so miserably, it enabled 9/11 to happen. Where's is that non-stop outrage?
Rosslaw
Listening to right-wingers rant about a tragedy in the middle east and suggest that they would do better in the face of history is like watching a cute kitten play the piano on U tube-entertaining but its not going to lead to anything. The right is still incensed that Obama won the Libyan war without the loss of a single American and (EVEN WORSE!!!) did so costing the US less than the cost of one week of the Afgan debacle. No secret, sole source contracts that benefits WH "friends" and get Americans killed. Right-wingers, Al Queda misses you. Please write!
The only saving grace to this saga is that now our Ambassador ranks will be filled with Obama contributors ... bring on the attacks!!!
george t hibs
Well, WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED? The truth is finally starting to emerge. Hillary is gone and the state department security office is in shambles and yet ALL of you flaming Liberals who have yet to recognize failure and lack of leadership in Obama, will likely pull out all the stops to elect another Liberal flake in 2016.
George T hibs. If you are so confident that you could have went in and saved the ambassador without knowing the layout of the land, enemy troop numbers, without knowing what weapon types the enemy had, and without knowing specifically what was happening on the ground due to the fact we had no intelligence or satellites of any kind in the area, then please go ahead and go back to the past and rectify the situation.
lifeknoxhard
Our troops do that EVERY DAY!
Get your head out of that dark canal on your backside.
What are you French? You "surrender monkey", haven't you ever heard of "Never leave your comrades in arms behind"?
Lifeknoxhard you think you are intelligent don't you? As I recall we don't send troops in without proper information and intelligence. I am going to presume you were never in the military otherwise you would know that. WE don't send our troops to a random location or in the middle of a hotzone without the proper intelligence.
FYI, there were live satellite feeds of the attack being viewed, but Obama did not have the time because he had a big fundraising event.
There was drone surveillance too!!! What military were you in ... The Girl Scouts?
Lifeknoxhard you know that is a lie. It has already been proven that there were no satellites over Libya at the time of the attack. By the time the satellites were over Libya the situation was already over. Pull another Fox News stunt.
Gerald Roberts
First of all do not insult the girl scouts they are better than the Obama circle. If it was not safe in Benghazi the ambassador should have been taken out of their before the attack. You don't leave people to be murdered. Who gave the order to not help?
Gerald Roberts that was an option but the ambassador decided to stay. It was a risk he was taken and he should be honored for making that decision to stay even though he knew of the danger he presented being there.
Nogimus Prime
I don't know. "Get your head out of that dark canal on your backside." Sounds pretty military to me 😀 But then again, WIGOF, you seem to be the expert on all things military. So since we never send anyone into any situation without knowing every single kink, one would assume there would have been no casualties in any of our involvements in Iraq and Afghanistan. For most Armchair Generals like yourself the best action is no action. You would've done well as a General for the British in our Revolutionary War. You wouldn't win many battles or the overall war, but hey, at least you'd get as few killed as possible. Bravo!
FREEDOM: Sat's pass over Libya every 1.5 hrs at a min. The attack lasted 9+ hrs and there were drones as well. Do your homework before you raise your hand. GO BACK TO FRANCE. Those who will not defend freedom, do not deserve it.
I served my twenty years you little traitor. I suggest you show some better respect for someone that has more experience in the military then you do.
How could you have served your 20? Our commander in chief has only been using white flag holders since 1/21/2009!!!
John, Jr. if you ever like to know why you have lost the elections twice look at yourself. In my mind, you are a traitor to this country because you wish to watch this country fall apart due to your hatred toward one President. It is a sad state of affairs watching people like you ruining this country even farther because you don't want to face the reality that you lost. I served my country for 20 years and I am damn proud of it and I am not going to watch fools like you turn this country into some Taliban controlled nation.
Freedom: Which states have had municipal bankruptcies? Answer: Those with Liberal/Progressive/Socialist pols in charge. As goes Detroit, so goes the nation? The Obamanation in the WH is presiding over the greatest decline in our history. Judge not by the color of his skin, but by the lack of content to his character!
John, Jr. I suggest you look at who takes in the most welfare in the country. You will find interesting statistics that show the most welfare states are highly conservative states. Deny it as much as you want but that is a fact you can't avoid. Clearly you don't want to see the failures your party have committed over the past few decades, which is the reason why you have lost the last two elections and possibly future elections.
Freedom: Let's talk facts and not feelings. Try google!
nteresting: CNBC published the top 15 states in the Nation that consume the MOST in welfare. 13-of-15 are DEMOCRAT states; they went Blue in 2008.
http://specfriggintacular.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/top-15-welfare-states-13-of-the-15-are-democrat-states/
Most moronic comment of the day: "Let's talk facts and not feelings. Try google!"
John: Highest welfare states are BLUE. What is moronic is that you Lib's vote your feelings and not the facts. Liberalism has failed everytime it has been tried throughout history. NAME ME ONCE WHEN IT SUCCEEDED, IF YOU CAN!!! MSDNC, that ratings powerhouse, must have an example.
Hey John Jr. what do you have against the Frenchs?..... except for your ignorance of course. Did you ever visit France?
Expend your mind stupid, learn about their history, their culture.
You should stop while you're ahead, your comments show how stupid you are!!!!!
Mark O
President Obama's handler, David Axelrod, who is basically the real President really misjudged and mishandled this. He thought he would use this "crisis" to further his anti-white agenda but it backfired.
David Axelrod tried to LIE about this incident and he's still sore that no one believed his stupid lie. He really wants to blame everything on whites and Christians - but he failed this time. The fault lies with the poor communication and poor crisis handling capability of this golfer-President / tool of the jews.
But wait...I thought we were still talking about how outraged we are about Trayvon...I mean, he could've been Obama 35 years ago...Why are bringing this up again?
Get Hillary.
Aim. Target Hillary Clinton. Blame her. She is not fit to be President in 2016. Made long story short
TruthwillPrevail
Amazing how the LIBERALS think the SEALS are on their side...Nothing is further from the TRUTH......the TRUTH is you LIBERALS...LEFTISTS have ridiculed and what is worse you left 4 AMERICANS to be tortured and killed.....not in 70 YEARS did we lose an AMBASSADOR since PEANUT...NUTS CARTER......when will we realize this LIBERAL LEFTIST GARBAGE has and will continue to destroy everything good we stand for!!!!...SAY NO..we will not take your LIES ANYMORE....YOU ...yes YOU LEFTIST had much to do with the DEATH...TORTURE of these brave AMERICANS!!!!
Oliver Cowderey
A typical neo-Nazi rant.
vidal808
What the hell are you rumbling about? You know absolutely nothing and are mouthing off about the Seals and Liberals etc. You must be a real morone just the way you write, upper case, lower case and nonsense. If you have something to say about the subject matter of the article, that is one thing, rumbling some nonsense is wasting everyone's time.
Troll the Navy Seals don't fight for you. They fight for this country and for everyone's freedom. Stop thinking that you are superior to everyone else in this country due to the fact you are conservative.
Lib1981
Well if the CIA wasn't running weapons to different factions, and not accounting for blow back by the factions that didn't receive the weapons this wouldn't have happened, why our ambassador was there while an arm deal was going down, I will never know, the CIA safe house that wanted to respond would have blown the cover, and they were way out numbered, this is the CIA fault, and you can think that American soldiers haven't died in Afgan, from the large bags of money drop offs, but that would be the crazy talk.
Are you off your meds again? Wow
@truth,you sound not only delushional but a foriegners at that..Count the dead ,wounded under Bushs watch then get back to me,typical uninformed ignorent!!!
SEAL Team Alpha and Omega
The REAL -t–h–r–e–a–t to America is Republicans. Benghazi was unfortunate and everybody should know that once you venture outside of CONUS you are effectively in a w–a–r zone except for countries that are our allies with the exception of the UK. E–x–t–r–e–m–I–s–t M–u–s–l–I–m–s are b==a==d ju ju and it will never stop. Time to invigorate the US D–r–o–n–e a–r–s–e–n–a–l and k–I–c–k some a–s–s.
BHO and HRC are proof positive that Affirmative Action is a direct cause of the Peter Princilal!
I love the responses from this general..
"It appears"...
"I believe"...
"It was clear "pretty quickly ""..
""I don't know that that was my first reaction""...
And, he was in Washinton when the event took place, not on the ground with a clear picture of what was going on.
The difference between you cone heads pretending to know everything that happened and the cone heads in congress pretending to know what happened and Obama is that not only did/does Obama know what happened he is/was also responsible for the lives of everyone at other embassies across the middle east. Frankly, I wouldn't have put them in any more danger than they were already in either – if I knew everything of course.
leitskev
Obama went home after his 5:00 meeting with Panetta, where he was informed of an attack underway,and completely tuned out. Panetta's congressional testimony establishes this. If Obama had been managing a response there would be a picture, as there always is, showing him in charge. Instead the White House refuses to answer specifically about where O was and what he was doing. He tuned it all out. Fact. Live with it.
Jim Ward
Oh, you mean like the photo that the White House actually did release after the Benghazi attacks? In the photo, dated September 11, 2012 and obviously well into the night, then-Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough can be seen briefing Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on the situation in the Middle East:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/8341829398/
If you are this outraged over this, I can only imagine how cray you went when you found out with the rest of us that Bush started a war, a personal vendetta against a sovereign country, based on a carefully constructed lie about WMDs. A war that cost thousands (not 3) American lives and billions upon billions of US tax dollars. Of course, before that, he let the terrorists slip in and fly planes into the World Trade Center. And his final act oversaw the near total collapse of our economy with his head-in-sand, No Regulations stance. But you're crying about Obama and his impossible effort to correct all those tragic missteps? Wow. Just wow.
Panetta's own words: "we didn't send anybody in because we couldn't see what was going on".... You're supposed to send people to be ready to act as soon as you CAN see what is going on...
Now this general:"we thought about sending a jet,... but to do what?"..... wellll.... to be on station as soon as you decide what he COULD do........ these are the mistakes followed by the coverup that Obama lovers are afraid to admit
Bob you don't send people into a battle zone without properly knowing the amount of troops, amount of weapons and types of weapons, and locations of troops. Why do you think we have satellites now? To avoid the possibilities of sending our troops into an unknown battlefield and possibly getting massacred. Also the soldiers stationed in Tripoli were not equipped to handle the situation in Benghazi, but you probably would have supported those soldiers going in and possibly getting massacred wouldn't you?
A jet to do what? Strafe a crowd in Benghazi? On September 11th? Yup, you're dreaming.
Grinning Libber
In summary the GOP is afraid to death of Hillary – the end.
You are 100% correct. Her management of the State Dept's security is a national disgrace!
Sure that's what it is. LOL
July 21, 2013 at 11:48 am |
Gort1
so if you can do a better job at being Secretary of State, have at it. You have no idea what youre talking about. SEC Clinton is/was not only qualified to be SEC. she was great at it. So go back to your Repube cave and be quiet.
Gort1: Have you not read about thew mess that Kerry inherited? Know the truth and the truth shall set you free!!!!
John Billings
Perhaps you've forgotten when our country was attacked – 09/11/2001?
Who was in charge?
Where was all the outrage then?
This Benghazi outrage is such a load of crap. You folks disgust me.
Dear Mr. Billings,
9/11/01 was a direct result of the lack of effective action by Big Bill against Osama! He was too afraid of wagging the dog accusations whilst defending his attack on the pizza delivery girl!!!!!
"9/11/01 was a direct result of the lack of effective action by Big Bill against Osama! He was too afraid of wagging the dog accusations whilst defending his attack on the pizza delivery girl!!!!!"
I guess the cons don't really believe in personal responsibility, blaming anyone and everyone besides themselves.
Goat: Your response is fascinating considering that all we have heard from "The Manchurian Candidate" is that it was Bush's fault !!! What's next for you and the other Stalinist's? More federal spending, higher deficits, increase the National Debt to infinity and beyond, welfare for all and freedom for none?!?!?!?!?!
sieben13
They have good reason to be , because she is going to be the next President of the United States of America
vidyashanti
Why all these accusations. If any one has proof of cover up, present to the congress and prosecute those responsible and put behind bars those convicted. If no one has solid proof, just keep shut and move on.
The have no proof, they just like to criticize and armchair quarterback. Sit in the lazy boys and tell everyone how bad they are at their jobs, what bad politicians they are and how everything is a conspiracy.
Jeremy Johnson
Gort, they had direct satellite feed into the situation room at the White House. They knew exactly what was happening by watching it live and through communications from those inside the embassy. Benghazi occurred during the run-up to the election and the current administration wanted to sweep the in-competencies of his state department under the rug. Hillary Clinton was as incompetent as the Secretary of State position as the current President is at his job.
Isn't this the same dude who resigned in disgrace after it was discovered he was using his rank to defraud the American people? Wasn't he using military aircraft for personal use. Charging off personal items on his government budget, etc.... if so, I wouldn't believe a damn thing he says.
Searching for Hope
The whole point here is that the Obama administration, including Hillary, blamed this whole thing on outrage toward a anti-muslim video. They even had the producer of the video put in jail to make it look like they were taking action. That should scare us all, that guy was a political pawn and that is about as far from being a free country as possible. I can't believe Obama supporters are so frenzied to Ok everything he does that they don't see the extremism in that. This has every indication of a manipulated, election time, cover-up to ensure nothing got in Obama's way.
All the shouting about this doesn't resonate with me. I Don't get it. The budget is cut for defense and many more have died at embassies in other times – no one in the US wanted them to die. There is no motivation for cover up here. Just seems like a tragic but not a particularly political story – but I still hear the yelling.
Posit
The yelling – at least from me -is because members of the administration consciously developed a false story to tell the American people, and insistently maintained the fiction for 14 days. Someone tell me why, and admit responsibility... I'll shut up.
Weasley
Tell you what, when Cheney admits orchestrating the Iraq war, which resulted in the loss of thousands of American lives, then you can get the truth about the potential misjudgment that resulted in what, the loss of four American lives. Until then, put a sock in it. And it's not that four lives have any less value, but this whole shebang was politically motivated from the start. So this desire to seek the "truth" has absolutely no credibility.
@position,why don't you investigate the numbers of dead,wounded in embassies under Bush,much more than 4 I can guarantee,just check than STFU!!
Belseth
GIVE IT A REST! It's like waving a raw steak in front of conservatives. Attacks happened regularly under Bush Jr but it only became an issue when we got a black President. It's a non story. Move on!!!!! The conservatives keep trying to find something Obama did wrong and you are just fueling the fire. The IRS story turned out to be pure hype and now you are beating the Bengazzi dead horse. Try reporting, you know, news?????
You must be a "white-washer for the Manchurian Candidate" destroying our economy and continually dividing our nation. The most transparent lying administraTION IN HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!
John,Jr. continues to live in a fantasy induced Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity hate filled world.Read the article again,please.Gather a few facts from it when you do.Allow them to soak into your empty cranium.
Deny the facts and defend the lies Dennis .... you and the administration are a mennis.
Problem is we still don't have an explanation why members of the administration jointly developed a troy for the American people which was untrue – and stoutly maintain the fiction for 14 days. Agree attacks happen – but let's hear about why the false story for the public? Which hasn't been explained even now.
And, OBT, the IRR problem continues to develop – we still don't know who/when/why they got off the track- the investigation continues.
davecu
Far from being a "dead horse" it is in fact, four dead Americans.
What difference does it make now?
Answer: It goes to the character of the administration and, perhaps more importantly, the character of another impending presidential candidate.
What DID she know, when DID she know about it, and lastly, what DID she do about it?
Hillary got the 3 o 'clock phone call. Four Americans died, why. I hope her brain has sufficiently head form the timely trauma that she can remember the truth.
Danram
By now, the only way you don't understand what really happened is Libya is if you're a total idiot.
1) The Obama administration ... specifically, Hillary Clinton's State Department ... was negligent in not providing additional security to the embassy even after being asked repeatedly to do so.
2) When the attack started, the top people in the White House, including the president, knew that it was a terrorist attack.
3) The president froze at the switch for nine hours and refused to send in military assets that could have saved American lives.
4) When the smoke had cleared and four Amercans, including our ambassador were dead, the White House orchestrated a systematic campaign of outright lies and deliberate so as not to damage the president's re-election chances.
The whole thing is utterly shameful. But what's even more shameful is that our country was actually stupid enough to give this clown and his crew another four years in office.
5.) Danram knows all this because he were there and intimately involved. By that I mean he was in Benghazi and in Washington when all the information was coming in.
or... he watched the news and testimony before Congress.
Obviously he didn't watch the testimony before congress if he's still spouting this nonsense.
Evelyn Connaway
John, maybe the big shot ex-General/Head of CIA, told him a different story – as Susan Rice was told and not by Obama. Maybe Petreaus was out of office on a date and didn't know what was going on either.
Obama didn't know anything that was going on until he heard it on TV. That seems to be his excuse for everything else he does wrong.
Didn't the GOP in general and Paul Ryan in particular introduce legislation to slash Embassy and Consulate security funding?..Start over and enter that into your equation.Your explanation does not contain the full truth as to why this tragedy unfolded.
YEP$$$
Obama official testified on this issue and stated budget had nothing to do with any decisions and any actions taken. Nice try though.
harry 101
The U.S. embassy in Libya housed a secret prison. That is the reason it was targeted and attacked, and why there is a gag order on everyone involved. Gotta keep up the illusion.
NO way not under Obama, You know I don't mind that they could not for see the attack. What upsets me is that they were so bad at the cover up lie. Went under almost as soon as they put it out there.
I just love all the ignorent,uninformed mostly conservative posters here wriiting crap as usual because with what they say most of it by FAUX news as usual they can't back it up ,typical conservative Goebbels type propaganda!!They talk about Pres.Obama this,that Hillary this and that but as usual just like their racist,inept conservative reps that they ignorently voted for nothing has been put in place by them to help America and its people have they,only obstruct,filibuster everything in jobs,infastructure bills!!!Remember you conservatives the ones in denile ,the ones that voted twice in an imbecile in Bush that's the worse president in American history you helped put him there so be proud because you as well as he will go down as Hoover did in destroying America,proud of that I bet you racist ,bigotted imbeciles are aren't yah!!
Obama is going down as worse President.
@sally,Bushs got that covered!!
Sally,want to go down on me?
Earth to Petre. Earth to Pete!
Bengazi is real. It did happen. There was a cover up attempt that failed and this administration is still attempting to cover it up. Hillary Clinton WAS responsible just as a captain is responsible for his ship. Hillary was deeply involved in the Nixon Watergate scandal. Like a pit bull on a steak. Now, she is as guilty as Nixon was in her cover up attempt.
What part of this fact has anything to do with conservatives, Fox News, or the price of tea in China. Learn to deal with facts and we can all live in a less divided nation.
OK Pete, here are some facts for you:
FACT: Obama and his people refused repeated requests for additional security for the Benghazi embassy.
FACT: Barack Obama refused to order in military assets that could have possibly saved American lives.
FACT: For almost two full weeks afterwards, the Obama administration kept to their initial storyline that the attack was a spontaneous protest that got out of control, knowing full well that it was a total lie.
Can you explain why this administration maintained, for 14 days, that Benghazi, was not a terrorist attack, continually blaming it on a video? And the emails that went around State, CIA and White House to construct this falsehood? By any measure, this was deliberately misleading the American public. Pure coincidence that it was contrary to Obama's statements re the capabilities of terrorists... and it was (coincidentally?) just before the election?
f you're gonna point fingers, you have to be able to justify the actions of the people you support.
@Position,if you were paying attention there was a video on YouTube,you as usual probibly slept through it!!
@Position,if you were paying attention there was a video on YouTube,you as usual probibly slept through it!!The maker of the anti Islamic video is still in jail,read up !!
Pete. a good and truthful comment, thanks.
Pete, you are so right!
stevieweevie
texasnotea
Here we go again. Kick the tires and light the fire for the same old witch hunt. The gop will never learn even after the truth came out exonerating the Whitehouse, the gop still hangs on to a thread hoping America will be gullible like them.
How do you feel about secret prisons?
@stevieweevie,look up CIABlack sites stupid,they've been around for years,were have you been!!
The problem with your post is that the truth has never come out. Why did the administration maintain, for 14 days, the fiction this was not a terrorist attack?
Terrance Kozak (Canada)
America, can you kindly explain to this Canadian why there were not better security measures in place? While in Libya, on the anniversary of that horrendous attack against America, there were Americans left without proper security, the Canadian embassy had 36 armed security personnel and that was at our Canadian embassy in Barbados! That my friends is a well-known fact here in Canada.
In the U.S., leadership makes decisions bases on elections, nothing else.
*based
Yes it is called incompetence by the leadership of this country.Especially Hillary Clinton!
Randy Horvath
Actually Terrance, you are very wrong. The only security people at Canadian Embassies or High Commissions are unarmed Canadian Armed Forces Military Police working for the Military Police Security Service (MPSS). They are unarmed because most countries refuse to allow armed military on their soil without formal agreements....or unless you are the U.S. who just does it anyway. Our largest contingent is 8 or so at Washington, London, Moscow and Beijing. Other then that its 2-4 at each place. We only have 150 in total in the Unit which is hired by and seconded to Foreign Affairs. There is no other diplomatic security service unless its a country like Afghanistan which has a CAF presence already owing to the war.
Thanks for a truthful comment.
We are still waiting for dub'ya to admit there are no WMD'S in Iraq. So far that has cost the US 5000 US lives.
Didn't Congress authorize it?
Authorized it because of lies,deception,and fabricated intelligence to hoodwink this country into an unnecessary war.Iraq is a beacon of democracy nowadays isn't it?..Planning a vacation there anytime soon?
Sally Bergmoser
You people drive me nuts! They found weapons of mass destruction.media chose not to report it!. The weapons are now in Syria...where do you think Syria got their chemical weapons from? Do some research!
More FOX bull manure. Syria has always had chemical weapons their own they have had them for years going way back to the 1970's.most of their stuff they have been getting from Russia.
Yeah, Sally, that makes complete sense. On the eve of having your country invaded, you get rid of one of your best defenses. Why would Iraq have WMD's in the first place if they weren't going to use them to defend themselves. Please try to apply common sense to your argument. BTW, Syria has had and produced chemical weapons since the 80's. Maybe you should try and do a little research.
From Iran,brilliant one.
@texasnotea,and 2 trillion in defense spending and rising on those two useless wars!!
None of the Bushes ever consider themselves at fault for anything! So an explanation will never be forthcoming, from the 1991 Iraq/Gulf war to the one planned after 2001! But you can pull up all the bloody lies and details on both from Google!
TonyInNYC
The terrorists only have to succeed once. In this case they did - in an unstable country whose government still doesn't control all of its territory following the overthrow of a dictatorship that lasted decades.
julnor
So, who told Susan Rice to blatantly lie to the American people over and over again two months before the election?
Billybear3
Ham, said it was clear that it was a violent attack and not a protest. Duh, we know it was a violent attack. The Obama administration never said it wasn't.
seanster5977
That is a lie. Of course they maintained for almost a month it was a protest that went too far. They purposely avoided calling it an attack.
eaguiar
Actually this is exactly what was said. There was a demonstration and a group of people suddenly decided to attack. And the demonstration was in response to the movie.
Brian Cinquegrani
I find it amazing that the republicans will spend so much money trying to find out more about Benghazi but did nothing and refuse to acknowledge their man was responsible for the death of 5000 young men and women is our Armed forces lying about WMD's in Iraq. Talk about hypocrisy.
Besides avoiding the issue at hand you must not be very intelligent. First of all there were WMD found in Iraq. Second, because Clinton was so weak they had 8 years of avoiding the weapons inspectors. Last but not least, we gave them WMD so it was known they had them. Liberal democrats are so adverse to facts and reality.
There wasn't a single WMD found in Iraq. The propaganda and decision to invade Iraq was the brain child of stupidity from GW, Chainy and Rummy. Thousands of Americans lost for their ill conceived vision, which epitomized lack of planning and direction, but they all got rich, which is the ultimate goal of war profiteers. I say war criminals. Semper Fi!
USMC70114
I remember very clearly an interview on 20/20 with the FBI agent who debriefed Saddam Hussein before we handed him over to the Iraqis who eventually hanged him. The bottom line was that Hussein knew that his army was so weakened after Desert Storm he had to convince the Iranians he had a WMD program, as a deterrent. The most effective way to convince the Iranians was to convince the U.S., so the running around of the WMD inspectors was actually a ruse to fool us to fool the Iranians, when he didn't actually have any production program (the limited WMD he did have was very old and not made in or by Iraq). Stupid facts, screwing up all those dang conspiracy theories...
The Republicans have spent more time and B/S on Benghazi that helping the Veterans of Bush's ill conceived war in Iraq they voted down the Veterans jobs bill. The GOP does not care about veterans.
John, that is a FACT!
Barry our plan is working like a dream they will never suspect a thing when we start taking their guns.
Alex Peterson
Guns rights have expanded under the Obama administration. He is 3/4 into his term and you still have your gun.
McBob79
Of course it was. The president either bought the story his advisors fed him or lied outright when he announced on a late night comedy talk show that this was about a video causing an impromptu riot. This was a cover up from the get go and nobody has paid. Our government doesn't care what they do or what they say. Sad that people don't care as long as they get their government check.
A cover up of what exactly? Terrorist attack or not people still died.
KnowEverythang
The Webster dictionary defines "botched" as "post-event description of anythang done by the Booosh Administration", like WMD, etc...
Uh, Wong story or something. Incoherent.
that sherman woman
You should not have started a war in Libya to begin with. Just because some security people draw up a plan three administrations ago, you do not have to follow it. In fact you should not follow it regardless of what they tell you.
Remember Hillary's role in Watergate. She was like a rabid dog. Now, if anybody knows the consequence of an attempted cover up it surely is her. She has become Bengazigate Hillary. GUILTY of the cover up. WHEN WILL AMERICA GET SOME HONEST PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON////
loyalright
I wonder when the sheep will start to blame those who were in charge that day when four brave American men were fighting for their lives? When will the eyes began to look at the White House for truth? This tragedy occurred because Obama and Hillary allowed it. When will the low information voting liberals wake up?
One thing that has loomed for me in all this – when I was a U.S. Army Special Forces officer in the early 1990's, Noncombatant Evacuation Operations (NEO) were a major "as needed" mission for us. GEN Ham is correct – why scramble a random jet to the scene? However, someone should ask him this question – why, as CINC AFRICOM, did he (or someone with some nuts/authority) fail to alert and move two or three 3rd SF Group teams into position for possible NEO missions/hostage rescue? I know, while on active duty, I was alerted multiple times for missions that never materialized. This one should have. There was need. There was capacity. Why didn't someone pull the trigger?
In other words, don't give DOD a pass on this – they was/is precedent for them preparing and deploying a response. Do you really expect DOS to deploy such assets? That's not their mission – it is DOD's.
Joe-
Can't vouch for the authenticity of the source, but this has been floating around for awhile...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/robbins-report/2012/oct/28/general-losing-his-job-over-benghazi/
Maybe somebody did have the stones, but was squashed from above.
You should read the findings from the congressional and Republican hearings and find out the background and what actually did happen.
Colombo Issa has refused to let Gen Petrous and his deputy testify in public even after they sent him a letter requesting it because he knows he will be confirmed as an idiot if they testify and debunk all his B/S he will be proven to be another 1950's Sen. Joe McCarthy there are hundreds of Communists in the Congress, McCarthy.
joedog
Benghazi is a smoking gun held over the photo of a dead US Ambassador, who died a tortured and avoidable death and the Administration fills its time and the mass media airwaves with a legally decided, albeit tragic, local Florida case. What party hack advised, "Never let a tragedy go to waste." Hilary is dirty on this one.
TimB
Where do you get this weird idea there was torture involved? No torture...yes they were killed, but no torture.
Stevens was tortured and raped while they were killing him. That is in the record.
Stevens would of never put himself or his people in harms way. Our intel system failed us once again, just as it did when the twin towers were attacked. Someone was sleeping on the job.
alohafalls
The only intelligence failure was one of native intelligence. This was the 9-11 anniversary, everyone should have been on their toes. Hillary made a huge mistake and as is her families wont was mendacious.
snowdogg
the general has perfect hindsight
ricardo1968
Exactly. This is the biggest political non-issue of the decade, trumped up in a last ditch effort to boost Romney. The GOP would rather shame themselves with this nonsense then formulate some kind of agenda.
Non-issue for liberal democrats that are not honest about their party., This is pretty serious to the families of the Americans they let die and could have avoided.
Stephen Kriz
Much ado about nothing. I am still waiting for the House GOP to launch an investigation into the dozen attacks on U.S. embassies and consulates that occurred on George W. Bush's watch, where 60 people died.
T. Lee
You will wait a long time Stephen – because the Republicans don't really care about Bengazi – they only care about the political capital they can raise by ranting and raving about it because it provides them with slogans and anti-Hillary ads in preparation for the next presidential election cycle.
Not only where there 12 attacks against US embassies and consulates resulting in 60+ deaths (the most to date in history under ANY president), one of those deaths was a US Diplomat (David Foy in Pakistan, 2006) – but you never hear the Republican-Noise-Machine mention him!
Well it is clear that the Democratic Party cares just as much about covering up Bengazi to try and make the new and improved HC look like less of a failure. They immediately tried to spin it into a cartoon thing. It is just like our President the liar and spin doctor. He is a showman. More or less PT Barnum of the modern era. There is a sucker born every minute T. Lee and that is the American people.
@Tiffany, there is no cover up because there is nothing to cover up. The attack happened. That's it. Ask your party how they intend to govern if they were, by some miracle, to win a major election and you will tell you nothing. Why? Because they haven't even thought about it. They are wholly focused on theatre, as if they know they have no chance at actually regaining power.
Andy Porter
How can you say much ado about nothing! Embassies are considered America's representation in the countries they are maintained. This means in essence that the attack was on American sovereign soil! A very real attack against attack against America took place at Benghazi and I can'f for the life of me figure out why they are still talking about the "demonstration"! Intelligence never even considered that as a possibility!!! The only place the demonstration was talked about was in the talking points!! Americans died at Benghazi and I'm amazed how some don't care about the truth! This is a very sad time for this country.
Andy, the place was not an embassy. Your bleating is pointless.
Moron, that was during a declared war.
It's for a demonstration for "Justice for the 4 Benghazi victims"
Who cares at this point? It was a terrorist attack. And So? The GOP tries to keep this in the news why? So they can improve operations? Learn valuable lessons? Would the McCain or Romney State Dept have gotten it right? DIDN'T Think so!! The continued hashing and rehasing of this story is simple, pure politics.
Sroz
Who cares at this point if we were lied to?
If we were lied to, I would care...but since we weren't...no, I don't.
It was to lie and then, insure the cover-up toward the election. Simple lies by this corrupt administration to pull a fast one on the American public and keep this leftist pol as potus. After FF, IRS, Solyndra, and its seems Benghazi might be the shame that Obama will regret. No, he has no honor!
If Stevens was your father, wouldn't you still care?
brewhafunk
Wish the last president who lied us into war were a liberal. We would not have lost 5,000 Americans. That's right, not 4, 5,000. Just so no one has forgotten... an unnamed source in Prague told us Saddam Hussain was buying yellow cake uranium from Niger... Aluminum tubes that scientist knew were not thick enough to be used in nuclear production... Mobile weapons labs that were made up... ALL LIES... And when reporter Joe Wilson did an expose' in the New York Times, the office of the vice president ruined his wife's career by ousting her as a CIA agent, compromising our intelligence gathering operations. Best of all, the former vice presidents chief of staff is a CONVICTED FELON guilty of lying to cover it all up... Saddest aspect of it all, the company that Dick Cheney was president of, Halliburton, made billions as a war profiteer. And they even over charged our military for food and had to give it back. But keep talking Benghazi.
Yes, and I believe it is our current president that made a campaign PROMISE to bring the troops home ASAP if he was elected. Hmmmm. He did not keep that promise but sent them to Afghanistan! Oh but yes, now before the next election in 2014 he is going to bring them all home. How convenient! They are all corrupt honey!
You're an idiot, we were in Afghanistan since Oct. 2001. Troop withdrawal doesn't happen overnight dummy, there has to be a gradual reduction in forces and the transfer of operations and responsibilities to the Afghan army. News flash, the withdrawal has been underway for some time now, U.S. troops are coming home, and the Afghan army now has the lead role. The President is on track to achieve total withdrawal by 2014. If nutbars like mad dog McCain and those other war hawks had their way, we'd be fighting Pakistan, Iran, and China right now. Semper Fi!
splivitz
We have a problem in America. We have a liar with a anti-American socialist agenda in the white house threatening the very fabric of our society. Please keep on subject and work to help America.
You couldn't define socialism if your life depended on it. Even if Obama were Muslim, which there isn't a shred of evidence that he is, what difference would it make? Bigot.
This is the reason I did not support him in the last elections. The most selfish man alive lives on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. When will Americans wake up?
I always laugh at guys like Stephen... Just as soon as you say you don't like Obama, your a bigot. Really Pathetic! You Democrats are more like sheep everyday.
@Andy,at least we didn't have our heads up our nether regions like yourselves with the last administration,any comebacks ignorents!!Talk about sheep and led to the slaughter as well not only voting once but twice you voted for that Texas imbecile in Bushs didn't yah!!Quit the denile crap you know you did, take responsibility helping in the crap he created because your vote put him there!!
Joe and Valerie (Plame) Wilson were so "horrified" by Plame's being outed that they posed for a two page spread in Vanity Fair magazine immediately afterwards!! If you want to discuss "outing" people, go after Obama for disclosing the name and location of the unit that killed Bin Laden. Secretary of Defense Gates had to follow after Obama to reassure those men and their families to reassure them they were safe.
http://www.gopusa.com/freshink/2011/05/16/gates-concerned-for-safety-of-navy-seals/
@Dorothy,is that why SEAL TEAM 6 guys are writting books,getting movie contracts,quit talking ignorent crap because that's fact and Bushs wouldn't have the balls to kill Osama because he was Bushs friend facts be known..Look that up dear if you can research and look up the Carlyle group where the Bushs and Osama worked together ,have fun !!
AmbroseC
Go back to Kansas.
Blake Jacobs
-WHY DON'T ELEPHANTS PLAY CARDS IN THE JUNGLE? -BECAUSE THERE'S TO MANY CHEETAH'S– Jokes-politics-1. (Man wearing three hats) -Jake:whats the idea? man:you know I've decided to become a politician.-Jake:what are you wearing three hats for?-man:A politician has one hat to cover his head,another he tosses in the ring and one hat he talks through.~ 2.)Politician:Hey,you,get me three well-sharpened pencils and a couple dozen sheets of paper.I've got to make a list of all the promises I must forget when I'm safely elected.~3.)-Fellow citizens,I have fought for our country.I have often had no bed but the battlefield,and no canopy but the sky.I have marched over the frozen ground till every step has been marked with blood.(Listener):By golly,I'll be darned if you haven't done enough for your country.Go home and rest.I'll vote for the other fellow.~Army jokes-1.)Private,why did you salute that refrigerator?-P:Because it was General Electric.-officer:And that jeep? -P:Because it was General Motors.
wetoldyouso
Liberals will always lie to the american public to further there cause.....Foxnews doesnt have higher ratings than CNN for no reason folks 🙂
Fox News does nothing but lie to you every day. Every day.
really i can turn on cnn and only hear lies but you would never know becauese your a troll fox news is number 1 this is why the liberal media would have you believe other wise remember liberlas believe if you repeat a lie enough people will just believe it.
loops808
If it were'nt for Fox News, Begnhazi and the IRS scandal that is inching closer every week to te White House would be ignored. CNN despises covering both these stories. Americans deserve the truth where ever it takes us.
Fox news is the only accurate news we have in America. If you do not realize this as an obvious fact then you are blind to the truth. I would suggest reading and try to think for yourself. Sheople are the problem with America. Educate yourself and then come back.
@splivitz,if I wanted lies like republicans in Issa do all day yah I'd turn to FAUX new but until then I'm a CNN guy,ignorents..And the more truth comes out on the IRS scandal ,Benghazi and others the more Issa and republicans will be seen with more than egg on their faces won't they again ignorents
Did Fox News make any mention of the fact - yes, the fact - that the far right voted down more than $128 million in fiscal 2011 and $331 million in fiscal 2012 that was intended for American security at embassies and consulates around the world.
After the vote in 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that Republicans' proposed cuts to her department would be "detrimental to America's national security" — a charge Republicans rejected.
Go ahead, listen to Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck. Go Ahead, listen to Fox News. You will continue to be the low-information voter you are right now.
that becuase hillary clintons group wasted 40-50 million on a new consulate and then never occupied it you cant blame republicans with trying to be carful with taxpayer dollars especially when we have a 17 trillion dollar deficit with absoulutley no plan in sight oh by the way mister low information voter obama hasn't had a budget for over 3 months now our debt has been on "freeze" and its becuase china doesnt want to loan us anymore money wake up and get your head out your culo
liberal disease
Don't need to listen to Fox to see that Obama and Clinton are two worth less liars and Susan Rice was a paid puppet
I hope one day you understand why that happened. It was common sense plus financial support has absolutely nothing to do with this attack. This was Democrats not doing their job and the fingers point to Obama and Hillary.
@Liberia disease,is that like Rumsfield,Condi Rice fighting for room under Bushs desk for the next presidencial tip of the day..Just remember its because of you idiots in denile voting twice for that imbecile in Bush that's created this whole economic mess,yah can't run from the truth you helped create this mess as well ignorents!!
Funding was NOT coming from State Dept. Ledgers; it was all DoD funding. Before you start spouting off at the mouth, at least put a little effort into your assertions; ie, get your facts straight!
downwithnazis
1. Fox does not have higher ratings; 2. All politicians lie.
TickedinNY
LOL, Google "who has higher ratings fox or cnn" and you will see that Fox has double the viewers.
sconger60
The reason the didn't want anyone to know about the real reasons for the attack is that it was not official state department site or consulate but a secret cia site that was attacked, the ambassador just happened to be there. Fox news has higher ratings for the same reason reality shows are so popular, stupid people.
Boy the GOP is silly keeping this in the news, all it does is remind the public how effective Obama handled Libya and also makes them just look petty as anyone with common sense understands that you would want to be strategic and careful in your messaging – and a few dozen people stormed the compound so wasn't a clear situation.
Richard Braswell
Being strategic and evasive in outgoing message traffic when under siege is like requesting artillery support in a firefight speaking ancient Greek.
but travyon martins b.s case is all you talk about but when we are attacked by terrorist once again its "old news" wake the f up already the liberal media is a joke and your stupid cnn followers will never wake up
jane ramos
stevens when he was teused protection should have resigned immediately got on the plane and left
Ham said "we thought it was a terrorist attack." Who's "we?" Was it possibly a bunch of people who jump to knee-jerk conclusions before enough facts are in? There are plenty of those in the military. Fine, this time they were right, but even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in awhile.
Tony in STL
This has got to be a bait story! So incredibly simple. Why doesn't anyone question who chose to cut money for Embassy security? I'll help out ...the GOP ...as usual. Who called the attack "what", and when they said it, really doesn't matter. Very old and rediculous news here. Same soup, reheated! Cry me a river. I'm so sick of the nonsense coming from the right. I despise whiners and losers. Let the weirdo's secede, ...please!
I believe the reports that STEVENS AMBASSADOR asked for help about security months before and did not get an answer from those with their head in the sand. Now we have a cover up time and time again which shows disrespect for the people of the USA. Rewriting history does not change it like saying the holocaust did not happen so pull the other leg
this isnt a right or left issue moron this is about 4 americans killed and still no real response as usal from the obummer administration. As usal the leftist mob cries theres nothing there whos the real moron that s quick to make a judgement? YOU why are you so afraid of the real facts coming to light? becuase it will send that bum in office packing.
@hey,more were killed under Bushs terms as president and who took responsibility for those and what about the thousands killed in a war created by lies ..STFU with the crap if you and l your ignorents can't come up with anything better than this !!
Slow down~You crazy child~your so ambitious for a juvenile~but then if your so smart tell me why you are still so afraid? Where's the fire,what's the hurry about? you better- cool it off before you burn it out-you got so much to do and only so many hours in a day-But you know that when the truth is told- that you can get what you want or you can just get old- you're gonna-kick off before you even get halfway through-when will you realize...Vienna waits for you~Slow down,you're doing fine-you can't be everything you want to be before your time-Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight~
Rick Glenn
Why didn't CNN put in this piece that General Ham was retired in disgrace; he was demoted to three star general from four star general and forced to retire for misappropriation of government funds. He used government transportation to fly his wife to conference locations, booked expensive hotels for lodging, etc. This would allow the general public reading this article to form their own opinion as to the credibility of this disgraced and dishonest General.
PoBoy
That was General Ward, not General Ham who was investigated, after his retirement for misappropriation of government funds.
You should get out and read more before posting. That wasn't GEN Ham. It was GEN Ward.
JP Army
Rick, Know you facts before shooting your mouth off.
TruthandConsequence
Certainly the NSA knows WE all knew it was a terrorist attack...Whats the prob? Wasn't Obama reading his mail?
Natrldiver
Obama can't read unless it is on his teleprompter. He also never has time to do his job because of all the vacations and campaigning he does along with inserting his opinion into trial cases. However, he has claimed plausible deniability proving to America that he is either the dumbest president ever, or he really has no clue as to what he is doing. Probably both on that.
mark hensley
In think you have Obama confused with Bush, who spent more time on vacation than any other president in history.
aergern
You idiot. Every POTUS since IKE has used a teleprompter when giving a speech that is televised. As for vacations. YOU should go look that you. Low Info haters are the worse and you are low info with a capital L.
wow do liberals know how to do research obama has taken more vacations then our last 4 presidents combined. Im not saying a president can't take a vacation but when everyone is struggling to put food on the table a $100,000,000.00 vacation to africa seems alittle much doesnt it ? who cares either way the left will call us racist?
@hey,get your facts straight ass hole..Bush in his first two years in his first term took over 450 days off !!His father in one term took over 500 days off..You conservatives been smelling your gas too long and are getting delushional ,just like FAUX news !!
Francisco DeCastro
Is CNN still mumbling about this? Instead of investigating the attack, and trying to catch the culprits, they are investigating on how to make President Obama look bad. Isn't something off about this? Instead of talking about the attack, they talk about what Rice and Obama were saying on TV. How is that even important compared to finding the criminals?
To me what is important was the attack. But to others, who cares about the dead ambassadors, let's worry about what Rice and Obama, was telling the world. Even though some time later, they said it was a terrorist attack anyways. I think people are focusing on the wrong part. Stopping Al Quaeda should be the focus, not if Rice and Obama and Hilary said it was an attack because of the protests, because the investigation was bound to figure it out who did it anyways. I just don't understand how people can be so dense and completely ignore the fatal terrorist attack, and focus on what people were saying instead.
The DC people think the US citizens are stupid, not worthy of truth. But they are the people not able to tell the truth.
I wrote the president mislead us.... Not the "DC people", your editing changes the subject. Please stop protecting this man and dumbing down the responses.
@Jim,you're dumbing down the process just posting here,quit it!!Nobody misled anyone!!
Complement, what she does-send her roses -just because-If it's violins she wants- let them play -Love her today- Find 100 ways~
shelbyann
what else would it, it was a terrorist attack caused by film rage, it wasn't a picnic in the park, we need to investigate who made the film trailer and spread it all, over the internet a month and a half before the election
wow please GOd tell me you don't still think it was a film do you? that was cleared up pretty quickly unless your living under a rock
Is that you Hillary?
wah wah benghazi....
we all know what benghazi was... a place in Libya that the gop wah wah dont spend money on that, lead from behind wah wah dont spend money on that.... OMG Benghazi Benghazi!
hey heres a thought it had nothing to do with money all the money in the world would not have changed the fact that obama gave a STAND DOWN order. If it wasn't for our brave marines defying that order we would have had more dead americans stop believeing the liberal media for a moment and listen to the other side theres some real information out there. Just becuase something is repeated often by cnn doesnt make it true.
Rain drops keep falling on my head- but that doesn't mean my eye's will soon be turn'in red- cry'ins not for me-cause- I'm never gonna stop the rain by complain'in- because I'm free- nothins worrien me-La La La La La La La La
Dick Gozinyia
Coverup extaordinary.
Convict Hillary.
dotheflippin'math
Democrats asked for more $$ for embassy security before this tragedy. Gee, I wonder who turned that down?
Kool-Aid drinker. Who told Marines in Tripoli to stand down? Where was your leader hiding? You don't need money for that stupid.
where was Bush hiding during the NUMEROUS diplomat deaths under his watch?
oh yeah Camp David... bush and his world record setting time away from the white house. wah wah Benghazi
Too bad reality doesn't quite match up with your talking points.
http://www.opencongress.org/vote/2011/h/941
Yes, more democrats voted for the cuts than republicans.
Sworn testimony from State Dept woman who denied extra security said money was NOT the basis for denials.
This is sordid lying to America and the families.
yes sordid lying for American Families... WMDs wasnt a lie, the 5000+ families experincing deatsh from it are! the 50,000+ wounded from the lie.. r lies too!
suemac 47
The State Dept has enormous funding, something like %16 billion / year. There's over one million contractors in Iraq right now (most are not American). Is all that necessary? Is it necessary to have better security for relatively safe European embassies and consulates than for those in Muslim countries?
The State Department's number one job is to protect American citizens overseas. Looks like someone forgot about that.
marines were told to stand down by the obama adminsitration so you tell me how more money would have prevented any of this if the Democrats wanted more money maybe obama should stop taking 100 million dollar vacations and then begging the gop for more money you should be outraged during this time in our country even someone like the president is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on vacations.
@hey,lied again ignorent,prove it!!
wrap2tyt
"Ham said although he had authority to scramble a jet to the scene, he decided there was "not necessity and there was not a clear purpose in doing so."
...end of story...
I wonder how much Gen. Carter Ham got paid for this.
A guilty conscience is all it took.
...please give it a rest... it's done.
No it isn't. Who ordered lies? Obama and Hillary. Those are crimes. Impeachable crimes.
yes Hilary and Obama,. I read it in the EMAILs ... the emails! wah wah benghazi the emails...
FYI Clinton was impeached. u dolt.
when we sending bush cheney to the hague for the WMD lie?
Draeggo
For the speech? I hope a lot. He is a human being like you and deserves to make money based on whatever reason someone wants to pay him. Better yet... what have you done to deserve anything you are paid? Or are you so lost that you think people that serve our country in the military don't deserve to be paid later in life? I hope karma comes back to you 100 fold. You and people like you deserve what life dumps on them.
jrsgta
Here we go again...right wing crap. they fell on there facese on the irs. so attack a great person like a Clinton.people get a life your going to lose the next election cause your back in the 1960s. bunch of right wing wackkooss.
Chris Neville
Right, I am so glad Obama got in to change the direction of all that right wing crap. I am glad he got us out of Afghanistan, closed that prison in Cuba, stopped those illegal drones, opened up all the secret files the government has, man what a change from that right-wing admin he replaced.
Sheeple drunk on Kool-Aid. They love being lied to.
done with the foxfaxfail yet?
You think the IRS thing is over? Wow. Just amazing. You would let the IRS go after an entire group of people, not just individuals, and not be concerned? It doesn't matter what the group represented, the fact that the IRS abused its power so blatantly is an outrage. This has to be investigated to the end, wherever it leads. No governmental agency should get away with this.
who the hell fell on their faces the irs is still under investiagation but you dont follow stories I can tell you open cnn see a headline and make a judgement how about actually reading the stories. 3 progressive groups compared to over 300 tea party groups isn't quite fair is it?
Aaron Pareigis
Wow...Thanks CNN....where have you been? This is what happens when media does not care. Where have all the REAL journalists gone?
veggiedude
And the moment 9/11 happened, Bill Clinton said he knew it was Bin Laden behind it. Some people know things right off the bat. That's just how it is. Doen't mean there is a conspiracy to cover things up when others are in the dark.
So did my co-worker, and about a million other people who had been paying attention to world affairs.
are122
Hillary Clinton would probably have never been heard of if it wasn't for Bill. She wasn't qualified to be Secretary of State...and she got the position because of Bill Clinton showing support for Obama.
She was a US Senator for New York, for 8 years.
And NO ONE put her there. she won that election.
oh yessuh...praiz gawad and Al shaprtonnn
Both you & Al Sharpton hate Hillary & have a LOT in common. Get educated.
SEE YA IN 2016...bring cruz with ya.
psychicstalker
This article is ludicrous. All of it, from beginning to end.
Navin Johnson
If Republicans in washington spent even half of the energy they did on Benghazi on the economy..we would have a 0% unemployment rate by now.
OCCent
Apparently democrats haven't spent half their energy on the economy either given the unemployment rate is north of 7% (way underestimated rate). Unless you're saying only republicans can fix the economy...
how bout the POTUS focus on that instead of submitting the country into a racial war? hmmmmm NAVIN?
Soe Naing
So they can help bail out Detroit? No thank you...
Not with Obama in charge... it's clear now that he's the worst president in history.
im glad you realize that its republicans who can save the economy.
J Flick
According to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, terrorists do not exist and we have no such attacks. The Obama Administration has backed these remarks yet acknowledge that the man responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings was indeed a terrorist. So my question is...how can we have a terrorist attack if terrorists don't exist? I think the American public knows now who the "real" terrorists are!
Authenticate WHERE she said that. She didn't.
"what does it MATTER!#@@!#@!#@!#@!#@!????E?""""" SO SAY IT THE OL' crabby crack"er hag who thinks she's a "glass ceiling breaker"...so so it the gay flock..
obama 2 weeks before benghazi "Al qaeda is on the run" .....enough said
Ronnie Lee
Well, let's not loose sight of the fact that we played a major role in ousting Quadaffi, leaving Lybia a mess. Into the void that we helped create stepped a bunch of Islamic militias, and our friends from Al Queda, who had gained enough of a foothold there to attack our consulate. This, while the president was claiming that AQ was basically defeated while campaigning. And, that's just for starters. It's a shame that the media in this country is more concerned about keeping their liberal democrat president clean, than holding his tender tootsies to a very hot fire over this.
MrManhattan
I thought the 2012 election was over?
Well obviously it means it's not just an election issue.
IMPEACH AND ARREST OBAMA – ARREST HILLARY AND HOLDER!!!! GET AMERICA BACK!!!!
How about you Confederates just secede again. Spoiler alert: This time we let you!
oh daz righ... let dem crack- ahz go... we got all dah food stampz we dun need comming to uz
ohhhhhhhh massss-ah man-hat-tin... tell me mo'
amazing how simple mided you are so much for being open mided confederates dont want obama impeached REAL AMERICANS DO wake up Obama is a faliure he has done more damage then any other president in history but what does it matter you morons will blame bush and real americans will be accused of just being stupid racists.
heinok9
Oh boy, the crazies are let loose again... if you want to impeach Obama send in the intern's. All you have to do is have someone to blow the whistle and I don't mean the Lewinski kind and you are all set. Good look ... J
Too hard for Hilly and Obugger defenders.
wmd lie + Iraq = 5000 dead american sodliers, 50,000+ wounded American soldiers.
wah wah benghazi wah wah benghazi...
ah-menz!
hmm 9/11 3,000 innocents killed we go to war defend ourselves. Hmm obama says the same thing wmd in syria wah wah how about egypt wah wah how about iran iraq oh thats right obama made the same claim
JZG
Feel free to secede again. If you recall, it ended very badly for you last time.
Bill Clinton was IMPEACHED... when will foxfax inform u of this?
FIRST bush cheney need to be sent to the Hague as their war crimes are actual facts where your foxfaxfail
First things first, lets go after the worse of the bunch; Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Rove. Semper Fi!
Y'all are missing the big picture, you are looking at little things like this Benghazi business with the ambassador, whether or not there's a conspiracy or a cover-up; you do not see the end-game which is a single nuclear-capable islamic state from Pakistan to Morocco, America's blundering is enabling it to happen by destroying or allowing to be destroyed tin-pot autocrats like Gaddafi, Mubarak, Saddam Hussein, Musharraf, the guy in Yemen, now Assad, the only ones left are King Hussein and the Gulf Monarchies, how must they feel right now? The arc of history points to one thing, and that is that when all these governments have fallen into chaos, and most already have, what use are those borders? What use are those colonial constructs that are the states of the arab regions? It's happening right now, mark my words. The wild card is Iran and the shi'ite clerics, they are more opposed to such a development than anyone else.
Boy, cannot believe some of the stuff being said on here.
@Donnie the Lion Thomas Jackson has a brain the size of a peanut if he truly believes his "sources". Gaddafi loyalists had nothing to gain here. Most of them were hiding for their dear lives (he makes it seem as if the war was still going on), not to mention Benghazi was a stronghold for the NTC since the beginning. To say Gaddafi loyalists were behind the attack and that it was supported by "neoconservatives" is leftist propaganda. His statement about the anti-Muslim video being produced by the GOP should say it all. He is one of the leftist rodents that plagued this nation and should not be taken seriously whatsoever.
BLE7481
What difference, at this point, does it make?
It's far more important for the President and the Justice Department to figure out a way to re-try George Zimmerman despite his acquittal by a jury. Messing around with resurgent terrorist activity? That doesn't fit the narrative.
Ab-so-lute'lee.. mmmhmm.... who carez about the econon'mee , Bengah-zeee, the IRS, the NSA, the EPA , the AP'ee scandlezzzz...anything to do with what really matters when the POTUS can just say Trayvon looks like him and sidetrack the US into a racial war for the next year til after the next election...he done gud at dat...hmmm....amen...halleluhjah...so say it AL sharpton...so say it the flock!
yeah lets waste money on wah wah benghazi and not support the 50,0000 wounded troops no benefits for them!
wah wah IRS non story.
wah wah NSA... um u knew the patriot act was spying on you for the last 12 years... u chose to cry about bear arms instead why is that?
wah wah EPA, yeah good ole texas war cry where we dont regulate and pollute everything... how is them dust deaths going? pray some more... keep passing Christian Taliban Shariah Laws bra...
can someone give bam a bottle i think hes hungry ... maybe a diaper change?
bear jew
white house had an election six weeks out.....im not sure why its even questioned that Obama and state covered it up.
Craig from Pa.
It's done and over with...wasn't the first time, nor will it be the last time something like this has happened...we never beat a dead horse like this one before...get over it......or let;s go back and investigate every incident prior to this too!
I'm sure you beat the Zimmerman trial into the ground. Open your eyes my friend.
USMC6042
I know, I know, It was all Bush's fault. So all you Obama lovers can go about your normal lives praising and thanking your lord and savior Obama! Hilary and Obama had nothing to do with this.
No, it wasn't Bush Jr's fault, but you better take stock and admit to how things were at these embassies prior to O time in office. Under-staffed, under-protected, regular attacks (many far worse than Bengazi), and not enough bi-partisan support to get them up to speed since then.
this was a secret cia bunker not a consulate and all hte money in the world wouldnt help a stand down oreder from y[ours truly
TrustKnow1
Your name would suggest either current or former military service which I must respect. That said, the NWO agenda is global in scope and Clintons, Bushes, and Obamas are all lifelong members. More important, why are our top ranking commanding officers being systematically neutralized?
The truth is out there... Fight the future!
I know, I know, I didnt care when diplomats were killed under Bush.
I know, I know, I didnt care bush lied and sent troops in Iraq.
I know, I know, I claim I am a Marine and dont care my brothers died in Iraq from bush's wmd lie, it was Obamas fault.
I know, I know, shock and awe was free.
I know, I know, bush didnt pay for Veterans Hospitals to take care of 50,000 wounded from Iraq.
I know, I know... WAH WAH BENGHAZI WAH WAH BENGHAZI...
so much crying over Benghazi... and not a CARE about much much worse things... wah wah
I love how your default response to criticism of this administration is bring up the mistakes of the one before. Guess that gives the current administration a free pass to do whatever right? You are just as guilty for perpetuating blind party endorsement by refusing to hold your equally as incompetant/crooked politicians responsible. Good talk bro.
You know, many people can hold more than one thought in their head at a time. It doesn't have to be "Benghazi or..", it can be "Benghazi and...". Benghazi was a nasty little cover-up deal that went sour on the administration and got an ambassador and 3 very brave citizens killed – for a lousy cover-up during an election season. It's nasty and sordid, and people shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. Why don't you turn your head away until the investigation is over? What's it to you, anyway?If it's such a little deal why don't you just ignore it? Why do you have to REPEATEDLY harp about it?
For me it's just one more thing. The military has fired generals for a lot less yet politicians all seem to be untouchable. How anyone can keep their job after their mistakes got people killed is beyond me. As for the administration, they need to just own up to it and quit calling it something it isn't. They won't as long as people like bam refuse to hold them to any level of accountability since he apparently shares their political party. Republicans did the same thing with Bush till probably his last 2 years. It's a vicious stupid cycle.
and Sumac, you are hearing about it so much because republicans had to incessantly hear about Bush's failures for the past decade. They are just returning the favor.
Itsaconspiracy!
So? What is the point of this article? CNN is printing "news" that is at least six months old, and has no point at all. It is like reprinting the winner of last year's hot dog eating contest.
Has fox been screaming bengahzi again, since the IRS "scandal" turned ut to be a hoax on the a pf issa, prompting CNN to have their own story?
Kelcy
This coming from a general that caught out for essentially fraud and lying but the investigation was totally toned down so he was still allowed to retire as a general officer (cry me a river on that one). Nothing that comes out of his mouth is in the least way trustworthy.
Christopher Hetkey
I'd be surprised if you ever left the safety of your living room.
Trayvon M
What's all this Benghazi talk about, don't you guys know that Trayvon is dead? Come on CNN, wake up!
yo yo its me travyon martin and i f'd with the wrong cracka yo i was gonna just whoop his azz so my homegurl can go to college yo. I was making a weed sale and before going home bought me an ice tea and skittles this isnt why i left my house though i needed to sell some drugs like what i had written on my phone. I wanted to steal a gun too but that aint karma for ya its racism. Oh and for the gun in my cell phone that wasnt me i just like taking pictures of other black hands holding guns.
Terry Gloege
Gee whiz!!!! The general is saying exactly what Hillary to the boys in congress.
LouAZ
This is all yesterdays news. The US Govt can not know EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME, like a whole lot of commentors here and everyplace before. Let's move on !
General Ham was my commander in the Infantry in Germany and a supporter of my transfer to CID. I will trust whatever he says as I have never known him to be dishonest, or have a reason to.
The Republicans voted to defund security, and now they are saying why they wasn't protected.
Bull. Not even the military on call agrees with that one. Obama has enough to spend $100,000,000 on a trip to Africa but can't defend his own people? How stupid.
100 mil, come on dude grow up... you are so far removed from reality that it doesn't even need response to this nonsense.
but yet you respond it was a 100,000,00.00 vacation look up the facts their not hidden you know
We don't apologize to anyone.....period
Donnie the Lion
I think that conclusion had already been reached.....the CIA stepped in and told the WH not to tell the truth. So, either the WH should have said nothing (which would have been bad) or ignored the CIA and told the truth (not as bad).
I think Thomas Jackson is right on with his analysis. Who had the the most to gain from the massacre? Gaddafi loyalists.
Putting all the speculation aside: From day one it was Ambassador Stevens who initiated the trip to Benghazi to renew a friendship with a Libyan leader that he had known and worked with during early days of the revolution. It's obvious things went wrong en route. What happened then and why.......?
how many of these generals just knew there were WMD'S in Iraq.... really
you liberals are so simple minded weapons of mass destruction doesn't mean a nuke it could mean a road side bomb a suicide bomber if it makes mass destruction its a weapon of mass destruction is it not? or do you think wmd means BIg bomb. Pull the kool aid out the freeza man you cant drink ice.
Reggie from LA
So we could very well have gone to war in Iraq for something as destructive as an IED? Of course it means Big Bomb! MASS being the operative word. Wasn't "Big Bomb" what was being purported by the Cheney administration...I mean, Bush Administration? Haliburton sure scored big!
really it wasn't a family picnic,,,, really.... it was terrorists... really
Though it continues to be said and repeated, there is NOT evidence that the terrorists were "al-queda affiliated" and there is stronger evidence that they were Gaddafi loyalists who wanted to make the attack LOOK like it was from al-queda. This narrative coincides with other evidence that links neoconservative activists IN THE US with the attack.
It remains to be seen if Morsi Loyalists were able to get the evidence to the US government that they had about the Gaddafi-Loyalist/Mubarak-Loyalist planners and operatives who were arrested in Oct 2012.
If that evidence is in the possession of the US government, then the financing for the attack which took place through money-laundering from conservative PACS is already being analyzed with the evidence recently supplied by Swiss banks.
I'll start my publications with two themes: 1)The timeline of events on 9-11-12, according to all sources and all details later revealed, AND 2) the hoax that was perpetrated, by neocons, about the "Blind Sheikh Brigade."
Later, I'll get to the GOP financed, produced, distributed, promoted and advertised anti-muslim video and the efforts to take it viral. The origins of the "viral effort" have been traced to an office at Stanley corporation where employees hacked Barack Obama's passport records in 2012. One person involved in that caper was found in his car, murdered, and that murder has never been solved.
Oh, and let's not forget Charlene Lamb. She was let off the hook for her part in Iraq War contract racketeering, and a few years later she arranges for an Iran-Contra felon Duanne Clarridge, to staff Benghazi with untrained unarmed guards and hide that with two MI6 front companies. Clarridge, known for his association with Cofer Black, an executive at Blackwater and Mitt Romney's Natl Sec Advisor. Did I mention Blackwater (whatever they are called these days) was under prosecution for the year leading up to this attack? Oh, yes, plenty of Obama haters had their fingers in this pie. I haven't divulged half of what I have found. You can find it too!
Thomas, you should write a book! It's bound to beat out all of Tom Clancy's Fiction books! Go get you some Obama love! Maybe Hilary will do you as well.
Great insights. I definitely believe there are hawk/neo-con factions (& just profiteers) that know exactly what it takes to foment chaos. Just look at the history of all sorts of false flag events, like Gulf on Tonkin, or how close we came to annihilation during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I just say, regardless of what party's in office .... follow the money. Eisenhower's words still fall short, when it comes to the lengths the Mil. Ind. Complex will go to to keep some sort of war at the forefront of our psyches & headlines. Where are there profits to be made, now that Iraq & Afghanistan are slowly winding down (theoretically)? We'd already be deep in Syria if McCain, et al, had their way.
Not that anyone blinded on the right might also understand ..... but that Sec. Rice was "given" a story of uncertainty to pump, so the real hunt could stay under the radar, in hopes that it would give the culprits a false sense of security & they might not scatter so fast out of Dodge, thinking the Dragon didn't have his head above the ashes. yet.
tin foil hat on to tight.
SolarMoon
The covert CIA activities in Benghazi should have put authorities on alert of a possible attack. Relying on local security for protection in such a volatile location was pure madness. Thank Republicans for lack of security funding at U.S. embassies and missions.
Greg C.
Amazing that Hillary could find the funds to divert to Vienna for Green cars...politics before security...no Republican budget issues here...perhaps that's why your current Administration just said, no problem here...just move on...
Really? Funds were diverted from libya to vienna. Prove it. Because that is NOT how the state dept. budget works.
Sloppyslim
its the generals job , but i seem to remember sac flying 24/7 . putting aircraft on station for ready response means there available if needed , not flying 4 hours to get there after some one calls it in .
I just don't understand how , with all the flashpoints on 7/11 , that no resources were in motion for quick reaction .
the government KNEW things were going south , they just didn't know how bad and at how many facilities .
In my opinion , its a miracle nothing more serious happened because we still wouldn't have been able to respond
StanCalif
There is much more to this story that is not being told! Amb. Stevens felt insecure and requested additional security before this incident. The State Dept. declined. Stevens should have packed up and returned to Tripoli, but he did not. Why?
Tom from Canonsburg
Stan. I think you have this a little confused. Stevens requested extra security for the Embassy in Tripoli and then decided to go to Benghazi. Really seems that he should have stayed at the Embassy. Seems kind of dumb to me. You are right that there is more to learn about here.
George of Jungle
Why beat a dead horse? Enemies are still out there waiting for an opportunity to launch an another Benghazi style attack. What this administration is waiting for? Obama is about big talks, no actions.
@StanCalif,you don't know the facts bud,quit lying...This same Gen.Curtis Ham called Stevens multiple times and asked if Stevens in an unfortified building as in Benghazi needed additional security and Stevens said NO!!Ham stated that with the anniversary of 9/11 coming up and Kadafis overthrow the region was unstable and even hearing facts Stevens still reinterated NO!!A high ranking official from the Tripoli embassy also called Stevens and basicly told Stevens to come back the 400 mile distance to the fortified embassy in Tripoli and Stevens still refused!!So don't blame Hillary or Pres.Obama when it was Stevens complacency,incompetence that caused he ,his collegues deaths and tell your ignorent ,racist pitbull in Issa that again he can't with his conspiracy theories connect the dots that he wants so bad in convicting someone that doesn't deserve to be either admonished or convicted when the facts are told and again Issas got egg on his face doesn't he at tax payers expense!!
Al Queda linked militants killed our Ambassador and three others and our President's response was to apologize to the Muslim World for a youtube video. Pretty pathetic.
Stevens didn't have any reason to fear the militias, not even the islamist ones. They were helping him track down gaddafi loyalists and the stashes of weapons that were being smuggled to other countries.
Gaddafi Loyalists, on the other hand, had every reason to kill Stevens, blame it on Islamists, destabilize the government, and try to create a theater of carnage for Romney, who probably promised them a better deal. Maybe Romney would have preferred a hostage crisis, so he could play the part of Reagan and cast Obama as Jimmy Carter.
The various efforts involved in the whole "Mid East Chaos" strategy were compartmentalized. You can find evidence of that when you see certain actors taking their cues with story elements that were out-of-sync with reality. The script changes betray the compartmentalization, and the compartmentalizations tell you who is behind the treason.
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