Schiff continues, "In fact, the White House has confirmed the only change it made to the text was to replace 'consulate' with 'diplomatic facility'. Hardly earth-shattering."
He adds, "So what about the revelation that Petraeus knew it was terrorism from day one? Not much of a surprise there: Everyone understood that firing rocket-propelled grenades and mortars at an American diplomatic post was an act of terror. While many point to Petraeus' conclusion that terrorists were involved, they seem to ignore another key early conclusion - he also believed that protests in Benghazi preceded the attack." [Emphasis is mine]
The President
stated on Sept. 12 that the attack in Benghazi was a terrorist attack.
Let's return to
the three Senators on the CNN report. According to the article, McCain said,
"It was clear that the information that she gave the American people was
incorrect when she said that it was a spontaneous demonstration triggered by a
hateful video." McCain added, "There was compelling evidence at the
time that was certainly not the case, including statements by Libyans as well
as other Americans who are fully aware that people don't bring mortars and
rocket-propelled grenades to a spontaneous demonstration."
The first
statement relies on one sentence out of Rice's comments while excluding
everything else she said. It is out of context, oblivious to the known
intelligence at the time, and relies on judgment based on hindsight. In other
words, the information we know now is as a consequence of the FBI investigators
the President sent to Libya. Rice is being stoned due to the revelations of the
President's own investigative team, not anything the Republicans dug up. That
is just about the most contrived conspiracy you can get.
His second sentence nearly mirrors what Rice said.
According to the CNN report, "Graham, speaking after McCain, said he was 'more disturbed now than I was before that 16 September explanation about how four Americans died in Benghazi, Libya, by Ambassador Rice.'" Graham has never specifically explained that remark. That is typical Graham. He talks, but does not say anything.
He then foolishly adds, "I think it does not do justice to the reality at the time and in hindsight was clearly completely wrong." [Emphasis is mine] Did Graham just prove my point?
White House Press Secretary Jay
Carney responded with a defense of Rice: "The focus on -- some might say
obsession on -- comments made on Sunday shows seem to me and to many to be
misplaced.
"There are no unanswered
questions about ambassador Rice's appearance on Sunday shows and the talking
points that she used for those appearances that were provided by the
intelligence community," he said at a recent White House briefing for
reporters. "Those questions have been answered." Again, the
emphasis is mine.
It is time to reveal what Rice
actually said on Sept. 16th as opposed to what her GOP detractors,
actually three Republican Senators, said she said. The mass media has
cooperated with the GOP on this matter because their advertisers love a
conspiracy, even a contrived one. Once again, where used, emphasis is mine. The
source is the conservative Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/11/16/flashback-what-susan-rice-said-about-benghazi/
"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. So we'll want to
see the results of that [FBI] investigation to draw any definitive conclusions."
The WSJ continued:
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.
