MR.
SCHIEFFER: Do you agree or disagree with [the previous guest, the president of
Libya's general national congress] that al Qaeda had some part in this?
MS. RICE: Well, we'll have to find out that out. I mean I think it's clear that there were extremist elements that joined in and escalated the violence. Whether they were al Qaeda affiliates, whether they were Libyan-based extremists or al Qaeda itself I think is one of the things we'll have to determine.
That is what Rice said in toto. She said a great deal more than what Senators McCain, Graham, and Ayotte claim she said, although all one hears on the mass media is the Senator's version. This so-called conspiracy concocted by these three Senators would have a merciful death if what Rice actually said was reviewed by the media.
This is what has so many befuddled. What exactly is this "conspiracy" about? No one seems to know except a few Republicans and a few entertainers on Fox News. The reader is reminded that nearly all the facts were known about this raid by late September, well ahead of the elections. So, the elections were not an issue.
There is one possible explanation,
noting once again Rice is not the issue. She is merely caught in the middle in
the struggle between the GOP and the President on foreign-policy initiatives.
Rice is Obama's No. 1 choice to replace Secretary Clinton, and he has
steadfastly defended her. Some observers have speculated that the Republicans
would prefer that Obama nominate Senator John Kerry, leaving the door open for a Republican to win
his vacated Massachusetts seat and narrowing the Democratic
majority in the Senate.
There is still another curious aspect to all of this as Ray McGovern, a veteran CIA analyst for 27 years, explains. "Blinded by the limelight, Rice seems to have blundered into the controversy, giving little thought to the possibility that she was being put out front by then-CIA Director David Petraeus and Obama's terrorism adviser John Brennan, who is the usual administration spokesman regarding terrorist attacks. Brennan immediately flew off to Libya on a fact-finding trip, leaving Rice in the unaccustomed role of explaining the attack in Benghazi." Secretary Clinton, who was responsible for the security of the Benghazi consulate, or diplomatic facility, whatever one wishes to call it, has remained totally clear of all of this. Go figure. Rice was left swinging in the wind. When will Americans ever learn? When it comes to terrorist attacks, we must show a united front, not engage in petty politics that weakens our resolve.
MS. RICE: Well, we'll have to find out that out. I mean I think it's clear that there were extremist elements that joined in and escalated the violence. Whether they were al Qaeda affiliates, whether they were Libyan-based extremists or al Qaeda itself I think is one of the things we'll have to determine.
That is what Rice said in toto. She said a great deal more than what Senators McCain, Graham, and Ayotte claim she said, although all one hears on the mass media is the Senator's version. This so-called conspiracy concocted by these three Senators would have a merciful death if what Rice actually said was reviewed by the media.
This is what has so many befuddled. What exactly is this "conspiracy" about? No one seems to know except a few Republicans and a few entertainers on Fox News. The reader is reminded that nearly all the facts were known about this raid by late September, well ahead of the elections. So, the elections were not an issue.
There is still another curious aspect to all of this as Ray McGovern, a veteran CIA analyst for 27 years, explains. "Blinded by the limelight, Rice seems to have blundered into the controversy, giving little thought to the possibility that she was being put out front by then-CIA Director David Petraeus and Obama's terrorism adviser John Brennan, who is the usual administration spokesman regarding terrorist attacks. Brennan immediately flew off to Libya on a fact-finding trip, leaving Rice in the unaccustomed role of explaining the attack in Benghazi." Secretary Clinton, who was responsible for the security of the Benghazi consulate, or diplomatic facility, whatever one wishes to call it, has remained totally clear of all of this. Go figure. Rice was left swinging in the wind. When will Americans ever learn? When it comes to terrorist attacks, we must show a united front, not engage in petty politics that weakens our resolve.
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