# Guess what 60 Minutes decided to do last night? (Answer: Benghazi) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 28, 2013, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429 "2013-10-28T09:40:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/41 "2013-10-28T14:49:58Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > It has been widely reported that Amabassador Stevens was fully aware of the possibility of an attack on the compound, but went to Benghazi anyway. So - the Ambassador knew about the attack threat. Top US security official in Libya knew about it. The State Dept. and the DOD knew about it. But after the attack no one brought up the possibility that the threat was actually carried out? Instead they went with “spontaneous demonstrations”. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/42 "2013-10-28T14:50:17Z")
So if someone, somewhere in the administration thinks there might be a possibility of terrorists attacking US citizens in a novel way, then the President is to blame. Got it! Thanks! [sub]Don’t mention 9/11. Don’t mention 9/11. Don’t mention 9/11. Don’t mention 9/11. [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/43 "2013-10-28T14:50:20Z")
You mean Andy Rooney’s birth certificate? That’s in Courier. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/44 "2013-10-28T14:51:23Z")
That’s evidence it was faked. Andy Rooney’s birth certificate would have been written with a quill pen. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/45 "2013-10-28T15:01:43Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > That’s evidence it was faked. Andy Rooney’s birth certificate would have been written with a quill pen. There’s also that Courier hadn’t been designed until 1955. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/46 "2013-10-28T15:03:21Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > So - the Ambassador knew about the attack threat. Top US security official in Libya knew about it. The State Dept. and the DOD knew about it. But after the attack no one brought up the possibility that the threat was actually carried out? Instead they went with “spontaneous demonstrations”. Well, someone brought it up at some point. I don’t think the administration is still claiming anything like that, so what is your point? ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/47 "2013-10-28T15:19:43Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > So - the Ambassador knew about the attack threat. Top US security official in Libya knew about it. The State Dept. and the DOD knew about it. Al Qaeda constantly makes threats. Hell, the US just issued a travel warning and closed embassies in August of this year (which, if you have a sense of irony at all, you’ll love that FOXNews had an article about the closing with the headline: “US overreacting to Al Qaeda terror threat?”) Every embassy is in danger, especially in countries like Libya, Iraq, etc. It is been decided that there wouldn’t be enough funding for every outpost in every country to be completely safe, so there will always be threats. And some of those threats will come to harm to Americans. Just like they did under Bush, or Clinton before him, or Bush before him and on and on. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/48 "2013-10-28T15:21:13Z")
People still watch _60 Minutes_? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/49 "2013-10-28T15:23:54Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Al Qaeda constantly makes threats. This was a specific threat, one of three made, with two already carried out. So when it is carried out, it is a bit hard to believe that the officials involved thought it was “spontaneous demonstrations” that killed the Ambassador. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/50 "2013-10-28T15:26:58Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > So - the Ambassador knew about the attack threat. Top US security official in Libya knew about it. The State Dept. and the DOD knew about it. But after the attack no one brought up the possibility that the threat was actually carried out? Instead they went with “spontaneous demonstrations”. Ever consider the possibility that you don’t run to a microphone and tell everybody everything you know as soon as you know it? Or that maybe it’s prudent to let the bad guys not know that you’re on to them? Or that there were agents in the field still gathering information and letting on what you know might jeopardize their missions and/or the agents themselves? Is it that fucking important to shout “terrorism” as soon as humanly possible? Whatever for? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/51 "2013-10-28T15:29:51Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > People still watch _60 Minutes_? It’s easiest to just leave CBS on after the late football game is over. The starting times of other shows don’t match up anymore. That’s mainly why the show has had such good ratings for so many years. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/52 "2013-10-28T15:31:11Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > This was a specific threat, one of three made, with two already carried out. So when it is carried out, it is a bit hard to believe that the officials involved thought it was “spontaneous demonstrations” that killed the Ambassador. There were 14 other specific threats to American diplomatic personnel in Libya in the six months leading up to Benghazi, and none of them happened. So no, it’s not hard to believe. All this is missing the point, though: so what? Let’s assume the administration _knew_ it was a terrorist attack when they were saying it probably wasn’t. What are we supposed to take from this? ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/53 "2013-10-28T15:31:30Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > This was a specific threat, one of three made, with two already carried out. And the government should have responded better to the threats, by closing the special mission, moving the personnel, and/or providing more security. Much the same as should happen in the numerous other terrorist attacks done against US interests overseas, including those during the presidencies of members of both political parties. See, there is a point of agreement to be found. It doesn’t have to involve a grand conspiracy, or a coverup, or partisan witch hunts, or accusations of both underreacting and overreacting to terrorist threats, or by trying to create a scandal because they didn’t want to acknowledge it was a terrorist attack immediately after. There is a reasonable, rational, and tragic, lesson to be learned from Benghazi, a lesson that shouldn’t have to depend on which party is currently in power. Feels nice doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/54 "2013-10-28T15:32:24Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Ever consider the possibility that you don’t run to a microphone and tell everybody everything you know as soon as you know it? Nah. It’s better to just lie about it. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/55 "2013-10-28T15:33:24Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > There were 14 other specific threats to American diplomatic personnel in Libya in the six months leading up to Benghazi, and none of them happened. There’s something wrong with your selective amnesia module. Remember to change the POTUS setting to “Democrat”. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/56 "2013-10-28T15:34:53Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > All this is missing the point, though: so what? Let’s assume the administration _knew_ it was a terrorist attack when they were saying it probably wasn’t. What are we supposed to take from this? That the administration lied (and continued to lie for a while). That’s what **adaher** was saying, and got attacked for, for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/57 "2013-10-28T15:37:50Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > That the administration lied (and continued to lie for a while). That’s what **adaher** was saying, and got attacked for, for some reason. Why would the administration lie (versus not telling everyone exactly what was going on in an ongoing investigation, which is obviously the far more plausible explanation\*)? What did they possibly have to gain? \*I don’t mean just as a matter of logic, I mean that the public clearly thinks so - which is why Darryl Issa has given up his witchhunt. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/58 "2013-10-28T15:37:57Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Nah. It’s better to just lie about it. And precisely what good would it have done if Obama ran to a microphone and started running around in circles yelling “WOOT!!! TERRORISM!!! OH MY GOD!!! TERRORISM!!!” Would the victims be less dead? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/59 "2013-10-28T15:40:46Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Why would the administration lie (versus not telling everyone exactly what was going on in an ongoing investigation, which is obviously the far more plausible explanation)? What did they possibly have to gain? 1. It’s not a lie when you say something like “we need more facts before we make the determination”. It is a lie when you know fairly certainly that this was a planned attack and you go out and tell the press that it was all due to “spontaneous demonstration”. 2. What they had to gain was a temporary cover for their security failure. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429/60 "2013-10-28T15:42:57Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > This was a specific threat, one of three made, with two already carried out. So when it is carried out, it is a bit hard to believe that the officials involved thought it was “spontaneous demonstrations” that killed the Ambassador. The (wrong) preliminary information about spontaneous demonstrations came from the CIA. STILL. Republicans in Congress were hoping and praying they would find something that proved the administration pressured the CIA to call it a demonstration so nobody would realize it was an attack, _but they never found it and will never find it because it didn’t happen._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guess-what-60-minutes-decided-to-do-last-night-answer-benghazi/672429.md?page=4)