# What is the Benghazi controversy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 16, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217 "2012-11-16T17:43:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/41 "2012-11-19T16:25:52Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > From your site “Some intelligence analysts worried, for instance, that identifying the groups could reveal that American spy services were eavesdropping on the militants — a fact most insurgents are already aware of.” > So the country was lied to for weeks to keep the terrorists from finding out what they already knew. That makes me feel better, the country is in the best of hands. You need to look at the dictionary definition of “most” it does not mean all, and it is a very logical assumption for terrorists to make, it does not mean that they know who exactly we are looking for. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/42 "2012-11-19T16:44:04Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > You need to look at the dictionary definition of “most” it does not mean all, and it is a very logical assumption for terrorists to make, it does not mean that they know who exactly we are looking for. They could have said that it was a terrorist attack and they were trying to figure out who was responsible. It would have been both true and would not have compromised any intelligence sources. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/43 "2012-11-19T16:46:25Z")
The real issue is this: the POTUS and his staff knew of the attack within an hour. They decided that the best course of action would be to do nothing. In effect, they wrote off Ambassador Stevens and the others as “bumps in the road”. Then, they released several contradictory stories about what happened-first they blamed the riot on an anti-muslim film clip that nobody had heard of…then they decide that Al Queda was responsible. They described the riot as a mob of unarmed people…then they admitted that heavy weapons were involved. The refusal to release the truth is the biggest issue here…there is also the issue of who was making the decisions that were made. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/44 "2012-11-19T16:52:52Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > They could have said that it was a terrorist attack and they were trying to figure out who was responsible. It would have been both true and would not have compromised any intelligence sources. They said so too, the reality is that this accusation could get a “Meh” or “not worthy of making it the mountain you are trying to make” [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/world/africa/benghazi-not-petraeus-affair-is-focus-at-hearings.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/world/africa/benghazi-not-petraeus-affair-is-focus-at-hearings.html) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/45 "2012-11-19T16:58:16Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > The real issue is this: > the POTUS and his staff knew of the attack within an hour. They decided that the best course of action would be to do nothing. In effect, they wrote off Ambassador Stevens and the others as “bumps in the road”. > **[Benghazi Timeline - FactCheck.org](https://www.factcheck.org/2012/10/benghazi-timeline/)** > > The question won't go away: Did President Obama and administration officials mislead the public when they initially claimed that the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi began "spontaneously" in response to ... > [@](#): > > About 8:30 p.m.: “Libyan security forces were able to assist us in regaining control of the situation. At some point in all of this – and frankly, we do not know when – we believe that Ambassador Stevens got out of the building and was taken to a hospital in Benghazi. We do not have any information what his condition was at that time. His body was later returned to U.S. personnel at the Benghazi airport.” The reality is that that rotten point only works if there was no reply made, as it turns out there was. There were really 2 attacks one to the consulate and to an intelligence compound. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/46 "2012-11-19T17:03:12Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > The real issue is this: > the POTUS and his staff knew of the attack within an hour. They decided that the best course of action would be to do nothing. In effect, they wrote off Ambassador Stevens and the others as “bumps in the road”. Then, they released several contradictory stories about what happened-first they blamed the riot on an anti-muslim film clip that nobody had heard of..then they decide that Al Queda was responsible. They described the riot as a mob of unarmed people..then they admitted that heavy weapons were involved. The refusal to release the truth is the biggest issue here..there is also the issue of who was making the decisions that were made. drone was routed for eyes on scene w/in 17 minutes. CIA was on site w/in 25. “they did nothing” has been [debunked](http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/benghazi.asp), THOROUGHLY. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/47 "2012-11-19T17:12:24Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > drone was routed for eyes on scene w/in 17 minutes. > > CIA was on site w/in 25. > > “they did nothing” has been [debunked](http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/benghazi.asp), THOROUGHLY. Ralph, can you address this please? A lot of the time what happens is someone repeats the RW media’s take, and when they are proven wrong they just ignore it and change the subject. This isn’t productive in the fight against ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/48 "2012-11-19T17:25:09Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Ralph, can you address this please? > > A lot of the time what happens is someone repeats the RW media’s take, and when they are proven wrong they just ignore it and change the subject. This isn’t productive in the fight against ignorance. If he doesn’t acknowledge it it doesn’t count! ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/49 "2012-11-19T17:32:12Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > If he doesn’t acknowledge it it doesn’t count! I’m pretty sure the Monty Python Black Knight was a 21st century conservative. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/50 "2012-11-19T19:41:46Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Then, they released several contradictory stories about what happened-first they blamed the riot on an anti-muslim film clip that nobody had heard of.. Wow, this show you have no grasp on the facts at all. By that point the film was well known. There had already been demonstrations in several Mideast countries at that point. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/51 "2012-11-19T20:35:38Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > drone was routed for eyes on scene w/in 17 minutes. > > CIA was on site w/in 25. > > “they did nothing” has been [debunked](http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/benghazi.asp), THOROUGHLY. Wow..citing Snopes? Might as well cite Pravda or Izvestia!🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/52 "2012-11-19T20:38:41Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Wow..citing Snopes? Might as well cite Pravda or Izvestia!🆒 Is that a joke, or are you actually that misinformed? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/53 "2012-11-19T20:42:02Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Wow..citing Snopes? Might as well cite Pravda or Izvestia!🆒 maybe check THEIR cites. or the ones i posted previously. or the dozens from the other threads. so–to be clear–you can’t defend the things you’re saying, so you’re just going to be pedantic? what you’re saying is patently false and has been roundly disputed. if you don’t like one source feel free to use another (there’s a ton…) ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/54 "2012-11-19T22:28:52Z")
Was there any evidence at all to link the video with the attack? I understand that there had been demonstrations in other countries but it seems odd that the administration stayed with the “it was the video’s fault” line. Carney’s statement that “we don’t have and did not have concrete evidence to suggest that this [the Benghazi attack] was not in reaction to the film” seems ridiculous to me. They apparently didn’t have concrete evidence that the video was the cause of the attack either but that didn’t keep them from repeating it for 2 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/55 "2012-11-19T23:38:27Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > The real issue is this: > the POTUS and his staff knew of the attack within an hour. They decided that the best course of action would be to do nothing. In effect, they wrote off Ambassador Stevens and the others as “bumps in the road”. Then, they released several contradictory stories about what happened-first they blamed the riot on an anti-muslim film clip that nobody had heard of..then they decide that Al Queda was responsible. They described the riot as a mob of unarmed people..then they admitted that heavy weapons were involved. The refusal to release the truth is the biggest issue here..there is also the issue of who was making the decisions that were made. Wow, pretty much everything in this is wrong. I don’t recall you being this… Hmm, is there a word between republican and deluded I could use here? Deludican? Meh, sounds too much like pelican. Keep in mind that sarcasm really doesn’t transfer well online… > [@ralph124c](#): > > Wow..citing Snopes? Might as well cite Pravda or Izvestia!🆒 Yes. Apparently Snopes, one of the most famous hoax-debunking sites on the internet, is actually a completely subpar source, on par with Russian newspapers or World Net Daily. Good to know. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/56 "2012-11-20T02:59:20Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Yes. Apparently Snopes, one of the most famous hoax-debunking sites on the internet, is actually a completely subpar source, on par with Russian newspapers or World Net Daily. Good to know. Oh, you’re not familiar with that meme/Republican talking point? Snopes is totally a left-wing front site, you can tell because it debunks more Obama myths than Bush ones. Not that there are about seven hojillion more stupid lies about Obama out there than any previous president or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/57 "2012-11-20T05:52:58Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Was there any evidence at all to link the video with the attack? I understand that there had been demonstrations in other countries but it seems odd that the administration stayed with the “it was the video’s fault” line. Carney’s statement that “we don’t have and did not have concrete evidence to suggest that this [the Benghazi attack] was not in reaction to the film” seems ridiculous to me. They apparently didn’t have concrete evidence that the video was the cause of the attack either but that didn’t keep them from repeating it for 2 weeks. \*the witnesses on the ground as well as the actual participants in the attack said it was about the video. they attacked because they were pissed off america let people talk shit about their prophet. \* seriously, read the links. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/58 "2012-11-20T05:54:26Z")
> [@zeriel](#): > > oh, you’re not familiar with that meme/republican talking point? Snopes is totally a left-wing front site, you can tell because it debunks more obama myths than bush ones. > > Not that there are about seven hojillion more stupid lies about obama out there than any previous president or anything. all media is bias left. Reality is bias left. Fox newwwwwws!!! ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/59 "2012-11-20T18:32:17Z")
I’ve actually been seeing a lot of refusal to accept the word of any fact check sites by the more virulent right wingers these days. Not just Snopes, but also Politifact and [Factcheck.org](http://Factcheck.org). ---
**Author:** ![EhhMon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@EhhMon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EhhMon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217/60 "2012-11-20T22:32:55Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > The real issue is this: > the POTUS and his staff knew of the attack within an hour. They decided that the best course of action would be to do nothing. In effect, they wrote off Ambassador Stevens and the others as “bumps in the road”. Then, they released several contradictory stories about what happened-first they blamed the riot on an anti-muslim film clip that nobody had heard of..then they decide that Al Queda was responsible. They described the riot as a mob of unarmed people..then they admitted that heavy weapons were involved. The refusal to release the truth is the biggest issue here..there is also the issue of who was making the decisions that were made. Lord have mercy! I would think that as a member of the “Straight Dope” community, you would surely be well informed, but when you quote Teabilly conspiracy theory babble from the likes of Faux News, I’m not only mystified but I’m at a shock for words… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-benghazi-controversy/641217.md?page=4)