# Why is Bengazi such a big deal according to Republicans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 13, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628 "2012-10-13T17:09:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/21 "2012-10-14T00:08:03Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > As long as we’re about it, your post #14 is simply chock-a-block with authoritative statements, might we trouble you for some citation? Read the Guardian article. You might also like to read this [Timeline](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/10/10/timeline-of-libya-attack/1624733/) from USA Today. Key elements of the timeline: **April to June:** > [@](#): > > Several security threats occur against U.S. installations in Libya, according to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. They include an explosive device thrown over the fence of the U.S. consulate, an explosive device blowing a hole in a consulate security perimeter big enough for a large force to enter, armed men carjacking a vehicle with diplomatic plates used by U.S. officials, and the British embassy set on fire. **July** > [@](#): > > An American real estate developer releases on YouTube a 13-minute trailer for The Real Life of Muhammed, an anti-Islam video. Note that the initial attacks in Libya pre-date the video. **Sept 8** - Three days before the attack > [@](#): > > Jamal Mabrouk, a member of the February 17th Brigade that provides security at the U.S. consulate, and a battalion commander meet with U.S. diplomats in Benghazi to say the security situation there is “frightening,” he recounts to CNN in an interview after the attack. **Sept. 10** > [@](#): > > Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahri appears on an Internet video calling for Libyans to avenge the death of Abu Yahya al-Libi, his Libyan deputy, killed in a drone strike in June. So, AFTER there are already attacks on American assets in Libya, and AFTER a battalion commander had already determined the situation there as ‘frightening’, another major threat from al-Qaida is directed specifically at Americans in Libya. Then the attack happens, four Americans are dead, and the administration almost instantly blames a video and mob violence for the attack. They either knew better and lied, or they are incompetent. I lean towards ‘lied’, because: **Sept 12:** > [@](#): > > U.S. intelligence agencies conclude internally that the incident was a planned terror attack likely by al-Qaeda affiliates on the embassy in order to release resources to respond, according to reports from several news media outlets. Okay, so by Sept 12, everyone knows this was a terrorist attack, and who did it. **Sept 13:** > [@](#): > > Victoria Nuland, spokeswoman for the State Department, which oversees embassies, says State had evaluated the “threat stream” in Libya prior to the attack, “and we determined that the security at Benghazi was appropriate for what we knew.” > > Clinton issues a statement saying, “There is no justification, none at all, for responding to this video with violence.” > > White House spokesman Jay Carney insists: “The protests we’re seeing around the region are in reaction to this movie.” **Sept. 14:** > [@](#): > > The bodies of Stevens and three Americans arrive at Andrews Air Force base. Obama says at the base that the United States will “stand fast” against the violence, Both he and Clinton criticize the video for prompting the attacks. “We’ve seen rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful Internet video that we had nothing to do with,” Clinton said. > > Carney denies the White House was aware of “any actionable intelligence indicating that an attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi was planned or imminent.” “The story is absolutely wrong,” he says. “That report is false.” **Sept 16:** > [@](#): > > U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice appears on five Sunday talks shows and says the attacks were spontaneous eruptions over the anti-Islam video, saying, “This was not a pre-planned, premeditated attack.” > > President of Libya’s general National Congress Mohammed Magarief contradicts the Obama administration, saying there is “no doubt that this (attack) was pre-planned, predetermined.” So by now, it’s been four days since everyone in the government knows that this was a terror attack. Yet Susan Rice is sent around to the Sunday talk shows to claim that it was NOT a terrorist attack, and that it was random violence caused by a movie trailer on Youtube. **Sept 18** > [@](#): > > Obama appears on The Late Show with David Letterman and is asked by the host if the attack was an act of war. “Here’s what happened. You had a video that was released by somebody who lives here … a shadowy character who has an extremely offensive video directed at Mohammed and Islam … so this caused great offense in much of the Muslim world.” Now you can see how he phrased this. He obviously knows it was a terror attack, so he didn’t come right out and say ‘no’. Instead, he continued the narrative that an anti-Muslim video is to blame while dodging the question. You can read the rest yourself. It’s pretty clear to me that the administration was lying its ass off hoping to convince everyone that there was nothing to see here other than Muslims responding to a video. No al-Qaida threat, nothing that you could possibly blame on the Obama administration’s policies. It wasn’t until officials were forced to testify under oath that the truth started coming out. And even so, by Sept 25 Obama was STILL using the video in his speech to the United Nations and elsewhere as the reason for all the Muslim violence, despite the fact that the al-Qaida flag was also raised on the U.S. embassy in Cairo. ---
**Author:** ![Nazarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nazarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nazarene)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/22 "2012-10-14T00:16:06Z")
You have a very rich and vivid imagination. Just out of curiosity, where do you think Obama was born? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/23 "2012-10-14T00:19:56Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Read the Guardian article. … You cited the _Guardian_ article in reference to the House testimony, or at least so it appears. Are all your other definitive and authoritative statements derived from the same source as well? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/24 "2012-10-14T00:35:05Z")
Lets not gloss over the fact that added security at the consulate wouldn’t have done shit. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/25 "2012-10-14T00:37:36Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > They had requested TWELVE people. This was considered unreasonable, but the freaking embassy in Vienna has a marine detachment. You think perhaps American assets in a country that is unstable, filled with terrorists, and which had just come through a violent revolution might warrant a handful of soldiers? > > Bear in mind that the State Department has had its funding increased dramatically under the Obama administration, and was using that funding for frivolities like buying Chevy Volts and installing high-speed charging stations at $100,000 a pop at its embassies. > > Funding for Consular operations in the State Department has increased from 778 million in 2007 to 1.5 billion by 2011. Almost _doubled_. > > Here’s a good description of the whole debate from that known right-wing rag [The Guardian](http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/10/benghazi-attack-testimony-state-department). > > Nope, no one could possibly guess that there might be problems in Benghazi. Nope, the State Department would never play politics with security concerns. But actually, the State Department DID recognize the additional threat. They just didn’t want to put soldiers there because of political reasons. So instead, they just increased the hazard pay for the Benghazi contingent: > > If this had been the Bush administration, this board would be aflame with thread after thread calling for the heads of everyone involved. Try to focus. Consulates in cities other than the capitals don’t have Marine detachments except in certain rare cases. The US Embassy in Libya is in Tripoli, the capital, and has an MSG detachment to cover the posts there. The consulate in Benghazi does not. The Vienna embassy (I’ve been there and worked there) is HUGE. The MSG detachment there has to cover a lot of posts, but THEY DON’T PROVIDE PERSONAL PROTECTION FOR THE AMBASSADOR unless the embassy is under attack. In places like Vienna, where the consulate is in the same city but in a different building, there is usually one Marine on duty. If the shit hits the fan over there while the ambassador is visiting, he’s SOL. In countries where the consulate is in a different city, no MSG detail is provided, but rather local military/police forces are expected to take up the slack. The embassy in Cairo is enormous, and the MSG detail is very large. Even so, when I was there, two of the RSOs, with a CIA guy in the car, were ambushed on the way to work. All the Marines in the city couldn’t have prevented it. Was that Ronald Reagan’s fault? For that matter, were the events of 9/11 GWB’s fault? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/26 "2012-10-14T00:48:33Z")
> [@](#): > > One is that there is a report that Obama was informed of the attack at 12:30 AM, and responded by going to bed while the attack raged on for 5 hours > [@Polerius](#): > > Cite? How credible is this report? The attack occured from approximately 10 PM - 2 AM in Benghazi time - i.e., 5 PM - 9 PM Washington time. At 12:30 AM Washington time, it would have been 7:30 AM Benghazi time, well after the attack was over. So the answer is “not very”. Overall, I see people on the right trying to take simple mistakes that can be chalked up to fog of war and trying to drum a “coverup” out of it. It was a reasonable assumption that the events in Benghazi and the events that were occurring outside embassies in 18 other countries were connected. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/27 "2012-10-14T03:39:37Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The attack occured from approximately 10 PM - 2 AM in Benghazi time - i.e., 5 PM - 9 PM Washington time. At 12:30 AM Washington time, it would have been 7:30 AM Benghazi time, well after the attack was over. > > So the answer is “not very”. > > Overall, I see people on the right trying to take simple mistakes that can be chalked up to fog of war and trying to drum a “coverup” out of it. It was a reasonable assumption that the events in Benghazi and the events that were occurring outside embassies in 18 other countries were connected. According to this [State Department Briefing](http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/10/198791.htm#.UHmUMQQjpX0.twitter), the mortar fire didn’t start until 4 AM. The confusion is that the attack happened in two waves. There was the attack on the consulate, which began about 9:40 PM. At some point, the surviving security personnel (the ambassador was nowhere to be found) got in a truck and headed for a security annex 2km away. This was sometime in the middle of the night. They ran into groups of heavily armed men along the way, and what looks like intentional roadblocks coming out the area. The enemy combatants had AKs and hand grenades, but the agents were in an armored truck. They got around the roadblock and made it to the security annex. At about 4 AM, the annex came under mortar fire, killing two Americans. > [@](#): > > somewhere around 4 o’clock in the morning the annex takes mortar fire. It is precise and some of the mortar fire lands on the roof of the annex. It immediately killed two security personnel that are there, severely wounds one of the agents that’s come from the compound. > > At that point, a decision is made at the annex that they are going to have to evacuate the whole enterprise. And the next hours are spent, one, securing the annex, and then two, moving in a significant and large convoy of vehicles everybody to the airport, where they are evacuated on two flights. So the annex takes mortar fire at 4 AM, and the whole incident continues for several hours after that until they are evacuated. So this doesn’t fit your 10 PM to 2 AM timeline. Events were still unfolding probably until the middle of the night Washington time. That said… I tried to dig up a proper cite for this, and I’m pissed off. At myself. This is one of those ‘facts’ that is all over the right-wing web sites, including supposed cites. I tried following them back to their sources, but links generally lead to other web sites, which then repeat the story with a ‘source’ link to another web site. I finally got to the what looks like the original source - a video from Fox News special report. That was annoying enough, but I watched the report, and it seemed very objective - and said nothing about Obama going to bed after hearing the report. It just said that Obama was first notified 90 minutes after the attack began, which you rightly point out started at about 9:40 PM Libyan time. So Obama would have been notified around dinner time - not at 12:30 in the morning. The bit about him going to bed looks like editorial content injected into the transcript of the actual cite by a blogger. I read the written account, but didn’t watch the actual video. Now that I have, I see that it was bullshit. So… I retract that point completely, with my apologies for helping to ‘chain letter’ a falsehood. I should have checked better in that case, but it’s been repeated so often and so widely that I let my guard down. Mea culpa. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/28 "2012-10-14T03:55:55Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Try to focus. Consulates in cities other than the capitals don’t have Marine detachments except in certain rare cases. The US Embassy in Libya is in Tripoli, the capital, and has an MSG detachment to cover the posts there. The consulate in Benghazi does not. The Vienna embassy (I’ve been there and worked there) is HUGE. The MSG detachment there has to cover a lot of posts, but THEY DON’T PROVIDE PERSONAL PROTECTION FOR THE AMBASSADOR unless the embassy is under attack. In places like Vienna, where the consulate is in the same city but in a different building, there is usually one Marine on duty. If the shit hits the fan over there while the ambassador is visiting, he’s SOL. In countries where the consulate is in a different city, no MSG detail is provided, but rather local military/police forces are expected to take up the slack. > > The embassy in Cairo is enormous, and the MSG detail is very large. Even so, when I was there, two of the RSOs, with a CIA guy in the car, were ambushed on the way to work. All the Marines in the city couldn’t have prevented it. Was that Ronald Reagan’s fault? For that matter, were the events of 9/11 GWB’s fault? I don`t know who is culpable here - that’s what the hearings are for. You don’t think Libya just might be a special case, considering the circumstances? And the previous requests for more security? In any event, I started out my comments by saying that it’s not necessarily the security or lack thereof that’s got the administration in trouble here - it’s the fact that they lied their asses off for a week afterwards to try to hide the fact that al-Qaida killed four Americans, destroyed a consulate, and forced the entire operation to shut down and leave the country. The latest revelations show that the State Department was following the attack in real time, and knew right from the start that it was a terrorist attack. And yet, the Secretary of State was still pushing the ‘mob violence due to a video’ line several days later, and five days after the attack UN Ambassador Susan Rice was sent out by the administration to all the Sunday talk shows to claim that it wasn’t terrorism, but instead random mob violence. That’s the real scandal here. The lack of good security may turn out to be a scandal as well, but that’s still working its way through the hearing process. We’ll have to wait and see. But it seems highly likely that the Obama administration sought to intentionally deceive the American people as to the nature of the attack in Benghazi. As usual, the cover-up is often more damaging than the crime. I guess there is also the possibility that the administration is in disarray, lines of communication are broken, the State Department isn’t cooperating with the White House, and therefore what we’ve seen was just chaos and confusion from a dysfunctional administration. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/29 "2012-10-14T05:06:06Z")
I can see it now, the new viral video… Take that “Hitler in the bunker” meme that was going around, switch in Obama… “These maps are useless! Useless! Where is this ‘Labia’?” "Libya, Mein Messiah. Try the one that says ‘Africa’ " “Ah! There! There! This lake, here, the Mediterranean! Send the Navy, at once, sink this Ben Gurion!” “Benghazi, Messiah. And our navy is unfit for service, all our boats are from 1916…” “Scheisse! Mutterfokker! Where is State! I ordered State to attack!” “You appointed Heinrich Hillary. She is plotting against you…” Obama begins screaming and chewing the carpet, until Michelle comes in and reich-slaps him across the room… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/30 "2012-10-14T05:33:54Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > …I guess there is also the possibility that the administration is in disarray, lines of communication are broken, the State Department isn’t cooperating with the White House, and therefore what we’ve seen was just chaos and confusion from a dysfunctional administration. Very generous of you, **Sam** , spoken like a Canadian! A pity you have no point of comparison, some other administration operating under poor intelligence and making very bad decisions with disastrous consequence. Just for comparison’s sake, you understand, get some perspective. Probably have to go back to Buchanan… ---
**Author:** ![elbowj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9adbd/32.png) [@elbowj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbowj)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/31 "2012-10-14T05:50:51Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Or one could just look at [Obama’s own words](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transcript-president-obama-delivers-remarks-united-nations-invokes/story?id=17319652&page=3#.UHnQlULlPVM), continuing the lie that the video was to blame: Quote: That is what we saw play out the last two weeks, as a crude and disgusting video sparked outrage throughout the Muslim world. I have made it clear that the United States government had nothing to do with this video, and I believe its message must be rejected by all who respect our common humanity. It is an insult not only to Muslims, but to America as well – for as the city outside these walls makes clear, we are a country that has welcomed people of every race and religion. We are home to Muslims who worship across our country. We not only respect the freedom of religion – we havelawsthatprotect individualsfrom being harmed because of how they look or what they believe. Weunderstand why people takeoffenseto thisvideo becausemillions of our citizens are among them. Last edited by magellan01; Yesterday at 03:39 PM. So this quote couldn’t have related to the protests that had taken place? Where’s the reference to the Benghazi attack? I’ve seen this speech applied to the timeline elsewhere, but it doesn’t really fit. As to your other point, there was a CIA memo found by AP dated after the date you’ve claimed all intelligence knew it was a terror attack pointing to the video as causation. [State Department Denies Connecting Libya Attack to Anti-Islam Video Protest](http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/10/politicization-of-the-libya-attack-continues.html) “Five days after the attack, citing the best information she had at the time, United Nations ambassador Susan Rice tied the violence to the video protests, in line with a CIA memo that said the Benghazi crowds “were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo” and “evolved into a direct assault” on the diplomats.” And of course you had another intelligence office claim the same thing here. [Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More](http://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/news/blogs/ticket/u-intelligence-takes-blame-mixed-libya-attack-messages-213919074--election.html?orig_host_hdr=news.yahoo.com&.intl=US&.lang=en-US) " Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s office on Friday tried to explain the shifting public explanations for who was behind the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the American compound in Benghazi, Libya. DNI public affairs director Shawn Turner said U.S. intelligence concluded “in the immediate aftermath” of the assault that it had begun “spontaneously” in the wake of violent protests in Egypt." “We provided that initial assessment to Executive Branch officials and members of Congress, who used that information to discuss the attack publicly and provide updates as they became available,” Turner said. “As we learned more … we revised our initial assessment to reflect new information indicating that it was a deliberate and organized terrorist attack carried out by extremists.” The statement could take some of the heat off the White House over some of its early explanations for what happened in Benghazi, which claimed the lives of American Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three colleagues. White House press secretary Jay Carney, noting that an FBI investigation was ongoing, repeatedly tied the attack to public anger at an Internet video that insults Islam. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/32 "2012-10-14T08:50:34Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > There are 1st Amendment issues here as well. Apparently, the government requested that Google review its policies to verify that the video was in compliance, which could be interpreted as subtle pressure to pull the video. Google refused, citing the 1st amendment rights of the filmmaker. Then the filmmaker himself was arrested on specious grounds in a very public manner. That is also very troubling - the notion that if you say or write or produce something the government doesn’t like, agents will look for any justification they can find to arrest you and haul you in. How does the one follow from the other? [Youtube’s community guidelines](http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines?gl=GB&hl=en-GB) state: “we do not permit hate speech (speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status and sexual orientation/gender identity).”. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/33 "2012-10-14T09:58:37Z")
The issue isn’t the attack, it’s the lying about it. They lied about the cause of the attack, and they lied about whether or not more security was requested. And they continue to lie, most notably Joe Biden at the debate, which forced the press secretary to split hairs in a rather embarrassing way(the administration knew about it, just not the President or VP. Someone might want to clue them in.) ---
**Author:** ![kjckjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@kjckjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kjckjc)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/34 "2012-10-14T10:33:39Z")
This video by noted right-wing apologist and GOP lapdog, Jon Stewart, sums it pretty well: [here](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-october-1-2012/american-terror-story) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/35 "2012-10-14T11:07:33Z")
What has been happening is that the administration has been focused like a laser beam on making sure nothing that can harm the reelection campaign gets out. That’s why they issued WARN guidance to defense contractors, it’s why they delayed Medicare Advantage cuts, and it’s why they needed the Benghazi attack to not be terrorism. This time they got busted in a way that the media feels compelled to report on it and continue asking pesky questions about who knew what and when. THe media will be happy to bury a story that’s unfavorable to an administration they like. What they won’t put up with is being lied to themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/36 "2012-10-14T13:37:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Another official, Eric Nordstrom, who was responsible for protecting US diplomats in Libya, said that he too sought additional resources. But he said he was told over the phone by a senior state department official responsible for handling the request, Charlene Lamb, not to make any more because “there would be too much political cost”. I don’t understand this. What “political cost” could there be to providing resources for defense of a consulate? **Sam Stone** used this passage to prove that the state department was “playing politics” with the security of the consulate, but it’s hard to understand exactly what that is supposed to mean, or what is supposed to be bad about it, unless we understand just what “political cost” is being referred to here. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/37 "2012-10-14T13:45:32Z")
If the problem is _just_ that the administration was dishonest about the nature of the event when talking about it in public, well, that doesn’t seem like a real problem to me. It’s par for the course for administrations to lie about international events in their public discourse, sometimes for political reasons, sometimes for diplomatic reasons. It doesn’t even particuarly bother me that they do this. There are often good reasons for them to lie–and of course often good reasons for us to be suspicious of their account. So goes the world… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/38 "2012-10-14T14:07:04Z")
People are saying that this scandal could end up to be as huge as Solyndragate. I know people are saying that because Fox News told me that people are saying that. And that is undeniable, because \*they \*are saying that, and they are clearly people. But one point still troubles me. Why would it be to Obama’s advantage if the attack were characterized as a popular uprising rather than a terrorist attack by a group that does not have the sympathy and support of the Libyan people in general? Seems to me that the opposite would be true, that the Admin would be far better served by a “terrorist minority/fanatics” spin than anything else. Perhaps you can explain that to me, so that I don’t have to tune into “Fox and Friends” to get the real story. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/39 "2012-10-14T14:17:39Z")
Because a spontaneous uprising is unpredictable. A terrorist attack, especially given the previous attacks on the consulate, exposes that the administration was negligent. It’s right up there with the memo Bush got in August 2001. There’s also the fact that Obama is so focused on campaigning and messaging that he didn’t want anything to spoil the narrative. He’s gone to a lot of trouble to shape conditions to make them ideal for his reelection and let things fall apart, if they will, shortly after. BTW, I left out the private urging of EU officials to delay Greek’s exit from the Euro until after the election. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628/40 "2012-10-14T14:24:46Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > Bush managed to get the US attacked on its own soil, after ignoring reports such as “Bin Laden determined to attack the US”, resulting in thousands of civilians dead and a huge blow to the US. > > And yet I don’t recall anyone from the Right saying that we shouldn’t vote for him in 2004 based on this disastrous failure. > > But now, after one attack on an embassy with around four dead, and this according to Republicans is an indication that Obama is useless at protecting America, and we should kick him out of office. > > WTF? Because the Boosh didn’t spend weeks lying his ass off about 9/11, whereas the Obama administration spent weeks lying and changing their stories regarding Benghazi. Stephanie Cutter alone gave four different stories. It took the White House nearly a month to admit that there were no protests in front of the embassy, or that the attack was preplanned (whereas they spent an inordinate amount of time claiming it was a spontaneous attack in response to that video). And now you’ve got the White House and the State Department pointing fingers at each other, with neither one being able to get their facts straights. That’s why. It should be a big deal to anyone who isn’t a blind partisan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-bengazi-such-a-big-deal-according-to-republicans/637628.md?page=3)