# Will "BHENGAZI-GATE" screw up Hitlery's chances in 2016? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 9, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888 "2013-05-09T13:53:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 28
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/541 "2013-05-20T16:43:09Z")
Mitch McConnell: “Cover up? I never said anything about a cover-up. That was…er…other people. People I’ve never met before in my life. But there’s probably something somewhere that we should look into, just to be safe. [Yeah, that’s the ticket](http://thinkprogress.org/security/2013/05/19/2033451/mitch-mcconnell-backs-away-from-gop-claims-of-a-benghazi-cover-up/?mobile=nc#).” > [@](#): > > “You’re talking about others who may have said various things about this, let me tell you what I think about it. It’s clear there was inadequate security out there and it’s very clear that it was inconvenient within six weeks of the election, for the administration to in effect announce, that it was a terrorist attack,” McConnell said. “I think that’s worth examining, it is going to be examined.” “Inconvenient?” For whom, Mitch? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/542 "2013-05-20T16:48:28Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Hijack: did you ever play Cards Against Humanity, which is the rated R / bordering on X-rated version of Apples to Apples (a card game where you have to match adjectives to nouns in a funny and/or appropriate way). > > Whenever there is an open-ended question like "Why didn’t I turn in my homework? \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ", the best card to match is always the card that just says, in this text: “BATMAN!!!” You can play-test cards online [here](http://www.cardsagainsthumanity.com/lab/). ---
**Author:** ![Kokopilau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Kokopilau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kokopilau)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/543 "2013-05-20T17:45:37Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Then again, they should have told the President they couldn’t pull it off. However, there’s no evidence that the military ever received orders to act. That would imply Panetta as the person who didn’t relay the order. [http://www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=118500](http://www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=118500) > [@](#): > > A senior defense official, speaking on background with Pentagon reporters, emphasized the rapid consultation, planning and troop pre-deployment actions defense leaders undertook in the first hours following the attack. > > “With naval, Marine, special operations and air forces either employed or en route to Libya during the attacks, we responded,” the official said. “We mourn the loss of four American heroes in Benghazi.” > > The military’s initial response began within minutes of the first incident in Benghazi, the official said: the attack on the U.S. consulate began at 3:42 p.m. EDT [9:42 p.m. Benghazi time], and by 5:10 EDT an unarmed surveillance aircraft was on station over the Benghazi compound. > > […] > > ``` > **The DOD timeline records that in the first hours following the initial attack, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, conferred first with the president, and shortly after with senior officials including Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, who leads U.S. Africa Command. Africom’s area of responsibility includes Libya.** > > ``` > > **During those meetings, the official said, Panetta verbally ordered two fleet antiterrorism security team, or FAST, platoons to prepare to deploy from their base in Rota, Spain. The secretary also issued verbal prepare-to-deploy orders for a U.S. European Command special operations force then training in Central Europe and a second special operations force based in the United States.** > > At 6:30 p.m. EDT, according to the timeline, a six-person security team, including two DOD members, left the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli for Benghazi. > > The official noted the Pentagon’s National Military Command Center staff, within hours of the attack, began planning support and contingency operations with transportation and special operations experts, as well as with representatives from the four services and Africa, Europe and Central commands. By 8:39 p.m., the official said, the command center had started issuing written orders for the forces the secretary had alerted. > > […] > > ``` > As the timeline makes clear, the official said, the evacuation took place before the FAST platoons or special operations forces arrived, although all were converging on Libya -- noting repeatedly that DOD leaders lacked a clear picture of enemy, civilian and American positions in the area. > > ``` > > “There are people out there who have suggested that an overhead surveillance aircraft could have perfect visibility into what was happening on the ground, and on that basis alone, you could send in a team,” the official said. “That is not necessarily how things work.” ---
**Author:** ![NotfooledbyW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NotfooledbyW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotfooledbyW)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/544 "2013-05-21T01:04:39Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It is a scandal. People were left behind and we need a full accounting of why that happened. We also need to know why the administration wasn’t straight with the public from the start about what happened when they knew what had happened almost immediately. > > When talking points get changed from accurate to misleading, that’s a problem. You say changed from ‘accurate’ to misleading. The CIA wrote the originals claiming a crowd and a demonstration and protests were at the Consulate before extremists came and launched the attack. Are you saying that the protest/crowd account is ‘accurate’? Most Republicans say there was no crowd or demonstration or protest prior to the attack by extremists. ---
**Author:** ![NotfooledbyW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NotfooledbyW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotfooledbyW)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/545 "2013-05-21T01:08:24Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > What we \*should have \*done was send Serenity to hover over Ambassador Stevens and the others, and threaten the insurgents through the external loudspeaker. What are the odds that the insurgents would realize that a Firefly-class transport doesn’t have armament? Hover? Really? Where SAM’s might be ready to use. How many Americans would be on board? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/546 "2013-05-21T01:23:06Z")
You totally miss the reference to the Firefly class transport named _Serenity_ and its operational characteristics? You’re dead to me. ---
**Author:** ![NotfooledbyW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NotfooledbyW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotfooledbyW)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/547 "2013-05-21T03:58:18Z")
> [@](#): > > So who made the decision to repeatedly and incorrectly blame the attack on a movie? -doorhinge #007 05-09-2013, 10:58 AM 20130509a1058 Doorhinge could be excused for being uninformed because this was before we all got to read the Talking Point Emails for ourselves. But we didn’t need the emails released to know that no one blamed the attack on the movie. > [@](#): > > I have been asking since October for a specific quote in writing and in full context where any White House official or the President himself ‘blamed the movie’ for the attack. So I will ask you. Do you have a specific transcript in mind? -NotfooledbyW #443 05-16-2013, 11:28 PM 20130516p1128 So there is no excuse for Doggo to be uninformed after Obama released the talking points emails. And most of us knew by the 18th of May that the Jon Karl emails were a bogus Republican altered con job on ABC News. That did not stop Doggo though did it. > [@](#): > > What rock were you hiding under when Obama blamed the “movie” for the Benghazi attacks when addressing the UN? -Doggo #459 05-18-2013, 06:32 AM 20130518a0632 Rice did not blame the movie Doggo: Here is what she actually said. It is not what you think she said. Rice blamed the ‘extremists’ – exactly as the CIA talking points allowed. She blamed the CIA assessed “crowd” or “protest” or “demonstration” on the Movie. ABC for you: A. Rice blamed ‘extremists’ for the attack…just like the CIA advised. B. Rice blamed a protest on the video, just like the CIA advised. C. Rice did not blame the movie for the attack. She blamed the protest on the video and then the CIA changed their view later that a protest didn’t happen. And then so did Rice. Here are the transcripts: > [@](#): > > 20130518p1047 RW BGazi lies Began with Romney 10PM & never stopped and haven’t stopped. > > RW B’Gazi lies Began with Romney 10PM & never stopped, and haven’t stopped. > notfooooldbyw > > The right wing propaganda machine took early control of the narrative about the attacks and response by the White House - and they certainly distorted it drastically to get the theme they wanted… BLAME THE MOVIE. > > Trouble is: > > Amb Susan Rice as you can see did not ‘blame the movie’ or ‘blame a crowd’ or ‘blame a protest’ for the attacks on Benghazi. On every show she went on she blamed "extremists’. She very clearly stated with the best information we have at the time we ‘BLAME’: > > (a) “individual clusters of extremists who came with heavier weapons” > > (b) “extremist elements, individuals, joined in that – in that effort with heavy weapons” > > (c) “opportunistic extremist elements came to the consulate as this was unfolding. They came with heavy weapons” > > (d) “and those with extremist ties joined the fray and came with heavy weapons” > RICE: 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 transpiredBut 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. > > We’ll wait to see exactly what the investigation finally confirms, but that’s the best information we have at present. [ABC News, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, 9/16/12] > > RICE: Bob, let me tell you what we understand to be the assessment at present. First of all, very importantly, as you discussed with the President, there is an investigation that the United States government will launch led by the FBI, that has begun and – > > SCHIEFFER: But they are not there. > > RICE: They are not on the ground yet, but they have already begun looking at all sorts of evidence of – of various sorts already available to them and to us. And they will get on the ground and continue the investigation. So we’ll want to see the results of that investigation to draw any definitive conclusions. But based on the best information we have to date, what our assessment is as of the present is in fact what began spontaneously in Benghazi as a reaction to what had transpired some hours earlier in Cairo where, of course, as you know, there was a violent protest outside of our embassy— > > SCHIEFFER: Mm-Hm. > > RICE: – sparked by this hateful video. But soon after that spontaneous protest began outside of our consulate in Benghazi, \*\*we believe that it looks like extremist elements, individuals, joined in that – in that effort with heavy weapons \*\*of the sort that are, unfortunately, readily now available in Libya post-revolution. And that it spun from there into something much, much more violent. > SCHIEFFER: But you do not agree with him that this was something that had been plotted out several months ago? > > RICE: We do not – we do not have information at present that leads us to conclude that this was premeditated or preplanned > > SCHIEFFER: Do you agree or disagree with him that al Qaeda had some part in this? > > SUSAN 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.\*\* [CBS News, Face the Nation, 9/16/12]\*\* > > GREGORY: Well, let’s talk – talk about-- well, you talked about this as spontaneous. Can you say definitively that the attacks on-- on our consulate in Libya that killed ambassador Stevens and others there security personnel, that was spontaneous, was it a planned attack? Was there a terrorist element to it? > > MS. RICE: Well, let us-- let me tell you the-- the best information we have at present. First of all, there’s an FBI investigation which is ongoing. And we look to that investigation to give us the definitive word as to what transpired. But putting together the best information that we have available to us today our current assessment is that what happened in Benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo, almost a copycat of-- of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo, which were prompted, of course, by the video. \*\*What we think then transpired in Benghazi is that opportunistic extremist elements came to the consulate as this was unfolding. They came with heavy weapons \*\*which unfortunately are readily available in post revolutionary Libya. And it escalated into a much more violent episode. Obviously, that’s-- that’s our best judgment now. We’ll await the results of the investigation. And the president has been very clear–we’ll work with the Libyan authorities to bring those responsible to justice. **[MSNBC, Meet the Press, 9/16/12]** > > WALLACE: Let’s talk about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi this week that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. > > The top Libyan official says that the attack on Tuesday was, quote, his words “preplanned”. Al Qaeda says the operation was revenge for our killing a top Al Qaeda leader. > > What do we know? > > RICE: Well, first of all, Chris, we are obviously investigating this very closely. The FBI has a lead in this investigation. The information, the best information and the best assessment we have today is that in fact this was not a preplanned, premeditated attack. That what happened initially was that it was a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired in Cairo as a consequence of the video. **People gathered outside the embassy and then it grew very violent and those with extremist ties joined the fray and came with heavy weapons,** which unfortunately are quite common in post-revolutionary Libya and that then spun out of control. > > But we don’t see at this point signs this was a coordinated plan, premeditated attack. Obviously, we will wait for the results of the investigation and we don’t want to jump to conclusions before then. But I do think it’s important for the American people to know our best current assessment. **[Fox News, Fox News Sunday, 9/16/12]** > > Source of all four Transcripts: [http://mediamatters.org/research/201...arks-on/190539](http://mediamatters.org/research/201...arks-on/190539) ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/548 "2013-05-21T13:07:09Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Two SoDs and Generals on one side. > > And a constantly wrong neckbeard idiot that thought the polls were skewed on the other side. Let’s be fair to **adaher** : he’s assured everyone over in the Elections forum that 2012 was an abberation and he’s been consistently right in every previous election. Unfortunately, those accurate predictions are off in Canada with his girlfriend. Or maybe it was on another unnamed message board, I forget which. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/549 "2013-05-21T13:31:01Z")
Didn’t he say at one point he was going to go check our predictions to the 2004 election and see how we all did? I wonder how that’s going. > [@elucidator](#): > > You totally miss the reference to the Firefly class transport named _Serenity_ and its operational characteristics? You’re dead to me. I know! It’s almost like there are people on this messageboard who don’t understand that reference. Is that even possible? Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/550 "2013-05-21T15:16:13Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > You don’t deserve any honor at all, I agree. > > I’m not elevating your status, imbecile, I’m demonstrating that a know-nothing delusional fool like you, challenging sitting generals and bi-partisan SoDs, is laughable. And you believe that because they are generals they never make a mistake. If that were true, Vietnam would have been a huge success instead of the f’up it was. A general was in charge of that, or did it slip your mind? How come liberals think that the military are stupid imbiciles most of the time, but infallible geniuses when it suits them? ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/551 "2013-05-21T15:23:13Z")
> [@NotfooledbyW](#): > > Doorhinge could be excused for being uninformed because this was before we all got to read the Talking Point Emails for ourselves. > > But we didn’t need the emails released to know that no one blamed the attack on the movie. > > So there is no excuse for Doggo to be uninformed after Obama released the talking points emails. And most of us knew by the 18th of May that the Jon Karl emails were a bogus Republican altered con job on ABC News. > > That did not stop Doggo though did it. > > Rice did not blame the movie Doggo: > > Here is what she actually said. It is not what you think she said. > > Rice blamed the ‘extremists’ – exactly as the CIA talking points allowed. She blamed the CIA assessed “crowd” or “protest” or “demonstration” on the Movie. > > ABC for you: > > A. Rice blamed ‘extremists’ for the attack…just like the CIA advised. > B. Rice blamed a protest on the video, just like the CIA advised. > C. Rice did not blame the movie for the attack. She blamed the protest on the video and then the CIA changed their view later that a protest didn’t happen. And then so did Rice. > Here are the transcripts: Unfortunately for you, there was never a spontaneous demonstration sparked by a VDO, so for Rice to state that it was so is not the truth. If the CIA agreed with the final version of the talking points, why did Petraeous not sign off on them? And, you still haven’t said why Obama told the UN it was the VDO, when he knew it was not. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/552 "2013-05-21T15:50:39Z")
And you haven’t told us why we should give a shit. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/553 "2013-05-21T16:28:58Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > And you believe that because they are generals they never make a mistake. If that were true, Vietnam would have been a huge success instead of the f’up it was. A general was in charge of that, or did it slip your mind? > How come liberals think that the military are stupid imbiciles most of the time, but infallible geniuses when it suits them? You’re angry and stupid, and I’m sure that makes things hard. Let me say this slow, so it can penetrate… I’m not saying generals and SoDs are infallible. Got it? I’m not saying that generals and SoDs can’t make mistakes. Got it? I’m saying that generals and SoDs know _standard policy_. I’m saying that people expert in the real world deployment of soldiers know more about _standard policy_, than **adaher** , who is a known dumb-head. And certainly more than **Doggo** , who, as you demonstrate in this very post, is too stupid to keep up with a fairly simple conversation. You may now return to whatever menial tasks the people who take care of you give you to structure your day. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/554 "2013-05-21T16:51:28Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > And you believe that because they are generals they never make a mistake. If that were true, Vietnam would have been a huge success instead of the f’up it was. A general was in charge of that, or did it slip your mind? > How come liberals think that the military are stupid imbiciles most of the time, but infallible geniuses when it suits them? Do you know a single fucking thing about Vietnam? Because the above makes you out to be a total idiot. It was certainly a stupid war engaged for stupid reasons and entered into under cover of lies. And there were endless instances of stupid tactics employed by General officers on down. But the big fuckups, the enormous fuckups, the strategic and conceptual fuckups that led to the deaths of 50,000 of my contemporaries (and seven actual friends) were all made by politicians, not by generals. Had the generals had their way, it wouldn’t have been a ‘limited war’, a war of pulled punches. They would have bombed, napalmed, and ‘Agent Orange’d the country into a smoking crater. There wouldn’t have been any of the ‘Take this hill; now give it back; now take it again’ chickenshit that cost so many American lives. Note, I do not suggest it would have made the Vietnam folly into a success for even limited values of success. But if given free rein by the politicians, the generals would surely have fought it in a completely different way. As for how this particular liberal feels about the military or about generals – well, suffice it to say that you haven’t a clue. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/555 "2013-05-21T18:01:46Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > And you believe that because they are generals they never make a mistake. If that were true, Vietnam would have been a huge success instead of the f’up it was. A general was in charge of that, or did it slip your mind? > How come liberals think that the military are stupid imbiciles most of the time, but infallible geniuses when it suits them? Because we’re capable of critical thinking, rather than relying upon enormous overgeneralizations? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/556 "2013-05-21T18:28:11Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > …well, suffice it to say that you haven’t a clue. That much has been obvious from the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![elbowj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9adbd/32.png) [@elbowj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbowj)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/557 "2013-05-21T21:56:01Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Unfortunately for you, there was never a spontaneous demonstration sparked by a VDO, so for Rice to state that it was so is not the truth. > If the CIA agreed with the final version of the talking points, why did Petraeous not sign off on them? > > And, you still haven’t said why Obama told the UN it was the VDO, when he knew it was not. He did sign off on them and Obama never blamed the video for that attack at the UN. He blamed the video for an attack on our embassy, which he knew didn’t exist in Benghazi. Here’s a hint, the conservative echo chamber has created numerous straw men over Benghazi. Many of them numerous times. They each get knocked down so a new one comes along to replace it, but what they’re not telling you is that they have already been discussed. Many have been investigated and testified over in Congress, but none of that has hindered the right from bringing them up as if they were fresh. The latest is the where was Obama cry. Disregard that this has never been asked of a President. It was, testified about in Congress by Panetta, but yesterday a Republican congressmen sent a series of already answered questions as if the White House is stonewalling. Here’s the rub, they know the answers, but they also know their base has the intellectual curiosity of a slug and will not only buy whatever new line they’re selling, but will also inadvertently participate in a misinformation campaign by their crap all over. ---
**Author:** ![elbowj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9adbd/32.png) [@elbowj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbowj)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/558 "2013-05-21T21:57:43Z")
> [@Doggo](#): > > Unfortunately for you, there was never a spontaneous demonstration sparked by a VDO, so for Rice to state that it was so is not the truth. > If the CIA agreed with the final version of the talking points, why did Petraeous not sign off on them? > > And, you still haven’t said why Obama told the UN it was the VDO, when he knew it was not. He did sign off on them and Obama never blamed the video for that attack at the UN. He blamed the video for an attack on our embassy, which he knew didn’t exist in Benghazi. Here’s a hint, the conservative echo chamber has created numerous straw men over Benghazi. Many of them numerous times. They each get knocked down so a new one comes along to replace it, but what they’re not telling you is that they have already been discussed. Many have been investigated and testified over in Congress, but none of that has hindered the right from bringing them up as if they were fresh. The latest is the where was Obama cry. Disregard that this has never been asked of a President. It was testified about in Congress by Panetta, but yesterday a Republican congressmen sent a series of already answered questions as if the White House is stonewalling. Here’s the rub, they know the answers, but they also know their base has the intellectual curiosity of a slug and will not only buy whatever new line they’re selling, but will also inadvertently participate in a misinformation campaign by repeating their crap all over. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/559 "2013-05-21T22:02:37Z")
Why should I care? When people go off the radar of civilization to terror, they are functionally insane. They may not be cognitively impaired, they may not hear voices, but I’m damned if I care what their “motivations” may be. They’re nuts, their motivations are nuts. They did it because of a video? Track them down. Because we killed ObL? Track them down. Because America broadcast _Twilight_? Track them down, commend them for their good taste, and _then_ kill them. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888/560 "2013-05-21T22:12:55Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > It’s not his fault. It’s them TIGHT-ASS JOCKEY SHORTS riding up that makes him so cranky. Look, nobody said he had to pull them up to his chin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-bhengazi-gate-screw-up-hitlerys-chances-in-2016/657888.md?page=29)