(CBS News) “Everybody in the mission” in Benghazi, Libya, thought the attack on a U.S. consulate there last Sept. 11 was an act of terror “from the get-go,” according to excerpts of an interview investigators conducted with the No. 2 official in Libya at the time, obtained by CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
“I think everybody in the mission thought it was a terrorist attack from the beginning,” Greg Hicks, a 22-year foreign service diplomat who was the highest-ranking U.S. official in Libya after the strike, told investigators under authority of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Hicks, the former U.S. Embassy Tripoli deputy chief of mission, was not in Benghazi at the time of the attack, which killed Chris Stevens – then the U.S. ambassador to Libya – and three other Americans.
When he appears this week before the committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Hicks is expected to offer testimony at odds with what some American officials were saying in public – and on “Face the Nation” – just five days after the attack. Benghazi whistleblowers have rallied attention to discrepancies among the administration’s reaction to the attack, which The Weekly Standard suggests was frayed by ever-evolving talking points that sought to remove references to al Qaeda.
On Sept. 16, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice hit the media circuit, appearing on all five Sunday talk shows to dispel the notion that the strike was a premeditated terrorist act and to perpetuate the case that it began “spontaneously” out of protests in Egypt. Rice’s spot on “Face the Nation” that day was preceded by the new President of Libya Mohammed al-Magariaf, who said his government had “no doubt that this was preplanned, predetermined.”
“For there to have been a demonstration on Chris Stevens’s front door and him not to have reported it is unbelievable,” he said. “I never reported a demonstration; I reported an attack on the consulate. Chris – Chris’s last report, if you want to say his final report – is, ‘Greg, we are under attack.’
More at CBS News
I hope Hicks and the whistle-blowers have protection. Informants coming out against Chicago politicians informants has resulted in lead poisoning and other forms of decreased life expectancy.
Of course they knew. But with the election less than 2 months away they couldn’t let Obama be embarassed by having it be declared one nor let the truth out to lessen his vote count. Al Daeda was supposedly ineffective after the seals got bin Laden.
The Administration knew the truth, even as the Benghazi attack was occurring.
So, Obama Lied.
http://kleinonline.wnd.com/2013/04/26/gop-charges-obama-officials-lied-on-talking-points-white-house-statements-scrubbed-terrorism-al-qaida-from-benghazi-attack/
CJCS General Martin Dempsey lied.
http://xbradtc.com/2012/09/12/how-about-a-nice-glass-of-shut-the-hell-up/
Hillary Clinton lied.
http://xbradtc.com/2012/09/26/credibility-part-ii/
Susan Rice lied.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/11/16/flashback-what-susan-rice-said-about-benghazi/
Was it worth it to lie so that Obama could deliver campaign speeches that included a line, ”Osama bin Ladin is dead and al Qaeda is on the run?”
We are seeing a slo-mo combo of the Iran/Contra scandal and the Watergate scandal.
BTW, I watched Watergate unfold.
It was slower than molasses.
Every day I would wonder what Nixon might do to slow it even further.
He had the capacity to nuke somebody just to get Watergate off the news.
He didn’t do it.
I am not so sure Obama has that level of love for America that Nixon had.
Did Obama want Stevens and staff taken hostage, so he would have an excuse to trade the Blind Sheik?
Far fetched? Maybe not, nothing else makes sense in this soon to be overflowing outhouse.
Why would a president refuse to help an ambassador and tell CIA personnel not to defend one of our ambassadors, was he afraid Stevens might get hurt? Don’t try to make me laugh, Obama’s days are numbered, unless the American people are willing to stand behind a president with no credibility.
@Skookum:
That’s one theory.
Another has to do with Amb. Stevens’ homosexuality and FREQUENT visits to Benghazi from well before he became Amb.
Did you know he even sneaked into Benghazi on a Greek cargo ship once?
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/diplomat-chris-stevens-slipped-libya-cargo-ship-revolution/story?id=17218702#.UWmDMVeyKi4
Why did Stevens go to Benghazi the last time?
Why did Stevens go to Benghazi each time?
Why doesn’t the White House want you to go there?
Why doesn’t the White House want those special forces (or ex-s f) to testify about what THEY knew about Amb. Stevens and his frequent visits to Benghazi?
It might have included moving Gaddafi arms to Syrian rebels at times, but what about each time?
Really now, you’ve got to give this BS up, your credibility is diminishing. They’ve even lost Fox and Fools:
GOP Claims Of Benghazi ‘Cover Up’ Collapses:
Fox News’ morning show, Fox & Friends, is taking a surprisingly skeptical approach to GOP claims that the Obama administration and the entire U.S. government engaged in a massive cover-up of the attacks on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya in an effort to re-elect the president and protect him from scrutiny.
http://thinkprogress.org/media/2013/05/06/1966061/theyve-lost-fox-and-friends-gop-claims-of-benghazi-cover-up-collapses/
Fox News chief ordered Geraldo Rivera’s mic cut for defending Obama on Benghazi: report
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/06/fox-news-chief-ordered-geraldo-riveras-mic-cut-for-defending-obama-on-benghazi-report/
Rep. Chaffetz Accuses State Department of Threatening Benghazi Witnesses, But Can’t Name Any
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/rep-chaffetz-accuses-state-department-thre
@This one:
The only talent you have is as a parrot. Sad.