Then came Morell’s contention that the FBI didn’t want to compromise an investigation and, following that, the current claim that we didn’t want to tip off the attackers that we were on to them by publicly assigning them responsibility.
When I asked a former senior intelligence official about that possibility, he said: “Nobody who can spell the word ‘intelligence’ believes that for a second.” A U.S. official investigating Benghazi was more blunt: “Complete bullshit.”
Yeah. That was unbelievable. Indeed, it was so farcical that it was difficult for me to even call it a "lie." If I assert I am the Czar of Russia, am I really lying given how obviously ridiculous the claim is?
While the cover up is disturbing on its own, let's not forgot what is being concealed: the explanations for why 1) we failed to provide adequate security prior to September 11, 2012; 2) we failed to attempt a military rescue of the annex and instead wrote off two dozen Americans on the ground, who managed to get out anyway; and 3) we still haven't mounted a military response to the attackers--12 weeks later, and counting.
This was a failure of leadership.
Again, the effort to pretend that the White House has been honest about its statements regarding the cause of the attacks obscures the failure of leadership:
The deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were a moral and military disgrace, bespeaking a failure of nerve and judgment at the highest levels. With significant military assets just a couple of hours away, the men were left to die.
Their deaths were a tragedy, but now the ensuing blame game threatens to devolve into farce.
I'll forget the issue of not rescuing the diplomatic compound where our ambassador was killed. I accept that there was too little time to rescue them once the attack commenced.
But our press corps' elite bodies have no curiosity about any of this. When their president is under attack, our press corps rallies around the flag to defend him. That's a war worth fighting, for them.
