Weekly Standard:
Even as the White House strove last week to move beyond questions about the Benghazi attacks of Tuesday, September 11, 2012, fresh evidence emerged that senior Obama administration officials knowingly misled the country about what had happened in the days following the assaults. The Weekly Standard has obtained a timeline briefed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence detailing the heavy substantive revisions made to the CIA’s talking points, just six weeks before the 2012 presidential election, and additional information about why the changes were made and by whom.
As intelligence officials pieced together the puzzle of events unfolding in Libya, they concluded even before the assaults had ended that al Qaeda-linked terrorists were involved. Senior administration officials, however, sought to obscure the emerging picture and downplay the significance of attacks that killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. The frantic process that produced the changes to the talking points took place over a 24-hour period just one day before Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, made her now-famous appearances on the Sunday television talk shows. The discussions involved senior officials from the State Department, the National Security Council, the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the White House.
The exchange of emails is laid out in a 43-page report from the chairmen of five committees in the House of Representatives. Although the investigation was conducted by Republicans, leading some reporters and commentators to dismiss it, the report quotes directly from emails between top administration and intelligence officials, and it includes footnotes indicating the times the messages were sent. In some cases, the report did not provide the names of the senders, but The Weekly Standard has confirmed the identities of the authors of two critical emails—one indicating the main reason for the changes and the other announcing that the talking points would receive their final substantive rewrite at a meeting of top administration officials on Saturday, September 15.
The White House provided the emails to members of the House and Senate intelligence committees for a limited time and with the stipulation that the documents were available for review only and would not be turned over to the committees. The White House and committee leadership agreed to that arrangement as part of a deal that would keep Republican senators from blocking the confirmation of John Brennan, the president’s choice to run the CIA. If the House report provides an accurate and complete depiction of the emails, it is clear that senior administration officials engaged in a wholesale rewriting of intelligence assessments about Benghazi in order to mislead the public. The Weekly Standard sought comment from officials at the White House, the State Department, and the CIA, but received none by press time. Within hours of the initial attack on the U.S. facility, the State Department Operations Center sent out two alerts. The first, at 4:05 p.m. (all times are Eastern Daylight Time), indicated that the compound was under attack; the second, at 6:08 p.m., indicated that Ansar al Sharia, an al Qaeda-linked terrorist group operating in Libya, had claimed credit for the attack. According to the House report, these alerts were circulated widely inside the government, including at the highest levels. The fighting in Benghazi continued for another several hours, so top Obama administration officials were told even as the fighting was taking place that U.S. diplomats and intelligence operatives were likely being attacked by al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists. A cable sent the following day, September 12, by the CIA station chief in Libya, reported that eyewitnesses confirmed the participation of Islamic militants and made clear that U.S. facilities in Benghazi had come under terrorist attack. It was this fact, along with several others, that top Obama officials would work so hard to obscure.
The al-Qaeda connection has now been confirmed.
That information would have kinda fucked-up the official Obama campaign talking points that “Osama bin Laden is dead!” and “al Qaeda has been decimated”. It didn’t exactly help that whole “Arab Spring” story either. Too bad that Mitt Romney had to go and politicize everything.
But wait! There’s more!:
The talking points were first distributed to officials in the interagency vetting process at 6:52 p.m. on Friday. Less than an hour later, at 7:39 p.m., an individual identified in the House report only as a “senior State Department official” responded to raise “serious concerns” about the draft. That official, whom The Weekly Standard has confirmed was State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland, worried that members of Congress would use the talking points to criticize the State Department for “not paying attention to Agency warnings.”
In an attempt to address those concerns, CIA officials cut all references to Ansar al Sharia and made minor tweaks. But in a follow-up email at 9:24 p.m., Nuland wrote that the problem remained and that her superiors—she did not say which ones—were unhappy. The changes, she wrote, did not “resolve all my issues or those of my building leadership,” and State Department leadership was contacting National Security Council officials directly. Moments later, according to the House report, “White House officials responded by stating that the State Department’s concerns would have to be taken into account.” One official—Ben Rhodes, The Weekly Standard is told, a top adviser to President Obama on national security and foreign policy—further advised the group that the issues would be resolved in a meeting of top administration officials the following morning at the White House.
And who did Victoria Nuland work for last September? Who was her direct supervisor? Who instructed her to send that smoking gun email?
I think someone needs to put Ms. Nuland under oath and ask her a few questions about that smoking gun email.
What about Romney’s gaffes???
This is all Mitt Romney’s fault. If only he hadn’t been running against Obama, then the Dems would not have been forced to cover up for Al Qaeda.
Only a racist would run against Obama.
And the deflecting begins. 😯
I love the smell of shit hitting the fan in the morning.
drip, drip. drip
the flood is coming but will the backtrack msm report it
OT
Palin Flaunts Tobacco On Stage at NRA Conference
http://www.nationalreview.com/node/347356
Sarah Palin flaunted a tin of snuff earlier today shortly after taking the stage at the National Rifle Association’s conference in Houston. “Now I see that the mayor of New York wants to ban public displays of legal tobacco,” Palin said provocatively as she pulled the tin from her pocked. “Don’t make me do it,” she said as the crowd cheered her on.
Palin, who mocked New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg at February’s Conservative Political Action Conference when she drank from a Big Gulp soda during her remarks, served up a second portion for the gun-rights crowd today. ”It’s funny because Todd’s been looking for this all morning,” she joked as tapped the tin on her her fingers.
Bloomberg is calling for legislation that would require retail stores to conceal tobacco products like cigarettes from customers. The move is the latest in his broader health initiative, which also includes the ban on super-sized sodas that was struck down by a court earlier this year.
video
http://www.therightscoop.com/watch-sarah-palins-freedom-loving-nra-ila-leadership-forum-speech/
And THIS is what the msm will report on.
Benghazi??? that was so long ago.
There are a few dates in my lifetime that have serious meaning to me. 9/11/2001, May 31, 2008, 9/11/2012.
These inform my world political views.
mine too
do you ever wonder where this country would be if backtrack had been in office on 9-11-2001? scarey thought isn’t it
YES!!! 🙂
off topic
http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/state/blind-oklahoma-veteran-takes-down-would-be-attacker-in-broad-daylight
note to idiots who decide to attack blind men, you make get an unwelcome surprise
I once had a friend who was blind. I saw him beat up a car with his white cane for pulling out of a Chicago alley while he was crossing the apron to said alley.
Barack Obama:
{{Headdesk}}
At that point he should have asked Holder to come up & take a bow.
Is there a special freight terminal at the WH that unloads this cagada in bulk? The amount they shovel out all the time, there’s no way the USPS could keep up with backtrack using surface mail, alone.
They ship in bulk, so I guess they get a discount.
http://weaselzippers.us/2013/05/03/steven-spielberg-to-direct-movie-on-life-of-seal-sniper-chris-kyle/
not sure if this is good or bad. i would have to have a hero”s life twisted to fit a narrative
Isn’t this from The Onion? There’s no way on earth the WH is really going to do that. Go through the motions? Maybe. Actually do it. Nope.
Got my frozen hat on and my elbow/beer coozie is in use.
Let the weekend begin!
have fun
Brrrr! It’s beautiful up here, but still a bit chilly. I put my coat on and made a cup of coffee.
It’s been in the 90’s here.
stolen from a commenter at No Quarter
http://moonbattery.com/?p=29794
Criminal Dereliction of Duty
Every single day I clean out the spam filter. Every single day it has some really complimentary comments posted by spambots. I would let them slip thru but they are always on old threads where nobody would see them.
Funny how they tend to go to old threads, precisely where people won’t see them and ague with them. It’s as if they’re shitfaced coward babies.
obot sit and drink koolade and listen to this over and over
Tay was only a 15 year old freshman when she wrote this song:
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/215899.php
looks like bomber’s wife knew what was going on.
maybe it is just me but if you are making bombs in a house where my kid is, your ass is grass
I don’t buy it…yet. I’ll need more info before I believe she was involved.
I’m with you, yttik. I hope we’re right to doubt.
And I am a Lawn mower. 🙂
per Fox
Israeli airplanes crossed into Syria and dropped bombs
Obama: Deploying US troops to Syria would not be in best interest of US or Syrian people – @markknoller
here is a link on the story
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/03/world/meast/israel-airstrike-syria/index.html?on.cnn=1
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/05/terror_suspect_s_cause_of_death_revealed
bomber’s cause of death
Remember the first American Idol?
just tried an experiment.
fresh sliced apples
pecan chips
raisins
cinnimon
butter pecan syrup
little water
bake for 45 minutes.
have not tasted it yet, but it sure does smell good
LOL, in the last thread I was trying to find just one example of an actual Stepford, Republican woman. Can’t find a single one! Anyway, forgot about Michelle Malkin! Nope she’s not exactly shy and retiring either. This cracked me up on Benghazi:
“I would say that it’s his mouth that has a long pattern of spreading misinformation,” Malkin shot back at Carney. “And, the smugness of this mouthpiece of the Obama administration – of course, that all comes from the top down – but there is literally nothing that will wipe that smirk off his face at a press briefing.”
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/michelle-malkin-rips-into-smugness-of-mouthpiece-jay-carney-for-dismissing-benghazi-whistleblowers/
Don’t forget Dana Loesch, S.E. Cupp, Megyn Kelly, Tammy Bruce, Katie Pavlich, Jedediah Bila, and Mary Kate Ham.
And Cindy McCain
Nancy Reagan and Betty Ford weren’t hausfraus either.
http://politicker.com/2013/05/mayor-bloomberg-mad-that-courts-steep-delaying-his-plans/
those damn laws just won’t let me have any fun. bummer
http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2013/05/03/the-best-horses-name-at-the-kentucky-derby/
shall root for this one along with number 11
AI Season 4:
Kellie only placed 6th behind Taylor Hicks:
Kellie has been rockin’ DWTS
I can remember sitting in a gate shack watching the snow fall in Germany while listening to this song on AFN radio:
This California boy was very homesick back then.
Good song
my husband used to talk about being in Korea and Okinawa and listening to Joni James on the armed forces radio.