The Benghazi Witch Hunt, Sorry, Hillary

Mark Levy
Fri, 09 May 2014 21:00:00 -0700
Opinion

Dear Mark: Here comes another Republican distraction. Republicans are losing on Obamacare, so they are changing the subject and launching a Benghazi witch hunt. I believe they are playing politics with the deaths of four Americans and also trying to derail Hillary's presidential bid. This investigation is a foolish waste of taxpayers' money, and there are far more important issues to tackle. Why don't Republicans admit their ridiculous political motives and move on? — Hey, GOP, It's Your Funeral

Dear Hey: Your email sounds so much like Democrat talking points that if I didn't know better, I'd say the same person who gave Hillary her Benghazi video talking points gave you these as well.

Of course, politics is involved because there could be significant political ramifications depending on the outcome. But whether one is a Republican or a Democrat, the truth on Benghazi should outweigh the politics.
Updated: Sat May 10, 2014

Dear Mark: Here comes another Republican distraction. Republicans are losing on Obamacare, so they are changing the subject and launching a Benghazi witch hunt. I believe they are playing politics with the deaths of four Americans and also trying to derail Hillary's presidential bid. This investigation is a foolish waste of taxpayers' money, and there are far more important issues to tackle. Why don't Republicans admit their ridiculous political motives and move on? — Hey, GOP, It's Your Funeral

Dear Hey: Your email sounds so much like Democrat talking points that if I didn't know better, I'd say the same person who gave Hillary her Benghazi video talking points gave you these as well.

Of course, politics is involved because there could be significant political ramifications depending on the outcome. But whether one is a Republican or a Democrat, the truth on Benghazi should outweigh the politics.

Congressman Trey Gowdy, who is heading up the select committee, summed up the unanswered questions nicely in a recent USA Today op-ed.

Gowdy asked, "Why was security for our facility in Libya inadequate, and why were repeated calls for security unheeded and indeed explicitly rejected? Was our military response during the pendency of the siege sufficient? And in the days and weeks after the attack, was the Obama administration transparent and forthright with our fellow Americans in describing the impetus behind the attack?"

Who could argue with seeking answers to these questions? Unfortunately for President Obama, Hillary Clinton and Democrats, the stonewalling has given the administration the appearance of hiding something.

My belief is that President Obama was scared to take decisive action during the Benghazi siege and do everything possible he could to save Ambassador Stevens and the others. This is not some flippant dig at the president. It is based on Obama's own stated foreign policy philosophy.

During the president's recent trip to Asia, Obama was asked about the "Obama doctrine" concerning foreign affairs. The president explained that his administration has admittedly taken a "cautious approach" to foreign policy because, in the president's own words, "it avoids errors." Wow, Churchill he ain't. I find it hard to believe that Obama wouldn't double down on that wimpy philosophy six weeks before his reelection bid and give a stand-down order to our military.

As for Hillary's role in all of this, she was the Secretary of State at the time of the attack, so she should face the consequences of her actions or inactions, whichever the case may be. If Mrs. Clinton is proven to have dropped the ball in Benghazi and then covered it up, I'm sorry, but she shouldn't be promoted to the most powerful office on the planet.

The Benghazi episode speaks to the integrity and honesty of the former Secretary of State. Hillary has a tough road to hoe and, to use her own words, one would have to have a "willing suspension of disbelief" in order to buy the administration's story. First of all, the timeline of events as documented by facts on the ground and the administration's own emails do not line up with the "video" excuse.

Secondly, it appears that Hillary blatantly reaffirmed the "video" lie to the families of the Benghazi victims at Andrews Air Force Base while the flag-draped caskets sat in front of them. Vladimir Putin can only aspire to such coldness.

But, then again, this comes from the woman who lied about being shot at by snipers in order to make her look tough during her first presidential bid. The same woman who hired a former bouncer to illegally go through the FBI files of key Republicans and other political enemies during the Clintons' first term. The same woman who blamed all of the women but not her husband.

You go, girl.