In Book, Hillary Clinton Defends Susan Rice on Benghazi

Katrina Trinko / May 30, 2014

Hillary Clinton’s forthcoming memoir about her time at the State Department may have a different title than Mitt Romney’s 2011 book, “No Apology,” but excerpts from her chapter on the Benghazi terrorist attacks showcase an attitude more abrasive than apologetic about her role in the scandal.

“Those who exploit this tragedy over and over as a political tool minimize the sacrifice of those who served our country,” Clinton writes, according to Politico, which obtained the Benghazi chapter of Clinton’s book, “Hard Choices.”

“I will not be a part of a political slugfest on the backs of dead Americans,” she adds. “It’s just plain wrong, and it’s unworthy of our great country. Those who insist on politicizing the tragedy will have to do so without me.”

Clinton, who headed the State Department at the time, defends the remarks made on the Sunday morning shows days later by then-UN Ambassador Susan Rice, who has since come under fire for her misleading comments. “Susan stated,” writes Clinton, “what the intelligence community believed, rightly or wrongly, at the time.”

In April, emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request made by Judicial Watch showed that the White House had a hand in altering the talking points used by Rice on the shows.

Clinton also maintains that an anti-Islamic video on YouTube did play some role in the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that occurred Sept. 11, 2012.

“There were scores of attackers that night, almost certainly with differing motives,” Clinton states. “It is inaccurate to state that every single one of them was influenced by this hateful video. It is equally inaccurate to state that none of them were.”

The Heritage Foundation’s Helle Dale says it is “stunning” that Clinton continues to cite the video.

“It is stunning that Clinton still clings to the video story,” Dale tells The Foundry. “It has been totally discredited and never had an ounce of truth to it.”

“Hard Choices” will be released June 10.