For more than a month, Obama Administration officials have shifted blame for lack of intelligence or diplomatic security in Benghazi, Libya, where terrorist attacks on September 11 killed four Americans. But now, all of a sudden, both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and—during last night’s presidential debate—President Obama himself have decided to claim ultimate responsibility. These claims seem perfunctory, do not bear any consequences for either Clinton or Obama, and come more than a month too late.
Not only that, but the President is also trying to rewrite history, claiming last night that he did say that it was a terrorist attack that cost the lives of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three security personnel. In one of the tensest moments of the debate, the President evaded Mitt Romney’s question of clarification in which he asked, “You said…it was an act of terror. It was not a spontaneous demonstration, is that what you’re saying?”
For a point of clarification, President Obama in the White House Rose Garden the day after the attack mentioned “acts of terror” in a general statement. Furthermore, the Administration repeatedly blamed the attacks on the now-infamous YouTube video on several occasions—on September 16 with Ambassador Susan Rice on five Sunday morning shows, and on September 25 in Obama’s speech to the U.N. And don’t forget in his appearance on The View the day before.
As for Clinton, in a series of interviews given in Lima, Peru, just prior to the presidential debate, she stated, “I want to avoid some kind of political gotcha.… I take responsibility.” While signaling that she was stepping forward only because of the election, Clinton thus absolved President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden from culpability. She affirmed that they had no involvement in security decisions to deny the consulate additional security personnel.
Rewriting history is nothing new for the Obama Administration. White House staff have been rewriting online histories of Obama’s predecessors to add him in, and it was recently discovered by Heritage researcher James Roberts that the State Department is rewriting its country reports, cutting out reams of history and previous U.S. policy and reducing the focus to the policies of the Obama Administration.
Obama and Clinton should not succeed in rewriting the history of the Benghazi terrorist attack. Four brave Americans lost their lives, and we deserve an honest accounting.
