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Subscribe to RSSPresident Barack Obama calls the attacks on U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice "politically motivated" and says they are unacceptable.
President Barack Obama on Sunday called security issues that led to the deaths of four Americans in the Benghazi consulate attack "a huge problem," although he continued to defend U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice as a victim of political scapegoating by Republicans who have suggested an administration coverup of the situation.
"We're not going to be defensive about it," Obama said of the State Department review of the attacks during an exclusive interview on NBC's Meet the Press. "We're not going to pretend that this was not a problem. This was a huge problem. And we're going to implement every single recommendation that's been put forward."
Saying that some State Department officials "have been held accountable," Obama said that the review of the September 11 attack showed there was "sloppiness" in terms of security measures but that mistakes were not intentional.
In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, President Barack Obama tells David Gregory he's optimistic the fiscal cliff can be averted, lays out the goals for his second term, and also discusses the Benghazi attack and how it was handled by the administration and those on Capitol Hill.
But he defended U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who withdrew from consideration to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after Republicans vigorously opposed her for her role in discussing the attacks after the raid.
"She appeared on a number of television shows reporting what she and we understood to be the best information at the time," Obama said. "This was a politically motivated attack on her. I mean, of all the people in my national security team, she probably had the least to do with anything that happened in Benghazi."
Obama indicated that intelligence officials have "good leads" as to who carried out the attack.
"With respect to who carried it out, that's an ongoing investigation," he said. "The F.B.I. has sent individuals to Libya repeatedly. We have some very good leads, but this is not something that I'm going to be at liberty to talk about right now."
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Pompus Ass
MSM should be congratulated for the manner in which it has managed Benghazi right from the start for Obama.
The OBAMA's are proof a HARVARD DEGREE does not make you smart! It just helps you lie to people and get away with it.
Look folks, it's quite simple. Obama and his advisers were fearful that if the truth about Benghazi were made public before the election, it would be construed as incompetence and that it could cost them the election. That is why "the person who had the least to do with Benghazi" was marched out on the airwaves to espouse a story about the attack being "spontaneous". When someone in an administration makes a statement to the public they are doing so with the blessing of the administration. Was Susan Rice going rogue and going out there without the knowledge of the State Department? I doubt it. I also doubt that the Administration is that incompetent that they did not know the truth as it unfolded. The President is correct, Benghazi is a "huge problem"
And Obama should have owned up to his mistakes at the beginning of the debacle.
Tammy. Obama will never admit or own up to any mistakes. He and his socialist loving puppet media will always blame everything on someone else.
Both Obama and Hillary proved they are incompetent and incapable of answering that 3am call. They failed miserably!
What is the most troubling is the fact that he was re-elected.
Thank the low-information voters who wanted their freebies to continue for that.
Tammy, Find a new drum to beat, OK? This "freebies" thing is getting old. I wonder what "freebies" Bill Gates and Colin Powell got.
And President Obama orders a pay raise for this Do-Nothing Congress which is shameful. An Executive Order
can be reverse, right? BTW, you cannot buy friendship; it does not work. Benghazi is President Obama's
problem,. The buck stops with the president.
Oh wake up, Benghazi is more that 1 persons problem. Secutity measures are set up and not changed for years until an incident occurs. that is when a weak point is discovered, always after the fact. so you Trolls can keep on, "Trolling, Trolling down the river."
You Wake up. Pres. Obama is telling a white lie.
A big fat lie, not a little white lie is a more appropriate description of the obama Benghazi debacle.
Yep, not unless his "white lie" is breaking the law.
Benghazi and Fast and Furious were both much worse than Watergate...and this administration caused people to deal with their high handed attitude that they can do anything and no one should ever question it or their lousy excuses for putting people in danger of their lives.
This guy can lie with the best of them. he makes Pinocchio's nose look minuscule, what crap. If you buy it you are dumber than a stone
Methinks there are several commentators on the 'Vine that should think before putting their feet in their mouths. A lot of the comments border on the treasonous, even could be misconstrued as a threat on the President. Remember, nothing ever leaves the Internet. And even if something is bounced around servers around the world, it can and will be traced to the original computer if that's what's wanted.
And Ms. Pigotry, or Bigotry as I like to think of you, male or famale although I suspect male, keep it zipped. Everything you have to say indicates the level of ignorance you have. As does the inordinate amount of people who like to think Fox News is the be-all, end-all.
Please, those of you on both ends, try to moderate your comments. After all, 'tis better to say nothing and be thought a fool that to say something and be known one.
jackie -
Perhaps it is Obama who is the traitor along with Reid. Neither of them wants what is good for this country. They both ignore the laws of this country as it suits them.
And that is after taking oaths to uphold the Constitution and the sovereignty of this nation.
But, I guess you're just another low-information voter, aren't you?
@ Jackieboy
Do you state that having a comment that disagrees with your boy obama is "treasonous"? oh please charge me as your number 1 suspect and bring on the charges because I will enjoy eating your lunch money for the rest of your life. You, FOOL, are a prime example of why this administration has strayed way beyond the boundaries of what is permitted by our constitution! Please let me know when you need my contact information for your charge of treason. I will be more than happy to provide that to the whole vine for your little treasonous charge. You sir are a prime example of the nazi left leadership that we have in office and the nazi propeganda machine that this "news vine" is. Feel free anytime you want to call me on it. I beg you.
@Jackieboy
Little Bitch, didnt think you would try to back up your insane rhetoric but any time you want to try to use that just come see me.
rather then get repeating partisan opinions can we let some sunshine in the room and look at the facts.
Due to budget constraints Congress(R&D) have approved cuts which has impacted the amount of money available for increased security requests wherever made. Number two the consulate(NOT EMBASSY) was used by the CIA and did not want added security to call further attention to the location. Number three the talking points provided to Susan Rice were provided by the CIA and Petreaus approved.
So we have attacked the messenger. It is easier and it served a political purpose as a way to attack Obama and being in the midst of an election was the icing on the cake
"Number two the consulate (NOT EMBASSY) was used by the CIA and did not want added security to call further attention to the location."
Three problems with your statement. The CIA was using a building about a mile away, and the CIA would never disclose any facts concerning the use of any location. The State Department answers to Obama not the CIA, and I think Obama said he provided the talking points.
dem....the budget cuts for funding embassies were bipartisan and went through the Senate. Secondly the State Dept said at the initial hearings on Benghazi that funding did NOT affect this outcome. Petraeus DID NOT approve talking points. He testified Al Qaieda importance was taken out. Clouds on your horizon not sunshine.
Then why was she the spokesperson for the white house????????
Nothing like being reactive instead of proactive.
When will we learn???
The truth is this and this only. Obama and his administration screwed up and caused Americans to be killed. No excuses, no blame games. It was their fault and no one else. Take credit for this, not blame, it is theirs and they will have to live with the death of these servants of the people. Go on talk shows and not worry about small things like the future of this country. Stop campaigning and be a leader.
Mr. President-
To quote the great George Constanza..."It's not a lie if YOU believe it"
Signed-
The American Voters who re-elected you
Robert Klein Engler's comments are dead on... he has the facts that Obama and the WH will do everything they can to cover up and hide. Moreover, they will run away from this as long and as far as they can.
Robert, kudos on a very precise overview of the true angst with this president and his tactics... well done and many thanks from those of us that see he is untrustworthy and overall unworthy to handle the weight of the office.
Mistake's were NOT intentional? that's why they are called mistakes in the first place there Albert! LOL! See how he dance's around the subject, HE AND HIS OBUMA ZOMBIES ARE RESPONSIBLE AND THEM ALONE! They asked for help to fortify many times and were ignored or turned down, just like the way the govenment operates on all levels! Mistake's my ASS!
How about explaining what happened before you say your going to fix it and what is there to fix if it was brought on by a misfits movie? or was it a terrorist attack that was kept secret sort of until after the election?
Just more BS from both sides of the aisle..
Say what you want keep the argument going, but my opinion is both sides aren't worth a wooden nickel. Its all about staying in power, its a election re-run every year. if it isn't the House it's the Senate if it's not the Senate it's the President.
They just got a raise off of your tax dollars for sheer and utter incompetence. And in 2 days you will feel it as no one wants to come clean, just keep voting in the trash and expecting a different outcome.
Then there are those who go OMG and get rid of all the experience. To that I say and look where that "experience" has gotten America today.
All of them are as worthless as teats on a boar hog.
Where is Hillary ????... after all she is the one responsible...shes a master politician... notice how she has managed to stay out of the spot light?... don't want to 'mess-up' the chance for 2016 presidential run !!
The information I heard was that General Ham as head of Africom received the same e-mails the White House received requesting help/support as the attack was taking place. General Ham immediately had a rapid response unit ready and communicated to the Pentagon that he had a unit ready.
General Ham then received the order to stand down. His response was to screw it, he was going to help anyhow. Within 30 seconds to a minute after making the move to respond, his second in command apprehended General Ham and told him that he was now relieved of his command.
The story continues that now General Rodiguez would take General Ham's place as the head of Africom
This version of events contradicts Mr. Panetta's October 25 statement that General Ham advised against intervention. But so far there is nothing solid to back it up. Maybe Ham attempted to send a reaction force against orders, or maybe he simply said the wrong thing to the wrong people. Perhaps he gave whomever he was talking to up the chain a piece of his mind about leaving Americans to die when there was a chance of saving them. At the very least U.S. forces might have made those who killed our people pay while they were still on the scene. The Obama White House is famously vindictive against perceived disloyalty – the administration would not let Ham get away with scolding them for failing to show the leadership necessary to save American lives. The Army's ethos is to leave no man behind, but that is not shared by a president accustomed to leading from that location.
The question remains why the repeated requests – which is to say desperate pleas – to send a relief force were refused. Perhaps Mr. Obama and his national security brain trust thought the terrorist assault would be a minor skirmish and quickly blow over. When it became clear that the attack was something more serious, they may have had visions of the rescue team getting involved in a Mogadishu-like firefight, a "Blackhawk Down 2." This would have been too much for the risk-averse Mr. Obama, particularly in a Muslim country, and less than two months before the election. Instead they simply watched the live video hoped for the best. If there were American fatalities, they felt they could shift blame for the circumstance to the supposed Youtube video which they had already blamed for the riot at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo hours earlier. In fact the Embassy had sent out its "apology" tweets even before the Cairo riot commenced.
Hillary Clinton's freakishly bizarre statement on September 14 is also worth noting. At a memorial service to the fallen she told Charles Woods, father of slain former Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, that "we will make sure that the person who made that film is arrested and prosecuted." In that situation one would expect her to vow to take down the terrorists who killed Tyrone, not the supposed instigator of the spontaneous mob action that never happened.
But since when does the Secretary of State feel it is her duty to promise to have an American filmmaker who has committed no crime arrested? For all the bowing and scraping to Islam that has gone on in the last four years, blasphemy against that or any other faith is still not illegal in this country. The First Amendment still exists. It is strange that Mrs. Clinton believed that the parents of the slain Americans would empathize with her outrage at the filmmaker, rather than reserve their anger for the extremists who actually did the killing. But as Mr. Woods said, he "could tell that she was not telling me the truth." Indeed the truth has been the fifth casualty in this entire tragic affair.
This type of treatment of our leading military commanders, remember the General who was relieved because he disagreed with how the war was being conducted, is reminiscent of the Soviet Union or Hitler's Nazi Germany. Eventually the officer corps, in both governments, became puppets of the regime and only made decisions that they knew would be favorable. When this happens we have that wonderful situation where the blame for any transgression begins to roll downhill until it comes to rest at the feet of the first one it can be pinned on. When that happens the military no longer honors its oath to support and defend the Constitution. Four more years of this administration and our military will become just another arm to control the population. I used to wonder why some soldiers threw their medals away….. now I'm beginning to understand.
I cannot get the nightmarish vision of Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty fighting for their lives, doing everything in their limited power to try to save lives, all the while pleading for help that never came. How can any red-blooded America NOT feel outrage that they were left behind, that four Americans courageously lost their lives while those who held the power to send SOMETHING, ANYTHING, to aide them, lacked the courage to do so. How is that this horrible lack of leadership, whereever the core lies, is brushed over and ignored? Those were OUR sons America; four of our very best sons. They deserve to have the true story told.
How about investigating why the Navy Admiral from Bremerton, Washington, was also relieved right after 9/11/12? Maybe these two are the scapegoats for Nobummer lying to the American people.
. That is why Obama classified nearly everything related to Benghazi. It effectively gag those who know the truth. Our best chance of learning the truth comes from the Mossad and Netanyahu. Keep an eye on him. The truth will not come from our retired officers for years to come but it will eventually come out.
quote:
"(The) basic principle is that you don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on; without having some real-time information about what's taking place," Panetta told Pentagon reporters. "And as a result of not having that kind of information, the commander who was on the ground in that area, Gen. Ham, Gen. Dempsey and I felt very strongly that we could not put forces at risk in that situation."
Gen. Ham had AC-130s overhead Benghazi while the fire fight was in progress and was refused permission to defend the Americans on the ground. That order came from the White House - the truth is coming out very slowly but it is coming out! The main stream media will not report ant truth which is negative for Obama but other sources will and do.
Read more here: #storylink=cpy
Adm. Charles M. Gaouette is being sent back to the USS John C. Stennis' home port at Bremerton, Washington stae, in what the Navy called a temporary reassignment. The Navy said he is not formally relieved of his command of the Stennis strike group but will be replaced by Rear Adm. Troy M. Shoemaker, who will assume command until the investigation is completed.
It is highly unusual for the Navy to replace a carrier strike group commander during its deployment.
The Navy did not reveal details of the allegations, citing only an accusation of "inappropriate leadership judgment" that arose during the strike group's deployment to the Middle East. Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Navy's chief spokesman, declined to discuss the investigation.
Read more here: #storylink=cpy
This GRU report, however, states that Admiral Gaouette’s firing by President Obama was due to this strike force commander disobeying orders when he ordered his forces on 11 September to “assist and provide intelligence for” American military forces ordered into action by US Army General Carter Ham, who was then the commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), against terrorist forces attacking the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
into the rabbit hole we go
AND THIS IS WHY SHE WAS SENT OUT because if anybody else went out it would be bold face lies that they told so send out the dumb one that only can say what she was programmed too
Brian, the Administration really thought the media would be so grossly involved with the reelection campaign that the media wouldn't even bother with any of it. If Hillary had gone out it would have seemed like a bigger deal or Panetta or Petraeus. Sending a lower level employee like Rice (who didn't know much) was perfect. All they had to say was "oh sorry she was misinformed and didn't have all the right info because she was not directly" involved AND no one would pay that much attention to the story because she wasn't a prime player. The story would not have gone anywhere without the whistleblowers. The Admin, wasn't banking on them and Fox news , Graham and McCain.
How frank, Mr. President. Where has you been for the last four months!!!
Piss poor leadership by Obama and Hilary clinton on this issue. period.
Where is Hillary ???.... she is the one that is responsible... she is a master politician .. notice how she has stayed out of the spot light ??... don't want to 'mess-up' that chance for a 2016 presidential run !!!!
Wow, NBC, you are on the leading edge of journalism.
Still waiting for Clinton too get over her convenient illness,how many people return too work with in 2 days with same so called illness.
Now he wants too listen after request where made before the killings and he blew them off
Shadowbosses, Government Unions versus Taxpayers
Short and sweet, no argument, just facts and logic and perhaps because the truth is being told & the lies exposed in the works of:
Mallory Factor's book "Shadow Bosses"
Well it's about Time. Jolly good show Ole boy, Jolly good!
heh ! Get Used Too It, Union Thugs 4ward-----> ho
Hear ye Hear ye
I've ordered 20 k coppies of this book for distribution Nation wide
Oh and BTW, if I laid you off, or any of your Family or friends, Sorry it is just business not personal... mostly
Boy, I would hate to have Obama on my FARM, the animals would all be gone when he decided to get off his lazy arse and close the door! before you can fix something you have to acknowledge it is broke, and what the REAL problem is! not make up excuses and smoke screens to play to your political agenda. When he starts putting the country first and not the Demonrat party, then things might get better.