UK Guardian;Whistleblower says Stevens went to Benghazi to prep for Clinton visit – as it happened
"The Obama administration has admitted misstatements on the part of UN ambassador Susan Rice and others in the immediate wake of the attacks, which were initially portrayed as a spontaneous raid when in fact they were multi-pronged and organized. But the administration has denied fault in the defense of the mission, saying that Benghazi was within a conflict zone, and denied any cover-up, saying Benghazi was a scene of distant chaos and it's natural that all the facts did not come out instantly. The state department has published an accountability review board report on the attacks that supports this view. Republicans call the report nonsense."
In their time line of the testimony, the Guardian gives an example of this administration's ineptitude:
Hicks takes on Clinton directly. Replying to her question of "what difference does it make" whether the attack was the result of a protest or was pre-planned, Hicks says, "I think the question is, 'what difference did it make.'"
He says it made a huge difference because by putting out the narrative of a protest gone wrong, the Obama administration undercut Libyan president Magarief, who was calling the attack a terror attack. That angered Magarief, who then put up bureaucratic blocks, Hicks says, to the FBI entering the country, securing the scene and investigating the attack.
Hicks:
"The Obama administration has admitted misstatements on the part of UN ambassador Susan Rice and others in the immediate wake of the attacks, which were initially portrayed as a spontaneous raid when in fact they were multi-pronged and organized. But the administration has denied fault in the defense of the mission, saying that Benghazi was within a conflict zone, and denied any cover-up, saying Benghazi was a scene of distant chaos and it's natural that all the facts did not come out instantly. The state department has published an accountability review board report on the attacks that supports this view. Republicans call the report nonsense."
Hicks takes on Clinton directly. Replying to her question of "what difference does it make" whether the attack was the result of a protest or was pre-planned, Hicks says, "I think the question is, 'what difference did it make.'"
He says it made a huge difference because by putting out the narrative of a protest gone wrong, the Obama administration undercut Libyan president Magarief, who was calling the attack a terror attack. That angered Magarief, who then put up bureaucratic blocks, Hicks says, to the FBI entering the country, securing the scene and investigating the attack.
Hicks:
President Magarief was insulted in front of his own people, in front of the world. His credibility was reduced. His ability to govern was [damaged]. He was angry... He was still steamed about the talk shows two weeks later. I definitely believe it negatively affected our ability to get the FBI team quickly to Benghazi.
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