After the attack, investigators identified over a dozen violent incidents in Benghazi during the last six months. October 2, 2012, three weeks after the attacks, Jason Chaffets (R-UT, chairman of the subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense, and Foreign Operations) and Darrell Issa (R-CA, chairman of the Committee) sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which listed a number of these events—including car jackings, assassination attempts, kidnappings, and gun battles. "Put together, these events indicated a clear pattern of security threats that could only be reasonably interpreted to justify increased security for U.S. personnel and facilities in Benghazi." The letter stated.
Initially reports were spread that the attack had broken out during a protest over an independent, short film uploaded to YouTube, named "The Innocents Of Muslims", which bad-mouthed the Muslim faith. The violence was thought to have broken out suddenly, and to have been the act of only a few people in retaliation over the film, while the protest was meant to remain peaceful. However, these claims were later determine to be false. No protest ever took place. One must wonder how these rumors started spreading to begin with. Who was it who had claimed that the video was the cause of this violence? Even Government officials claimed this largely unknown film to be the cause of the attack. One would suppose that debunking this claim would be as simple as interviewing a witness, after all, there were surviving witnesses who could definitely determine if there had been a protest outside the building before violence broke out. If gathering this information is that simple, then why did it take so long for anyone to tell us these rumors were false? Perhaps it was easier to put these matters off until after Obama's re-election.
But who is to blame for the poor response to Benghazi? My first guess would be the then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose job it is to advise the President on foreign affairs and who is in charge of correspondence, commission, or instructions to consuls abroad, and to conduct negotiations with foreign representatives. But Obama also repeated the "YouTube Film" myth, again and again. Perhaps Obama didn't want to "rock the boat" before re-election. Hillary was about to retire from her position, it seems correct to assume they were hoping to put things off until after these deadlines.
If the attack had lasted longer the death tole could have been much higher. Help was never sent, though we could have had men on the ground in about three hours. They should have been sent as a precaution, but they weren't. And it would seem that the public was intentionally misled about the cause of the attack, which was done by terrorists, not protesters. I'm also wondering why men weren't sent right after the initial night attack at the compound that was meant to protect the consulate building. Why didn't we respond immediately to the first attack by sending men, who may have been there in time to make a difference? And let's remember, this was not just any day. It was 9/11, a day when all U.S. embassies in Muslim countries should be well guarded and take more precautions. We should have prepared for this, especially in a place that was already experiencing a number of violent acts.
Some people are worried that the Benghazi scandal could effect Hillary Clinton's chance of election if she chooses to run for the presidency in 2016.
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