ThinkProgress has an article up about Fox News' waffling on whether the consulate attack was or was not a terrorist attack, or linked to protests over the anti-muslim video. In it, ThinkProgress notes that some of the Fox hosts are suggesting the possibility that the attack was linked to the video after all.
Why is this noteworthy? Other than seeing the right having to flail around while trying to find a politically advantageous message for the attacks. Why do the left feel that seeing this attack as a protest is somehow better? It is not.
Update: ThinkProgress has another article with details on the current intelligence, calling the attack "an opportunistic attack" motivated by anger over the video.
In the immediate aftermath of the consulate attack, when it was widely believed the attack was basically a riot over the anti-muslim video, perhaps many of you will recall how much anti-libyan sentiment (and especially anti-muslim sentiment) was being dredged up on the right. There was plenty of it in my own social circles, and I had to push back hard against it. The Libyan counter-protests and images from Buzzfeed helped, but what made the biggest difference was pointing to the reporting that this was a planned attack linked to the internal politics of Libya, not a spontaneous protest. I was able to convince a lot of people that the people of Libya are worth continuing to support.
In the face of reality, the right wing decided to latch onto this idea that the Obama administration did not call it an act of terror. There really was no political gain in continuing the Muslim bigotry, but anti-Obama bigotry might get them a political win. So the narrative changed from "MUSLIMS HATE THE US!" to "Obama is weak on terror!" The president did in fact call it in act of terror, as we all know from watching the debate on Tuesday, but despite this the right continues to push this idea.
So why is it in any way worth noting that Fox News pundits are waffling a little bit on the details? We're all waffling a little bit on the details, because even over a month later, we're still learning about exactly what happened. What really grates me is the waffling over the whole protest-versus-terrorist attack coming FROM THE LEFT. There is no reason to be on the defensive here, people. The right does not have a leg to stand on, let them shout petulantly and ineffectively into their own echo chamber about how Obama is a secret muslim kenyan homosexual socialist who apologizes to terrorists, but whatever really happened in Benghazi, there are two main things progressives need to be concerned about:
1) Four Americans serving our country died, and that is a tragedy.
2) The overwhelming majority of the Libyan people not only condemn the attack, but support the U.S. generally, and it is imperative we continue to fight back against anti-muslim and anti-Libyan sentiments coming from the right. It is worth supporting Libya in their transition to democracy.
Do not fall into the false equivalence trap of adopting an opposing narrative just because the other side is criticizing the president. No matter what the truth is about exactly what happened and why, there are any number of points the left can argue in our favor, but whatever it is conservatives are telling themselves today to make them feel better is irrelevant. The other side does not have to be wrong for you to be right. Push back against bigotry, support Libya, rebut the obvious falsehoods, but don't be reactionary. We owe it to the people who died to get to the bottom of this and bring the murderers to justice no matter what their motivations were.