The fact that the Benghazi conspiracy does not exist is what makes Republicans believe it must be real
The fact that the Benghazi conspiracy does not exist is what makes Republicans believe it must be real
I have to give conservative writer Byron York some credit: When it comes to flogging the same old Benghazi storyline, at least he acknowledges that Republicans sound like broken records. For example, writing today,
he says:
It's common for Republicans to say there are "unanswered questions" about the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. In some cases, though, it might be more accurate to say that questions have been answered, but Republicans don't believe the answers.
So far, so good. I can't really disagree with that, given that the main GOP question seems to be "Where is the conspiracy that will bring down the Obama presidency and nip Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign in the bud?"
Alas, instead of accepting that there was no conspiracy—and that Republicans will therefore never get an answer that they like—York takes his formidable talent and uses it to extend this Groundhog Day even longer. Aiming his sights on Hillary Clinton's "knowledge about the lax security surrounding U.S. diplomats in Libya." York says:
One key piece of evidence is an August 16, 2012 cable, sent from Ambassador Chris Stevens to Clinton's office just 26 days before the attack, raising red flag after red flag about the dangerous lack of security in Benghazi.
The existence of this cable is nothing new. It was revealed (
on Fox, of course) before the 2012 election. Hillary Clinton didn't see it, but even if she had seen it, it changes nothing about the assessment of what happened in Benghazi: That four Americans died in an attack on a diplomatic outpost that did not have sufficient security to thwart the attack.
According to the cable, the State Department's security officer with responsibility for Benghazi "expressed concerns with the ability to defend Post in the event of a coordinated attack due to limited manpower." As a result, the cable said, "US Mission Benghazi will submit specific requests to US Embassy Tripoli for additional physical security upgrades and staffing needs by separate cover." There is an important caveat, however: The cable did not cite any specific threat against Americans in Benghazi, saying security officers "did not have information suggesting that these entities were targeting Americans."
After the cable was sent, U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens twice declined offers of military aid from the U.S. military. The reasons for his decision are unclear, but there is zero evidence that it was part of some massive Obama-Clinton scheme to steal the election from Mitt Romney's deserving hands.
To most people, that fact is a reminder that while Benghazi was a horrific tragedy, it was not the biggest scandal in American political history. In fact, it wasn't a scandal at all. But to Republicans, the fact that no conspiracy has been revealed proves not only how big the conspiracy must be, but also how much bigger it is getting with every day that the Obama-Clinton axis manages to keep it secret.
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