U.S. Ambassador and three others killed in Libya.

[Xiahou]

What conspiracy theory are we talking about exactly? That the administration was reducing diplomatic security in Libya over the objections of people on the ground leading up to the anniversary of 9/11? Or is it that the administration continued to attribute it to a poorly made anti-Islam film when there was no evidence to support that claim? Or are you talking about something else entirely?


Edit:

Consider how much time and energy Drudge, Limbaugh, Daily Caller, Fox News, and the rest of the conservative-media-complex have spent on this subject in the last month. Then compare to how much traction the conspiracy theory is gaining in the public sphere.

For the record, I posted one link to FoxNews- the others are well-sourced. Here's an AP story from Saturday- the AP isn't generally considered part of the right-wing echo chamber.

The Obama administration has sent out muddled messages whether it was a planned attack or a mob protest that got out of control. A day after the attack, President Barack Obama referred to "acts of terror." He told CBS' "60 Minutes" in an interview aired the following Sunday that he believed those involved "were looking to target Americans from the start."

Within 24 hours of the attack, both the embassy in Tripoli and the CIA station chief sent word to Washington that it was a planned militant attack. Still, days later, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, said the attack began as a spontaneous protest over the film.

The best case for the Obama administration is that the attacks and their incoherent public responses to it are due to incompetence- the reasons can only get uglier from there. But as you say, carry on as you see fit.

[Lemur]

What conspiracy theory are we talking about exactly? [...]

The best case for the Obama administration is that the attacks and their incoherent public responses to it are due to incompetence- the reasons can only get uglier from there.

Self-answering post is self-answering.

[Xiahou]

So... Obama administration incompetent = conspiracy theory?

[Lemur]

I'm sorry, I thought "the reasons can only get uglier from there." Dum-dum-DUM!

If you follow the conservative-media-complex, you would think that nothing but Benghazi has happened in the last month. You would believe it is the ultimate scandal destined to pull down the mighty tower of corruption and incompetence that is the Obama administration. You would see a frenzied conservative base desperately overplaying a weak hand, in other words.

Apparently every incompetent scoundrel from the Bush 43 admin believes that Beghazigate is a get-out-of-jail-free card as well. Witness FEMA's old director, Michael Brown, using it to ... do something or another.

Former FEMA director Michael Brown, who was heavily criticized for the agency's failure to prepare for Hurricane Katrina, has criticized President Obama for responding to Hurricane Sandy too early.

In an interview with Denver Westword, Brown said, "One thing [President Obama's] gonna be asked is, why did he jump on [Hurricane Sandy] so quickly and go back to D.C. so quickly when in ... Benghazi, he went to Las Vegas? Why was this so quick? ... At some point, somebody's going to ask that question."

Brown said the president may have had a more positive effect had he waited until Sunday afternoon to address the storm instead of holding a press conference that morning.

Brown's insinuation that Obama responded too early is a gutsy move considering his role in the 2005 disaster. Brown, who was famously called "Brownie" by President George W. Bush, was seen as a symbol of government failure to protect and evacuate people from the path of Katrina.

[rvg]

In an interview with Denver Westword, Brown said, "One thing [President Obama's] gonna be asked is, why did he jump on [Hurricane Sandy] so quickly and go back to D.C. so quickly when in ... Benghazi, he went to Las Vegas? Why was this so quick? ... At some point, somebody's going to ask that question."

Priceless. Too bad it wasn't televised.

[Xiahou]

I'm sorry, I thought "the reasons can only get uglier from there." Dum-dum-DUM!

I'm willing to withhold judgement on the "Who knew what when & why wasn't help sent in faster?" portion of this debacle- there could be a lot of explanations for it and many could be perfectly reasonable.

What speaks to incompetence is that they had Susan Rice & Jay Carney telling the media that the attack was a result of protests gone wild when there was little evidence of that in the first place and they continued peddling that line long after it proved false. If you're sending a surrogate out to give the administration's line on the Sunday news shows, why wouldn't you make sure they have the latest information?

The bigger issue however, is why on earth the administration thought it was a good idea to pare down diplomatic security in Libya and try to replace it with paramilitary militias, like the Feb17 Matyrs Brigade? They had a steady stream of intel that showed a deteriorating security situation in Benghazi- including a bombing that blew a 12 foot hole in the wall of the consulate on June 6. The British closed their diplomatic mission in Benghazi because it was so unsafe there- we cut security...

[Sasaki Kojiro]

For the record, I posted one link to FoxNews- the others are well-sourced. Here's an AP story from Saturday- the AP isn't generally considered part of the right-wing echo chamber.

also:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-...ack/?tag=socsh

In the days after the assault, counterterrorism officials expressed dismay over what they interpreted as the Obama Administration's unwillingness to acknowledge that the attack was terrorism; and their opinion that resources which could have helped were excluded.

Counterterrorism officials from two agencies said they concluded almost immediately that the attack was by terrorists and was not spontaneous. "I came to this conclusion as soon as I heard the mortar rounds were impacting on top of the building our people were occupying," says one. "The position of the mortar must be plotted on a map, the target would have to be plotted, computations would be calculated that would result in the proper mortar tube elevation and the correct number of powder bags to be attached to the rounds."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...978_story.html

The attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi has become a political football in the presidential campaign, with all the grandstanding and misinformation that entails. But Fox News has raised questions about the attack that deserve a clearer answer from the Obama administration.

Anyway, with the media its "pick your echo chamber".

I'm willing to withhold judgement on the "Who knew what when & why wasn't help sent in faster?" portion of this debacle- there could be a lot of explanations for it and many could be perfectly reasonable.

We probably won't know for a long time

What speaks to incompetence is that they had Susan Rice & Jay Carney telling the media that the attack was a result of protests gone wild when there was little evidence of that in the first place and they continued peddling that line long after it proved false. If you're sending a surrogate out to give the administration's line on the Sunday news shows, why wouldn't you make sure they have the latest information?

I think a bigger part of it is that they really think its important to tell americans that stuff like the video is bad and to show muslims that they are condemning it. They believe that has real value. That would probably have been their response to just the cairo protests. And since they didn't want to talk about the libya attack really they just talked like the would have if it had just been the cairo protest.

[Xiahou]

Apparently, almost two months after the attack, you can still wonder into the site and pick up sensitive documents that are lying around.... The folks at Foreign Policy did.

More than six weeks after the shocking assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi -- and nearly a month after an FBI team arrived to collect evidence about the attack - the battle-scarred, fire-damaged compound where Ambassador Chris Stevens and another Foreign Service officer lost their lives on Sept. 11 still holds sensitive documents and other relics of that traumatic final day, including drafts of two letters worrying that the compound was under "troubling" surveillance and complaining that the Libyan government failed to fulfill requests for additional security.

When we visited on Oct. 26 to prepare a story for Dubai based Al Aan TV, we found not only Stevens's personal copy of the Aug. 6 New Yorker, lying on remnants of the bed in the safe room where Stevens spent his final hours, but several ash-strewn documents beneath rubble in the looted Tactical Operations Center, one of the four main buildings of the partially destroyed compound. Some of the documents -- such as an email from Stevens to his political officer in Benghazi and a flight itinerary sent to Sean Smith, a U.S. diplomat slain in the attack -- are clearly marked as State Department correspondence. Others are unsigned printouts of messages to local and national Libyan authorities. The two unsigned draft letters are both dated Sept. 11 and express strong fears about the security situation at the compound on what would turn out to be a tragic day. They also indicate that Stevens and his team had officially requested additional security at the Benghazi compound for his visit -- and that they apparently did not feel it was being provided.

Why on earth haven't they secured/destroyed this stuff already? Perhaps it's for the best since it's pretty much the only way we're getting this information....

[drone]

Why on earth haven't they secured/destroyed this stuff already? Perhaps it's for the best since it's pretty much the only way we're getting this information....

Nuke the site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

[Montmorency]

what about the supposed 300 million dollars worth of cuts to security that have been alluded to?

I could look it up, but Im drunk

Don't all administrations have a go at cutting embassy security - until the next disaster strikes? No one really cares about the Inman Report until bombs go off.

[Fragony]

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...tack?page=full

[Xiahou]

Nuke the site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

Or maybe secure the site while the intel people gather and/or destroy the documents that are just lying around....

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-...ack/?tag=socsh

I read that CBS article last night- it's very damning in that it shows how inept and indecisive the response to the attacks were... Not using the systems and personnel that are in place to deal with attacks... telling the hostage rescue team to get ready to deploy, then stand down, then get ready to deploy, then stand down, ect...

[Sasaki Kojiro]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...091c_blog.html

From september 12th, regarding the rose garden speech:

KROFT: Mr. President, this morning you went out of your way to avoid the use of the word terrorism in connection with the Libya Attack, do you believe that this was a terrorist attack?
OBAMA: Well it’s too early to know exactly how this came about, what group was involved, but obviously it was an attack on Americans. And we are going to be working with the Libyan government to make sure that we bring these folks to justice, one way or the other.

[Lemur]

OBAMA: Well it’s too early to know exactly how this came about, what group was involved, but obviously it was an attack on Americans. And we are going to be working with the Libyan government to make sure that we bring these folks to justice, one way or the other.

WHY DOES HE HATE AMERICA?