Chickashanews.com

Opinion

Discussion

Add a comment on this story
October 6, 2012

White House still evasive on Libyan security failures

BY TOM COLE Article Submitted

OKLAHOMA CITY — Almost one month after the September 11 attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, the Obama administration's constantly evolving explanations raise more questions than answers.

Initially, the White House blamed the attack on the spontaneous violence of an unorganized mob provoked by an obscure video posted online. When journalists and others on the scene uncovered heavy assault guns and rocket-propelled grenades, it became clear within 24 hours that the attack was much too organized and well-armed to be the work of random protestors.   Yet U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice was still blaming the video five days later.  Not until September 19 did National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen publicly acknowledge the assault was a terrorist attack, followed in the next two days by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Even after others in his administration finally stated the truth, President Obama was still hedging and pointing toward "natural protests that arose because of the outrage over the video."

While it's common in volatile situations  to get some details wrong as the facts are still being gathered, what's troubling is the pattern of dissembling from White House officials in the weeks since the attack and the growing evidence that the administration did not take adequate security precautions despite warnings of possible attacks.

Most of the information we have comes from the media and whistleblowers who have gone around their government supervisors to directly inform Congress about security lapses.  The FBI team dispatched to investigate the attack remains hundreds of miles away from Benghazi in Tripoli, and the State Department investigation team hasn't begun its work or even held a meeting yet.  As of October 1, the Obama administration had withdrawn all U.S. officials from Benghazi.

Why would the White House be reluctant to let the facts come out?  Evidence from whistleblowers and reporters indicates a pattern of lax security even after months of escalating threats.  In a letter to Secretary Clinton requesting answers, leaders of relevant congressional panels such as the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Armed Services committees listed 13 separate Libyan security incidents dating back to April when an explosive device was thrown at a U.N. convoy.  On June 6, the consulate itself was attacked with an improvised explosive device that created a crater “big enough for forty men to go through,” according to government sources.

CNN recovered a diary belonging to Ambassador Chris Stevens that alluded to "never-ending" security threats.  Yet repeated requests for increased security were denied.  On the night of the attack, the consulate was defended only by four lightly armed Libyans and five American security officers.

All of this raises new questions about U.S. involvement in Libya.  President Obama justified his unilateral decision to intervene without first obtaining the constitutionally required congressional approval on the grounds that U.S. military operations would be limited and jeopardy to American lives slight.  The president's reluctance to increase American security presence or send military to guard the consulate may or may not have been influenced by concerns that doing so would compound the original misjudgment and embroil America more deeply in a volatile situation best avoided.

Regardless of the reasons why, security was obviously inadequate.  The administration's cooperation with the congressional inquiry is essential to identifying and correcting weaknesses in our security both at home and abroad. This urgent duty is impossible as long as the White House refuses to admit the basic facts.  The assault in Libya was a terrorist attack against American citizens on sovereign U.S. territory, plain and simple.  It's time for the Obama administration to acknowledge this fact and act accordingly.

Text Only
Opinion
  • Dorman planning to work with officials on storm recovery

     I want to start off this week by sending condolences to those who lost loved ones, their homes and other property in the storms and tornadoes over the weekend.  As I am writing this column on Monday, we were just allowed to go back to our Capitol offices after tornado sirens sounded about the f-5 which hit the Moore area.

    May 21, 2013

  • Uncle Joe, the windmill man for the Common Good

    South of town, my grandfather’s family grew wheat. North of town, my grandmother’s family raised cattle. Water was important to everyone and everything.  Unless you were fortunate enough to have a live creek on your land, you had a windmill.

    May 14, 2013

  • Inhofe comments evidence of larger political problem

    There is no denying that global warming is one of the most disputed and politicized issues of the last two decades. Broach the subject with anyone that has an opinion on climatology, and that person transforms into a highly educated scientist with years of experience conducting weather related experiments.

    May 8, 2013

  • Dorman prepares for end of session

    The end of the session is growing close.  The anticipated date, which will be a week before the constitutional deadline, looks to be around Friday, May 24.

    May 7, 2013

  • Thank you Bryant Baker for our territorial mom….For the Common Good

    Gazing intently to the southwest with her chin held high, Oklahoma’s Pioneer Woman statute stands as a symbol of courage, faith and hope and is one of the most recognizable sculptures in the United States.  The statue is properly named “Confidence.”

    May 7, 2013

  • Writer looks at constitutionality of presidents

    As I'll be turning 88 in June, I'd begun to lose hope for at last witnessing in my lifetime some legal accountability for the George W. Bush-Dick Cheney-Barack Obama-CIA-national security torture policy instituted after 9/11, which continues today.

    May 3, 2013

  • Seeing the forest and the trees….for the Common Good

    Today, my optometrist would probably call it Macular Degeneration. In the 1940’s my family just knew that my grandfather’s cousin should not have been driving a car.

    May 2, 2013

  • Dorman updates on remaining bills

    I have an update on my remaining bills going through the legislative process.  I will have three pieces of legislation which will need further work, but I expect good, thoughtful policies to come about from them.

    April 30, 2013

  • Editorial: Tax continuation could only be good for Grady County

    Taxes are a necessity for any community on the verge of extreme growth, and Grady County is no different.

    April 27, 2013

  • Perryman touts importance of reading

    I grew up in a house that received a daily newspaper, two weeklies and a number of magazines.  That was the norm.  My grandparents’ homes were the same.  So was their parents’.  Settling in western Caddo County in 1901, my Indiana great grandparents kept up with news from the area where they were raised through the ‘Churubusco Times’ and my Kansas great grandparents did the same with a paper from central Kansas.

    April 20, 2013