{"id":475,"date":"2013-04-29T11:04:19","date_gmt":"2013-04-29T15:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dougsbriefcase.com\/blog\/?p=475"},"modified":"2013-04-30T06:19:04","modified_gmt":"2013-04-30T10:19:04","slug":"while-the-president-slept","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dougsbriefcase.com\/blog\/while-the-president-slept\/","title":{"rendered":"While the President Slept \u2014 New Report Questions President\u2019s Handling of Benghazi Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"obama-may-1-2011\"<\/a>

Pres\u00adi\u00addent tuned into bin Laden killing, tuned out of Beng\u00adhazi attack.<\/p><\/div>\n

Five House Com\u00admit\u00adtee Chair\u00admen last week released an \u201c<\/span>Inter\u00adim Progress Report\u201d<\/a>  on their joint inves\u00adti\u00adga\u00adtion into last September\u2019s ter\u00adror\u00adist attack on a US<\/span> diplo\u00admat\u00adic facil\u00adi\u00adty in Beng\u00adhazi, Libya. The report, giv\u00aden lit\u00adtle atten\u00adtion by most major media out\u00adlets, was imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly denounced by Demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adic Mem\u00adbers <\/a>of those 5 com\u00admit\u00adtees as a \u201cpar\u00adti\u00adsan staff report\u201d that vio\u00adlat\u00aded \u201creg\u00adu\u00adlar order.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019re right both about the report\u2019s par\u00adti\u00adsan tenor and its depar\u00adture from reg\u00adu\u00adlar order. The pro\u00adce\u00addure for fil\u00ading com\u00admit\u00adtee reports is almost as old as Con\u00adgress itself. That process is well-defined and includes, where appro\u00adpri\u00adate, a sec\u00adtion for the minor\u00adi\u00adty to state its views. There is noth\u00ading of the sort in this \u201cinter\u00adim report.\u201d It reads more like an indict\u00adment than a judg\u00adment. It presents only one side of the story.<\/p>\n

That one side of the sto\u00adry, how\u00adev\u00ader, includes a chronol\u00ado\u00adgy that is care\u00adful\u00adly doc\u00adu\u00adment\u00aded and well-sourced. The com\u00admit\u00adtees were giv\u00aden access to diplo\u00admat\u00adic cables, inter\u00adnal emails and oth\u00ader mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal that enabled staff to present a detailed account of the events of last Sep\u00adtem\u00adber 11. That chronol\u00ado\u00adgy shows unam\u00adbigu\u00adous\u00adly that the Admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion knew from the start that the events in Beng\u00adhazi, unlike demon\u00adstra\u00adtions that occurred dur\u00ading rough\u00adly the same time in Cairo<\/a>,<\/span> had noth\u00ading to do with a YouTube video <\/a>that offend\u00aded many Muslims.<\/p>\n

The report cites two \u201cOps Alerts\u201d that the State Depart\u00adment Oper\u00ada\u00adtions Cen\u00adter sent to the White House Sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion Room. The first, trans\u00admit\u00adted short\u00adly after the attacks began, alert\u00aded the White House that the Beng\u00adhazi facil\u00adi\u00adty was under attack and that \u201capprox\u00adi\u00admate\u00adly 20 armed peo\u00adple fired shots; explo\u00adsions have been heard as well\u201d (p. 21 of Inter\u00adim Progress Report). Two hours lat\u00ader, Wash\u00ading\u00adton was informed that an al-Qai\u00adda-linked group \u2013 Ansar al-Sharia \u2014 had claimed respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty for the attack. There was no men\u00adtion in either alert of demon\u00adstra\u00adtions or YouTube videos.<\/p>\n

That direct\u00adly con\u00adtra\u00addicts the sto\u00adry that the Admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion pre\u00adsent\u00aded at the time. US<\/span> Ambas\u00adsador to the UN<\/span> Susan Rice pre\u00adsent\u00aded the government\u2019s offi\u00adcial account in her appear\u00adances last Sep\u00adtem\u00adber 16 on 5 Sun\u00adday talk shows. Rely\u00ading on White House-approved talk\u00ading points, Rice said that the events in Beng\u00adhazi were a reac\u00adtion to a \u201chate\u00adful video,\u201d and added that \u201cwe do not have infor\u00adma\u00adtion at present that leads us to con\u00adclude that this was pre\u00admed\u00adi\u00adtat\u00aded or pre\u00adplanned\u201d (p. 22).<\/p>\n

In fact, the Admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion already knew that the attacks had noth\u00ading to do with a \u201chate\u00adful video\u201d and that they were indeed \u201cpre\u00admed\u00adi\u00adtat\u00aded.\u201d Ear\u00adli\u00ader that same day, Libyan Nation\u00adal Con\u00adgress Pres\u00adi\u00addent Mohamad Mag\u00ada\u00adrif had char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adized the attack as crim\u00adi\u00adnal and pre\u00adplanned. His state\u00adments tracked with a report, also filed pri\u00ador to the Rice TV<\/span> appear\u00adances, from a senior US<\/span> offi\u00adcial on the ground in Libya con\u00adfirm\u00ading that there had been no protests in Beng\u00adhazi pri\u00ador to the attack. (p. 22)<\/p>\n

The gap between what the White House knew at the time and the talk\u00ading points it approved is inar\u00adguable. The Admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion lat\u00ader attrib\u00aduted this gap to faulty intel\u00adli\u00adgence<\/a>. The report dis\u00adcred\u00adits this claim.<\/p>\n

The ini\u00adtial draft of the talk\u00ading points was pre\u00adpared by the CIA<\/span> and approved by David Petraeus, who was then its Direc\u00adtor. Those talk\u00ading points did not attribute the attacks to the YouTube video. Instead they cit\u00aded indi\u00adca\u00adtions that Islam\u00adic extrem\u00adists par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpat\u00aded in the events in Beng\u00adhazi, not\u00aded the poten\u00adtial involve\u00adment of Ansar-al-Sharia, and chron\u00adi\u00adcled five pre\u00advi\u00adous attacks against West\u00adern facil\u00adi\u00adties in Beng\u00adhazi that had occurred in the months lead\u00ading up to the Sep\u00adtem\u00adber 11 attacks (p. 23).<\/p>\n

Those talk\u00ading points were sub\u00adstan\u00adtial\u00adly revised pri\u00ador to Ambas\u00adsador Rice\u2019s appear\u00adance. The report describes how those revi\u00adsions were made. It start\u00aded when the CIA<\/span> draft talk\u00ading points were cir\u00adcu\u00adlat\u00aded to oth\u00ader agen\u00adcies for their review and com\u00adment. The State Depart\u00adment expressed \u201cseri\u00adous con\u00adcerns\u201d about the talk\u00ading points, say\u00ading that they might pro\u00advoke crit\u00adi\u00adcisms of the agency for ignor\u00ading pri\u00ador CIA<\/span> warn\u00adings of a poten\u00adtial ter\u00adror\u00adist attack in Beng\u00adhazi [p. 23].<\/p>\n

At this point, the White House inter\u00advened. On the day before Ambas\u00adsador Rice\u2019s TV<\/span> appear\u00adances, it con\u00advened a \u201cDeputies Meet\u00ading,\u201d involv\u00ading senior intel\u00adli\u00adgence, State Depart\u00adment and high-lev\u00adel White House offi\u00adcials. Dur\u00ading my tenure at the White House dur\u00ading the Bush Admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion, I par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpat\u00aded in any num\u00adber of such meet\u00adings. Their pur\u00adpose is to resolve dif\u00adfer\u00adences among the President\u2019s advis\u00aders. In this case, the dis\u00adpute was between the President\u2019s intel\u00adli\u00adgence advis\u00aders at the CIA<\/span> and his diplo\u00admat\u00adic advis\u00aders at the State Department.<\/p>\n

The meet\u00ading, in which both agen\u00adcies, as well as White House staff, par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpat\u00aded, resolved the dif\u00adfer\u00adences in favor of the State Depart\u00adment. Ambas\u00adsador Rice would use the revised talk\u00ading points the fol\u00adlow\u00ading morn\u00ading. Those revised talk\u00ading points, the report notes, \u201cstruck any and all sug\u00adges\u00adtions that the State Depart\u00adment had been pre\u00advi\u00adous\u00adly warned of threats in the region, that there had been pre\u00advi\u00adous attacks in Beng\u00adhazi by al-Qai\u00adda-linked groups in Beng\u00adhazi and east\u00adern Libya, and that extrem\u00adists linked to al-Qai\u00adda may have par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpat\u00aded in the attack on the Beng\u00adhazi Mis\u00adsion.\u201d (pp 23\u201324).<\/p>\n

Thus was born the Administration\u2019s ini\u00adtial expla\u00adna\u00adtion of what hap\u00adpened in Beng\u00adhazi. As that expla\u00adna\u00adtion unrav\u00adeled in the ensu\u00ading weeks, the Admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion first blamed faulty intel\u00adli\u00adgence, then claimed that it had to pro\u00adtect sen\u00adsi\u00adtive infor\u00adma\u00adtion from pub\u00adlic dis\u00adclo\u00adsure [p. 24].<\/p>\n

The report gives the lie to both asser\u00adtions. The expla\u00adna\u00adtion of the Administration\u2019s shift\u00ading accounts is much sim\u00adpler: pol\u00adi\u00adtics. The attack occurred on the anniver\u00adsary of the Sep\u00adtem\u00adber 11 attacks and just 10 weeks before the Pres\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial elec\u00adtions. The Pres\u00adi\u00addent had repeat\u00aded\u00adly claimed that by killing bin Laden, he had put al-Qai\u00adda \u201c<\/span>on the run.\u201d<\/a>  Acknowl\u00adedg\u00ading that an al-Qai\u00adda-affil\u00adi\u00adat\u00aded group had killed our Ambas\u00adsador and oth\u00ader Amer\u00adi\u00adcans would have been an embar\u00adrass\u00ading polit\u00adi\u00adcal admis\u00adsion. So the White House sup\u00adpressed, for as long as they could, those unpleas\u00adant facts.<\/p>\n

So what? In my opin\u00adion, the Administration\u2019s actions, though hard\u00adly exem\u00adplary, were jus\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adable. The Pres\u00adi\u00addent was under no oblig\u00ada\u00adtion to bare his polit\u00adi\u00adcal throat to Mitt Rom\u00adney at such a crit\u00adi\u00adcal time dur\u00ading the cam\u00adpaign sea\u00adson. The truth emerged soon enough and the vot\u00aders clear\u00adly did not think it impor\u00adtant enough to deny the Pres\u00adi\u00addent a sec\u00adond term.<\/p>\n

There is one thing in the chronol\u00ado\u00adgy that trou\u00adbles me. And that is the President\u2019s own response to news of the attack. Those attacks began at 9:40 pm in Beng\u00adhazi (3:40 pm, Wash\u00ading\u00adton, DC<\/span> time, p. 14). The Pen\u00adta\u00adgon was noti\u00adfied of the attack at 4:30 pm. Sec\u00adre\u00adtary Panet\u00adta per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adly briefed the Pres\u00adi\u00addent a half hour lat\u00ader at a White House meet\u00ading that had pre\u00advi\u00adous\u00adly been sched\u00aduled<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was 11:00 pm in Beng\u00adhazi when that meet\u00ading began. Dur\u00ading its course, a secu\u00adri\u00adty team that had arrived from a near\u00adby \u201cAnnex\u201d evac\u00adu\u00adat\u00aded the sur\u00advivors from the con\u00adsulate, sus\u00adtain\u00ading heavy fire along the way. They were unable to locate Ambas\u00adsador Stevens who, it lat\u00ader was learned, died of smoke inhala\u00adtion in the burn\u00ading build\u00ading. An unarmed sur\u00adveil\u00adlance air\u00adcraft arrived to mon\u00adi\u00adtor the events of the next sev\u00ader\u00adal hours (p. 15).<\/p>\n

Those hours proved bru\u00adtal and dead\u00adly. Well-armed com\u00adman\u00addoes attacked the Annex at around 5:30 am (11:30 pm, Wash\u00ading\u00adton time), killing two Amer\u00adi\u00adcans and seri\u00adous\u00adly wound\u00ading two oth\u00aders (p. 15). The 31 sur\u00advivors were safe\u00adly evac\u00adu\u00adat\u00aded at 6:05 am (short\u00adly after mid\u00adnight in Wash\u00ading\u00adton, p. 15).<\/p>\n

This hero\u00adic and bloody bat\u00adtle occurred dur\u00ading the evening (Wash\u00ading\u00adton time) of Sep\u00adtem\u00adber 11. The White House has sup\u00adplied no evi\u00addence that the Pres\u00adi\u00addent was kept apprised of the events as they occurred. More telling\u00adly, he can\u00adcelled the intel\u00adli\u00adgence brief\u00ading<\/a> that had been sched\u00aduled for the fol\u00adlow\u00ading morn\u00ading.  To his cred\u00adit, he went to Fog\u00adgy Bot\u00adtom to com\u00adfort State Depart\u00adment per\u00adson\u00adnel on the morn\u00ading of Sep\u00adtem\u00adber 12. But his intel\u00adli\u00adgence brief\u00ading was nev\u00ader held. Instead, the Pres\u00adi\u00addent left for a cam\u00adpaign event in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

Every Pres\u00adi\u00addent has his own lead\u00ader\u00adship style. Pres\u00adi\u00addent Bush began his day with a 7 am intel\u00adli\u00adgence brief\u00ading, whether he was at the White House, on vaca\u00adtion, or on trav\u00adel. He was obsessed with the safe\u00adty of Amer\u00adi\u00adcans in harm\u2019s way. Pres\u00adi\u00addent Oba\u00adma takes a dif\u00adfer\u00adent approach, pre\u00adfer\u00adring writ\u00adten reports to per\u00adson\u00adal brief\u00adin\u00adgs. He is cer\u00adtain\u00adly enti\u00adtled to that preference.<\/p>\n

But all that should change, it seems to me, when US<\/span> civil\u00adians are under ter\u00adror\u00adist fire. The Pres\u00adi\u00addent knew before din\u00adner time that our diplo\u00admat\u00adic facil\u00adi\u00adty was under assault and that our ambas\u00adsador was unac\u00adcount\u00aded for. Yet he didn\u2019t con\u00advene a meet\u00ading in the Sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion Room, as he had done to track the killing of Osama bin Laden<\/a>. And while he made it clear that his \u201c<\/span>num\u00adber one pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adty [was]making sure that peo\u00adple were safe,\u201d<\/a>  there\u2019s no evi\u00addence that he altered his sched\u00adule that night to find out whether they were indeed kept safe. Some, sad\u00adly, were not.<\/p>\n

Not every\u00adone shares my sen\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adties. Some on the right are hor\u00adri\u00adfied by the Administration\u2019s response to the Beng\u00adhazi attack, believ\u00ading that it con\u00adsti\u00adtutes a Water\u00adgate-style cov\u00ader-up<\/a>. Those on the left are more inclined to regard out\u00adrage about what hap\u00adpened in Beng\u00adhazi as a right-wing fetish<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m some\u00adwhere between. The Admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion unde\u00adni\u00adably shad\u00aded the truth in its evolv\u00ading expla\u00adna\u00adtion of what it knew and when it knew it, but that hard\u00adly con\u00adsti\u00adtutes obstruc\u00adtion of jus\u00adtice. And though polit\u00adi\u00adcal con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtions made pre\u00advar\u00adi\u00adca\u00adtion under\u00adstand\u00adable, mis\u00adlead\u00ading Con\u00adgress and the pub\u00adlic war\u00adrants crit\u00adi\u00adcism, and not just from the President\u2019s usu\u00adal detractors.<\/p>\n

What I don\u2019t under\u00adstand is the President\u2019s appar\u00adent incu\u00adrios\u00adi\u00adty about the fate of Amer\u00adi\u00adcan civil\u00adians under fire in a dis\u00adtant and dan\u00adger\u00adous place. He learned of their plight around 5 pm. They were trans\u00adport\u00aded out of harm\u2019s way short\u00adly after mid\u00adnight. Why did he not con\u00advene his senior mil\u00adi\u00adtary, State Depart\u00adment and White House advis\u00aders in the Sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion Room to mon\u00adi\u00adtor events dur\u00ading that time? Why did he not insist on an in-per\u00adson debrief\u00ading ear\u00adly the fol\u00adlow\u00ading morning?<\/p>\n

That is what Pres\u00adi\u00addents are sup\u00adposed to do. Even with elec\u00adtions approaching.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Amer\u00adi\u00adcans were in har\u00adm\u2019s way dur\u00ading last Sep\u00adtem\u00adber\u2019s ter\u00adror\u00adist assault on our con\u00adsulate in Beng\u00adhazi, the Pres\u00adi\u00addent seemed a bit, well, incu\u00adri\u00adous about their fate. Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"nfd_image_url":"","nfd_onboarding_generated":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[158,19,157],"tags":[152,151,156,142,1189,153,136,149,148,141,134,146,154,147,155,137,150,138,145,144,135,140,139,143],"class_list":["post-475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-security","category-politics","category-terrorism","tag-al-qaida","tag-ambassador-rice","tag-ambassador-stevens","tag-ansar-al-sharia","tag-benghazi","tag-bin-laden","tag-cairo","tag-cia","tag-david-petraeus","tag-interim-progress-report","tag-libya","tag-libyan-national-congress","tag-mitt-romney","tag-mohamad-magarif","tag-secretary-panetta","tag-september-11","tag-state-department","tag-state-department-operation-center","tag-susan-rice","tag-un","tag-us-diplomatic-facility","tag-white-house","tag-white-house-situation-room","tag-youtube"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t