2012 Benghazi attack
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
*[http://www.vox.com/cards/benghazi-ambassador-stevens-attack/benghazi-basics And then Moses said unto Pharaoh, “come clean about Benghazi,” but The Lord hardened Pharoah’s heart.] | *[http://www.vox.com/cards/benghazi-ambassador-stevens-attack/benghazi-basics And then Moses said unto Pharaoh, “come clean about Benghazi,” but The Lord hardened Pharoah’s heart.] | ||
| − | *[http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/regret-the-error/233613/the-best-and-worst-media-errors-and-corrections-in-2013/ Media Error of the Year: ''60 Minutes'' peddling Benghazi conspiracies] | + | *[http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/regret-the-error/233613/the-best-and-worst-media-errors-and-corrections-in-2013/ Media Error of the Year: ''60 Minutes'' peddling Benghazi conspiracies], Poynter |
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==Footnotes== | ==Footnotes== | ||
Revision as of 06:25, 5 May 2014
| Some dare call it |
| Secrets revealed! |
| The revealers |
On September 11, 2012, the United States consulate and a nearby CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya was attacked by Islamic extremists. Four Americans were killed, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens.
Contents |
Obama Administration response
The Obama administration's response was poorly coordinated. The President described the attack in terms of a terror attack the day after, but the administration was not consistent later, with some officials saying that the attacks were due to the Innocence of Muslims films.[1] They were also not clear whether the attack was premeditated or whether members of al-Qaeda were involved, and in what capacity they were involved.
Republican... criticism
Naturally, the lackluster handling of the situation was a ripe target for the Republican Party, with many accusing the President of drawing an unwarranted connection to the aforementioned film. At the time, Innocence of Muslims had just sparked protests in other areas, and a connection seemed reasonable; the GOP alleged that the Obama administration exaggerated this to downplay the continuing threat of terrorist activity in the Arab world. (How does that downplay the continuing threat is another question altogether.)
Had they stopped at the reasonable assertion that there was a fatal, and preventable, lack of security, Republicans might have won back some respect from disgruntled independents. Of course, "knowing when to quit" is not an attribute selected for in GOP evolution, and the party went much further than was reasonable, claiming that the so-called "cover-up" was worse than Watergate, that Obama was directly responsible for the Americans' deaths, that impeachment was inevitable, etc.
Conspiracy theories and general nuttiness
As you might suspect, this incident was rife with conspiracy theories. Memes spread quickly on the Internet, namely that the State Department for some reason sat back and watched the attack occur, while purposely doing nothing about it.[2][3] Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) went so far as to say that there were teams ready to stage a rescue, but they were told to stand down. This is not true, because those teams were called after the attack occurred, and thus could do nothing to help.[4]
Another meme spread around was an image of Ambassador Stevens (the first victim of the attack) with descriptions usually along the lines of "These are pictures you will not see in the Obama media. Our US Ambassador to Libya being dragged through the streets before being murdered."[5] The image is real, but it in fact depicts a group of Libyan citizens pulling him from the wreckage and bringing him to the hospital, and not an angry mob of people dragging him through the streets.[6]
Manufactroversy development hell
The Benghazi uproar was effectively negated due to two more serious scandals and a complete non-scandal: the Department of Justice's "massive and unprecedented" seizure of Associated Press phone records (after the organization received details of a terrorist attack halted by the CIA coinciding with Osama bin Laden's death),[7] and Edward Snowden's leak of continuing NSA mass surveillance under the PATRIOT Act.[8] Meanwhile, wingnuts raved over another conspiracy theory that the IRS was singling out organizations looking for tax exemptions that had political goals in mind (leading to the agency's commissioner, Steven T. Miller, resigning on request); this was eventually deemed bullshit.[9][10]
Closing the door
In late 2013, The New York Times completed an investigation of the attack and couldn't find anything that deviated much from the administration's talking points, particularly that it was not influenced by international terrorists but by local fundies either pissed off about the film or using it as an opportunity for exploitation.[11] Of course, all Republicans could do was whine about the reporter's writing style, leading a Politico editor to say "Even if the Times is right, and even if the US intelligence community formally dismisses the idea that al-Qaeda planned the attack, there will always be some who wonder if we simply haven't looked hard enough."[12] (Basically, this could enter into Truther territory.)
Then a foot gets put in the door
And on May 2, 2014, it finally went into Truther territory, with the Orange Overlord calling for another investigation just in time before the midterms.[13] If Travelgate et al. is a template for anything, give this another three years to fan out.
External links
- And then Moses said unto Pharaoh, “come clean about Benghazi,” but The Lord hardened Pharoah’s heart.
- Media Error of the Year: 60 Minutes peddling Benghazi conspiracies, Poynter
Footnotes
- ↑ Romney says Obama waited 14 days to call Libya attack terror, PolitiFact
- ↑ How a Real News Story Became the 'Obama Watched Them Die' Meme, HuffPo
- ↑ Attack on the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi, Snopes
- ↑ Chaffetz on PolitiFact
- ↑ Photos of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens Dragged Through the Streets, Truth or Fiction
- ↑ US ambassador killed in Libya attack: Chris Stevens 'given CPR for 90 minutes' says Benghazi doctor, The Daily Telegraph
- ↑ Gov't obtains wide AP phone records in probe, AP
- ↑ NSA collecting phone records of millions of Verizon customers daily, The Guardian
- ↑ IRS Sent Same Letter to Democrats That Fed Tea Party Row, Bloomberg
- ↑ Revisiting the I.R.S. "Scandal", The New York Times
- ↑ A Deadly Mix in Benghazi, The New York Times
- ↑ The New York Times confronts critics of its Benghazi story, BBC
- ↑ New Inquiry Sought on Benghazi Attack, The New York Times