Beltway Insider: Obama Balks on Benghazi; Petraeus Testifies Before House Intelligence Committee

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Category: Beltway Insider

Published on Saturday, 17 November 2012 23:26

Written by Janet Walker

In the first press conference since President Obama won re-election, against Republican Presidential challenger Mitt Romney, he faced a firing squad of reporters over the handling of the Benghazi attacks that killed four Americans.

According to Gallup, President Obama’s job approval, over the past week, stayed steady, above the fifty percent mark for the second straight week, at 52% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness dropped one percentage point to 41%.

Politically Convenient Cover-up

The Benghazi Attacks were a well planned assault on the American Embassy, in the second largest city in Libya, occurring on September 11, 2012. Killed in that attack were Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others.  It was not a coincidence the attacks were carried out on the same day as the World Trade Center Attacks, in 2001, that killed approximately 3000 Americans, destroyed the Twin Towers, part of the Pentagon and the fourth plane, overtaken by courageous passengers in a fight or die attempt, crashed, killing all, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Immediately following the Benghazi September 11 attacks, initial reports issued by the government listed the responsible parties as an angry Muslin mob outraged over a video depicting the prophet Muhammad in vulgar acts. It has since been revealed by former CIA Director General David Petreus, the initial reports forwarded to the White House included information indicating an extremist group with ties to the terror organization Al-Qaeda was responsible.

In testimony this week, disgraced General Petreus, who has since resigned his position as CIA Director due to his extra-marital affair, indicated he knew the attacks were committed by an extremist group with Al-Qaeda terror ties. He indicated in testimony he had no idea why the original media talking points were altered by the Obama administration.

It was clear from the Compound security tape played during the House Intelligence Committee hearings that it was a terrorist attack.

Obama Grilled in Press Conference

In the first Presidential Press Conference since June President Obama faced a full house of knuckle bearing reporters. Repeated questions over the continued mishandling of the Benghazi information released in September and since with overtones of election conspiracy and timing cover-up were asked. Many news sources have indicated in the reporting of the attacks the compound was guarded by four Libyan guards, who were easily overtaken by the large group. 

FOX White House reporter Ed Henry asked the President the following question: "I wanted to ask about the families of these four Americans who were killed. Sean Smith's father Ray said he believes his son called 9-1-1 for help and they didn't get it. I know you said you grieve for the four Americans that it is being investigated, but the fmailies have been waiting for more than two months. So I owuld like for you to address the families, if you can: On 9/11, as Commander-in-Chief, did you issue any orders to try to protect their lives?"

President Obama answered: "Ed, I'll address the families not through the press,"the president reponded, "I'll address the fmailies directly, as I already have. And we will provide all the information that is available about what happened on that day. That's what the investigation is for."

"If thepeople don't think that we did everything we can to make sure that we saved the lives of folks who I sent there, and who were carrying out missions on behalf of the United States, then you don't know how our Defense Department thinks or our State Department thinks our CIA thinks. Their number one priority is obviously to protect American lives."

As it stands the only certianty is that four Americans were killed by an Al-Qaeda terrorist fringe group in a lightly guarded compoung on the anniversay of one of the dealiest attacks in American history.

Questions over the initial reports, the modified talking points, the repeated mishandling of information as well as why simple crowd control tactics, that would have been used on any mob or unlawful gathering, were not deployed and the general lack of security on a day, of any day, when all U.S. installations should have been on high alert, are still unanswered.

Sources: FOX news/agencies.