She didn’t see requests that would have shown up the folly of the administration’s support for the Libyan jihadists. “Choking up, Hillary Clinton says Benghazi is “˜personal,– by Olivier Knox for Yahoo! News, January 23:
Outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, testifying before Congress on the deadly Sept. 11 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, choked up Wednesday as she assured lawmakers that the security of American diplomats was a “personal” issue for her.
“For me, this is not just a matter of policy””it’s personal,” she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in one of her final acts as America’s top diplomat.
Clinton’s voice broke as she recalled welcoming home the “flag-draped caskets” of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other Americans killed in the terrorist strike at the consulate and putting her arms around bereaved family members.
Clinton, whose department has drawn heavy fire over the insufficient security arrangements at the American compound in Benghazi, praised diplomatic security officials. “I literally trust them with my life,” she said. And she denied personally being aware of numerous requests for more security in Benghazi. “I didn’t see those requests,” Clinton added.
The secretary of state also said that American diplomats overseas cannot hide behind higher walls and more armed guards. “Our men and women who serve overseas understand that we accept a level of risk to protect the country we love,” she said. “They represent the best traditions of a bold and generous nation. They cannot work in bunkers and do their jobs.”
She rebuked those who may advocate that the U.S. take a more limited role on the world stage at a time when the “Arab Spring” has sown chaos across North Africa and the Muslim world. “We cannot afford to retreat now,” she said.
“When America is absent, especially from unstable environments, there are consequences,” Clinton said. “Extremism takes root, our interests suffer, our security at home is threatened.”…