“Placing trust in the various militia factions to set aside their longstanding differences and establish a governing body in the war torn country illustrates another amateur mistake.” This was no amateur mistake. This was an implementation of the policy called for by foreign policy professionals: to ignore whatever a study of Islamic doctrine and law might reveal about the thought processes and motivations of Islamic jihadis, and to assume that they’re motivated by the same mix of pragmatism and self-interest that motivates secular Western urban cosmopolites, i.e., people just like themselves.
This is the kind of disastrous miscalculation preached by establishment foreign policy wonks such as Will McCants (and the Qatar-funded Brookings Institution in general), Max Abrahms (and the Council on Foreign Relations in general), and a host of others that the State Department and other foreign policy entities hire by the pound. They’re the type who led us into this mess. Hillary Clinton is just their most prominent exponent — which does not in the least exonerate her. It’s just to say that not only does Hillary Clinton’s influence over the U.S. government in whatever capacity need to be decisively rejected; the whole foreign policy establishment needs to be swept out, cherished and unquestioned assumptions rejected, and the edifice remade by people who are more realistic and unafraid to base policy on unpleasant realities rather than upon politically correct wishful thinking.
“Clinton can’t escape Benghazi responsibility,” by D.W. Wilber, The Hill, June 27, 2016 (thanks to Pamela Geller):
As Americans await the findings from the final Benghazi report, which will be released by the Select Committee on Benghazi any day now, it is important to remember the information the committee has been uncovering thus far.
Based on the collective intelligence compiled by the Select Committee, led by Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, the indisputable fact is that there was a blatant disregard for warning signs, an inept response to the attack, and a fabricated cover-up; a complete and utter failure of will by the senior leadership of the Obama Administration.
The Obama Administration’s foreign policy in Libya, led by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was a dismal failure. Most notable was the decision by the Secretary of State to pursue the ouster of Libyan leader Muamar Qaddafi without having a plan in place for what happened afterward. Placing trust in the various militia factions to set aside their longstanding differences and establish a governing body in the war torn country illustrates another amateur mistake. And none of these decisions were in the interests of the United States.
With the deteriorating situation on the ground in Tripoli and Benghazi, hundreds of requests for additional security for the Americans in Libya went unanswered or denied. No precautionary measures were taken, even as the September 11, 2001 anniversary was approaching.
Additional security was denied even though intelligence reports clearly indicated the presence in Libya of Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups hostile to the United States. Even though there had been multiple previous attacks against the diplomatic missions of other countries, and the U.S.’s own outpost in Benghazi, those requests were ignored leading up to the events of September 11th.
It was lunacy on a grand scale.We expect the Select Committee will single out a number of high-level administration officials for criticism, including the former Secretary of State. Her inaction on the numerous requests for additional security, in addition to her lack of response on the night of the attack, reveals a serious lack of competence. It was more of a “crossed fingers” response to the problem – keeping her fingers crossed and hoping for the best.
President Obama and his closest advisors are no doubt criticized for their insufficient response. While an American diplomatic facility was under attack the President should have been more ‘hands on,’ but unlike the claims that he was personally engaged in the raid that killed Bin Laden, he simply left the problem for others to figure out, and then left for a fundraising event while four Americans lay freshly murdered. He and the entire administration were completely disconnected from the life and death situation on the ground in Libya.
Those on the ground in Benghazi were left to fend for themselves when help of any kind would have been welcomed, and likely successful in preventing the later loss of lives.
No one launched to help those under fire. No one even tried….