Jim Kouri
Democrats accuse Issa of playing politics with Libyan tragedy
By Jim Kouri
On the Sunday news shows it was difficult to tell the difference between the members of the Obama White House and the members of the Obama reelection team, with all of the Democrats uttering the same talking points and blasting House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa's (R-CA) release of State Department cables on Friday, according to several intelligence and law enforcement officers.
"Apparently, the axiom 'the best defense is a good offense' was at play on the news shows that habitually cater to the whims of the Democrat Party," said former military intelligence officer and police detective Michael Snopes.
"Their latest strategy is to accuse Rep. Issa of jeopardizing the lives of those assisting the U.S. on the ground in Libya," Snopes observed. "They know they can't defend the Obama administration's handling of the Benghazi killings so they attack the motives of their opponents."
David Axelrod, senior campaign adviser to President Obama, on Meet the Press accused Chairman Issa of "recklessly putting their lives at risk," Snopes noted
"Chairman Issa in the House Republican side released a ream of documents that he asked for that included the names of people on the ground in Libya who are cooperating with us and helping us on these security issues jeopardizing their lives, carelessly, recklessly putting their lives at risk," Axelrod said on NBC's Meet The Press.
"Axelrod knew he could make that statement on Meet the Press without being challenged by the show's anchor. If the anchor was a real journalist he would have asked Axlerod about the times that Obama and his minions blabbed about covert operations involving Navy SEALs and intelligence assets who were placed in harms way just to make Obama look like a real Commander in Chief," said Joseph Hedges, a former police captain and member of an Army special forces unit. "Why didn't anyone ask Axelrod about the poor bast*rd who's serving a 33-year prison sentence in a hellhole in Pakistan thanks to the Obama White House bragging about 'getting Osama bin Laden' in detail?"
Meanwhile, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) appeared on Fox News Sunday and attacked Issa by saying, "This idea of Chairman Issa... dumping the names in public of Libyans who are risking their lives to support America and keep us safe in an effort to get a political [edge] in this election is unconscionable It is unacceptable."
"Again, the news anchor failed to challenge Durbin, who in the past called U.S. military personnel 'storm troopers' and Guantanamo Bay detention center a 'Soviet gulag,'" Hedges said.
However, according to national security correspondent Catherine Herridge of Fox News Channel, it is members of the Obama administration leaking information to help the President before his Monday night debate with Mitt Romney.
According to Rep. Issa, the Oversight Committee will expand the focus of the investigation of the attack — that left four men dead, including Amb. Chris Stevens — to include officials in the Obama White House, as well as the Hillary Clinton-led U.S. State Department.
Following the testimony of State Department staffers about the lack of diplomatic security at the Benghazi consulate last week, Issa sent President Obama an official letter on Friday demanding to know why the administration reduced U.S. security in Libya while the country was still emerging from a civil war. The State Department contracted a small security firm to provide untrained and ill-prepared guards recruited from the Libyan population.
Issa said a witness at the committee's hearing testified that the decision not to call back a 16-person security team over the embassy's objection was made as part of efforts to normalize relations with Libya, despite Democrats' denials.
"Americans ... deserve a complete explanation about your administration's decision to accelerate a normalized presence in Libya at what now appears to be at the cost of endangering lives," Issa wrote. "These critical foreign policy decisions are not made by low- or mid-level career officials — they are typically made through a structured and well-reasoned process that includes the National Security Council at the White House. The ultimate responsibility rests with you as the president of the United States."
The letter to Obama was accompanied by the release of 116 pages of documents detailing the embassy's requests for more security.
In his letter, Issa respectfully requested that President Obama provide answers to questions about the decision to remove security personnel from Libya, and how deeply the National Security Council was involved. National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon is being touted as a possible Secretary of State in a second Obama administration, but Republicans have alleged that Donilon is the official who leaked classified information regarding a cyberattack on Iran and a foiled plot by al Qaeda's wing in Yemen to blow up a U.S.-bound flight.
Issa's committee letter to Obama also stated that the White House "has not been straightforward with the American people in the aftermath of the attack. The issue of who knew what and when about the details of the attack has become a central source of partisan sparring on Libya, with the administration saying it simply made intelligence public as it became available."
What has angered many of Obama's critics was his trip campaign trip to Las Vegas in the middle of the Libyan violence against America. Obama supporters claim he was always in touch with his security team.
But former police chief Ronald Miller said, "Whether Obama thought it was a protest, a terrorist
attack or didn't know which, he should have called every intelligence and state department official involved into the oval office and stayed until he learned the facts and had taken action to protect all foreign service personnel."
"As usual, Obama's first instinct was to protect his political career," Miller added.
© Jim Kouri
October 24, 2012
On the Sunday news shows it was difficult to tell the difference between the members of the Obama White House and the members of the Obama reelection team, with all of the Democrats uttering the same talking points and blasting House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa's (R-CA) release of State Department cables on Friday, according to several intelligence and law enforcement officers.
"Apparently, the axiom 'the best defense is a good offense' was at play on the news shows that habitually cater to the whims of the Democrat Party," said former military intelligence officer and police detective Michael Snopes.
"Their latest strategy is to accuse Rep. Issa of jeopardizing the lives of those assisting the U.S. on the ground in Libya," Snopes observed. "They know they can't defend the Obama administration's handling of the Benghazi killings so they attack the motives of their opponents."
David Axelrod, senior campaign adviser to President Obama, on Meet the Press accused Chairman Issa of "recklessly putting their lives at risk," Snopes noted
"Chairman Issa in the House Republican side released a ream of documents that he asked for that included the names of people on the ground in Libya who are cooperating with us and helping us on these security issues jeopardizing their lives, carelessly, recklessly putting their lives at risk," Axelrod said on NBC's Meet The Press.
"Axelrod knew he could make that statement on Meet the Press without being challenged by the show's anchor. If the anchor was a real journalist he would have asked Axlerod about the times that Obama and his minions blabbed about covert operations involving Navy SEALs and intelligence assets who were placed in harms way just to make Obama look like a real Commander in Chief," said Joseph Hedges, a former police captain and member of an Army special forces unit. "Why didn't anyone ask Axelrod about the poor bast*rd who's serving a 33-year prison sentence in a hellhole in Pakistan thanks to the Obama White House bragging about 'getting Osama bin Laden' in detail?"
Meanwhile, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) appeared on Fox News Sunday and attacked Issa by saying, "This idea of Chairman Issa... dumping the names in public of Libyans who are risking their lives to support America and keep us safe in an effort to get a political [edge] in this election is unconscionable It is unacceptable."
"Again, the news anchor failed to challenge Durbin, who in the past called U.S. military personnel 'storm troopers' and Guantanamo Bay detention center a 'Soviet gulag,'" Hedges said.
However, according to national security correspondent Catherine Herridge of Fox News Channel, it is members of the Obama administration leaking information to help the President before his Monday night debate with Mitt Romney.
According to Rep. Issa, the Oversight Committee will expand the focus of the investigation of the attack — that left four men dead, including Amb. Chris Stevens — to include officials in the Obama White House, as well as the Hillary Clinton-led U.S. State Department.
Following the testimony of State Department staffers about the lack of diplomatic security at the Benghazi consulate last week, Issa sent President Obama an official letter on Friday demanding to know why the administration reduced U.S. security in Libya while the country was still emerging from a civil war. The State Department contracted a small security firm to provide untrained and ill-prepared guards recruited from the Libyan population.
Issa said a witness at the committee's hearing testified that the decision not to call back a 16-person security team over the embassy's objection was made as part of efforts to normalize relations with Libya, despite Democrats' denials.
"Americans ... deserve a complete explanation about your administration's decision to accelerate a normalized presence in Libya at what now appears to be at the cost of endangering lives," Issa wrote. "These critical foreign policy decisions are not made by low- or mid-level career officials — they are typically made through a structured and well-reasoned process that includes the National Security Council at the White House. The ultimate responsibility rests with you as the president of the United States."
The letter to Obama was accompanied by the release of 116 pages of documents detailing the embassy's requests for more security.
In his letter, Issa respectfully requested that President Obama provide answers to questions about the decision to remove security personnel from Libya, and how deeply the National Security Council was involved. National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon is being touted as a possible Secretary of State in a second Obama administration, but Republicans have alleged that Donilon is the official who leaked classified information regarding a cyberattack on Iran and a foiled plot by al Qaeda's wing in Yemen to blow up a U.S.-bound flight.
Issa's committee letter to Obama also stated that the White House "has not been straightforward with the American people in the aftermath of the attack. The issue of who knew what and when about the details of the attack has become a central source of partisan sparring on Libya, with the administration saying it simply made intelligence public as it became available."
What has angered many of Obama's critics was his trip campaign trip to Las Vegas in the middle of the Libyan violence against America. Obama supporters claim he was always in touch with his security team.
But former police chief Ronald Miller said, "Whether Obama thought it was a protest, a terrorist
attack or didn't know which, he should have called every intelligence and state department official involved into the oval office and stayed until he learned the facts and had taken action to protect all foreign service personnel."
"As usual, Obama's first instinct was to protect his political career," Miller added.
© Jim Kouri
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
