McCain Beats the Benghazi Dead Horse

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright May 12, 2013
All Rights Reserved.                                         

               Continuing his relentless sour grapes campaign since losing to President Barack Obama in 2008, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called for a Select Committee to investigate a White House cover-up on the Benghazi Affair.  When the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya was hit by rocket-propelled grenades Sept. 11, 2012 killing Amb. Chris Stevens and three other Americans, McCain blamed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for not beefing up security.  Recovering from a concussion, Hillary was grilled by the GOP on the Senate Armed Services Committee for security lapses in Benghazi resulting in the terrorist attack.  Because the attack occurred lest than two months before the Nov. 6, 2012 presidential election, McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are convinced of a White House cover-up sparing Obama embarrassment before voters cast their ballots on Election Day.

             Hillary was questioned by the GOP Jan. 23 regarding why Amb. Susan Rice appeared as a White House spokeswoman Sept. 16, 2012 on five Sunday morning talk shows blaming the attack on “spontaneous rioting,” not a well-planned al-Qaeda attack in response to Bin Laden’s May 1, 2011 death at the hands of U.S. Navy Seals.  Hillary insisted that Rice reported on the best, most prudent CIA intel, avoiding any references to “al-Qaeda” or “terrorist attacks,” despite the fact the CIA knew immediately that Benghazi was an al-Qaeda attack.  When former President George W. Bush finally fingered Osama bin Laden for Sept. 11, it took over two weeks, despite the CIA knowing that only Bin Laden could have pulled off the attacks.  What irks McCain was that the entire White House team, from the President on down, refusing to make references to “al-Qaeda” or “terrorists” until forced to do so.

             Given that Benghazi happened less than two months before the election, McCain believes that the White House deliberately doctored the CIA’s reports to spare Obama embarrassment before the election.  “We are in the midst of a presidential campaign.  The narrative by the Obama campaign is that Bin Laden is dead, that al-Qaeda is on the run, not to worry about anything, and here comes this attack on Benghazi.  And there are so many questions that are unanswered.  We need a Select Committee,” McCain told ABC’s “This Week” Martha Radditz.  When McCain talks of being in a “presidential campaign,” he’s referring to the fact that he and his GOP colleagues did everything possible to use Benghazi against the president.  State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland admitted that she had the CIA Benghazi memos edited.

        Nuland admitted to having references to “al-Qaeda, Ansar al-Sharia or any CIA warnings about terrorist threats in Benghazi in the months preceding the attack” deleted from Rice’s talking points.  Rice was clearly set up by the White House but has no one to blame but herself.  Allowing her to carry the White House message when it went against all common sense and known facts on Benghazi showed poor judgment, warranting her removing her name from consideration to replace Clinton as secretary of state.  If McCain gets his way for a Senate Select Committee or, somewhere down the road, appointing a special prosecutor, it may show that Nuland got her orders from Clinton.  Whether that damages Clinton’s future plans for 2016 is anyone’s guess but highly doubtful.  Most voters, other than political junkies, aren’t interested in replaying the Benghazi tragedy.

              Even if McCain and the GOP get their way, the White House can always insist that the response was based on accuracy, not speculating about al-Qaeda’s involvement in the Benghazi attack.  “The president didn’t call it an act of terror,” said McCain, insisting that Obama and his White House team did everything possible to avoid political fallout before the election.  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), hinting at a 2016 presidential, fired the first salvo saying Benghazi should prevent Hillary from seeking higher office.  Paul’s remarks, only a year-and-half before the 2014 Midterm election, proves the GOP hopes to milk Benghazi for every possible political gain.  It’s one thing to accuse Obama of a “cover-up,” it’s still another to deny that it’s a cheap GOP shot.  “I’d call it a cover-up,” said McCain.  “I would call it a cover-up to the extent that there was willful removal of information.”

             McCain and the GOP are beating a dead horse hoping to score political points before the 2014 elections.  Paul can point fingers at Clinton all he wants.  Preaching to the conservative wing of the GOP doesn’t help the Party’s fortunes now or in the future.  Paul’s extremist views mirror those of former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s VP pick, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).  It doesn’t take a space scientist to figure out that Ryan sank Romney’s campaign.  Whatever Hillary does in 2016, it doesn’t change Paul’s extremist views, or, for that matter, excuse McCain’s attempt to damage Obama and Democrats politically heading into the Midterm elections.   “With all due respect, I think this is a serious issue,” said McCain.  “:I will even give the president the benefit of the doubt on some of those things. [But] we need a Select Committee, promising to beat  Benghazi to death.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.