Okay, Reps/Cons, get ready - cause I may really show some true ignorance right now. I have been trying to understand how it is that you guys are up in outraged arms about the tragedy in Benghazi, Libya.

I TOTALLY GET IT IS A TRAGEDY. And the President must take ultimate responsibility for it. The emerging facts seem to indicate that requests were made for more security in Libya. These requests were either lost in the shuffle, ignored or due to budget cuts and other situations on the ground in different areas - they may have just been deemed impossible. The result was that four Americans lost their lives in a terrible, cowardly act of terrorism.

The President and his people are currently being held up as perpetrating some kind of coverup about this event. Now, here's where my ignorance comes in. I don't see a coverup. I see a potential screwup, but not a coverup.

As Candy Crowley confirmed, the event was quickly deemed a terrorist act by the administration - and indeed, it was. And clearly there was either a failure of communication, a failure of intelligence or a failure to act swiftly to prevent this incident and to get the facts made public quickly. But I can't find the coverup.

Whether it was, as it now seems to be, a planned military style terrorist attack or a spontaneous terrorist attack by a fanatical mob --- what difference does it make? It was a terrorist attack. Perpetrated by terrorists - either way. Going before the American people within 24 hours and saying that it was a terrorist act of some kind seems responsible to me.

There is ample evidence that the video that was thought to have inspired this act had in fact ignited huge agitation in the Muslim world with many threats and actual acts of violence and retaliation. The Administration didn't create or promote that video - it was out there, wreaking havoc with numerous reports of violence surrounding it. And on 9-11, no less.

So, if there was a failure of communication and intelligence and the President believed that this attack was inspired by that video - he addressed it as responsibly as he could to quell the violence and potentially save other American lives.

But regardless, the President went before the American people; acknowledged the tragedy; called it what it is - terrorism; condemned those that conducted it and incite such things; dedicated our country to getting to the bottom of what happened; and vowed to bring those responsible to justice. So -- what's the problem?

Was there some failures here that led to tragedy? Sure. The exact same kind of thing - a failure or blatant disregard of intelligence is what resulted in over 3000 Americans being killed on 9/11. And we did what we are doing now - we investigated it, found out what happened and tried to learn from our mistakes. It seems to me, that is exactly what is being done now. Except back then, Democrats pulled together with Republicans as Americans to work together to understand and improve. They didn't jump up Bush's ass and accuse him of his failures in an attempt to bring him down. When the investigation eventually confirmed his Administration's blunders, they were held accountable. Period.

So, while still holding the President ultimately responsible for our failures in this instance, I don't understand what the Reps/Cons are trying to accomplish with this seemingly trumped up charge that the Administration is engaged in a coverup. To me, it seems like grasping at straws for some way to condemn Obama's highly successful record on foreign affairs and to negate the dozens of thwarted attempts to attack Americans and American interests over the past 3 and a half years. It seems lame and a bit desperate.

But maybe I'm missing something. Happy to have it clarified.
JA

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