Arkady
President
I'm wondering if someone can give me a short explanation of why, exactly, I should be outraged against the Obama administration for Benghazi. I get that it was a tragedy (albeit a very small one on a national scale), just like it's a tragedy whenever any of our citizens are killed. And I'm open to the idea that the administration made some decisions in allocating security resources or responding to threats in the run-up to the attack, which, with the benefit of hindsight, look like bad moves. But the tone of the Republicans suggests that they believe this is more than just a case of some run-of-the-mill mistakes leading to a few deaths. They have a tone that suggests they believe there was lawbreaking, corruption, willful misconduct, or at least the kind of gross negligence that shocks the conscience. So far I haven't seen any evidence to support that. So, can someone put the "scandal" in a nutshell for me, so I can see if there's something I'm missing?
Here's an example of what I'm looking for, based on the Iran/Contra scandal:
The Reagan Administration decided they wanted to continue supporting the insurgents in Nicaragua, even after a law was passed expressly and specifically outlawing that support. So, high-ranking members of the administration, who were secretly selling arms to our adversaries in Iran, diverted some of the proceeds of those sales to the Nicaraguan insurgents, behind the back of Congress and the American people. To keep things secret, a massive money-laundering operation was used, and arms were illegally procured from places like communist China. The administration then tried to cover up the criminal conduct, after details were leaked by the Iranians, and did so with illegal evidence-destroying operations. This resulted in a number of convictions, but George HW Bush pardoned everyone involved, thus removing any ability for prosecutors to determine how much Bush and Reagan knew and when they knew it.
That, I think, is a clear, concise explanation of why it should be seen as a genuine scandal of major proportions. It wasn't a mistake or even mere negligence. It wasn't something that merely looked like flawed judgment with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. It was a willful decision to arm our enemies and then fund terrorists, breaking a clear and specific US law. It was done behind Congress's back for years, by people who knew perfectly well they were breaking the law. It was a major criminal conspiracy and a criminal coverup, with the wrongdoing compounded by the abuse of the presidential pardon power to block further discoveries.
So, can someone come up with that kind of nutshell explanation for what it is that the administration did wrong in Benghazi, and why we should be outraged?
Here's an example of what I'm looking for, based on the Iran/Contra scandal:
The Reagan Administration decided they wanted to continue supporting the insurgents in Nicaragua, even after a law was passed expressly and specifically outlawing that support. So, high-ranking members of the administration, who were secretly selling arms to our adversaries in Iran, diverted some of the proceeds of those sales to the Nicaraguan insurgents, behind the back of Congress and the American people. To keep things secret, a massive money-laundering operation was used, and arms were illegally procured from places like communist China. The administration then tried to cover up the criminal conduct, after details were leaked by the Iranians, and did so with illegal evidence-destroying operations. This resulted in a number of convictions, but George HW Bush pardoned everyone involved, thus removing any ability for prosecutors to determine how much Bush and Reagan knew and when they knew it.
That, I think, is a clear, concise explanation of why it should be seen as a genuine scandal of major proportions. It wasn't a mistake or even mere negligence. It wasn't something that merely looked like flawed judgment with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. It was a willful decision to arm our enemies and then fund terrorists, breaking a clear and specific US law. It was done behind Congress's back for years, by people who knew perfectly well they were breaking the law. It was a major criminal conspiracy and a criminal coverup, with the wrongdoing compounded by the abuse of the presidential pardon power to block further discoveries.
So, can someone come up with that kind of nutshell explanation for what it is that the administration did wrong in Benghazi, and why we should be outraged?
