Jake Tapper Grills Carney On Benghazi Disinformation: Hey, Didn't The Administration Sort of Shoot First And Aim Later?

Some text, for now.

I almost do not want to even bother quoting Carney's responses, because they're non-responsive. Ask him if security was adequate, and he starts talking about consultations and investigations. Like Obama, his answers are kneeldowns-- running out the clock.

TAPPER: Lieutenant Colonel Wood and Eric Nordstrom, the former regional security officer, have both suggested that there were efforts from the U.S. embassy in Libya to have more security, and the State Department — State Department officials wouldn’t let it happen. Why? Why didn’t the State Department listen to these men on the ground in Libya who wanted there to be more security?

CARNEY: Jake, as I said, there is no question that the result of what happened in Benghazi is not acceptable. Four Americans killed is not an acceptable situation, and that is why the president moved so quickly to ensure that an investigation was launched to bring the perpetrators to justice, the killers to justice, and a review was launched at the State Department to look at our security posture at the Bengali — I mean, not Bengali — at the Benghazi facility and elsewhere.

You know, those matters are under investigation.

I have a question for Jake Tapper. I'm not asking this as a bitch, because he seems to remember the job of the reporter is not to report the stories and narratives the Administration wants to report -- after all, the Most Powerful Man on Earth can get his narrative out without the press' help -- but rather to report the stories and narratives the Administration (any Administration) doesn't want reported.

But I think he's getting snowed here, and I would like try to unsnow him.

Carney is conflating two investigations -- one which can be accomplished quickly, and one which will take time and money and FBI agents and foreign contacts to ferret out.

One investigation -- the harder one -- is to determine who carried out these attacks, and how.

The other investigation -- the easy one -- is to find out who in the Administration denied these requests, and why, and if they consulted with higher-ups in so denying the requests for improved security. And to find out who decided to direct a disinformation campaign at the citizens of the United States -- "spontaneous attack," "despicable YouTube video."

Note this investigation solely involves US personnel and US memos. The physical "search" for this investigation consists of walking down the halls of the State Department, knocking on a door of a co-worker, and asking a question.

The Administration is trying to claim that the easy investigation is all wrapped up with and inextricably linked to the more difficult one, so they are claiming they can't answer the easy questions (easily answered in a day or two) until they answer the hard ones (which will take, fortuitously enough, until after the election to resolve).

Now actually I don't know if Tapper is being snowed by this or understands it perfectly. He seems like a savvy enough guy.

So I guess what I'm asking for is for Tapper to call Carney out on this deliberate conflation, and ever-so-gently remind him that the FBI is not required to find the memos in which US State Department personnel rejected requests for very necessary security.

State could release these at any time. The search, on their computers, would take no more than 1-2 days.

They are pretending mystifaction about something they already know the answers to.

Sure, they don't know yet who the terrorists were. But they damn well already know who nixed all the security requests. And they damn well know which higher-ups told the underlings to nix the requests.

We don't need to find out Which unknown twenty foreign terrorists carried out the attack? to answer the much-easier question Which US personnel denied the requests for security? or Who decided to trot out the "spontaneous protest"/"YouTube video" lie when all intelligence indicated this was a planned terrorist attack having nothing to do with a video or protest?

These are separate questions and separate investigations. The fact that one may take weeks doesn't change the fact that the other takes hours -- hours, plus a willingness of State to tell the truth.

"Normalization:" Apparently the theory State was employing was "Normalization." Which I take to mean: Let's treat Benghazi (and Libya) as if it is a normal country, with normal, low threat of violence against our embassies, and it will thus become so.

Naive? I think so. I bet Romney thinks so too. Especially given that his main critique of Obama's foreign policy is naivete.

Annnnddd... Videos are now coming out. Great timing, Me.

And here's Jake Tapper and Ed Henry grilling the Hapless Hack Jay Carney. Tapper asks him specifically if the administration "shot first and aimed later." Carney babbles again about investigations.

Here's Shoot First, Aim Later, plus a lot of insensate babbling by Carney:

posted by Ace at 04:47 PM

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