Today was the first public session of the House Committee Oversight and Government Reform hearings on diplomatic security in Libya. In closing today’s more than four-hour long session, chairman Darrell Issa noted that although this is an election year, his committee wants to find out what went wrong in Benghazi in order to prevent it from happening anywhere again. If you buy that, I have a bridge for sale.
His admonishing tone, suggesting members of the panel might have an election year agenda, was startlingly inappropriate. The panel consisted of Col. Andrew Wood, who had been stationed in Libya earlier this year, Eric Nordstrom, who was a regional security officer and had been in Libya earlier in 2012, Charlene Lamb, who is Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security, and Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy.
In the course of the four-hour testimony there were some obvious gaps in congressional knowledge of how embassy security operates. As Victoria Nuland pointed out on September 17, internal security (walls inward) is the task of the guest country, and external security (walls outward) is up to the host country, Marine Embassy Security Guard (MESG) is posted at embassies (not usually at consulates) primarily to secure documents not personnel. That task falls under the purview of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security headed by Eric Boswell who testified in camera along with Secretary Kennedy yesterday to the same committee.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (center) and South Sudan Foreign Minister Nhial Deng Nhial (far left) walk to a vehicle escorted by members of her Diplomatic Security protective detail (third from left in striped tie, and right in sunglasses) upon her arrival for her first visit to South Sudan August 3, 2012, at Juba International Airport in Juba. (AP/ Wide World Photos)
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) is the security and law enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of State. DS is a world leader in international investigations, threat analysis, cyber security, counterterrorism, security technology, and protection of people, property, and information.
There were moments of contention, as could have been expected, and too much showcasing by some. Of course, as Issa pointed out at the end, it is a general election year. Directing that remark to the panel, however, appeared ignorant and was certainly arrogant. Three of the four, career Foreign Service officers, are, as the Department of State is, apolitical. They serve, and have served through multiple administrations of both parties and were not there to promote anybody’s candidacy. Perhaps the most bizarre moment came when Trey Gowdy (R – SC) appeared to accuse Kennedy of sending White House Press Secretary Jay Carney and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice forth with erroneous information. (For the record, the under secretary cannot do that.)
So what was all this showmanship during a congressional recess weeks before a general election really all about given that both the FBI and a separate State Department Accountability Review Board (ARB) have investigations ongoing? Perhaps Brent Budowsky at The Hill got it right.
Issa targets Hillary: Big mistake
By Brent Budowsky – 2012-10-10 04:03:00 PM ETDon’t miss the story in The Hill “Issa closes in on Clinton” about Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) aiming at his biggest target yet, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The story is correct. The Issa strategy will backfire. It will prove to be a disaster. House Republicans, whose brand is not exactly soaring with voters, are making a huge mistake using congressional hearings as a partisan weapon to exploit a national tragedy to attack one of the most admired and respected public servants in the nation.
There is now an independent and nonpartisan investigation of exactly what happened in Libya. A partisan witch-hunt by Republicans using taxpayer money against Secretary Clinton, as a partisan weapon in the closing days of an election, to exploit a tragedy to score political points is exactly what the American people believe has gone wrong with Washington, and is exactly why the Republican brand is in such disrepute with many voters.
One thing is for certain. A national tragedy has now officially been turned into a political football by the party in power in the House of Representatives, the same body that cut the State Department’s security budget for two years in a row – coincidentally the two years following a Tea Party coup in the House.
Saying this will undoubtedly tee some people off. Let me remind one and all, this blog has been equally critical of Obama and received angry comments on that account as well. We call them as we see them.
(If you have a burning desire to see your government waste your money at work, C-SPAN 1 will repeat the entire proceedings starting at nine tonight EDT.)
did anybody watch the hearing? how did the panelists do? i saw beforehand that nordstrom was going to say he requested more security but was turned down. was his testimony different from that?
LikeLike
I did. How did you think I knew about the Republican weirdness? Yes he did say that and Charlene Lamb said that she was the one who said no, but she also said she kicked it upstairs to Boswell (who testified yesterday).
LikeLike
what did boswell say?
LikeLike
We don’t know. Since the detail was removed it does not appear that he disagreed with her. As she was trying to explain, this was a routine procedure in places that went through a revolution. That eventually DOD details are replaced by DOS security details.
LikeLike
thanks for the explanation!
LikeLike
It is a Republican circus. Sorry display.
LikeLike
Unfortunately, it keeps getting uglier.
LikeLike
This election – odd as this seems – is really all about downticket candidates. These guys know it.
LikeLike
I am not worried about Hillary! It is fairly clear she is not going to “take one for the team”. As a strong supporter of Hillary in 2008 and a life-long, activist dem until the tragic dem primary of 2008, we must know what happened in Benghazi. Otherwise, instead of protecting Hillary from what you feel is a republican circus, it will protect Barack 0bama in this election from what appears to be a way to hide the fact that Al Qaeda is alive and well despite the POTUS’s efforts to look like he not only *took* Binladden out but he wants to claim credit for taking out Al Qaeda when the evidence is contrary to that. We need to get to the bottom of how the lie about a stupid ‘movie’ caused the MiddleEast uprising. No one, including Hillary, should escape questioning on this. I can’t imagine she would go along with a lie regardless of the reasons. I’m disappointed that you are not more interested in getting the air cleared on this. I realize you have been very protective of “good” Muslims. We cannot let the “bad” Muslims or whoever these terrorists are get away with such violence so that we don’t hurt the feelings of ‘our’ Muslim friends. I think it is very unfair to demonize the republican committee for undertaking this hearing. Four people are dead including an Ambassador who reported directly to Hillary. How in heaven’s name can this just be dismissed in the name of partisan politics?
LikeLike
If it wasn’t politics republicans would have coughed up the moneh needed for security intead of cutting it twice.
LikeLike
i don’t have a problem with getting to the bottom of this. after all, hillary is coopoerating with the committee, as she should. however, issa hasn’t even let the dems on the committee have access to documents or certain witnesses. so there clearly is a partisan agenda on his part.
LikeLike
There are investigations going on by the FBI and by the State Department Accountability Review Board. Secretary Clinton has said that she would cooperate with this committee and any other legislators who request information. When did I ever say I disagreed with legitimate investigation?
I wrote this having witnessed yesterday what decidedly was not an investigation but rather an opportunity for grandstanding by Republican members of the House who, rather than seeking the truth (and waiting for the State Dept. to complete its investigation so as to be better able to respond), used (wasted) four hours. This was not about Benghazi. It was about the election. The Republican side excluded the Democrats from a junket to Libya and did not share information with them. It was not an investigation in my opinion. It was a circus. I stand by my opinion having watched this travesty for four hours. (I did add a disclaimer at the end that this would tee some people off.)
LikeLike
PS these congressional fools just blew the CIA’s cover.
LikeLike
Really! After Chaffetz threw that tantrum and was more Catholic than the Pope about the declassified materials that he decided should be classified! Here these people come prepared to cooperate with documents cleared by the FBI, and he petulantly decides they’re too sensitive. Shameful!
LikeLike
Here is the story. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-letting-us-in-on-a-secret/2012/10/10/ba3136ca-132b-11e2-ba83-a7a396e6b2a7_story.html
LikeLike
They are just down right ridiculous. Think they will question the CIA in public forum?
LikeLike
I hope Hillary does not “take one for the team”, as franforhillary siad. I’m sure she is being pressured by the party and the administration to do so. I do believe this has been politicized, making the tragedy even worse, and adding to the grief of the families of those who were killed.
When we can’t get the facts of a situation, we must look at the reputations and past behavior of those involved. Hillary is the one with a record of working hard, shooting straight, and protecting her people. Obama has no such record. Nor do many of the Republicans involved. My money is on Hillary, and she will always have my support.
LikeLike
BTW, today is the clintons’ 37th wedding anniversary. 🙂
LikeLike
Awwwwww….. I’ve been offline all day. So cute!
LikeLike
It is surely a relief that you want an investigation(s). I didn’t pick that up. This tragedy has been politicized from the minute it happened beginning with frantic press releases from the White House! Why should it only be investigated within this administration? You can be sure they won’t find themselves guilty of anything. Clapper has already come out and appeared to be stonewalling for the administration. I don’t trust 0bama’s FBI, his CIA, and am very worried about his State Dept even though I trust Hillary. However, Hillary is prone to jumping to the defense of “good” Muslims, first, before acknowledging terrorism which is concerning. Those of us who keep up with what’s going on KNOW there are good Muslims everywhere and know they are never responsible for these atrocities. It is insulting to have these reminders every time a terrorist from that side of the world or here kills innocent people. Yes, there may be people that don’t understand this, but they aren’t usually reading and commenting on this site. So, please give that a rest.
This tragedy smells to high heaven of being twisted every direction to aid and abet 0bama’s re-election. As I said before, he and his combative campaign don’t want the American people to think Al Qaeda had anything to do with the killing of our Ambassador and the other three because they will realize the killing of Bin Laden did not end Al Qaeda. He is campaigning everyday that it DID end Al Qaeda for the most part.
‘rachel’, are you saying republicans specifically cut security funding for Ambassador Stevens?? I guarantee you that is false. If not, I want to know where it is that *security* for our ambassadors and people who work for the State Dept around the world, particularly in these war-riden, middle eastern countries. There are a million things that could be cut before that, beginning with PBS which can easily survive with it’s lucrative private funding when our country is broke.
BTW, many of the republicans on the committee and otherwise have said “Secretary Clinton has always been straight forward and could be counted on to tell us the truth.” That’s why they were so concerned about Hillary being unavailable since this all happened. I just want her to continue being the reliable source she has always been and not worry that she could be blamed for Barack 0bama losing his re-election if she says something different from him. He is currently losing the election on his own.
LikeLike
If one arguably good thing came out of that spectacle yesterday it was never before seen daylight between the White House and the State Department. Victoria Nuland mentioned somewhere along the line that a State Dept, official briefed members of Congress on Sept. 12 and called the incident a terrorist attack. Anything the White House said after that was in conflict with that report.
LikeLike
From today’s press briefing I gather that the official that briefed Congress on Sept, 12 was Pat Kennedy whom Trey Gowdy treated very badly yesterday saying he “sent Jay Carney and Susan Rice out there” with a lie.
1- Only Barack Obama “sends” them. They both work for him, not for Pat Kennedy nor for Hillary since Obama elevated UN Ambassador to cabinet level.
2-Kennedy has worked at DOS since the Nixon administration, does not have a political dog in any fight, and never said the video was the cause of the attack.
That hearing had one purpose: grandstanding. That woman from FL treated Charlene Lamb very badly – like it was a criminal interrogation. This is how they treat people who are cooperating with them
LikeLike
i remember seeing a tweet about that – i think slate.com noticed this daylight, too.
LikeLike
It was stunning since it has never happened in this administration.
LikeLike
hillary has been cooperating with issa’s committee. she’s been unavailable to the press, not to them.
LikeLike
No doubt Hillary is cooperating with Issa’s committee as she has carved out effective working relationships with republicans that truly like, admire and respect her. They tried to shut down the information that some of you are calling “blowing the cover of the CIA” – damned if they did and damned if they didn’t. That was not the purpose of the quickly arranged hearing. The purpose was the fact the American people are very upset about these murders and all they have heard is how horrible it is that the video was made in this country and how ashamed we should all be. I am sick of hearing apologies from our leaders and taking the focus off of what really happened. Talk about ridiculous! And BTW, I am not moved by anything Dana Milbanks thinks or writes. I remember him all too well from 2008 – he was never a friend to Hillary! He is still an MSNBC0bama contributor. I feel the same way about Slate although I am pleased it was noted by them that there is ‘daylight’ between State and the WH. I want to hear more about that daylight and less about that blamed video.
LikeLike
Hi all. I thought I would add here, for those who are interested, Secretary Kennedy’s press briefing at State after the testimony. There is a video as well.
http://www.state.gov/m/rls/remarks/2012/188016.htm
LikeLike
[…] the House Committee Oversight and Government Reform hearing (there is a link to the C-SPAN video of the proceeding at that post) was getting underway on […]
LikeLike
[…] send State Department personnel to testify as requested and well as provide documents as requested, which she did. In the course of the live telecast of the testimony, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, ever petulant and […]
LikeLike
[…] Issa Flips The Coin And The Game Is On […]
LikeLike
[…] Issa Flips The Coin And The Game Is On […]
LikeLike
[…] Issa Flips The Coin And The Game Is On […]
LikeLike
[…] remember that October 10, 2012 session so well. Chaffetz and the Republicans were lording it over the Dems on the committee because they […]
LikeLike