Hillary takes blame for Benghazi

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took responsibility for the attacks on U.S. diplomatic outposts in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday morning. She visibly choked up as she spoke of the four dead Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, who died in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack.
“For me, this is not just a matter of policy… it’s personal,” she said. “I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews. I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters.” In her opening statement, Clinton also reiterated that she took responsibility for the attack.
“As I have said many times since September 11, I take responsibility. Nobody is more committed to getting this right. I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger, and more secure,” Clinton said.
“Taking responsibility meant moving quickly in those first uncertain hours and days to respond to the immediate crisis and further protect our people and posts in high-threat areas across the region and the world. It meant launching an independent investigation to determine exactly what happened in Benghazi and to recommend steps for improvement. And it meant intensifying our efforts to combat terrorism and support emerging democracies in North Africa and beyond.”
Clinton said that immediately after the attack she “stayed in close contact” with officials both here and in Libya.
Clinton answered sometimes pointed questions from senators on the timing of the attack, new threats in Northern Africa, and funding for security in embassies around the world.
Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) questioned Clinton’s role in coming up with talking points used by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice and why administration officials initially characterized the assault as spontaneous rather than deliberate. Clinton said she was not involved in the selection of Rice to speak on the Sunday talk shows. She added that it was clear to her, as she said the day after the attacks, that “heavily armed militants assaulted our compound.” But with several simultaneous protests happening around the world, it was difficult to understand the exactly why the attack occurred. “I personally was not focused on talking points, I was focused on keeping our people safe,” she said.
But she had little patience during a combative exchange with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) who asked why evacuees from Benghazi were not immediately questioned about the cause of the attack.
“A very simple phone call to these individuals would have ascertained very quickly there was no protest,” he said, charging Americans were misled by administration talking points. “With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans,” she said with her voice rising. “Was it because of a protest or was it because a guy goes out for a walk one night and decided to go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator.”
“I saw first-hand what Ambassador Thomas Pickering and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen called ‘timely’ and ‘exceptional’ coordination. No delays in decision-making,” she said.