Libya Thread Part Deux

[carlfense]

McCain is extremely upset about the administration covering up this Benghazi fiasco . . . so upset that he skips his own classified intelligence briefings on Benghazi so that he could complain to the press . . . about not being properly briefed on Benghazi.

 

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney called the scheduling mistake that sent Sen. John McCain to a press conference on Benghazi instead of a classified briefing “extraordinary.”

“It is extraordinary that Senator McCain continues to go on television demanding answers on Benghazi, but refused to go to a classified briefing where he could get those answers,” said Carney in a statement to ABC News.

 

Senator John McCain is demanding answers on the Benghazi attack, but his office tells ABC News he missed a classified briefing on the subject because of a “scheduling error.”

 

The classified briefing was held on Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee – of which Senator McCain is a member – and lasted three hours. It featured testimony by officials from the State Department, the Pentagon, the CIA and the National Counterterrorism Center.

http://abcnews.go.co...ver-benghazi-2/

 

It's not political at all . . . McCain just wants answers!

[carlfense]

. . . and it gets even better!

 

When CNN approached McCain in a Capitol hallway Thursday morning, the senator refused to comment about why he missed the briefing, which was conducted by top diplomatic, military and counter-terrorism officials. Instead, McCain got testy when pressed to say why he wasn't there.

"I have no comment about my schedule and I'm not going to comment on how I spend my time to the media," McCain said.

Asked why he wouldn't comment, McCain grew agitated: "Because I have the right as a senator to have no comment and who the hell are you to tell me I can or not?”

 

When CNN noted that McCain had missed a key meeting on a subject the senator has been intensely upset about, McCain said, "I'm upset that you keep badgering me."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/15/mccain-skips-benghazi-briefing-gets-testy-when-questioned-by-cnn/

 

So, to recap:

1. McCain demands more information and answers to his questions.

2. McCain skips a classified briefing that would have given him information and answers to his questions.

3. McCain complains that no one will provide the information that he is seeking.

4. CNN asks McCain why he didn't attend the intelligence briefing and . . .

5. McCain is offended that anyone would question him.

 

Unbelievable. It's a little scary that this guy and Sarah Palin were nearly POTUS and VP.

[Army Husker]

So damn, if McCain would have gone to this awesome briefing, we would have gotten all of the answers we want? He's a jerk...

[lo country]

. . . and it gets even better!

 

When CNN approached McCain in a Capitol hallway Thursday morning, the senator refused to comment about why he missed the briefing, which was conducted by top diplomatic, military and counter-terrorism officials. Instead, McCain got testy when pressed to say why he wasn't there.

"I have no comment about my schedule and I'm not going to comment on how I spend my time to the media," McCain said.

 

Asked why he wouldn't comment, McCain grew agitated: "Because I have the right as a senator to have no comment and who the hell are you to tell me I can or not?”

 

When CNN noted that McCain had missed a key meeting on a subject the senator has been intensely upset about, McCain said, "I'm upset that you keep badgering me."

http://politicaltick...stioned-by-cnn/

 

So, to recap:

1. McCain demands more information and answers to his questions.

2. McCain skips a classified briefing that would have given him information and answers to his questions.

3. McCain complains that no one will provide the information that he is seeking.

4. CNN asks McCain why he didn't attend the intelligence briefing and . . .

5. McCain is offended that anyone would question him.

 

Unbelievable. It's a little scary that this guy and Sarah Palin were nearly POTUS and VP.

So Obama, Rice and Clinton briefed us for 12 days.......That went really well. 2 months later can anyone, with clarity, describe what happened. I know more about the secret raid to get Bin Laden than I do about an attack the over ran an American Consulate and killed an American Ambassador and three other Americans.

 

Will Clinton and Rice be available for the congressional inquiry? I would think that their presence would be much more important than McCain. Just saying. Let's blame McCain. Great idea. It is all his fault. He had the opportunity to "set it straight" and blew it.

[Ziggy]

. . . and it gets even better!

 

When CNN approached McCain in a Capitol hallway Thursday morning, the senator refused to comment about why he missed the briefing, which was conducted by top diplomatic, military and counter-terrorism officials. Instead, McCain got testy when pressed to say why he wasn't there.

"I have no comment about my schedule and I'm not going to comment on how I spend my time to the media," McCain said.

 

Asked why he wouldn't comment, McCain grew agitated: "Because I have the right as a senator to have no comment and who the hell are you to tell me I can or not?”

 

When CNN noted that McCain had missed a key meeting on a subject the senator has been intensely upset about, McCain said, "I'm upset that you keep badgering me."

http://politicaltick...stioned-by-cnn/

 

So, to recap:

1. McCain demands more information and answers to his questions.

2. McCain skips a classified briefing that would have given him information and answers to his questions.

3. McCain complains that no one will provide the information that he is seeking.

4. CNN asks McCain why he didn't attend the intelligence briefing and . . .

5. McCain is offended that anyone would question him.

 

Unbelievable. It's a little scary that this guy and Sarah Palin were nearly POTUS and VP.

 

Links to where anyone can say he actually"skipped" the meeting on purpose, and not as his office says was a schedule mix up. Otherwise you are calling a sitting senator a liar with no basis.

[knapplc]

You're telling me that a sitting senator has a "schedule mix-up" with something that prevents him from attending this briefing?

 

And you believe that story? A "scheduling mix-up?"

 

Sheesh.

[walksalone]

I'm sure you would, but you're not in some country on the ass end of the planet worrying about some batsh*t fundamentalist is going to pop you a new pooper in the forehead w/ his AK... Someone should totally take responsibility, and there's been a lack of that virtue for many, many years...

 

How should they take responsibility? What form would that take? Standing up in front of God and the country on national TV and saying, "I'm responsible?" Because I know a guy who recently did that. What other form of "take responsibility" should they give?

 

First by not being there. There was no need for us to be remotely involved with Libya.

 

Folks, who happened to be Americans, died someplace we had no business being in, so goddamn right somebody should man up and take responsibility.

 

Too many past administrations do not take any responsibility for American's killed abroad.

 

It's easy to sit on a messageboard, get on your high horse, and distance yourself from things that happen in the outside world.

[knapplc]

First by not being there. There was no need for us to be remotely involved with Libya.

 

Folks, who happened to be Americans, died someplace we had no business being in, so goddamn right somebody should man up and take responsibility.

 

Too many past administrations do not take any responsibility for American's killed abroad.

 

It's easy to sit on a messageboard, get on your high horse, and distance yourself from things that happen in the outside world.

 

I agree, it is really easy to sit back on your ass on a message board and Monday-Morning Quarterback the decisions made at the State level. But to claim that the best way to handle that was to not be there at all... that I can't agree with. Libya is a power vacuum right now. Having zero presence there is foolhardy. It invites unfriendlies to come in and make themselves comfortable. We saw the problem that created by having zero presence/influence in Afghanistan, much to our chagrin. Do we really want to make that mistake again?

[walksalone]

I agree, it is really easy to sit back on your ass on a message board and Monday-Morning Quarterback the decisions made at the State level. But to claim that the best way to handle that was to not be there at all... that I can't agree with. Libya is a power vacuum right now. Having zero presence there is foolhardy. It invites unfriendlies to come in and make themselves comfortable. We saw the problem that created by having zero presence/influence in Afghanistan, much to our chagrin. Do we really want to make that mistake again?

 

But if were going to be there, you can't do it halfassedly, like multiple times in the past couple decades...

 

I mean, if they want to be effective, wouldn't it behoove them to go back to the old school douchebag CIA, that everyone was afraid of?

[knapplc]

There's no plan for all ends. If someone really, really wants to hit a target, they'll hit it. All it takes is a big enough boom. Bottom line is, that guy was in harm's way. He knew it, he took the job, and it went badly for him. In a perfect world, with 20/20 hindsight, we know that the situation was untenable. But at the time, the situation seemed manageable. It wasn't, but we know that in retrospect.

 

MMQB is no way to run a country.

[walksalone]

Truer words, but that being said, there are the "untenable" situations that are pretty apparent, and to put ourselves in the middle of them, is going to end badly more often than not.

 

As I've said in the past, we've got to go back to the old school, "boots on the ground" intel. That would be a step forward, instead of wasting all this time playing the blame game.

 

An ounce of prevention, is worth a pound of cure...

[Ziggy]

First by not being there. There was no need for us to be remotely involved with Libya.

 

Folks, who happened to be Americans, died someplace we had no business being in, so goddamn right somebody should man up and take responsibility.

 

Too many past administrations do not take any responsibility for American's killed abroad.

 

It's easy to sit on a messageboard, get on your high horse, and distance yourself from things that happen in the outside world.

 

I agree, it is really easy to sit back on your ass on a message board and Monday-Morning Quarterback the decisions made at the State level. But to claim that the best way to handle that was to not be there at all... that I can't agree with. Libya is a power vacuum right now. Having zero presence there is foolhardy. It invites unfriendlies to come in and make themselves comfortable. We saw the problem that created by having zero presence/influence in Afghanistan, much to our chagrin. Do we really want to make that mistake again?

 

Libya is a power vacuum because of us. We got involved and had no real post victory plan. Much the same as we did when we help Afghanistan overcome the Russian invasion. Both were piss poor planning that eventually bit us in the ass. If we are going to get involved in a country who is trying to overturn the government, we better be prepared to get fully invested into making sure we have a go post revolution plan, other wise we have another Iraq war II.

 

As to the Senator McCain, have you ever worked for a senator, ever been a senator, or looked at a senators schedule? What would McCain gain from missing the meeting?

[carlfense]

I know more about the secret raid to get Bin Laden than I do about an attack the over ran an American Consulate and killed an American Ambassador and three other Americans.

You sound surprised that you know more about a raid carefully planned and executed by the US government than an attack perpetrated by a group of anonymous extremists. I'm not sure why that should surprise you.

 

Will Clinton and Rice be available for the congressional inquiry?

Don't know. You can probably find the answer.

 

I would think that their presence would be much more important than McCain. Just saying. Let's blame McCain. Great idea. It is all his fault. He had the opportunity to "set it straight" and blew it.

It takes a bold man to complain about not being provided information when you're not attending a committee hearing that provides that information.

 

It's quite possible that bold isn't the right choice of words.

[carlfense]

Links to where anyone can say he actually"skipped" the meeting on purpose, and not as his office says was a schedule mix up.

McCain didn't know about his own committee's hearing? Wow. If you believe that you should be calling for his immediate resignation.

 

Otherwise you are calling a sitting senator a liar with no basis.

The hypocrisy is strong in this one.

[carlfense]

So damn, if McCain would have gone to this awesome briefing, we would have gotten all of the answers we want? He's a jerk...

I'm not sure that the answers that some people want exist.

 

Is he a shameless hypocrite for not attending a classified briefing about a topic that he says he can't get information about and then demanding that he not be questioned about skipping the briefing? To paraphrase his almost VP . . . you betcha'.