How Hillary Politicized Benghazi

The 848 emails that were released last week are a small fraction of Hillary Clinton’s emails, but they are sufficient to paint a troubling picture of what Clinton knew about Benghazi, when she knew it, and how she politicized the tragedy. The emails show that within hours after the attacks on the Special Mission Compound (SMC) and Annex in Libya that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, Clinton received information from Sidney Blumenthal, a former associate and longtime friend, that offered a very different narrative from what the White House claimed were the cause of the attacks. Specifically, the Blumenthal September 12 and 13, 2012 emails report the attacks were planned and carried out by an Islamist militia group, Ansar al-Sharia, which is in sharp contrast to early White House claims that the attacks were a spontaneous reaction by enraged Muslims to an internet video that depicted the prophet Mohammed in an offensive manner. If Clinton had publicly disclosed the Blumenthal emails immediately however, she would have contradicted the White House’s version of events and increased the risk of political damage to President Obama’s bid for re-election. Faced with the choice of disclosing the Blumenthal emails or remaining silent for political reasons, Clinton chose the latter.

The following is an account of events that led to the murder of Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi. With the exception of references to Clinton’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, all of the facts, dates and people presented below are based on information contained in the newly released emails.

Everyone knew that a U.S. presence in Libya was dangerous. In 2011, there was a continuing concern over the safety of American personnel in Libya. As early as April 2011, then-Special Envoy Christopher Stevens and his team remained in their hotel, “moving only for meetings as required.” By April 9, 2011, Clinton received an email that Stevens was doing a “phased checkout” and was considering leaving Benghazi. Clinton also received an email on April 24, 2011 that hotels were being targeted and that Stevens would be making a written request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for added security at the hotel and for better security-related coordination. 

Via: American Thinker

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