Hi there, !
Today Wed 11/21/2012 Tue 11/20/2012 Mon 11/19/2012 Sun 11/18/2012 Sat 11/17/2012 Fri 11/16/2012 Thu 11/15/2012 Archives
Rantburg
531208 articles and 1854435 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 59 articles and 136 comments as of 6:00.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion       
Israeli air strikes pound Gaza as death toll hits 38
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 6: Politix
1 19:13 Procopius2k [336068] 
6 16:54 Frozen Al [336067] 
0 [336068] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
9 22:03 Barbara [336102]
0 [336090]
7 22:55 Alaska Paul [336101]
3 12:27 Pappy [336074]
8 21:50 trailing wife [336079]
0 [336076]
3 16:41 SteveS [336067]
0 [336071]
0 [336074]
0 [336067]
0 [336074]
0 [336072]
0 [336085]
11 19:53 Frank G [336129]
0 [336070]
Page 2: WoT Background
2 05:18 Besoeker [336075]
1 09:33 Procopius2k [336091]
1 01:33 Mikey Hunt [336068]
0 [336076]
0 [336075]
0 [336073]
2 11:14 SteveS [336074]
8 23:16 SteveS [336084]
1 19:37 Pumper [336099]
2 22:30 JosephMendiola [336088]
0 [336090]
2 22:10 Redneck Jim [336099]
0 [336068]
0 [336071]
4 21:49 Pappy [336090]
1 22:22 JosephMendiola [336077]
3 22:50 JosephMendiola [336081]
10 18:59 JosephMendiola [336065]
Page 3: Non-WoT
8 22:35 Thing From Snowy Mountain [336104]
0 [336090]
0 [336078]
7 23:09 JosephMendiola [336083]
0 [336073]
0 [336068]
1 09:21 Procopius2k [336070]
5 19:33 JosephMendiola [336108]
0 [336065]
0 [336065]
2 19:34 Pumper [336082]
0 [336068]
0 [336071]
0 [336070]
0 [336066]
4 15:01 Fred [336073]
3 10:00 Raider [336078]
Page 4: Opinion
1 19:25 JosephMendiola [336089]
1 18:14 Orion [336087]
0 [336094]
17 17:46 Anguper Hupomosing9418 [336084]
2 23:02 JosephMendiola [336100]
0 [336068]
Africa North
Harry Reid says no-can-do regarding Select Committee on Libya
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/18/2012 16:40 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under:

#1  With great power comes great no responsibility.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/18/2012 19:13 Comments || Top||


White House Denies Heavy Editing of Benghazi Memo
[An Nahar] The White House denied Saturday having heavily edited talking points to UN Ambassador Susan Rice about the deadly attacks on a U.S. mission in Libya to remove references to terrorism.
"Wudn't us."
"The only edit that was made by the White House and also by the State Department
An interesting logical choice. Were any edits made by either the White House or the State Department?
was to change the word 'consulate' to the word 'diplomatic facility,' since the facility in Benghazi was not formally a consulate," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told news hounds aboard Air Force One.

"Other than that, we were guided by the points that were provided by the intelligence community. So I can't speak to any other edits that may have been made."

Republican politicians briefed by former CIA chief David Petraeus on Friday said that the original talking points about the attack had mentioned groups linked to al-Qaeda.

But Petraeus told the politicians that the reference was removed from a final version given to Rice before she discussed the attack on five Sunday television talkshows and said the assault was a response to an amateur video denigrating Islam and the Prophet Mohammed.

The initial talking points "specifically mentioned al-Qaeda, and that al-Qaeda was involved in the attack," Republican Representative Peter King
...U.S. Representative for New York's 3rd (central Long Island) congressional district, serving since 1993. He is of the Publican persuasion and is known for his active support for the IRA Irish republican movement...
, who attended the briefing, told Fox News.

"When the talking points were finalized, all the references to al-Qaeda were taken out and it was put in almost as an afterthought saying there are indications of thug involvement in the demonstration."

Critics have seized on Rice's remarks to argue that the White House misled or even lied to Americans during a heated election season.

Rice has been floated as a possible successor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as America's Blond Eminence and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Daniel Webster ...
, who is stepping down early next year, but some Republicans threaten to block her nomination.
Posted by: Fred || 11/18/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Appears General pants-down and his former Kinglon employer have once again been posted to the center of the circular firing squad.

The obvious question for Ben Rhodes is now: Ok so you saw the Kingon original product but didn't make "heavy edits"... did you and POTUS approve the final product ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/18/2012 5:28 Comments || Top||

#2  I sense the presence of the ghost RoseMary Woods.


I blame Nixon.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/18/2012 5:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Heavy and Critical are different words.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/18/2012 10:39 Comments || Top||

#4  I'm not all that keen on early analysis, but Benghazi is beginning to resemble the Pueblo and Liberty incidents. Namely, an intelligence agency asset (an AGI or a intelligence facility) is nominally placed under the auspices of another agency or department (the Navy or State), said asset gets attacked, the asset is left to fend for itself,

That's because neither the intelligence agency that owns it, and especially the agency or department (the Navy or State) that that has nominal control over the asset, wishes to involve itself with it. Part of it is a reluctance to exposing one's position (both), part of it is a turf-war between the operating agency (CIA) and the nominal owner (Navy or State) about spending funds on what is viewed as a bastard project. In the case of the nominal owner (Navy or State), there is still a severe distaste remaining from one's department getting talked into or coerced into taking nominal control.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/18/2012 13:12 Comments || Top||

#5  Excellent assessment per usual. When all else fails, follow the money... or the lack thereof. No love lost btwn these agencies is an understatement (DoD not excluded)

Cynical old bastid that I am, I'm still leaning toward some rather unseemly, weapons smuggling and/or rendition type activities. BTW, the 28th of November will mark the 20th anniversary of Iran-Contra.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/18/2012 13:37 Comments || Top||

#6  I have heard that the denial is a wonderfull parsing of words (a la Bill Clinton). The change was not made at the White House, but it WAS made by Obama's campaign staff in Chicago. They changed it for political purposes.

They should not have even seen the document (they did not have clearance), and they certainly should not have edited it. The denials and cover up are to hide the fact that Obama and his campaign broke the law by improperly handling classified documents.

The real scandals of Benghazi are:
1) We have a POTUS who hates his own country.
2) He allows his campaign staff to set national security policy.
Posted by: Frozen Al || 11/18/2012 16:54 Comments || Top||


Economy
A123 Got $1M From Gov on Same Day it Went Bankrupt
Battery-manufacturer A123 Systems Inc. received a $249 million grant under President Barack Obama's green energy initiative including nearly $1 million from the federal government the same day it declared bankruptcy, Reuters reports:

The company, which makes lithium ion batteries for electric cars, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month after a rescue deal with Chinese auto parts supplier Wanxiang Group fell apart.

That same day, Oct.16, A123 received a $946,830 payment as part of its $249 million clean energy grant from the Energy Department, the company said in a letter, obtained by Reuters, to Republican Senators John Thune and Chuck Grassley.

In the letter, dated Nov.14, A123 said the October payment was the most recent disbursement it had received from the government, with an additional $115.8 million still outstanding on the grant.
Posted by: Au Auric || 11/18/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under:



Who's in the News
38[untagged]
4Arab Spring
2Hamas
2al-Qaeda in Arabia
1Ansar Dine
1Govt of Iran
1Govt of Pakistan
1Govt of Sudan
1Hezbollah
1Jamaat-e-Islami
1Lashkar e-Taiba
1Salafists
1Thai Insurgency
1TTP
1al-Qaeda
1al-Qaeda in Iraq
1al-Qaeda in North Africa

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2012-11-18
  Israeli air strikes pound Gaza as death toll hits 38
Sat 2012-11-17
   Israel air strikes hit Hamas HQ
Fri 2012-11-16
  Israel Warns of Escalation After Tel Aviv Missile Firing
Thu 2012-11-15
  Gaza missiles fired at Tel Aviv
Wed 2012-11-14
  France recognizes rebel coalition as legitimate rulers of Syria
Tue 2012-11-13
  Jamaat, Shibir go berserk in Bangla
Mon 2012-11-12
  Govt. Soldiers shoot it out in Mogadishu
Sun 2012-11-11
  IDF Changes Rules of Engagement Along Syrian Border
Sat 2012-11-10
  Mexican police charged over US embassy staff shooting
Fri 2012-11-09
  David Petraeus resigns from CIA
Thu 2012-11-08
  Syria raids Hamas offices months after group's leaders leave
Wed 2012-11-07
  Bombings, Clashes Kill 131 in Syria as Gunmen Assassinate Parliament Speaker's Brother
Tue 2012-11-06
  Suicide bomber kills at least 27 by army base near Baghdad
Mon 2012-11-05
  Grenade attack on Kenya church kills 1, wounds 14
Sun 2012-11-04
  Two Suicide Bombers Attack Restaurant in Somali Capital

Better than the average link...



Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
54.221.159.188
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (15)    WoT Background (18)    Non-WoT (17)    Opinion (6)    (0)