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| Exclusive: Secret tapes undermine Hillary Clinton on Libyan war |
| 2015-03-30 |
| [WashingtonTimes] In the recovered recordings, a U.S. intelligence liaison working for the Pentagon told a Gadhafi aide that Mr. Obama privately informed members of Congress that Libya "is all Secretary Clinton's matter" and that the nation's highest-ranking generals were concerned that the president was being misinformed. The Pentagon liaison indicated on the tapes that Army Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., a top aide to Adm. Mullen, "does not trust the reports that are coming out of the State Department and CIA, but there's nothing he can do about it." In one conversation to the Libyans, the American intelligence asset said, "I can tell you that the president is not getting accurate information, so at some point someone has to get accurate information to him. I think about a way through former Secretary Gates or maybe to Adm. Mullen to get him information" The recordings are consistent with what many high-ranking intelligence, military and academic sources told The Times: Mrs. Clinton was headstrong to enter the Libyan crisis, ignoring the Pentagon's warnings that no U.S. interests were at stake and regional stability could be threatened. Instead, she relied heavily on the assurances of the Libyan rebels and her own memory of Rwanda, where U.S. inaction may have led to the genocide of at least 500,000 people. "Neither the intervention decision nor the regime change decision was an intelligence-heavy decision," said one senior intelligence official directly involved with the administration's decision-making, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "People weren't on the edge of their seats, intelligence wasn't driving the decision one way or another." Instead of relying on the Defense Department or the intelligence community for analysis, officials told The Times, the White House trusted Mrs. Clinton's charge, which was then supported by Ambassador to the United Nations Susan E. Rice and National Security Council member Samantha Power, as reason enough for war. With trusted agents like Rice and Powers, what could possibly go wrong ? "Susan Rice was involved in the Rwanda crisis in 1994, Samantha Power wrote very moving books about what happened in Rwanda, and Hillary Clinton was also in the background of that crisis as well," said Allen Lynch, a professor of international relations at the University of Virginia. "I think they have all carried this with them as a kind of guilt complex." |
| Posted by:Hupineger Glomomp52169 |
| #8 Pffft, lest we fergit the Bammer is #1 = El Supremo on the National Command Authority list, followed by VPOTUS Grandpa Joe Biden, NOT SECSTATE HILLARY OR EVEN JAAWHN "PRESIDENTIAL" KERRY AKA "LURCH". N-O-T-H-N-G happens in the ME or GWOT, etc. widout POTUS review and ultimately his John Hancock [signature]. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2015-03-30 23:24 |
| #7 I still think that the key to the whole mess is getting a good answer to the lingering question of why Ambassador Stephens went to Benghazi in the first place? Second, if Stephens decision was a last minute decision who tipped off Ansar al Sharia et al., that he was in Benghazi and why? There are no coincidences. A well organized and well executed hit on a consulate and a CIA safe house are not thrown together at the last second. The terrorist knew for weeks that Stephens was coming. |
| Posted by: Bill Clinton 2015-03-30 21:34 |
| #6 Good catch, DepotGuy. Thanks. |
| Posted by: Hupineger Glomomp52169 2015-03-30 16:26 |
| #5 Original dateline on this is Wednesday, January 28, 2015. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2015-03-30 14:41 |
| #4 Appears a picture of Benghazi may finally be coming together. Despite Champ's and Hillary's great efforts to scrub all records. The modus operandi of another IRS, Fast and Furious, and who knows what other operations. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2015-03-30 09:04 |
| #3 I call BS -- a convenient recording that lets Chump off the hook and puts all the blame on Hillary? |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2015-03-30 08:13 |
| #2 Follows is a related and very timely artile by Doug Bandow at the Huffpoo. American People Should Hold War Lobby Accountable for Libya Debacle Excerpt: Like many presidents in other conflicts, Barack Obama lied the American people into war. The administration presented the issue as one of humanitarian intervention, to save the people of Benghazi from slaughter. Moammar Khadafy, administration officials claimed, threatened murder and mayhem if he recaptured the city. Ironically, for decades the West did not take his rants seriously -- only when they thought it to their advantage did the U.S. and Europe react. Although he was a nasty character, he had slaughtered no one when his forces reclaimed other territory. In Benghazi, he only threatened those who had taken up arms against him. In fact, the allies never believed their rhetoric. They immediately shifted their objective from civilian protection to regime change, providing just enough military support to upend the balance of forces but not enough to quickly oust him. The world's greatest alliance allowed the low-tech civil war to burn for months, killing thousands. Some humanitarian operation. Still, the chief advocates of what has come to be called Hillary's war claimed success. Anne-Marie Slaughter, formerly with the Obama State Department, authored a celebratory Financial Times article entitled "Why Libya skeptics were proved badly wrong." Even before the fighting ended she was selling the conflict: "it clearly can be in the U.S. and the West's strategic interest to help social revolutions fighting for the values we espouse and proclaim." The New York Times ran a "news analysis" entitled: "U.S. Tactics in Libya May Be a Model for Other Efforts." Power then was silent about the danger of overdrawing lessons from the Libyan war. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2015-03-30 02:20 |
| #1 Great article. Appears a picture of Benghazi may finally be coming together. Thanks Hup. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2015-03-30 02:01 |