Turning in his final Benghazi 800-page report, House Select Benghazi Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) showed Congress the best way to waste $7 million in taxpayers’ cash. Commissioned on May 8, 2014, Gowdy’s committee was supposed to investigate the shady circumstances of the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, killing 53-year-old Amb. Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Only a year before, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton backed the coup Aug. 24, 2011 that toppled Libya strongman Col. Muammar Gaddafi. Toppling Gaddafi added to the terrorist free-for-all, eventually leading to the Benghazi attack. Republicans recognized suspicious circumstances when U.N. Amb. Susan Rice told Sunday morning news shows Sept. 15, 2012 that “spontaneous rioting” caused the Benghazi attack.
Only two months before Presient Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection, the White House looked hell-bent on making up stories to preserve Barack’s terrorist track record. House and Senate Republicans correctly recognized that White House officials made every attempt before the 2012 election to cover-up the terrorist attack. Instead of focusing on the reasons behind the chain-of-command leading to Rice’s false statements to the media, Gowdy detoured to Hillary, blaming her for the lack of Benghazi security.. “It’s pretty clear it’s time to move on,” said Hillary, dismissing the report as partisan politics. Republicans shot themselves in the feet when House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy told Fox News Sean Hannity Sept. 30, 2015 that the Select Committee worked to damage Hillary’s 2016 chances. Judging by today, the Select Committee’s work backfired.
Independently minded voters want to learn who ordered White House staffer Ben Rhodes to write talking points for Rice attributing the attack to spontaneous rioting from an Internet video defaming Islam. Rhodes position at the time was Special White House Assistant for strategic communication. Nothing was more strategic than protecting Obama’s chances for reelection after the Sept. 11, 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack. Rhodes’s talking points were found in an email titled, “RE: PREP” for Rice making rounds on Sunday morning talk shows Sept. 15, 2012. Instead of lasering in on who ordered Rhodes to lie about the Benghazi attack, Trey detoured to blaming Hillary for dereliction-of-duty. Gowdy’s theory that Hillary bore all the blame didn’t sit well with voters. Blaming a Cabinet secretary for a terrorist attack in a remote part of lawless North Africa made no sense.
Gowdy’s committee diverted attention to Hillary, making it look like a partisan witch-hunt. When McCarthy spilled the beans on national TV, Gowdy’s Select Committee lost all credibility. Staying laser focused on who ordered Rhodes talking points would have at least implicated former White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew, currently Treasury Secretary, for crafting talking points designed to deceive the American public. Less than two months before the November 2012 general election, Obama didn’t need another terrorist incident. “That’s why I immediately put together an independent committee to go everywhere, look everywhere and come up with recommendations to help us prevent such tragedies in the future,” said Hillary, finally vindicated after years of partisan finger pointing. Gowdy let GOP operatives dictate the partisan nature to his Select Benghazi Committee.
Hillary gets off the hook and the public knows little about who ordered Rhodes to writes deceptive talking points for Amb. Rice. Rice had her eyes on Secretary of State before she took the fall to protect Obama. Gowdy’s report blames the Pentagon for its lack of response to save Amb. Stevens. “Nothing was en route to Libya at the time the last two American were killed almost eight hours after the attacks began,” admitted Gowdy, shifting blame off Hillary and onto the Pentagon. Instead of wasting taxpayer money blaming Hillary, Gowdy couldn’t have examined the White House policy that toppled Gaddafi and turned Libya into a terrorist nightmare, eventually killing Amb. Stevens and three other Americans. Democrats quickly denounced Gowdy’s report, not realizing that it essentially exonerates Hillary. Democrats don’t want to face an obvious cover-up to protect Obama before the 2012 election.
Over two years after forming the House Select Committee, Gowdy has nothing to show for it other than blaming the Pentagon. Hillary gets good talking points heading into the general election, diverting attention away from her failed Libya policy. “We cannot withdraw or retreat from the world,” said Hillary. “America needs a presence for a lot of reasons. And the best way to honor [those who died] is to redouble our efforts and provide resources and support that our diplomats and development officials [need], said Hillary, throwing her support behind more proxy wars to topple Mideast dictators. Her support to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad shows she’s learned nothing from Iraq, Egypt and Libya. Hillary’s Syria policy rubber stamps the Saudi proxy war to topple al-Assad, pits the U.S. against Russia and Iran and assures U.S. involvement in endless Mideast wars.
