After comments from President Obama were directed to him regarding Ambassador Susan Rice, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham made himself available to the media on Monday, November 19, 2012, at his office building located in downtown Greenville, so that he could respond.
“Regarding President Obama’s statement about Senator McCain and myself, I just want the President to know that I do hold him ultimately responsible for what happened in Benghazi, above all others. And I think him calling out myself and Senator McCain is a political diversion. He has an obligation to tell the American people what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did about it. He’s yet to fulfill this obligation,” said Graham.
Graham blames Obama for letting the consulate become dangerous ground without sending aid or closing down operations.
“So, Mr. President, I hold you responsible for allowing the consulate to become a death trap. I hold you responsible for not having military assets that could have been deployed within eight hours to help the people who were under attack on Sept, 11th, of all days. And I also hold you responsible for creating a false narrative about what actually happened in Benghazi,” said Graham.
Graham believes that the last thing Obama should have done was send Rice out to explain Benghazi when she didn’t have direct knowledge or responsibility of the event. Because Obama did send Rice out to explain, Graham feels that the President should answer for his action. Graham’s problems with Obama are not personal; he believes that he is doing something that every U.S. Senator should do in this situation.
Aside from how the initial attack was handled, Graham also has problems with how the investigation is being conducted. He believes that the process being used is failing and there needs to be changes. Graham fears that if resources aren’t combined then each committee will go off in a different direction and the truth will fall through the cracks.
“Instead of having four different committees interview witnesses separate and apart, I think we need a select committee to investigate Benghazi,” said Graham. “We should combine the resources of these four committees, and tell the story of Benghazi from start to finish.”
Questions that Graham wants answered include: how did the consulate remain open when everybody else closed their consulate, why did numerous requests for additional security get denied, how could the story being told for two weeks after the attack be disconnected from reality, and why did the President himself, for two weeks, claim that the attack was a result of a video.
“To President Obama, I’m not going to back down about Benghazi. I’m going to hold your administration’s feet to the fire. This is not about me, this is not about you, this is about a foreign policy failure, a system breakdown that has to be fixed, and people have to be held accountable. We’re not going to stop until we get to the truth, and we’re nowhere near the truth,” said Graham.
Graham said that the reality in the Middle East is contrary to Obama’s view that al-Qaeda has been dismantled and is on the run. Within 24 hours there were real time reports of the Benghazi attack. It was known to be a terrorist attack. The CIA station chief in Benghazi said that they were under attack and named the people involved. There was a Facebook posting by one of the al-Qaeda groups claiming credit for the attack. General Petraeus testified that the memo he sent identified that it was an al-Qaeda inspired attack.
“The fact that Susan Rice and the President himself did not tell us about al-Qaeda being involved is a political benefit to him. Not only did Susan Rice tell us that this was an attack spawned by a video and a mob that never existed, she said that there was no evidence of a coordinating terrorist attack…,” said Graham. “Whether or not she knew that was classified information, I don’t know, but surely to God the President did.”
Keeping on the topic of failed foreign policy, Graham went on to describe the dangers ahead in the Middle East.
“The Mid-East is about to blow up,” Graham said.
Graham stated that Iraq is on the verge of a civil war because the current administration pulled out troops without ensuring the area was secure. Iran is not complying with efforts to find out about their nuclear program, war lords in Afghanistan from the northern alliance are threatening to rearm their people, and Afghanistan is falling apart because of American military being pulled out.
“So, it’s just not about Benghazi. Benghazi is an example of a failed foreign policy. If President Obama doesn’t change his strategy in terms of dealing with radical Islam, there are going to be more Libya’s to come. And my big concern is not just about how the consulate was so undefended, but about the thinking that led to this,” said Graham. “We need to have an aggressive presence in the Mideast and stay ahead of conflict. This idea of leading from behind makes our friends uncertain and it emboldens our enemies and it all came to a head in Libya.”
