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Our Bought Off Government–Why Did McConnell And GOP Put The Breaks On Fast And Furious Investigation: Who’s Behind GOP Anti-Clinton Machine?
NBC: ‘Obvious Political Undercurrent’ to New Benghazi Testimony, GOP Targeting ‘Most Popular Democrat’ Clinton
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By Kyle Drennen |
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Wrapping up a report on Monday’s NBC Nightly News about a fresh round of congressional hearings on the Benghazi terrorist attack, correspondent Andrea Mitchell dismissed the development as political posturing by the House GOP: “There is an obvious political undercurrent. Republicans are taking direct aim at Hillary Clinton, the country’s most popular Democrat and a possible presidential contender.” [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
Mitchell began the report by noting new testimony from Gregory Hicks, the State Department’s deputy mission chief in Tripoli, Libya at the time of the Benghazi attack, “who said he called for military help from four more special forces operatives in Tripoli, but was overruled.” Mitchell emphasized that Hicks was “a diplomat, not a military officer,” just before quoting his statement on the lack of U.S. military air support during the attack.
In part, Hicks explained: “I believe if we had been able to scramble a fighter or aircraft or two over Benghazi as quickly as possible after the attack commenced there would not have been a mortar attack on the annex in the morning because I believe the Libyans would have split.”
Mitchell promptly parroted Pentagon talking points to discredit Hicks: “But the Pentagon said today the commandos had to stay and defend the embassy in Tripoli, and were not prepared for a combat assault mission. As for buzzing the Benghazi consulate with fighter jets to scatter attackers, the closest F-16s were in Italy, or at least five hours away.”
While Mitchell was devoid of any skepticism of the Pentagon argument, two questions become immediately obvious. First, how was it that military commandos “were not prepared for a combat assault mission,” the very definition of their occupation?
Second, why would it have taken military fighter jets five hours to reach Libya from Italy? From the U.S. airbase in Aviano, Italy, it is just under 1,000 miles to Benghazi. A commercial aircraft could travel that distance in about two hours, maybe less. A supersonic military jet would take even less time. Read more:
