Memorial Day Thoughts on Benghazi

           On the Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor those who died in military service for the United States of America, it is fitting to comment on the latest revelations earlier this month about the terrorist attack on September 11, 2012 on the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in which two U.S. servicemen made the ultimate sacrifice, among the four Americans murdered by al-Qaeda terrorists.

            The first revelation was in regard to the extent the Obama Administration misled the American people about the nature of the Benghazi attack.  Previous revelations had demonstrated that the Administration knew at the time that the attack on the consulate and intelligence annex with heavy weapons was sophisticated and unrelated to the protests in other Arab states about an anti-Islamic video, which it continued to attempt to blame for the attack.  The newest revelation shows the degree to which the Obama Administration willfully, deceptively conflated the protests about the video.  The Benghazi attack, which took place less than two months before the presidential elections, was timed on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks.  The Obama-Biden campaign, which preferred to focus on domestic matters, had boasted that al-Qaeda was “on the run,” a story line an admission of a deadly al-Qaeda attack on Americans would have undermined. 

           The second revelation is that the U.S. military could have organized an effort to try to save the American personnel under attack in Benghazi, but the Administration opted not to do anything.  The Administration’s excuse that the attack was over before additional forces could have arrived is based upon the assumption that the length of the attack was known ahead of time, which, naturally, it was not.  There were American forces within striking distance of Benghazi.  The two Americans who did try to save the U.S. diplomats under attack died in military service to their country without military support.  We honor them for their bravery and selflessness, as well as the diplomats who also died in service to the U.S.  May God bless America.