CALIFORNIA, November 4, 2012 - Needless loss of life is always tragic no matter what the circumstances. Although some official details concerning the Benghazi attack are beginning to surface, it’s not due to a desire on the part of the Obama administration to be open and transparent. Instead, it’s in response to embarrassing leaks of communiqués, reporters doing fact finding, and good old fashioned sleuthing by Fox news and other non-mainstream news outlets.
The Benghazi nightmare is a perfect showcase for how weak our national leadership has apparently become. The refusal by the Administration to provide adequate consulate security, even after numerous requests in the face of growing terrorist activity and incidents, shows a callous disregard for the lives of our countries representatives in harm’s way.
We now know the Intelligence community, State Department, and Administration knew in almost real time that terrorists were attacking the consulate. Given the obvious peril our Ambassador and others were facing, it is incredulous that for nine hours no attempt was made to provide military help even though resources were within striking distance. Without a clear and compelling justification, the only conclusion that makes sense is that our political leadership was incapable of taking decisive action when lives were at stake.
Why this inaction? Maybe exercising military power would alienate the far left political base. Maybe an immediate response would be an admission of Libya’s instability and the fact that the country was providing of safe haven for terrorists contrary to the campaign narrative prior to Benghazi. Maybe sending help would be seen as acknowledging the validity of the numerous requests for more protection in the months prior to the attack. Or maybe any rescue attempt would have required continued Presidential involvement at the expense of campaign and fund raising events the following day. If any of these factors influenced the decision to let our Ambassador and three others die, then it’s symptomatic of political expediency over common sense, courage and duty.
In the days that followed, the conflicting statements by administration officials about the reasons for the attack culminated in Obama’s speech at the United Nations claiming a crude film was at fault. This not only contradicted everything we knew about Benghazi within a few days of the attack, but raised serious credibility issues relating to truthfulness (Matthew 12:36-37).
What we may be observing is Chicago-style power politics of delay, deny, distract and deceive as long as possible, hoping truth will not come out until after the election (Proverbs 26:26). This pattern includes the FBI not securing the “crime scene” until weeks after the incident; Obama refusing to hold a press conference or answer specific questions until every detail is known (Proverbs 18:17); and by claiming all appropriate actions were taken immediately, without providing any specificity.
Benghazi wasn’t a random act of gang violence in an inner city; it was an act of war specifically targeting the United States by terrorist agents. The President said after hurricane Sandy that we leave no one behind, yet Ambassador Stevens and three others were allowed to fend for themselves until they were murdered. This does not instill confidence in the rank and file placing their lives on the line to serve and protect our nation around the world. A clear explanation of the circumstances surrounding the Benghazi fiasco is deserved by the American people and particularly those who serve us in uniform and in national security.
If Romney wins the Presidency, we deserve a full, complete, and timely investigation into this shameful episode. If political incompetence was a contributing factor, then the American people would have taken the right steps to replace an ineffective leader that may have been more interested in re-election than protecting those who serve us overseas.
If the mainstream media continues to give Obama a pass and he’s re-elected, Congress must immediately demand a full accounting of what happened and why. To do otherwise will leave how many others in the future at risk of being left behind?
Does Benghazi and how it has been handled to date create greater confidence in the worthiness of Obama as the Commander in Chief and President? If not, then he is unworthy of our confidence or our vote.
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