15 Nov 2012 8:53 pm
What Susan Rice Actually Said On Face The NationSo we'll want to see the results of that investigation to draw any definitive conclusions. But based on the best information we have to date, what our assessment is as of the present is in fact what it began spontaneously in Benghazi as a reaction to what had transpired some hours earlier in Cairo, where, of course, as you know, there was a violent protest outside of our embassy sparked by this hateful video. But soon after that spontaneous protest began outside of our consulate in Benghazi, we believe that it looks like extremist elements, individuals, joined in that effort with heavy weapons of the sort that are, unfortunately, readily now available in Libya post-revolution. And that it spun from there into something much, much more violent.Susan Rice had no involvement in what happened in Benghazi, and was merely presenting the intelligence that she had been briefed on that morning.What John McCain is saying now:Susan Rice should have known better and if she didnt know better, she is not qualified. She should have known better. I will do everything in my power to block her from being the United States secretary of state. She has proven that she either doesnt understand or she is not willing to accept evidence on its face. There is no doubt five days later what this attack was and for look, I was on "Face the Nation" that Sunday. Right after her came the president of the Libyan National Assembly who said this was al-Qaeda. Everybody knew that. So she went out and told the American people something that was patently false and defied common sense.Here's what Condi Rice said in 2002:We know that he [Saddam Hussein] has the infrastructure, nuclear scientists to make a nuclear weapon. The problem here is that there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly he can acquire nuclear weapons. But we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.But in 2005, (when Condi Rice was nominated for Secretary of State) John McCain and Lindsey Graham fiercely defended Condi Rice from Democratic attacks of lying, arguing she had been misled by intelligence. I can only conclude we're doing this for no other reason than because of lingering bitterness at the outcome of the elections, McCain complained when Condi Rices nomination came to a vote. Lets not forget that Condi Rice was also central to the Bush administrations policy on Iraq, whereas Susan Rice, as U.N. ambassador, appears to be on the periphery on Libya.John McCain has become a bitter old man with a severe case of sour grapes.And Lindsey Graham is his Sancho Panza.