Playing Politics With Benghazi

Pretend, for a minute, that your spouse, son, daughter, or friend was
killed or injured at Benghazi...or maybe your loved one is stationed
at some other dangerous outpost for the State Department or for
the Armed Forces.

Now, you find out that...

Benghazi had been attacked at least twice in recent months, once
even blowing a hole in the wall of the compound...and Washington
knew that.

And, the British Ambassador had been attacked, and the British
had closed down for security reasons...and Washington knew
that.

And, the Libyan compounds were far below the standards for
safety set by the Accountability Review Board (ARB), convened
after the Nairobi bombing in 1998...and, Washington knew that.

And,  embassy officials had been asking for additional security...and,
Washington knew that, yet they CUT security, not increased it.

Further, on such an obviously dangerous date as 9/11, there was no
emergency backup security plan that could offer assistance for hours
and hours.

And THAT is the time you choose to send your Ambassador to a
sorely under-defended outpost to prepare for Secretary Clinton's
upcoming visit?

OK, to this point, the situation is that really bad decisions were
being made, and some really good people lost their lives, or had
their lives changed forever, because of those bad decisions.

But those bad decisions don't detract from the heroism of those
who fought for their lives in the heat of Benghazi.  In fact, those
bad decisions ACCENTUATED  how brave the ones who chose
to accept such conditions were.

Even in the midst of an obvious SNAFU, they chose to stand in,
face the danger of the situation, and do the jobs they were sent to
do. 

What does detract from their heroism is that when the situation
in Benghazi went bad, Department of State and Administration
officials doctored all of the above information so that it did not
come out, and instead blamed the attack on a reaction to a
video.

It was as if, suddenly, miraculously, no one could be blamed for
failing to anticipate a spontaneous demonstration by those peace
loving (if a little overly sensitive) Libyans.  It wasn't a terrorist
attack at all.  It was an over-reaction to an insensitive video made
in America.  What a gift from Allah!

Then they fought and fought again to keep the truth from coming out.

 In effect, they were deciding that their political ambitions and egos
were more important than revealing the truth about the causes of
Benghazi, the true danger our people were in, and the clueless
decisions that left those people unprotected.

To them, Benghazi was nothing more than a case of "bad things
happening to good people"...so sad that people were killed or injured,
but don't look too closely at how and why it happened...because the
facts make Washington look bad.

Eureka, ladies and gentlemen, we've arrived at THE classic textbook
example of playing politics and "politicizing" an issue!  We've reached
the mother lode of political obfuscation.

When Secretary Clinton asks "what difference does it make?", she
is in effect saying "They did their job, they fought and died, and it
really doesn't make any difference WHY they died".

We don't owe them the truth behind the sacrifices they made, if
the truth makes us look bad.  In effect, they are our expendable pawns.

And when President Obama calls the controversy a "sideshow"
and accuses those who are searching for the truth as merely
"politicizing the issue" (and some of them are playing politics),
he is ignoring the issue of who STARTED playing politics with
this issue.

More importantly, he is placing a dagger in the hearts of
the loved ones of those who died or were injured in Benghazi,
by refusing to acknowledge the true extent of how much their
loved ones willingly gave for the country.

As the head of an administration that happily took responsibility
for, and basked in the success of, the Bin Ladin operation,
President Obama should not appear to be hiding the administration's
failures in Benghazi.

One does not honor the sacrifice of warriors by hiding from the
consequences of the truth.

One does not console the bereaved, or honor a hero, if one does
not acknowledge the true extent of the danger they faced.

If you don't agree with me, ask yourself if you would feel
the same if we were talking about President Bush and Secretary
Powell, instead of President Obama and Secretary Clinton.

I would.  Would you?       

Hawaiian Sky

On a recent trip to Kauai, I spent some time staring up at the
nighttime sky...peaceful, beautiful, vast, humbling.

Can anyone have the arrogance to "know!", "for sure!" there is
a God (or not)?  Can anyone presume to "know!", "for sure!" the
answers to eternal and unknowable questions?

And, if a person is not free to answer, for themselves, basic
questions regarding God, the purpose of life, the nature of
morality, etc., is there, truly, any freedom for individuals?

Isn't the current world conflict a titanic clash over the
perception of this basic human freedom of choice, values, and
rights?  A conflict between Theocracy and individual freedom?

I am neither Mormon nor Muslim, and I am certainly not an
expert on either religion, but it seems to me that their different
approaches to proselytizing are striking.



Mormons ask young believers to travel the world attempting to
persuade others to become believers.  They do not attempt to
gain political power to force their beliefs on others.  They
attempt to convert by demonstrating their personal commitment
and character.

Maybe I'm a Pollyanna, but I believe that most Muslims could
co-exist with, and have no problem with, the way that Mormons
attempt to recruit new members.

But within the Muslim faith, a significant number of militant
Islamists go much, much, further in recruitment.

They rightly criticize the sins of the Christian Crusaders of the
past, but the militant's goals and tactics mirror those of the
Crusaders they say they hate.

If your goal is to create a government Theocracy, or a
Caliphate, and your tactics are to kill or intimidate any and all
opposition, then you are not religious, you are dangerous...at
least to anyone who believes in human freedom.

You are using religion as a cover to attain political power and
crush all opposition, just like all other tyrants of the past.

A charismatic speaker can be very spellbinding, but if you are
a young person in Saudi Arabia, America, Yemen, or anywhere
else, think hard before you buy into such a program.


You are turning your life, your dreams, and your future over to
hateful people who will manipulate and sacrifice you to their
own political goals.

Religion can give purpose and meaning to your life, if you choose
to believe...and you are willing to allow others that same freedom
to choose.  It can destroy your life, if you are forced to believe,
or try to force others to believe.

Funny where the mind wanders when you're looking at peaceful,
beautiful, star-filled Hawaiian skies.