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What’s Left of the Benghazi Investigation

May 20, 2013
Blog

When the White House released the administration's emails on Benghazi last week, they snatched what was left of headlines for Benghazi. Republicans are still looking, though, and they have put out a call for whistleblowers. Meanwhile, Republicans are trying to tar anyone they can find. Democrats have asked that former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Thomas Pickering, who with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, appointed by President George W. Bush, led the independent Accountability Review Board investigation of Benghazi, be called to testify. Their mandate, of course, did not include the "talking points" of administration officials, which have been the only concern of House Republicans so far. Their Accountability Review Board mandate was: "whether the attacks were security related; whether security systems and procedures were adequate and implemented properly," and other security related matters. Their unsparing report found major security lapses resulting in the tragic deaths of four in Benghazi. Although then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not personally implicated, she accepted full responsibility as the agency head. The talking points revealed a lot about bureaucratic in-fighting. But the families and the State Department personnel in the field, who continue to serve in diplomatic posts similar to Benghazi, deserve a hearing on what went wrong in Benghazi and especially on how to prevent another Benghazi.

Published: May 20, 2013