http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ecc3a300383445d5a90dd6ca764c9e15/house-intel-panel-debunks-many-benghazi-theories
WASHINGTON (AP) — A two-year investigation by the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee has found that the CIA and the military acted properly in responding to the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, and asserted no wrongdoing by Obama administration appointees.
Debunking a series of persistent allegations hinting at dark conspiracies, the investigation of the politically charged incident determined that there was no intelligence failure, no delay in sending a CIA rescue team, no missed opportunity for a military rescue, and no evidence the CIA was covertly shipping arms from Libya to Syria.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, intelligence about who carried it out and why was contradictory, the report found. That led Susan Rice, then U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to inaccurately assert that the attack had evolved from a protest, when in fact there had been no protest. But it was intelligence analysts, not political appointees, who made the wrong call, the committee found. The report did not conclude that Rice or any other government official acted in bad faith or intentionally misled the American people.
The House Intelligence Committee report was released with little fanfare on the Friday before Thanksgiving week. Many of its findings echo those of six previous investigations by various congressional committees and a State Department panel. The eighth Benghazi investigation is being carried out by a House Select Committee appointed in May.
(emphasis my own – hank)
I guess sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and there never was a gun here, smoking or otherwise. This story marches on to oblivion, alongside all the other phony scandals that have been genned up on the Right: Birth Certificate, Symantec, Fast and Furious, Associated Press, IRS, Obamacare, and now, Immigration. And partisan Liberals continue to keep their fingers crossed that Conservatives never slow down long enough to realize that Obama is untouchable and trashing him is a waste of good vitriol. He’s a lame duck, he’s not running any more, and he has nothing to lose. Those who hate or love him already have their minds made up, and those in between will take no notice anyway.
Releasing this news on a Friday just before a big holiday is a time-honored means of burying an embarassing Washington story. You won’t be hearing Rush or Fox reporting much on this, although no doubt the magic word “Benghazi” will be invoked again and again, the target audience is conditioned to salivate copiously whenever they hear that bell. This particular all-purpose stimulus can be easily retooled to unleash against whoever the current right-wing boogieman happens to be: Rice, Obama, or Clinton.
Meanwhile, on a related story…
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/15/benghazi-attack-suspect-abu-khattala-on-fresh-list-of-charges
You’re not going to hear Fox and Rush bringing that up, either.