Today's LA Times on the Republicans and Benghazi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

The deaths of four Americans — including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens — in Benghazi, Libya, in September 2012 was a tragic (though sadly not unprecedented) loss of life as well as an indictment of security measures at the U.S. mission there. But Benghazi isn't a mystery that needs to be plumbed by yet another congressional investigation.
The select committee offers Republicans another opportunity to bloody Clinton. -

Benghazi has already been investigated by the independent Accountability Review Board and several congressional committees, including four House panels and the Senate Intelligence Committee. Reams of documents have been produced. The evolution of the "talking points" used by then-Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice in television appearances a few days after the attacks has been meticulously documented and deconstructed.


Yet many Republicans can't let go of conspiracy theories about Benghazi, and on Friday the House authorized the creation of a select committee to investigate the issue yet again. House Republicans are especially transfixed by the idea that President Obama and his political aides, knowing that the attack was an Al Qaeda operation, nevertheless concocted a story that the siege was inspired by outrage over an anti-Islamic video that had sparked violent protests in Egypt. In this GOP theory, the Obama administration blamed the video to divert criticism that the president's foreign policy generally, and his war on Al Qaeda specifically, were failing.

In fact, the idea that the Benghazi attack was inspired by the protest in Egypt over the video was mentioned in the earliest version of the talking points, which were prepared by the CIA, not by Obama's political advisors.


All of it at the link:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-benghazi-20140512-story.html

[leftyohiolib]

1. YOU KNOW why theyre doing this and it has nothing to do with benghazi it's because

49% of america are empty-headed lemmings unable unable to think with any part of their brain other than the stem

[riqster]

3. It's to raise money.

[Fred Sanders]

6. Even lemmings only jump off the cliff once in a lifetime, not every day. They have a brain stem, it

has been cut off from the rest of the brain by a combination of laziness, Fox News and the deflecting all sides are equal media.

[The Magistrate]

2. The Republican House, Ma'am, Is A Disgrace

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Indeed it is, Sir.

[Rstrstx]

5. I say let 'em

Two months ago I thought the Dems were well on their way to losses, perhaps big losses, in 2014. But Republicans have had this special way of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory lately excepting 2010, and this looks like their way to blow 2014. Dems can have a field day with continuously repeating about what a waste of time and money these investigations are, that the Bush admin had 60 similar deaths on their watch, etc etc. I think voters will be as amused with their kangaroo court as they were with the government shutdown.

If it's Hillary they're really going for let them knock themselves out; Bubba is good at undermining anyone who might get in his (or Hillary's) way. He'll get on more talk shows than the law allows.

[Fred Sanders]

7. Can not wait until Bill weighs in on the witch hunt for his wife, that will be a shellacking.

[okaawhatever]

8. K & R nt

[kairos12]

9. Benghazi is the modern day rethug equivalent to the old snake oil

remedies sold by carnival barker. Got an ache-use our snake oil.

Climate change-benghazi

Income equality=benghazi

No health care-benghazi

School shootings-benghazi

I just stated the entire Rethug platform for the foreseeable future.

[underpants]

10. +

Good read

[Fred Gilmore]

11. The Pukes & Baggerz

Have never gotten past Watergate and the whole Nixon fiasco. Every single Democratic President since then has been subjected to this same type of ignorance and wishful thinking.

Carter was bagged for the Iranian hostage situation, a situation enabled by the Pukes and Ronnie Ray Gunn.

Clinton was impeached over a blowjob. How petty and ignorant. A bunch of haters wishing that they could get one but didn't know how.

Now Obama faces this most ignorant of ignorant non issues. The Pukes & Baggerz have been throwing pooh against the wall from day one trying to figure out how to make something stick. Even when it sticks, it doesn't stink, so they just have to eat it........(see IRS faux scandal, and Obamacare fears)

[Zipgun]

12. The fact that they can still do this only shows how badly the MSM does its job.

If the MSM did its job, they would be been called out and grilled on this several months ago.

[Cracklin Charlie]

13. I just can't shake the feeling...

That there is more to the Republican dog-on-a-bone Benghazi strategy. Why would they spend so much time and effort on an issue that they are not, and have never been, winning politically? They don't seem to be damaging the President, or Hillary Clinton, or Democrats, with any of this. And to use an event that resulted in the tragic deaths of American citizens comes off as desperate on their part, as well as despicable.

I have this feeling that these "hearings", etc, are a Republican attempt to frame the narrative of this story to make the administration's early statements about outrage over the attack being a response to an anti-Muslim video, seem as though the administration was chasing some conspiracy theory. They don't seem to be asking ANY questions about that video.

By spending so much time on an issue that should be a sure loser as a political football, it seems to me, that this is all about trying to frame this issue to hide something about this alleged video. The only participant in the whole tragic incident that has gotten discredited is the anti-Muslim video, just sayin'.

Was there an anti-Muslim video that someone used to spark a protest that resulted in the deaths of American personnel in Benghazi? Where did that video come from?