Here is the lady and there is no sound on C-Span because of the mics at the desks. Okay.

Here we go.

The Ambassador Christopher Stevens  and his closest body guard U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith. died of smoke inhalation. They didn't know the after math. Goudi is dramatizing this. All the questions so far at 10:05 have been answered.

CIA contractors, Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty died in battle for the lives of all those in the compound. They are heroes. They died so others could live. That is above and beyond.

 

Secretary Clinton is not the bad guy.

Okay, Mr. Gouti we all get it. Enlighten me. 

The email arrangement was legal then and the particulars of computer savvy is most likely not her. I have a computer expert I take my machines to if there is a problem.

Democrats did not obstruct any investigation or even consider there was additional information, so Gouti can lose that arrogance. Stop pandering to the audience Gouti, let's get on with it....you forgot "...so help me, God."

Congressman Cummings. Okay, he is reclaiming Gouti's words. Well, he isn't happy to be there. 

10:17 AM

Ah, oh. He is conducting his own investigation, which is allowed, but it is about the activities of this supposedly unique committee. It is ridiculous the budget for the committee is without constraint. This is a committee has the full range of the government without hearings. It is silly to think an unlimited budget was necessary. I have to agree with him. Committees have subpoena power. That is suppose to take care of it. Unlimited power calls to mind unconstitutional activity.

The politics. I think Congressman Cummings is pointing to the fact these political statements are by Republicans against Hillary Clinton. The statements were possible because of the exploitative statements from committee members and releases. In other words, the information was available for exploitation. That means the committee has no respect for a potential presidential candidate.

Select Committee has been conducting the investigation for seventeen months and $4.7 million with information while new brings no new conclusions. It is an issue.

I am sure the families simply want to get on with their lives. The extended families do not necessary have the rights the next of kin do. It is just the way it is. As unhappy as that makes parents or grandparents at times, it is the law. 

Ambassador Stevens was exceptional. It was well known before and after Secretary Clinton took office. That is also worth noting. Ambassadors are not necessarily assigned under the existing administration. In the case of Ambassador Stevens; he was involved with the State Department since 1991. His knowledge base was extensive and irreplaceable.  

...In March 2011, American diplomat Christopher Stevens (click here) was stationed in Benghazi as the American liaison to Libya's “opposition” rebels—among whom were many al Qaeda-affiliated jihadists—who were fighting to topple the longstanding regime of President Muammar Qaddafi. Ambassador Stevens' task was to help coordinate covert U.S. assistance to these rebels....

Ambassador Stevens was aware of the issues in Benghazi long before the attacks of September 11, 2012. Why would anyone question him about his judgement unless the intelligence stated same? The intelligence wasn't there to indicate a change in a group of Libyans. There was no widespread danger that was evident.

...Following Qaddafi's fall from power in the summer of 2011, Ambassador Stevens was tasked with finding and securing the vast caches of powerful armaments which the Libyan dictator had amassed during his long reign....

She didn't lie. He was the man in charge in Libya.

10:37

The USA airstrikes had a purpose. It was to stop the slaughter of people in East Libya. Ambassador Stevens activity was an extension of that mission. 

The repeated requests by the Ambassador fell on a State Department that had no contingency operations. That is what it comes down to. Asking resulted in more body guards. The consulate and annex personnel acted to protect the Ambassador's life by stationing themselves close to his bedroom. They were all doing the jobs they were expected to do. The security worked except for the lousy smoke that occurred and was never viewed as a danger from the beginning until it was too late.

10:47 

There was decision making all along the way by the executive branch.  

NATO was covering the Mediterranean. The French were the first jets across Libya. That is a fact.

The French made their initiative long before they knew they were joined by the USA. That gets lost as well. It was not simply a USA operation.

March 19, 2011
By Ryan Lucas and Hadeel al-Shalchi 
 
...French President Nicolas Sarkozy (click here) said after an emergency summit in Paris that French jets were already targeting Gadhafi's forces. The 22 participants in Saturday's summit agreed to do everything necessary to make Gadhafi respect a U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday demanding a cease-fire, Sarkozy said.

"Our consensus was strong, and our resolve is clear. The people of Libya must be protected, and in the absence of an immediate end to the violence against civilians our coalition is prepared to act, and to act with urgency," President Barack Obama said in Brasilia, Brazil, on the first day of a three-country Latin American tour....

The security personnel referred to by the former Secretary are not at fault. They were working with what they understood about the consulate. In my opinion, the security personnel were doing what they could and excuse me the Ambassador was never killed by gun, but, of smoke no one ever viewed as a threat.

11:03 AM

Congressman Cummings continues his probe into the deceptions of the right wing media and the communications of Congressmen in revealing an email that was suppose to be a direct signature of the former Secretary.

Always the peacemaker. She states there is confusion. Right. 

11:11 AM

The evaluation of emails are not legitimate. Actually it makes there would be less emails and more secure methods of communication. Where are the wires and record of conversations with State Department, etc? As issues became more important the bulk of communications were probably more intense in other than emails. Emails are not necessarily read immediately.

Exactly, the Benghazi/Tripoli visit was short in duration. That is known. 

I mentioned in my assessment of the committees findings Ambassador Stevens was using TIME as a component of his security into Libya. The former Secretary's response falls along that understanding and it would have been derived from her conversations with the late Ambassador.

The Ambassador was his own authority. Everyone knows that. He was the knowledge base on Libya. That is not strange in the State Department.

I would not expect an email about an explosion! 

Ya know if Republicans 'don't get it' that's too bad. 

11:17 "...most of my work is not done on emails..." The Republicans are trying to CYA in citing emails. Too bad. The damage is done and the outcomes of the politics obvious. 

DOES ANYONE HAVE HER CALENDAR?  

I mean really. She wanted this and that is why she is so willing to participate, but, really now. 

All this information could have been obtained from the records. This hearing isn't necessary. 

October 22, 2015
By Michael R. Gordon

...Iraqi officials said (click here) the raid involved American helicopters, Kurdish and American Special Operations forces, and airstrikes. (Awesome) The commando who was killed was not identified pending notification of his family.

The officials said the objective had been a prison run by the militants at a village east of Hawija. According to these accounts, American helicopters flew the commandos to the site.

Kurdish special forces were said to have been in the lead, but American commandos were also on the ground. American airstrikes were also carried out to cut the roads leading to the site. Senior militants from the Islamic State were captured, and some of their prisoners were said to have been freed, the officials said.

“They cut off roads and raided the place successfully,” one of the officials who confirmed the raid, Najmaldin Karim, the governor of surrounding Kirkuk Province, said in a telephone interview. “They were able to take people with them.”

In Washington, three senior United States military officials confirmed the broad outlines of the operation but refused to provide details....

11:25 AM

"Challenging to get military assets into countries that do not want them there. The Libyans didn't want any foreign military in their country...." Was that not obvious by the rise of 'the militia' post Gaddafi? 

"...Nineteen high threat posts...and beyond the US military to respond to 270 posts....A lot of hot spots now....how could we get more quickly a fast reaction...."

The different between Russian response in Syria and The West and quite possibly The Arab Coalition.

22 October 2015

...There can be no "moderate" terrorists, (click here) President Putin said, speaking on the situation in the Middle East at the Valdai discussion forum....

11:31 AM

The former Secretary stated she conducted the first, "The (click here) Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR): provides a blueprint for advancing America’s interests..."

Clarification of "Hot Spots." 

Every Hour of the Day, (click here) in each of our embassies, consulates and American Presence Posts, Foreign Service Officers and Locally Employed Staff intently follow political, economic, military and cultural events of the country in which they work. They seek to understand how events might affect bilateral relations and American interests.... 

Yep. There was a CIA presence in Benghazi that was instrumental in securing the personnel at the consulate. The CIA agents had very difficult and timely decisions to make. At one point they had to decide to enter the gun fire to remove the personnel. At one point the BULLET PROOF vehicles took on fire and the glass nearly broke with it's repeated insult of gunfire. The consulate staff was forced to abandon the dead and save lives. That is not an easy decision.

Americans believe in viewing the death of any soldier or any person as a temporary state and seek to bring them to a place for treatment if not treated at the time. 

Alice Adalia and ...Rayas (phonetic, sorry).  She states they were not on her staff, but, she 'gets it.' The embassy was in Tripoli. The late Ambassador Stevens wanted a permanent embassy, but, the decision was not made.

Only three agents were assigned to Benghazi. THE MAJORITY of the security issues were answered by the late Ambassador. The late Ambassador was confident of his status on September 11, 2012. He was holding meetings in the consolidate. Has the late Ambassador no notes and a calendar? 

The review board came to the conclusions a contingency would have handled the security in Benghazi. That was not available to the State Department at the time. THE FAULT LIES WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, not Secretary Clinton. 

Grossly inadequate is correct, however, the ability of the State Department at the time did not have the capacity to change that outcomes. The late Ambassador called the shots and he knew the dangers.  

11:50 AM

Good point. The repeated investigations denigrate the institution. But, here we are none the less and i think that is the view of the former Secretary. 

And what say she: "The most important question...and that was part of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review. Security is the hardest part of the job...security professionals. 

Sincerely, the security professionals had their challenges before 2009 including a bombing of the UN mission in Iraq. There were a lot of lessons and I doubt if the ability to be 100 percent sure is possible. The West is different than the Middle East and Northern Africa. There are a variety of power structures in the Middle East and Northern Africa and it fluctuates all the time. The best stability since the removal of President Mubarak is only within the past six months or so.

"How do you know, how do you plan...the prioritization should not be a guess...for our budget....basically...the guess work hurts us....But, get back to regular order...." 

Congressman, "Congress needs to do it's job." 

Rep. Westmoreland. "There is a bunch more facts that have come out....It isn't a matter if you knew about them. It matters what you did about them....Did they ever mention to you...scores of intelligence pieces reported more danger in Libya...al Qaeda establishing sanctuary...."

This isn't relevant. It appears as though the Congressman is operating in a void of information himself. Al Qaeda was among the groups in East Libya and the late Ambassador knew that as did the State Department.

"I was briefed and aware of the militant upsurge in Libya." 

Congressman "What did you do...especially during the summer of 2012...worse than the revolution."

"There was never any recommendation by any...officials to leave Benghazi....So many attacks and there was no recommendation....Even on the morning of September 11th...Chris and his body guard spoke to security...threats associated with Gaddafi...made aware by Wikileaks...There were two that rose to the level of serious...I am not aware of eighteen others....the CIA stayed in Libya...the CIA stayed in Libya...had a greater presence in Libya..."

Congressman: "...CIA contractors at the annex and the diplomatic facility had a big difference to protect themselves." 

So. The CIA annex was part of the security as described by the original committee.

"...what I did not, nor any other Secretary should do is substitute my personal judgement..."

Congressman "I am not saying shut it down, but, protect it." The CIA did what it had to do. Everyone was doing their jobs in Benghazi. It is easy to state everyone was doing their jobs in excess. For god's sake, the late Ambassador's body guard, Sean Smith, was in the room where the late Ambassador slept and took him into the "Safe Room." Sean died with him of the same causes. There wasn't anything to do.


Continued in the next entry.

12:10 PM