Hillary Clinton Testifying About Benghazi; But Don't Expect Much

January 22, 2013 02:10 PM EST (Updated: January 22, 2013 03:55 PM EST)

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Hillary Clinton will be testifying on 23-Jan-2013 about her knowledge of the horrific Benghazi terror attack on September 11th, which claimed the lives of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, computer expert Sean Smith, and Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

There are still many unanswered questions, despite President Obama's vow to "put forward every bit of information that we have," as reported by Sharyl Attkisson of CBS.
Tennessee Senator Bob Corker spoke on Fox's "America's Newsroom," where he told Bill Hemmer the questions that he would like to ask the soon-to-be former Secretary of State. Sen. Corker described the situation in Libya after the attack, as he visited the site personally. He said that he was able to see the "shock" on the Americans faces that were still in Libya at that time, and went on to describe how the people there did not feel "supported" by the federal government. The Senator indicated that the "focus" will be on "internal accountabilities".
It is not enough.
If this author was on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the focus would be not only on the sickening bungling of the security situation in Benghazi prior to the attack, it would also focus on why the consulate was not secured after the attack (destroying valuable evidence), questions regarding the "stand down" order that the murdered Navy Seals disobeyed, who specifically said that the terrorist attack was a "spontaneous protest" resulting from an anti-Muslim YouTube video (a lie that persisted for weeks), who, specifically, changed UN Ambassador Susan Rice's talking points to deliberately remove references to al Qaeda and terrorism, and importantly, what happened to the survivors of the Benghazi attack? It was reported that there were 20-30 people flown out of Benghazi. Where are they? What happened to them?
While Corker's appearance is helpful, his statement was not nearly specific enough. After some vague generalities, Hemmer asked pointedly whether there will be a focus on what Clinton knew about the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi before the attack and was she "in on the decision-making". Corker confirmed that this will indeed be a pivotal part of the testimony. The Senator also went on to say that "we had people there from the Defense Department that had been assigned...at no charge to the State Department, and they were sent away in mid-August." Corker, a true politician, is clearly more interested in his own career than finding out what happened on September 11th.
Corker noted that the administration was "spiking the ball" on al-Qaeda and clearly the terrorist organization is still very prevalent, as can be attested to in Mali and Algeria, where three American hostages, Victor Lynn Lovelady, Gordon Lee Rowan and Frederick Buttaccio, were just killed. In Algeria, seven Americans survived, but they will not be named by the State Department due to so-called "privacy considerations."
Senator Corker's interview, overall, was extremely disappointing. His focus is clearly on fixing the State Department. While a noble goal, Hillary Clinton's testimony should bring to light questions about specifics of the Benghazi attack. Changes to policy can be discussed later. The Senator, who has just been confirmed as a "ranking member" of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the 113th Congress, said that so far, he believes Clinton has been "forthcoming" and that he expected no "bombshells". Perhaps, given Corker's new prominent role on the committee, he is hesitant to make waves. Based on his interview, he will not be pressing Ms. Clinton for anything other than a lunch date.
Kerry Picker from Breitbart.com reported that Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R- UT) is perplexed by the lack of information about the survivors of the attack. He said:
"My understanding is that we still have some people in the hospital. I'd like to visit with them and wish them nothing but the best but the State Department has seen it unfit for me to know who those people are—or even how many there are."
If all of the members are as bland as Corker, one can anticipate that no tough questions will be asked.
Photo Source: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite via BigStory
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