Obama State Department Promotes Muslim Cleric Who Backed Fatwa On ‘Killing Of U.S. Soldiers’

Obama State Department Promotes Muslim Cleric Who Backed Fatwa On ‘Killing Of U.S. Soldiers’

Home  »  Military  »  Obama State Department Promotes Muslim Cleric Who Backed Fatwa On ‘Killing Of U.S. Soldiers’

May 23, 2014 No Comments ›› Infidel Alie
Excerpted from FREE BEACON: The State Department’s Counter Terrorism (CT) Bureau promoted on Friday a controversial Muslim scholar whose organization has reportedly backed Hamas and endorsed a fatwa authorizing the murder of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
The CT bureau on Friday tweeted out a link to the official website of Sheikh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, the vice president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), a controversial organization founded by a Muslim Brotherhood leader “who has called for the death of Jews and Americans and himself is banned from visiting the U.S.,” according to Fox News.
Bin Bayyah is reported to have been one of several clerics who endorsed a 2004 fatwa that endorsed resistance against Americans fighting in Iraq, PJ Media reported in 2013, when Bin Bayyah met with Obama’s National Security Council staff at the White House.
The CT Bureau tweet linked to a press release on Bin Bayyah’s site condemning the kidnapping of hundreds of Nigerian girls by the Boko Haram group.
However, Bin Bayyah himself has been known to back controversial causes.
Bin Bayyah has “urged the U.N. to criminalize blasphemy,” according to reports, and spoke “out in favor of Hamas,” the terror group that rules over the West Bank.
The cleric also issued a fatwa in 2009 “barring ‘all forms of normalization’ with Israel,” according to Fox.
The 2004 fatwa on Iraq stated that “resisting occupation troops” is a “duty” for all Muslims, according to reports.
Terrorism analyst Patrick Poole said that the State Department must more carefully choose the Muslim leaders it promotes. Keep Reading

The Federal Government Is The Problem! MVI 2337

Obama To Remove “In God We Trust” From All Currency Beginning July 1st

Posted about 21 hours ago | 36 comments

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The words ‘In God We Trust’, seen here on the one-dollar bill, has been on American currency since 1956. President Obama plans to remove those iconic words beginning July 1st of this year. (AP Photo/Ben Dover, File) / AP

Washington, DC — Beginning July 1st the Federal Reserve along with the United States Department of the Treasury will begin printing all currency, which includes all notes and coins, without the words ‘In God We Trust‘. This modification comes under strict orders from President Barack Obama and his administration.
Obama held a press conference this morning to explain the impending change and to answer questions.
“As our country grows and changes, so must our money,” Obama said. “There is now too many individuals living in this great nation of ours that do not worship the same God as most of us. In fact some folks don’t believe in a God at all. This currency adjustment is truly change we can believe in.”
“America is a God-fearing Christian nation; it is now and always has been,” said 31-year-old Michael Anthony Claypool, a journalist with Al Jazeera. “Obama is the antichrist and this is just more proof to support that claim.”

Muhammad El-Sayed who is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood‘s Freedom and Justice Party told CNN he is pleased with Obama and his actions.”I spoke with President Obama by telephone yesterday before his announcement and personally thanked him for what he is doing not just for the Muslim community but for all non-Christians living in this country,” El-Sayed said. “This is definitely a step in the right direction I explained to him. Praise Allah.”
Political activist, 35-year-old Paul Horner told reporters the fight to remove the iconic words from American currency is far from over.
“I have started a petition at WhiteHouse.gov to protect these words from being destroyed by our president,” Horner said. “I encourage all God-fearing Christians to sign it. These kind of changes must be stopped before Obama does even more damage. This is a stepping stone in the wrong direction and will only lead to much worse things. We have already lost Christmas in this country, soon we could lose our churches and Bibles too.” Horner continued, “It is a slippery slope my friends. This administration must be stopped at all costs.”
Since 1956, “In God We Trust” has been the national motto of the United States and is inscribed on the front of all our coins and the back of all paper currency. The Federal Reserve has setup a 24-hour hotline to answer any questions individuals may have about the upcoming currency changes at (785) 273-0325.
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Obama Announces Plans For A Third Term Presidential Run

Posted about 1 week ago | 400 comments

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Obama held a press conference to announce his plans for a third presidential run.

Washington, DC — President Barack Obama shocked the country this morning with news that he is running for a third term.
“I can’t abandon the American people now when they need me more than ever,” Obama told reporters at a press conference this morning. “We’ve come this far as a nation, now is not the time to do something different. This is the change you wanted and this is the change you’re getting.”
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky told CNN he does not agree with Obama and his announcement. “This defies everything the Constitution stands for,” Paul said. “We can not let this man have a third term.”

In the history of this country only two presidents have served more than two terms, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D, Roosevelt. The major problem for Obama when he runs in 2016, is the 22nd Amendment. In short, the 22nd Amendment states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice…”
The U.S. Constitution does make an exception in the 22nd Amendment though: “This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states by the Congress.” This means Obama’s third term presidential run is only valid if he receives 75% approval from the Congress.
A bill to abolish the 22nd Amendment was recently introduced into Congress by New York Democratic Rep. Jose Serrano and is gaining popularity. This is exactly the kind of news that makes an Obama 2016 Presidential run possible.
Paul Horner who is a spokesman for the Obama Administration told reporters how amazing this news is for the country. “Obama is guaranteed to win in 2016 and then we’ll all be able to enjoy this great man for another four years. Things could not get any better for the American people. I’m so stoked!”

BREAKING NEWS 5/23/2014:
Obama To Remove “In God We Trust” From All Currency July 1s

Sanders to introduce VA accountability bill obama should be held accountable

Sanders to introduce VA accountability bill

Lauren Schneiderman

By Keith Laing - 05/24/14 10:24 AM EDT

The chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee is planning to introduce a bill to ensure military veterans receive better medical treatment amid allegations of treatment delays at VA hospitals.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said his proposal would increase accountability and improve veterans’ health care benefits, education and job-training programs. He plans to introduce the legislation after Congress returns from its Memorial Day recess on June 2.

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“In recent years, as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 1.5 million more veterans have entered the VA health care system,” Sanders said in a statement Friday. “Congress must do everything possible to make certain that the VA has the financial resources and administrative accountability to provide the high-quality health care and timely access to care that our veterans earned and deserve.” The Vermont senator said his legislation would also restore a one-percent cut in annual cost-of-living payments for military pensions.
Republicans have accused the Obama administration of attempting to cover up issues at the VA that have resulted in some veterans being delayed treatment.
Sanders has introduced the VA improvement bill before, but said Senate Republicans complained about the cost. Sanders’ office said the measure would cost $21 billion over the next 10 years.
Sanders said the importance of providing proper care to veterans should outweigh concerns about the costs of the legislation.
“If you think it’s too expensive to take care of our veterans then don’t send them to war,” he said this week in an exchange with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
Rubio said Saturday in an op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times that the VA’s problems could not be solved with just more money.
Rubio touted his own bill to address the VA controversy that he said would make it easier for officials at the agencies to be fired for mistakes involving veterans' care.
“Over this Memorial Day holiday, I encourage people to let their senators know why action must be taken to hold people accountable for the mistreatment of our veterans,” Rubio wrote. “Current law obstructs this accountability by forbidding the firing of negligent and incompetent VA officials, which is why my legislation is so important.” 

Tags: Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, United States Department of Veterans Aff

the pope is the anti christ

Holy Father

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Holy Father may refer to:

• God the Father, the title given to the god of many monotheistic religions
• An honorific often used instead of, or prefixed to, the name of the Catholic Pope

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Pope From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the leader of the Catholic Church. For the popes of other churches, and other uses, see Pope (disambiguation). "The Pope" redirects here. For the current pope, see Pope Francis. For prior popes, see List of popes. Bishop of Rome Bishopric Catholic Incumbent: Francis Since 13 March 2013 Province: Ecclesiastical Province of Rome Diocese: Rome Cathedral: Archbasilica of St. John Lateran First Bishop: According to traditional Christianity, Saint Peter Formation: According to traditional Christianity, the 1st century Website: The Holy Father The Pope (Latin: papa; from Greek: πάππας pappas,[1] a child's word for father)[2] is the Bishop of Rome and the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church.[3] The importance of the Roman bishop is largely derived from his role as the traditional successor to Saint Peter, to whom Jesus gave the keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing," naming him as the "rock" upon which the church would be built. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI.[4] The office of the Pope is the papacy. His ecclesiastical jurisdiction is often called the "Holy See" (Sancta Sedes in Latin), or the "Apostolic See" based upon the Church tradition that the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul were martyred in Rome. The pope is also head of state of Vatican City,[5] a sovereign city-state entirely enclaved within the Italian capital city of Rome. The papacy is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in world history.[6] The popes in ancient times helped in the spread of Christianity and the resolution of various doctrinal disputes.[7] In the Middle Ages they played a role of secular importance in Western Europe, often acting as arbitrators between Christian monarchs.[8][9][10] Currently, in addition to the expansion of the Christian faith and doctrine, the popes are involved in ecumenism and interfaith dialog, charitable work, and the defense of human rights.[11][12] Popes, who originally had no temporal powers, in some periods of history accrued wide powers similar to those of temporal rulers. In recent centuries, popes were gradually forced to give up temporal power, and papal authority is now once again almost exclusively restricted to matters of religion.[7] Over the centuries, papal claims of spiritual authority have been ever more firmly expressed, culminating in 1870 with the proclamation of the dogma of papal infallibility for rare occasions when the pope speaks ex cathedra—literally "from the chair (of Saint Peter)"—to issue a formal definition of faith or morals

Exclusive: Confidential source reveals to me what really happened in Benghazi

Written by Allen West on May 23, 2014

Share!

Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods

Today as I returned from Detroit, I had a moment that I truly felt was God sent, as I don’t believe in coincidences. It happened on one of my flights, and it was two hours I will never forget.
I was seated beside someone who personally knew one of the men who was there on the roof in Benghazi. This person was excited to share with me the “ground truth” of what happened September 11, 2012.
My seat mate drew schematics to orient me to the “time and spacing” and the direction of the attack. I learned about the repeated orders to the men at the CIA annex to stand down and do nothing — thank God two of them, Glenn Doherty and Ty Woods, lived up to their code of honor and ran to the sound of the guns, resulting in their loss of life — but the preservation of life for others, their fellow Americans.
I learned about the proximity of the staging area of the attack to the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, and the attackers were indeed Ansar al-Sharia, a group affiliated with al-Qaida. I came to understand why Ambassador Chris Stevens was there in the first place and that he had in fact requested better security but was denied – the question is, by whom? And I learned that the Martyrs of 17 February Brigade were in charge of security and were the ones who opened the gates, then fled.
I learned there are those who are being threatened with their pensions being cut off if they come forth to speak.
And I learned, as I presumed, that there was a covert weapons scheme going on in Libya, Benghazi. We had been supplying radical Islamists with weapons against Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi, effectively supplying the enemy and destabilizing that country. And it seems that there was a CIA weapons buy-back program, the aim of which was to ship the retrieved weapons out of Libya through Turkey, and to the Islamist forces in Syria.
Benghazi and the operations in Libya are shrouded in a fog of lies, deceit, manipulation, threats, intimidation, coercion, abandonment, and worst of all, potentially treason.
No, it was not about a kidnapping scheme, it was about something, as I’ve stated, that will make Iran-Contra look like Romper Room. The web of lies spun is coming apart, and all other committee hearings on this matter should be shut down.
The House has established a Select Committee — quite telling that the same has not been done in the Senate — and those involved, to include the President, MUST appear before Rep. Trey Gowdy.
And to those Democrats appointed to the committee: if you seek to obstruct the revelation of the truth, you are complicit and guilty as well.
Am I afraid because of what I now know? Heck no. I’m honored to have been entrusted, so I for one can be on the right side of history.

Tags: Benghazi, Libya, Syria, Trey Gowdy

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Does it bother anyone that this person is the Deputy National Security Adviser?

Ed Lasky

Another empty suit in a key Obama Administration policy position was in the news today, as another Obama policy fails. In reading an article today on Russia saying "nyet" to  refined petroleum sanctions on Iran,  I was reminded of Ben Rhodes, about whom I have written before as part of the coterie of Lee Hamilton acolytes that serve in key positions in the Obama foreign policy and national security apparatus.  Rhodes serves as the Deputy National Security Adviser (another Hamiltonian is Denis McDonough, the National Security Council Chief of Staff).

Hamilton's role in this administration has received very little attention, as befits an eminence grise. Recall, that James Baker and Lee Hamilton were chosen to head the Iraq Study Group. They produced a report that advocated outreach towards Iran and Syrian, pressure on Israel, and appeasement of terrorists. Later, Lee Hamilton wrote a very positive blurb for a book that was a paean to Hezbollah.

But back to Rhodes-who was one of the key drafters of the Iraq Study Group final report.

Here is Rhodes agreeing with Russian President Medvedev:

But Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes agreed with Mr. Medvedev that sanctions should not "bring widespread suffering" to the Iranian people or be designed to bring down the Tehran regime.

No...would not want to produce regime change or anything like that; better to keep in place a regime that is the number one terror sponsor in the world, tortures its own people, and is building the Bomb.

Who is Ben Rhodes and what qualifies him to be the Deputy National Security Adviser?

He was Barack Obama's speechwriter (albeit, on foreign policy topics) during the campaign. He also played a role in the Cairo speech that presented a highly fictionalized history of both Islam (praised it for accomplishments that were not Islam's) and Israel (a legacy of the Holocaust guilt).

Maybe he has a certain talent for fiction. After all, it was only  a few years ago that "he was an aspiring fiction writer working on a novel called "The Oasis of Love" about a megachurch in Houston, a dog track and a failed romance.

Rhodes has enjoyed a rapid rise -- because why?

Granted he is quite the wordsmith. That must qualify him for one of the top jobs involving our national security. It must have been a symbiotic relationship -- a talented speechwriter with a talented speech reader.

Does Rhodes have any educational experience or military experience or, for that matter, international experience? No... on all three counts.

His bio, such as it is:

Rhodes had just earned a master's degree in fiction writing from New York University when he was offered a job as a writer for Hamilton in 2002. A Manhattan native, Rhodes went on to write the Iraq Study Group Report and help draft policy recommendations for the 9/11 Commission, which Hamilton co-chaired.

Rhodes keeps in regular contact with Hamilton, who said Obama has thanked him "for making Ben available."

Rhodes said Hamilton still reviews Obama's major foreign policy addresses.

"We run most of the big foreign policy speeches by him," he said. "Just kind of like, ‘What do you think of this?'"

So far Obama's Iraq speech has been the most meaningful for Rhodes. Aides credit him with the part where Obama spoke directly to the Iraqi people. Rhodes is also behind Obama's telling the story of two Marines who died trying to stop a suicide bomber from entering an American military compound in Iraq.

During "the download" Obama had told Rhodes he wanted to end on the troops.

"I literally just spent a lot of time Googling," Rhodes said.

From fiction writing (displayed so well in the Cairo speech and the Iraq Study Group) to Deputy National Security Adviser-and he is all of 32 years old. And he is the Deputy national Security Adviser with grave responsibilities for our security.

But  rest assured, it is not like experience or accomplishments matter these days.

Ben Rhodes at center of plan to whitewash White House on Benghazi

Ed Lasky

We finally know who orchestrated the phony story that an internet video was behind the Benghazi attack.  From Judicial Watch:

Judicial Watch announced today that on April 18, 2014, it obtained 41 new Benghazi-related State Department documents. They include a newly declassified email showing then-White House Deputy Strategic Communications Adviser Ben Rhodes and other Obama administration public relations officials attempting to orchestrate a campaign to “reinforce” President Obama and to portray the Benghazi consulate terrorist attack as being “rooted in an Internet video, and not a failure of policy.”  Other documents show that State Department officials initially described the incident as an “attack” a possible kidnap attempt.

Of course, the White House has stonewalled investigators for many months who thought there was a coordinated White House plan to lie to the American people regarding the Benghazi attack to reinforce the campaign narrative that Al Qaeda had been decimated. Instead of honestly depicting the attack on Benghazi as a terror attack, the White House came up with a story that it was an unplanned attack prompted by a video that barely anyone had ever seen.
When the video story was shown to be false, I speculated that Ben Rhodes, Obama’s speechwriter turned into Deputy National Security Adviser, likely played a key role in trying to convey a lie. He had a history of creating false narratives, as covered in “Ben Rhodes: Obama’s Fixer Behind the Benghazi Cover-up”.
The Judicial Watch report confirms that well-founded suspicion:

The Rhodes email was sent on sent on Friday, September 14, 2012, at 8:09 p.m. with the subject line:  “RE: PREP CALL with Susan, Saturday at 4:00 pm ET.”  The documents show that the “prep” was for Amb. Rice’s Sunday news show appearances to discuss the Benghazi attack.
The document lists as a “Goal”: “To underscore that these protests are rooted in and Internet video, and not a broader failure or policy.”
Rhodes returns to the “Internet video” scenario later in the email, the first point in a section labeled “Top-lines”:
[W]e’ve made our views on this video crystal clear. The United States government had nothing to do with it. We reject its message and its contents. We find it disgusting and reprehensible. But there is absolutely no justification at all for responding to this movie with violence. And we are working to make sure that people around the globe hear that message.
Among the top administration PR personnel who received the Rhodes memo were White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, Deputy Press Secretary Joshua Earnest, then-White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, then-White House Deputy Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri, then-National Security Council Director of Communications Erin Pelton, Special Assistant to the Press Secretary Howli Ledbetter, and then-White House Senior Advisor and political strategist Davie Plouffe.
The Rhodes communications strategy email also instructs recipients to portray Obama as “steady and statesmanlike” throughout the crisis. Another of the “Goals” of the PR offensive, Rhodes says, is “[T]o reinforce the President and Administration’s strength and steadiness in dealing with difficult challenges.” He later includes as a PR “Top-line” talking point:
I think that people have come to trust that President Obama provides leadership that is steady and statesmanlike. There are always going to be challenges that emerge around the world, and time and again, he has shown that we can meet them.

For years I have wondered why Rhodes had achieved such influence with Obama-given a clear lack of qualification to serve any role in the upper reaches of government. Now we know it is not sycophancy alone that worked for him. Nor is it just the fact that his brother heads CBS News (which recently par ted company with Sharyl Attkisson following her persistent investigative reporting on Benghazi).  It goes beyond those factors: he will do his boss’s bidding, hiding information, manipulating the facts, distract people: the truth and the American people be damned.
Undoubtedly he shared Hillary Clinton’s view: what difference, at this point, does it make?

Obama's foreign policy voice, speechwriter Ben Rhodes

Obama's foreign policy voice, speechwriter Ben Rhodes By: Carol E. Lee May 18, 2009 04:30 AM EDT

For Ben Rhodes, the road to Cairo begins in the Oval Office, with a legal pad on his lap, watching the president’s mind work and trying to capture his ideas and his voice. If past speeches are any guide, Rhodes’ journey could end in a speeding van, crouched over a laptop as he puts the final touches on the most anticipated foreign policy speech of Barack Obama’s presidency. The three weeks in between will involve trips to a secret office behind a door with four locks and at least three rounds of edits by Obama that typically start with, “This is well-written but ...” Rhodes, 31, is Obama’s only foreign policy speechwriter and the one charged with writing his long-promised address to the Muslim world, scheduled to be delivered in Egypt on June 4. He also was the sole White House speechwriter who traveled with the president on his first foreign trip to Europe. It turned out to be a nerve-racking jaunt full of twists that Rhodes would have welcomed a few years back, when he was an aspiring fiction writer working on a novel called “The Oasis of Love.” North Korea fired a missile hours before Obama was set to deliver a nuclear nonproliferation speech that Rhodes had been working on for a month. There was Obama, on Air Force One, tweaking his address to the Turkish Parliament while en route to Ankara. And on the flight to Strasbourg, France, the president was still tinkering with the speech he would give at a town hall as soon as he landed. See Also Republicans fear Latino flight Obama makes quiet play for GOP aid GOP keeps the heat on Pelosi over CIA “He was making changes up to the last minute, which is not unusual, and so I literally had to do those in the back of the motorcade to this site and then find a zip drive that could plug into the teleprompter,” Rhodes recalled in an interview. “He likes to work on things until the end because he likes to get them just the way he wants them. So sometimes that’s easy, sometimes it’s you in the back of a van with a laptop on your knee hoping your battery doesn’t die.” Said senior adviser David Axelrod: “Everybody here sort of lives with the reality that the president is the best speechwriter in the group.” Not long ago, Rhodes was one of the obscure guys who wrote Obama’s campaign speeches in Starbucks and played video games into the early morning hours. Now he attends national security meetings and takes writer’s refuge in a secret office on the third floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Rhodes is still largely unknown compared to Jon Favreau, Obama’s 27-year-old chief speechwriter and one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. But he has come a long way in a few years — from mulling over that novel, about a megachurch in Houston, a dog track and a failed romance, to writing a closely watched president’s most significant speeches. Consider the addresses he has had a hand in since Obama took office: the unveiling of the United States’ new strategy in Afghanistan, the outline of a plan for troop withdrawal from Iraq, a Nowruz message to Iran, just about every prepared word Obama said in Europe and Latin America and now a major speech to the Muslim world. “That’ll be the biggest speech yet from the foreign policy side,” said Rhodes, whose official title is deputy director of speechwriting at the White House. The process for the Cairo address will begin this week in the same way it has for other foreign policy speeches Rhodes has written since the Inauguration: Obama will summon Axelrod; Rhodes; Denis McDonough, a deputy national security adviser; and chief of staff Rahm Emanuel to the Oval Office. The president will talk off the cuff for a half-hour or so about what he wants to say in the speech. Rhodes calls it the “download.” Obama will go back to the speech, almost always by hand, three or four times before he’s satisfied. “His criticism is more, ‘No, what I really wanted to say is this, and you didn’t quite capture that here,’” Rhodes said. “Generally, if he’s not happy with it, he knows why he’s not, so he gives you a pretty clear sense the first time he talks to you.” The one thing that gets Obama annoyed, Rhodes said, is “wishy-washy language.” After nearly two years that involved uploading the audio of Obama’s every campaign event onto his computer, listening to recordings and poring over transcripts of interviews to get a sense of how he speaks offhand, Rhodes knows the president’s voice. He continues to study him, weaving ad lib answers Obama gives in news conferences into his later remarks. But better than that, Rhodes knows Obama’s foreign policy positions as well as any of his top advisers do. He is the only member of Obama’s six-person speechwriting team who has doubled as policy adviser, a role he dabbled in during the campaign. He has an open invitation to attend national security meetings, where he often pipes up as a voice for the president to say, “Hey, I know he’s going to want to talk about this.” “A lot of times, Ben will just run up to the Oval for meetings about foreign policy stuff,” said Favreau, who hired Rhodes in July 2007. “And the president will go around and ask his advice.” Part of his job, Rhodes said, is “making sure that we’re just running that Obama thread through everything that he says on foreign policy.” That thread is usually some version of the themes Obama has touched on since the campaign: listening to other countries, renewing American leadership abroad, talking to adversaries. “Watching him and the president work,” McDonough said of Rhodes, “it’s obvious that there’s a lot of shared world view.” In that sense, Rhodes has produced the chief sources of fodder for Obama’s critics. Some Republicans said the president’s Europe speeches showed he was there on an “apology tour.” And the GOP has made Obama’s foreign policy its top target, pointing to lines in his addresses as anti-American. Parsing those more delicate turns of phrases, such as saying the United States “has shown arrogance,” is something the president handles, Rhodes said. Rhodes fits in well with the Obama team. On the flight home from Europe, Obama led his staff in giving him a round of applause. And when The Economist published the speech Obama delivered in Prague, the president told his personal assistant to make sure Rhodes got an autographed copy of the magazine. “He really understands the president’s voice,” said Axelrod. “They’ve got a great mind-meld on these issues.” Part of the reason for that is in a framed photograph Rhodes keeps in his office: There’s Rhodes, McDonough, Obama and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, one of the Democratic Party’s top foreign policy figures, in August 2007. Rhodes had just earned a master’s degree in fiction writing from New York University when he was offered a job as a writer for Hamilton in 2002. A Manhattan native, Rhodes went on to write the Iraq Study Group Report and help draft policy recommendations for the 9/11 Commission, which Hamilton co-chaired. Rhodes keeps in regular contact with Hamilton, who said Obama has thanked him “for making Ben available.” Rhodes said Hamilton still reviews Obama’s major foreign policy addresses. “We run most of the big foreign policy speeches by him,” he said. “Just kind of like, ‘What do you think of this?’” So far Obama’s Iraq speech has been the most meaningful for Rhodes. Aides credit him with the part where Obama spoke directly to the Iraqi people. Rhodes is also behind Obama’s telling the story of two Marines who died trying to stop a suicide bomber from entering an American military compound in Iraq. During “the download” Obama had told Rhodes he wanted to end on the troops. “I literally just spent a lot of time Googling,” Rhodes said. Despite his new stature, Rhodes still enjoys glimmers of the days of working on an upstart campaign in Chicago. The West Wing office suite he shares with Favreau has the feel of a finished basement, with its dropped ceilings and dim lighting. “We’re like an old couple or something down here,” Rhodes explained after Favreau had walked into his office unannounced. As Rhodes prepares to write his most significant speech perhaps of his whole career, his early ties to Obama give him a head start. The address will advance overtures Obama has made to the Muslim world since he first promised he would give the speech in 2007. “That speech will be important in moving to the next phase of this engagement,” Rhodes said, “defining in somewhat concrete terms what a more positive relationship and dialogue will look like in practice over time.” He’s got just three weeks to pull it off.

© 2014 POLITICO LLC

Former Obama Speechwriter Behind Benghazi Cover-Up?

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by AWR Hawkins 9 May 2013 post a comment

Writing at American Thinker, Ed Lasky points to Obama National Security Team member Ben Rhodes as the man possibly behind the Benghazi cover-up.

Lasky notes that when the Benghazi attacks took place, "CIA career officials clearly and repeatedly identified Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda-linked Islamic terrorists as the culprits behind the murder of four Americans." But the theory is that this news was suppressed because it "would cause embarrassment for the Obama team," which had spent years telling us Al Qaeda's best years were behind it and the "'tide of war' was receding."
Lasky asserts that Obama's 2009 Cairo speech began presenting this erroneous view of the world and progress in the War on Terror, but once the Benghazi attacks filled Americans' television screens on September 11, 2012, Rhodes was there to "alter CIA talking points," conforming them to the unrealistic depiction of the world Obama had presented in Cairo.
Rhodes, who authored the 2009 Cairo speech, is accused by Lasky of being the one who turned "attacks" into "demonstrations," and he or "someone [else] at White House level" allegedly injected the idea of a YouTube video "triggering spontaneous protests."
Politico profiled Rhodes in 2009, saying:

Not long ago, Rhodes was one of the obscure guys who wrote Obama's campaign speeches at Starbucks and played video games into the early morning hours. Now he attends national security meetings and takes writer's refuge in a secret office on the third floor of the Eisenhower Executive Building.

Lasky believes its high time Rhodes's role in the cover-up was investigated: "[He] should be called into account for trying divert blame away from Islamic terrorists and the Obama team members whose feckless negligence led to the Benghazi massacre."

Emails Point to Ben Rhodes as Key to Benghazi Talking Points

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by Joel B. Pollak 29 Apr 2014 post a comment

A year ago, Ed Lasky of the American Thinker speculated that White House security official Ben Rhodes – a speechwriter with no prior national security experience or expertise – was at the heart of the Benghazi scandal, specifically the false talking points spouted on Sunday news shows by former UN Ambassador (now National Security Advisor) Susan Rice that the Sep. 11, 2012 attack was a protest against a YouTube video.

Now, those speculations seem to have been confirmed by the release of a batch of emails obtained by Judicial Watch through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Lasky quotes the emails, which pinpoint Rhodes as conducting a "prep" session for Rice on the Friday night before her Sunday morning media tour, with the goal “To underscore that these protests are rooted in [an] Internet video, and not a broader failure [of] policy.”
In 2013, Lasky reminded readers that Politico's Carol Lee had once described Rhodes as "one of the obscure guys who wrote Obama's campaign speeches in Starbucks and played video games into the early morning hours." After his mysterious elevation within the administration, "Now he attends national security meetings and takes writer's refuge in a secret office on the third floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building."
Today, Lasky notes that Rhodes's brother heads CBS News, which recently lost reporter Sharyl Attkisson – at least partly, she alleges, because the network did not like her reporting on Benghazi and other Obama administration scandals, including Operation Fast & Furious. Rhodes, Lasky says, "will do his boss’s bidding, hiding information, manipulating the facts, distract people: the truth and the American people be damned."

Emails Forced Out Of White House Confirm Benghazi Cover-up These emails, released through the Freedom of Information Act 5 U.S. Code § 552 , confirm our worst fears.

Emails Forced Out Of White House Confirm Benghazi Cover-up

These emails, released through the Freedom of Information Act 5 U.S. Code § 552 , confirm our worst fears.

---

B. Christopher Agee — April 30, 2014

As the Benghazi scandal wears on with frustratingly little accountability at the executive level, there has been no shortage of speculation regarding the identity of key players behind the cover-up.
American Thinker’s Ed Lasky put forth a theory that Obama speechwriter Ben Rhodes was instrumental in crafting the deflecting narrative that a YouTube video, not an incompetent administration, was responsible for the outbreak of violence that left four Americans dead on Sept. 11, 2012. His suspicions, it seems, were founded.
A series of emails recently released through a Freedom of Information Act request by Judicial Watch show that Rhodes, who possesses no identifiable qualifications for shaping public opinion in matters of national security, conducted meetings with then U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice ahead of her Benghazi comments.
Less than two days before she made the rounds on various Sunday morning political news programs, Rhodes implored her to “underscore that these protests are rooted in [an] Internet video, and not a broader failure [of] policy.”
Rhodes, whom left-leaning Politico once described as an “obscure” speechwriter who “played video games into the early morning hours,” was apparently given the reins in crafting a lie that would be repeated countless times by Rice and other administration sources – including Obama.
Lasky determined that Rhodes is an Obama team player willing to “do his boss’ bidding, hiding information, manipulating the facts, (and) distract people” while letting “the truth and the American people be damned.”
Even more disconcerting, Rhodes’ brother is current CBS News President David Rhodes. The network made news of its own recently when star reporter Sharyl Attkisson left amid accusations CBS was unsupportive of her efforts to get to the bottom of the Benghazi scandal.

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The REAL #VAScandal: Failure To Refer Veterans to NON-VA Facility For Care

The REAL #VAScandal: Failure To Refer Veterans to NON-VA Facility For Care

 The VA is allowed by law to authorize Non-VA Facility Care.

Title 38 of the United States Code (USC) §1703 establishes clinical access

criteria and individual eligibility criteria for non-emergency fee care. VHA

must ensure that both criteria are met before authorizing inpatient care. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/38/1703

Clinical Access Criteria—The statute authorizes the use of fee care only if

VHA: (1) does not have the clinical capability, (2) does not have capacity, or

(3) facilities are geographically inaccessible for the veteran. The VA even has a Website about Non-VA Care
http://www.nonvacare.va.gov/

U.S. Code › Title 38 › Part II › Chapter 17 › Subchapter I › § 1703

38 U.S. Code § 1703 - Contracts for hospital care and medical services in non-Department facilities

Current through Pub. L. 113-103. (See Public Laws for the current Congress.)

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(a) When Department facilities are not capable of furnishing economical hospital care or medical services because of geographical inaccessibility or are not capable of furnishing the care or services required, the Secretary, as authorized in section 1710 of this title, may contract with non-Department facilities in order to furnish any of the following:

(1) Hospital care or medical services to a veteran for the treatment of—

(A) a service-connected disability;

(B) a disability for which a veteran was discharged or released from the active military, naval, or air service; or

(C) a disability of a veteran who has a total disability permanent in nature from a service-connected disability.

(2) Medical services for the treatment of any disability of—

(A) a veteran described in section 1710 (a)(1)(B) of this title;

(B) a veteran who

(i) has been furnished hospital care, nursing home care, domiciliary care, or medical services, and

(ii) requires medical services to complete treatment incident to such care or services; or

(C) a veteran described in section 1710 (a)(2)(E) of this title, or a veteran who is in receipt of increased pension, or additional compensation or allowances based on the need of regular aid and attendance or by reason of being permanently housebound (or who, but for the receipt of retired pay, would be in receipt of such pension, compensation, or allowance), if the Secretary has determined, based on an examination by a physician employed by the Department (or, in areas where no such physician is available, by a physician carrying out such function under a contract or fee arrangement), that the medical condition of such veteran precludes appropriate treatment in Department facilities.

(3) Hospital care or medical services for the treatment of medical emergencies which pose a serious threat to the life or health of a veteran receiving medical services in a Department facility or nursing home care under section 1720 of this title until such time following the furnishing of care in the non-Department facility as the veteran can be safely transferred to a Department facility.

(4) Hospital care for women veterans.

(5) Hospital care, or medical services that will obviate the need for hospital admission, for veterans in a State (other than the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) not contiguous to the contiguous States, except that the annually determined hospital patient load and incidence of the furnishing of medical services to veterans hospitalized or treated at the expense of the Department in Government and non-Department facilities in each such noncontiguous State shall be consistent with the patient load or incidence of the furnishing of medical services for veterans hospitalized or treated by the Department within the 48 contiguous States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(6) Diagnostic services necessary for determination of eligibility for, or of the appropriate course of treatment in connection with, furnishing medical services at independent Department out-patient clinics to obviate the need for hospital admission.

(7) Outpatient dental services and treatment, and related dental appliances, for a veteran described in section 1712 (a)(1)(F) of this title.

(8) Diagnostic services (on an inpatient or outpatient basis) for observation or examination of a person to determine eligibility for a benefit or service under laws administered by the Secretary.

(b) In the case of any veteran for whom the Secretary contracts to furnish care or services in a non-Department facility pursuant to a provision of subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall periodically review the necessity for continuing such contractual arrangement pursuant to such provision.

(c) The Secretary shall include in the budget documents which the Secretary submits to Congress for any fiscal year a detailed report on the furnishing of contract care and services during the most recently completed fiscal year under this section, sections 1712A, 1720, 1720A, 1724, and 1732 of this title, and section 115 of the Veterans’ Benefits and Services Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–322; 102 Stat. 501).

(d)

(1) The Secretary shall conduct a program of recovery audits for fee basis contracts and other medical services contracts for the care of veterans under this section, and for beneficiaries under sections 1781, 1782, and 1783 of this title, with respect to overpayments resulting from processing or billing errors or fraudulent charges in payments for non-Department care and services. The program shall be conducted by contract.

(2) Amounts collected, by setoff or otherwise, as the result of an audit under the program conducted under this subsection shall be available, without fiscal year limitation, for the purposes for which funds are currently available to the Secretary for medical care and for payment to a contractor of a percentage of the amount collected as a result of an audit carried out by the contractor.

(3) The Secretary shall allocate all amounts collected under this subsection with respect to a designated geographic service area of the Veterans Health Administration, net of payments to the contractor, to that region.

(4) The authority of the Secretary under this subsection terminates on September 30, 2020.

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