Tag Archives: House Intelligence Committee

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House intel panel dismisses Benghazi myths

Well, shut my mouth and dip me in sesame seeds. A key congressional committee has determined that the CIA officials who responded to the terror attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya were “heroes,” and not goats.

Perhaps you’ve heard the term “Benghazi.” It’s become a mantra for those interested in condemning the State Department over its action relating to the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the diplomatic compound in the Libyan city. Four men were killed, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/benghazi-house-intelligence-committee-myths-113107.html?hp=l2_4

Congressional Republicans have wanted to tar then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton over what happened at the compound.

Now we have the House Select Committee on Intelligence dispelling some of the myths associated with the attack and the criticism of the U.S. response to it.

The committee, chaired by Republican Mike Rogers of Michigan, said this, according to Politico: “The committee … found the U.S. government didn’t fail to send assistance to the Americans under siege by Islamic militants and there was no ‘stand down order’ from the State Department. The committee also dismissed the notion that there was an ‘intelligence failure’ the allowed the attacks to occur.

Imagine that. The panel charged with investigating intelligence operations within the government says the attack was what the administration said it was: a chaotic event brought on by a group of terrorists looking to kill Americans.

Will that dissuade the persistent critics who are hell bent on damaging the presidential prospects of the former secretary of state? Don’t hold your breath.

Chairman Rogers, though, has done a service for those around the country — such as yours truly — who have grown weary of congressional witch hunters looking for a scenario that matches the outcome they’ve already determined.

 

 

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'One plane ticket away'

U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers made what he presumed to be a profound point about the threat posed by Islamic extremists in Syria and Iraq.

ISIS is “one plane ticket away” from striking the United States of America, Rogers said on Meet the Press this past Sunday.

I heard him say that and wondered: That’s news … now?

I get that Rogers is seeking to underscore the threat that ISIS poses. These are truly evil men who, it’s been said by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey, have an “apocalyptic, end-of-the-world” view.

The hard truth, though, is that all terror groups are “one plane ticket away” from entering the United States and doing terrible harm against Americans.

They were one ticket away on Sept. 11, 2001, yes? Nineteen terrorists boarded three commercial aircraft that day in the eastern United States, hijacked them and flew two of them into buildings in New York and Washington, D.C.; the third jet crashed into that Pennsylvania field after passengers fought heroically with the hijackers to keep them from crashing it into another target. 

I also believe we’ve done better at protecting the United States since that horrific day. The measures imposed during the Bush administration have made commercial air travel less fun for passengers around the world, but it has made it demonstrably safer.

The same can be said now, despite the critics’ claim that the Obama administration is doing too little to protect U.S. citizens against terrorist threat. To that I ask: We’ve had how many attacks on our shores since 9/11?

Yes, ISIS and other despicable terrorists are “one plane ticket away” from committing mayhem here. That’s as it’s always been and likely always will be.

The question remains: Are we going to remain vigilant and alert?