Temper Tantrums

Obama throwing a tantrum

We don’t have time for this crap. Partisan politics, ignoring our allies because Congress did not “follow protocol”, giving notice in advance that policies the people want to see changed, passed or eliminated will be vetoed, being told we are riding on our high horse above the rest of the world… We just don’t have time.

If I went through the list of times Barry did not “follow protocol”, this would be a twenty page post. That is not to say that tit-for-tat is the right way to deal with his particular brand of immaturity, but I can understand it. Years of enduring belittlement, false accusations (such as shutting down the government when we know damned well that horse was owned by Harry and the Dems in the Senate), working to pass bills only to have Harry Greed sit on them – refusing to put them up for a vote in the Senate – and public castigation by Barry during televised conferences can make one a tad testy, to say the least. Although I was never a fan of Bill Clinton’s policies in general, I respected the way he worked with a Republican majority Congress for the sake of America and her people.   I am not as confident that his wife would do the same, but she is inconsequential in my opinion.

Why does the Ego in Chief have such a hard time understanding his role as President? Why is the Democratic wing of the House led by Nancy Pelosi even considering being unavailable for Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the joint Congress? Why is our Vice President suddenly making a trip overseas (and if you believe this was scheduled a long time ago, I have a mountain for sale up here in the Rockies)? If I were one of their constituents, I would be livid. Israel is our ally. They are afloat at sea amidst a gam of sharks known as Islamic Extremists and I feel it is our obligation to at least listen to what Netanyahu has to say before passing judgment one way or another. Barry had time to entertain a group of Muslim “leaders” which included a player for the NBA (but not Dr. Zuhdi Jasser – a decorated Naval Veteran and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy), yet he is throwing a public hissy fit and refuses to meet with Netanyahu? His lack of class is glaringly obvious. But, then again, Netanyahu is just a “chicken shit” and not worthy of the Anointed One’s respect, right? I mean, he only served in Israel’s Sayeret Matkal Special Forces unit when he was in the Israeli military. Gee, Barry, I forgot. What unit did you serve in in our military?

I detest Michael Moore, yet I have read two of his books. They sucked, but one cannot have an intelligent argument without hearing from both sides. I do not understand parents who do not give their children an opportunity to experience some form of religion in their younger years. How can a person make an informed decision later in life without having a basis for that decision? I went to a Congregationalist Church in my youth, but am nonreligious now. Spiritual, yes. However, I have way more faith in God than man. How do you know you hate avocados if you have never tasted one? How does anyone in government know if they agree or disagree with the ideas of others if they don’t open their damned minds and listen to the other side before dismissing them off-hand?

Both parties are guilty of being the boy in the bubble and it needs to stop – now. Whether they wish to admit it or not, we are at war with an enemy who would love nothing better than to see all Western nations obliterated from the face of the earth. In many cases they disguise themselves as fruitful citizens of the very countries they wish to destroy. This is not the type of war we are used to. It is as much psychological as traditional – perhaps more so. That being said, we must be ever watchful.

ISIS is by far the most dangerous cult we have faced in decades. A cult, you ask? Yes. Not much different in tactics and approach than Jim Jones, Charles Manson or the KKK. They target socially disassociated individuals and promise them many things – respect and fear from those who have hurt them in the past, the respect and honor of a god (or, in Manson’s case, Charlie himself), the respect and acceptance of others in the cult and the ability to destroy those they perceive to have tried to destroy them.

However, the aforementioned were pussycats compared to ISIS. Why? Well, for several reasons. Social media did not exist when those cults were in their heyday. Charismatic leaders with evil intent did not have the ability to stretch their tentacles across oceans or continents to reach their intended targets. Photos were carefully distributed as they are today. However, video was not available for international distribution, especially the professionally produced videos we see currently. In most cases, a person wishing to join the cults of yesterday had to physically attend church meetings, rallies or party with Charlie in order to become an initiate. I am not saying the KKK does not still exist, by the way. They have been made all but impotent because people reject their message more than accept it in today’s world.  The media did not report on the atrocities committed by those groups with the frequency and fervor that they do ISIS. The Manson murders were a big story for a bit. So was the People’s Temple massacre. But they soon faded into the ionosphere, as did the crimes committed by the Klan. And, in many cases the despicable acts of the Klan were committed in Southern States in which the media chose not to report on them at all.

ISIS is reaching into our children’s bedrooms and snatching their psyches right out from under our noses and POTUS can’t seem to grasp this concept. Statements by him and his administration show their naiveté over and over again. It is almost as though they perceive ISIS and the rest of the world as nothing more than siblings sitting in the back seat of the family truckster screaming “He’s on my side!” or “I’m not touching you! I’m not touching you!” and all we have to do is yell at them and it will all stop. It is not going to stop. The killing of innocent children is not going to stop. The rape of young girls is not going to stop. The danger to Israel, those being held hostage, our homeland and the blameless caught in the crossfire is not going to stop. Killing our citizens on our soil is not going to stop. And if POTUS and Congress don’t end the bickering that has become all too common in DC these days and come up with a cogent plan to obliterate this boil from the ass of the world, it is only going to get worse. Then it will be all but impossible to stop.

Shall We Play A Game?

Remember playing “telephone” as a kid?  You know, the game in which your friend whispers “My cat is white” into your ear, then you repeat the same thing to the person next to you and so on until the last person has to say the phrase out loud?  The problem is, the phrase is never the same at the end.  “My cat is white” becomes “Your dad is turned on by sheep” after about 15 or 20 repetitions.  Well, that is pretty much the way the Benghazi story released to the public ended up being about an obscure soft porn video that had nothing to do with reality.

On September 14, 2012 at 1129 hours,  a confidential communication from CCA* at the Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)  was sent to the Department of Investigations (DI)  regarding a request for information from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) so that they could answer the questions being asked them by various media outlets.  This White Paper was also cc’d to the Director of the CIA (DCIA) and the Office of the Director of the CIA (ODCIA).  The original question or statement has been redacted, but some of the itemized requests give one a hint as to what the topic being addressed was. 

Part of this initial communication addressed “press guidance”, Green on Blue violence and the destruction of documents at the consulate.  The latter noted “contact State Legal Affairs” for questions.  They never explained whether the destruction of documents occurred during the attack, after the attack in Benghazi, or pertained to potentially destroying existing documents located at the Embassy in Tripoli.  The types of documents in question are unknown. 

The second portion of this paper was directed towards the DCIA and concerned “cable(s) to (redacted) warning of protests linked to the film and response” and “cable(s) to stations on 9/11 security”.  This, too, was not elaborated upon.  Had they sent cables regarding these two issues in the days prior to the protests in Egypt and the attack in Benghazi, or were they asking that cables be created to make it appear so?

After a bit of back and forth via heavily redacted emails, it becomes obvious that they are formulating the talking points to give to HPSCI.  They are also developing the way they want the attack to be presented on the Sunday morning TV circuit.  I apologize for the “they” references, but there are so many agencies involved in the preparation of the talking points that I have decided a collective “they” is the best way to go.

At 1439:49 hours on the 14th, the original talking points are finally revealed in their entirety:

(I apologize for the readability of the emails.  If you need a clearer copy, you can access them at the website I provided at the end of this post.)

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 Going under the assumption that the previously redacted information was the list of possible talking points spelled out here, the comments made in some of the redacted emails begin to make sense.

  • 1439:49 hours from NE – “Second tick says we know extremists with ties to AQ participated in the attack, which implies complicity in the deaths of the American officers.  Do we know this?” 
  • 1452:57 hours from National Clandestine Service (NCS) – “Good question – I’ll defer to CIA CTA (cc’d) given the CT angle.”  It was also noted that the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) and the Office of Public Affairs (OPA) were “added in”.
  • 1519 hours from CIA Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) – “Good point that it could be interpreted this way – perhaps better stated that we know they (Al Qaeda?) participated in the protests.  We do not know who was responsible for the deaths.”  (emphasis added) 

I believe the most important point in the original list was the Fifth tick (to use their terminology) that mentioned the previous attacks against foreign interests and that it was possible the American properties had been under watch for a while.

At 1529:32 hours the OGC emailed the bowl of alphabet soup with the following cautionary message:

“Folks, I know there is a hurry to get this out, but we need to hold it long enough to ascertain whether providing it conflicts with express instructions from NSS/DOJ/FBI that, in light of the criminal investigation, we are not to generate statements with assessments as to who did this, etc. – even internally, not to mention for public release…”

Okay, WHAT criminal investigation?  This was not a criminal act.  It was an act of terrorism.  In my opinion, this is where the cover-up really begins to take form.  Why would the DOJ need to be in the loop on something that occurred in a foreign country and was committed by foreign nationals who were part of a terrorist group? 

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Tick One – Talking points are revised to indicate that the Embassy was warned about threats on September 10th.  This version of the talking points was produced by the CIA OPA.    In the Fifth tick, a very interesting addition was made to the talking points.  Nowhere else is it mentioned that “numerous pieces” had been authored by “the Agency” concerning threats to Benghazi and eastern Libya.  

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It would be difficult to believe that the attack was the result of a spontaneous reaction to the protests in Egypt and a ridiculous video if you take this information into consideration.  It would also be hard to accept as true that no one in the administration knew there was trouble brewing that might cost American lives.

At 1821 hours the word CAIRO was inserted into the first tick after “Embassy”.   Oversight, clarification or cover-up?  Was the Embassy being threatened really the one in Cairo, or were the threats actually directed to Tripoli?  

At 1916 hours, Victoria Nuland (former Spokesperson for the State Department), asked the following question:

“Are these for open or closed hearing?  If open, the line about “knowing” there were extremists among the demonstrators will come back to us at podium – how do we know, who were they, etc…So I’ll need answers to those if we deploy that line, tx.”

At 1939 hours, Nuland wrote this:

“I just had a convo with (illegible) and I now understand that these are being prepared to give to members of Congress to use with the media.

On that basis, I have serious concerns about all the parts highlighted below [ticks three and five in their entirety], and arming members of Congress to start making assertions to the media that we ourselves are not making because we don’t want to prejudice the investigation.

In the same vein, why do we want Hill to be fingering Ansar al Sharia, when we aren’t doing that ourselves until we have investigation results… and the penultimate point could be abused by Members to beat the State Department for not paying attention to Agency warnings so why do we want to feed that either?  Concerned…”

So, the concern was not for the families of those who were killed, or those still working in Libya, or the injured (if there were any – we don’t know) – the concern was about being caught with their pants down which opened the door to the attacks in the first place.

At 2134 hours the White House (through Benjamin Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting) chimed in with this:

“There is a ton of wrong information getting out into the public domain from Congress and people who are not particularly informed.  Insofar as we have firmed up assessments that don’t compromise Intel or the Investigation, we need to have the capability to correct the record, as there are significant policy and messaging ramifications that would flow from a hardened mis-impression.” (emphasis added)

Policy and messaging…really?  Four dead Americans and they were worried about policy and messaging?  But, who would have expected anything different from this administration…

After all of the back and forth, they finally decided on three ticks.  This is the final draft:

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These were the talking points to be given to Susan Rice for the Sunday talk show circuit.  The following exchange shows that this was the game plan all the players agreed upon:

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So, in all of this bullshit, when was it decided that they would blame the video and why (aside from probation violations) was the filmmaker arrested?  There is so much more to uncover.  I have just touched the tip of the iceberg today.

If you wish to read all 100 pages of  redacted emails, here is a link to that page:

 http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/05/politics/white-house-benghazi-emails/index.html