commentaries

Something to hide is putting it mildly. They attempted a full fledged cover up of their incompetence and blood is on Obama's hands.

Then there's certainly blood on the hands of Republicans like Ryan who cut 300 million from the budget targeted for embassy protection.

Is the blood for of all the dead people in Iraq (American and Iraqi) on the hands of George Bush. That war was a complete bust, there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction as promised. Where was your outrage jimjimjimjim a being duped by your President's lies when it cost this Nation thousands of lives and economic bankruptcy. I am all for Flag waving and Patriotism, but just don't do it when it's convienient or serves your political views.

Likelier, your statement is false because the fiscal negotiated budget did not include these cuts; a simple CNN fact check confirmed this after the debate between Biden and Ryan.

"Then there's certainly blood on the hands of Republicans like Ryan who cut 300 million from the budget targeted for embassy protection."

No money was cut and you know it. Ryan has submitted a budget blueprint that proposes cutting all non-defense discretionary spending by 19 percent in fiscal 2014. What year is it today? 2012. Next, prove that the Libyan embassy would have been required to cut ANY security. Why not an honest debate instead of lies?

@lakeliver: "Then there's certainly blood on the hands of Republicans like Ryan who cut 300 million from the budget targeted for embassy protection."..Despicable and wrong. The State Department IGNORED urgent requests for more security. They could have brought in Marines (they're already on the payroll, right?) Or how about shifting security from other, more safe locations? But Obama and his administration won't even allow our security to have BULLETS for their weapons. This is yet further proof of the incompetence of this administration when it comes to dealing with terrorism and our enemies, and it came with a high cost.

lakeliver - No money has been cut from embassy protection. You know. I know it, and so does everyone who has not drank from the chalice of lies that Obama offers you a drink from. On one hand you demand military budget cuts and Ryan proposed them for 2014 and you blame that for today's failure by Obama to protect our interest in Libya? How does that work?

The facts: "Ryan's budget plan would have cut non-defense discretionary spending by 19% in 2014, according to The Hill newspaper. The blueprint doesn't specify cuts to embassy security" USA Today

Key words also include "would have". No money has been cut and Obama could have increased security but chose to ignore the situation in Libya.

"They attempted a full fledged cover up of their incompetence " .... complete garbage. The security at the Benghazi Consulate is the same security that all of the consulates have. And as former ambassador Ryan Crocker has said "I've seen this up close and for real: One of the most terrifying and the most lethal and the hardest to defend against — Marines or no Marines — is a mob." Now if Gerson wants to find fault with the kind of security that all the Consulates have that's worth looking at. To continue to blame President Obama's so called "lack of leadership" is ludicrous given none of these same criticisms were leveled at Bush when the WTC and 11 other embassies were attacked under his watch. And did the wars make us safer as these neocons have proclaimed? Conservatives have the nerve to complain about eliminating a dictator in Libya who controlled the violence there when they were shouting from the rooftops about bringing "freedom" to Iraq from their dictator who kept control of that region. And now these neocon are agitating for another war.

"No money has been cut from embassy protection." .... FACT: the omnibus bill passed last year cut $567.5 million from the Obama administration’s request. And SoS Clinton warned that the cuts would jeopardize security but the Republican's scoffed. Republican's wanted to cut even more but Senate Democrats restored about $88 million of the administration's request.