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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Benghazi attack: the key exchanges from the vice-presidential debate | Benghazi attack: the key exchanges from the vice-presidential debate |
| (6 months later) | |
| During last night's vice-presidential debate, Paul Ryan chastised his challenger and the president for their failure to protect diplomats during the recent terrorist attacks in Libya. He also criticized the administration for its inability to quickly explain whether the killings were the work of a mob or an armed militia. | During last night's vice-presidential debate, Paul Ryan chastised his challenger and the president for their failure to protect diplomats during the recent terrorist attacks in Libya. He also criticized the administration for its inability to quickly explain whether the killings were the work of a mob or an armed militia. |
| Ryan pushes Biden on Benghazi | Ryan pushes Biden on Benghazi |
| From Ryan: | From Ryan: |
| Look, if we're hit by terrorists, we're going to call it for what it is, a terrorist attack. Our ambassador in Paris has a marine detachment guarding him. Shouldn't we have a marine detachment guarding our ambassador in Benghazi, a place where we knew that there was an al-Qaida cell with arms? | Look, if we're hit by terrorists, we're going to call it for what it is, a terrorist attack. Our ambassador in Paris has a marine detachment guarding him. Shouldn't we have a marine detachment guarding our ambassador in Benghazi, a place where we knew that there was an al-Qaida cell with arms? |
| This Benghazi issue would be a tragedy in and of itself, but unfortunately it's indicative of a broader problem. And that is what we are watching on our TV screens is the unraveling of the Obama foreign policy, which is making the [inaudible] more chaotic, and us less safe. | This Benghazi issue would be a tragedy in and of itself, but unfortunately it's indicative of a broader problem. And that is what we are watching on our TV screens is the unraveling of the Obama foreign policy, which is making the [inaudible] more chaotic, and us less safe. |
| Obama on the defensive as GOP draws attack lines | Obama on the defensive as GOP draws attack lines |
| Even Biden's cheerful demeanor couldn't protect him from Ryan's sharp criticism. Observers who said that Biden won the debate felt that the vice-president's greatest weakness was the Benghazi question. The Guardian's Ed Pilkington wrote: | Even Biden's cheerful demeanor couldn't protect him from Ryan's sharp criticism. Observers who said that Biden won the debate felt that the vice-president's greatest weakness was the Benghazi question. The Guardian's Ed Pilkington wrote: |
| In an otherwise bullish and assured performance, Biden's comments left him exposed to post-debate criticism from conservatives intent on sustaining the past week's surge of the Romney campaign. The vice-president's position appeared to be contradicted by evidence presented to the congressional oversight and government reform committee just a day earlier. | In an otherwise bullish and assured performance, Biden's comments left him exposed to post-debate criticism from conservatives intent on sustaining the past week's surge of the Romney campaign. The vice-president's position appeared to be contradicted by evidence presented to the congressional oversight and government reform committee just a day earlier. |
| Newt Gingrich, a failed candidate for the Republican nomination now backing Romney, predicted on CBS television Friday morning that Biden's remarks on Benghazi would "haunt them from now until the next debate". | Newt Gingrich, a failed candidate for the Republican nomination now backing Romney, predicted on CBS television Friday morning that Biden's remarks on Benghazi would "haunt them from now until the next debate". |
| The Guardian's Ewen MacAskill agreed: | The Guardian's Ewen MacAskill agreed: |
| Ryan did better on the Benghazi attack, saying Obama's delay in acknowledging it was a terrorist attack rather than a protest against a YouTube video was troubling. Had a good line: why does ambassador in Paris has a marine detachment and ambassador in Libya does not? | Ryan did better on the Benghazi attack, saying Obama's delay in acknowledging it was a terrorist attack rather than a protest against a YouTube video was troubling. Had a good line: why does ambassador in Paris has a marine detachment and ambassador in Libya does not? |
| Congressional hearings | Congressional hearings |
| This debate comes on the heels of a heated House of Representatives oversight committee hearing about the attacks. From the Guardian's Chris McGreal: | This debate comes on the heels of a heated House of Representatives oversight committee hearing about the attacks. From the Guardian's Chris McGreal: |
| Republicans painted a picture of an incompetent state department failing to heed warnings of a growing terrorist threat or to prepare for a possible attack on the anniversary of 9/11, and then covering up the circumstances of the full scale militia assault that killed Stevens. They also accused Obama administration officials of attempting to suppress unclassified documents because they were politically embarrassing. | Republicans painted a picture of an incompetent state department failing to heed warnings of a growing terrorist threat or to prepare for a possible attack on the anniversary of 9/11, and then covering up the circumstances of the full scale militia assault that killed Stevens. They also accused Obama administration officials of attempting to suppress unclassified documents because they were politically embarrassing. |
Hours before the hearing, the state department was forced into an embarrassing retreat on its claim that the attackers used the cover of a popular protest outside the consulate as cover for the assault. Officials acknowledged on Tuesday that there was no protest, and that as it occurred on September 11 it was likely timed to mark the anniversary of al-Qaida's assault on the US 11 years ago. | Hours before the hearing, the state department was forced into an embarrassing retreat on its claim that the attackers used the cover of a popular protest outside the consulate as cover for the assault. Officials acknowledged on Tuesday that there was no protest, and that as it occurred on September 11 it was likely timed to mark the anniversary of al-Qaida's assault on the US 11 years ago. |
| For a recap, see our minute-by-minute live blog. | For a recap, see our minute-by-minute live blog. |
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