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| Obama: Benghazi dispute is a Republican 'sideshow' | Obama: Benghazi dispute is a Republican 'sideshow' |
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| Barack Obama has dismissed the dispute over the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi as a Republican-orchestrated "sideshow" that defies logic and dishonours the diplomats who were killed in action. | Barack Obama has dismissed the dispute over the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi as a Republican-orchestrated "sideshow" that defies logic and dishonours the diplomats who were killed in action. |
| The president, speaking on Monday at a White House press conference alongside the British prime minister, David Cameron, strenuously denied that he and his administration had attempted to organise a cover-up, as the Republicans have claimed. | The president, speaking on Monday at a White House press conference alongside the British prime minister, David Cameron, strenuously denied that he and his administration had attempted to organise a cover-up, as the Republicans have claimed. |
| "The focus should be on making sure that diplomats are not left without sufficient protection in the future. And we don't have time to be playing these kinds of political games here in Washington. We should be focused on what are we doing to protect them," Obama said. | "The focus should be on making sure that diplomats are not left without sufficient protection in the future. And we don't have time to be playing these kinds of political games here in Washington. We should be focused on what are we doing to protect them," Obama said. |
| The Republicans allege that Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations, actively sought to mislead the public by suggesting that the 11 September attack on the US mission in Libya resulted from an angry mob getting out of hand, rather than an al-Qaida-linked terrorist group. The attack left four Americans dead, including ambassador Chris Stevens. | The Republicans allege that Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations, actively sought to mislead the public by suggesting that the 11 September attack on the US mission in Libya resulted from an angry mob getting out of hand, rather than an al-Qaida-linked terrorist group. The attack left four Americans dead, including ambassador Chris Stevens. |
| The implication of the Republican criticism is that, in the run-up to the 2012 election, Obama did not want to see punctured his claim that he had al-Qaida on the run. | The implication of the Republican criticism is that, in the run-up to the 2012 election, Obama did not want to see punctured his claim that he had al-Qaida on the run. |
| At the press conference, Obama said that if he had been attempting a cover-up, he had gone about it in a strange way. The White House, he said, had released the same material that the Republicans were using to claim there had been a cover-up. | At the press conference, Obama said that if he had been attempting a cover-up, he had gone about it in a strange way. The White House, he said, had released the same material that the Republicans were using to claim there had been a cover-up. |
| He was speaking about the affair for the first time since an American diplomat who was based in Libya during the attack gave evidence to a congressional hearing last week, casting doubt on the official version of events. Since then, Republicans have cited emails released by the administration as further evidence of a cover-up. | He was speaking about the affair for the first time since an American diplomat who was based in Libya during the attack gave evidence to a congressional hearing last week, casting doubt on the official version of events. Since then, Republicans have cited emails released by the administration as further evidence of a cover-up. |
| Much of the focus has been on a memo of talking points drawn up by the State Department and the CIA for use by Rice in television interviews, in which she blamed a mob rather than terrorists. Obama, responding to a reporter at the press conference, said: "The whole issue of talking points, frankly, throughout this process has been a sideshow … And the emails that you allude to were provided by us to congressional committees. They reviewed them several months ago, concluded that, in fact, there was nothing afoul in terms of the process that we had used. And suddenly, three days ago, this gets spun up as if there's something new to the story." | Much of the focus has been on a memo of talking points drawn up by the State Department and the CIA for use by Rice in television interviews, in which she blamed a mob rather than terrorists. Obama, responding to a reporter at the press conference, said: "The whole issue of talking points, frankly, throughout this process has been a sideshow … And the emails that you allude to were provided by us to congressional committees. They reviewed them several months ago, concluded that, in fact, there was nothing afoul in terms of the process that we had used. And suddenly, three days ago, this gets spun up as if there's something new to the story." |
| He added: "Keep in mind, by the way, these so-called talking points that were prepared for Susan Rice five, six days after the event occurred pretty much matched the assessments that I was receiving at that time in my presidential daily briefing." | He added: "Keep in mind, by the way, these so-called talking points that were prepared for Susan Rice five, six days after the event occurred pretty much matched the assessments that I was receiving at that time in my presidential daily briefing." |
| Obama said that two or three days after Rice appeared on the Sunday morning news shows using the talking points, he had sent Matt Olsen, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, to Capitol Hill to brief members of Congress that the incident had in fact been an act of terrorism. | Obama said that two or three days after Rice appeared on the Sunday morning news shows using the talking points, he had sent Matt Olsen, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, to Capitol Hill to brief members of Congress that the incident had in fact been an act of terrorism. |
| "Who executes some sort of cover-up or effort to tamp things down for three days? So the whole thing defies logic. And the fact that this keeps on getting churned out, frankly, has a lot to do with political motivations," he said. | "Who executes some sort of cover-up or effort to tamp things down for three days? So the whole thing defies logic. And the fact that this keeps on getting churned out, frankly, has a lot to do with political motivations," he said. |
| Obama's admonishment failed to stem Republican criticism. Within hours of Obama's press conference the Republican senator John McCain, who has been leading the charge over Benghazi, and two of his colleagues, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte, issued a joint statement saying that Obama had in the aftermath of the killings made a series of misleading statements and had not been, as he claimed, consistent. | Obama's admonishment failed to stem Republican criticism. Within hours of Obama's press conference the Republican senator John McCain, who has been leading the charge over Benghazi, and two of his colleagues, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte, issued a joint statement saying that Obama had in the aftermath of the killings made a series of misleading statements and had not been, as he claimed, consistent. |
| They said: "In light of recent revelations and whistleblower testimony last week before the House committee on oversight and government reform, it is very clear that we need a joint select committee to resolve these contradictions and answer the many other unanswered questions about this tragedy. The administration is spinning the American people and stonewalling Congress. This is unacceptable. The American people and the loved ones of those killed in Benghazi deserve to know the truth." | They said: "In light of recent revelations and whistleblower testimony last week before the House committee on oversight and government reform, it is very clear that we need a joint select committee to resolve these contradictions and answer the many other unanswered questions about this tragedy. The administration is spinning the American people and stonewalling Congress. This is unacceptable. The American people and the loved ones of those killed in Benghazi deserve to know the truth." |
| On Sunday, in an appearance on ABC's This Week, McCain called for the setting up of yet another congressional committee to investigate the circumstances of the attack. He said Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and a current frontrunner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, should be forced to testify again. | On Sunday, in an appearance on ABC's This Week, McCain called for the setting up of yet another congressional committee to investigate the circumstances of the attack. He said Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and a current frontrunner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, should be forced to testify again. |
| "It requires a full and complete ventilation of these facts," McCain said. | "It requires a full and complete ventilation of these facts," McCain said. |
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