Question for Obama / Clinton Supporters

Libya security cut while Vienna embassy gained Chevy Volts

In a May 3, 2012, email, the State Department denied a request by a group of Special Forces assigned to protect the U.S. embassy in Libya to continue their use of a DC- 3 airplane for security operations throughout the country.

The subject line of the email, on which slain Ambassador Chris Stevens was copied, read: “Termination of Tripoli DC-3 Support.”

Four days later, on May 7, the State Department authorized the U.S. embassy in Vienna to purchase a $108,000 electric vehicle charging station for the embassy motor pool’s new Chevrolet Volts. The purchase was a part of the State Department’s “Energy Efficiency Sweep of Europe” initiative, which included hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on green program expenditures at various U.S. Embassies

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Washington Times

Once again it isn't about the money. Our ambassador and 3 other Americans died for "political capitol". Then the administration lied about it for weeks.

Priorities, propping up goverment owned auto companies versus protecting our own diplomats.

I guess you'd have to talk to the to GOTP that cut $331 million this year from the State Department's budget. I guess you can't escape that one, any more than you can escape:

[youtube:msv9k50n][/youtube:msv9k50n]

Benghazi wasn't about a movie, and neither was it about funding.

Nordstrom addressed the diplomatic security issue in an Oct. 1 email to a congressional investigator. He said his requests for more security were blocked by a department policy to "normalize operations and reduce security resources."

A memo Tuesday by the Oversight Committee's Democratic staff provided details of Nordstrom's interview with the panel's investigators. In that interview, Nordstrom said he sent two cables to State Department headquarters in March 2012 and July 2012 requesting additional diplomatic security agents for Benghazi, but he received no responses.

He stated that Charlene Lamb, the deputy assistant secretary for international programs, wanted to keep the number of U.S. security personnel in Benghazi artificially low. He said Lamb believed the Benghazi facilities did not need any diplomatic security special agents because there was a residential safe haven to fall back to in an emergency.

http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_21740773

Democracy4Sale wrote: I guess you'd have to talk to the to GOTP that cut $331 million this year from the State Department's budget. I guess you can't escape that one, any more than you can escape:

[youtube:1671yzvp]

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Wtf does this have to do with the topic? Brain cells overtaxed these days LJ?

pineinthegrass wrote: Benghazi wasn't about a movie, and neither was it about funding.

Nordstrom addressed the diplomatic security issue in an Oct. 1 email to a congressional investigator. He said his requests for more security were blocked by a department policy to "normalize operations and reduce security resources."

A memo Tuesday by the Oversight Committee's Democratic staff provided details of Nordstrom's interview with the panel's investigators. In that interview, Nordstrom said he sent two cables to State Department headquarters in March 2012 and July 2012 requesting additional diplomatic security agents for Benghazi, but he received no responses.

He stated that Charlene Lamb, the deputy assistant secretary for international programs, wanted to keep the number of U.S. security personnel in Benghazi artificially low. He said Lamb believed the Benghazi facilities did not need any diplomatic security special agents because there was a residential safe haven to fall back to in an emergency.

http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_21740773

As your post points out, the denial for additional security were blocked due to the necessity to reduce security resources.

Follow the money, that is, the lack of it and the reasons why. Clearly the drastic cuts to the budgets for the security of foreign missions is directly causal for this tragedy.

Even a republican congressman admits they cut the budget on embassy security....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/1 ... 54912.html

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) acknowledged on Wednesday that House Republicans had consciously voted to reduce the funds allocated to the State Department for embassy security since winning the majority in 2010.

And to make it worse, during their 'witch hunt' the outed the CIA in Bengazi as well.... the SOP of the 'party before country' republicants.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ ... story.html

When House Republicans called a hearing in the middle of their long recess, you knew it would be something big, and indeed it was: They accidentally blew the CIA’s cover.

The purpose of Wednesday’s hearing of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee was to examine security lapses that led to the killing in Benghazi last month of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three others. But in doing so, the lawmakers reminded us why “congressional intelligence” is an oxymoron.

Anything for a political headline.

And here is a former US Senator and Vietnam Vet (also Republican) condemning romney for using Ambassador Stevens death as a political ploy.

http://www.salon.com/2012/10/08/ex_gop_ ... by_romney/

If you have less money, you should spend it where it is needed more. And ignoring Libya to keep the budgets up in other posts shows a misplaced set of priorities.