On Tuesday, U.S. United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice met with Republican senators who have accused her of misleading the public following the attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi. The meeting came at a time when the White House is searching for a replacement for Hillary Clinton, who plans to leave her job as secretary of state in January.?
This file photo shows U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice speaking at U.N. headquarters. With congressional opposition softening, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice could find her name in contention as early as this week to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state.
AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File
EnlargeU.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice?on Tuesday conceded that an early account she gave about the attack on the?U.S. mission?in?Benghazi,?Libya, was partly inaccurate, but her admission failed to win over Republican senators who accused her of misleading the public.
Skip to next paragraph' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
Rice met for about an hour behind closed doors at the U.S. Capitol with Republican Senators?John McCain,?Lindsey Graham?and?Kelly Ayotte, who have threatened to block her nomination if President?Barack Obama?chooses her for secretary of state or another top post in his second-term Cabinet.
They have criticized her for initial comments after the Sept. 11 attack in?Benghazi?that suggested it was a spontaneous event arising from protests over an anti-Islam film rather than a premeditated attack.
The U.S. ambassador to?Libya?and three other Americans were killed in the attack on the?Benghazi mission?and a nearby CIA annex. Intelligence officials later said the attack was possibly tied to al Qaeda affiliates.
"We are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got, and some that we didn't get, concerning evidence that was overwhelming leading up to the attack on our consulate," McCain told reporters after the meeting.
"It is clear that the information that she gave the American people was incorrect when she said that it was a spontaneous demonstration triggered by a hateful video," he said.
"It was not, and there was compelling evidence at the time that that was certainly not the case, including statements by Libyans as well as other Americans who are fully aware that people don't bring mortars and rocket-propelled grenades to spontaneous demonstrations," McCain said.
Graham said he would move to block the nomination of "anybody" who was linked to the?Benghazi?events.
Republicans have argued that the?Obama administration?tried to play down the terrorist angle in its initial comments to avoid undermining the president's claims of success in fighting al Qaeda in the run-up to the Nov. 6 election.
Rice, who was accompanied to the meeting by acting CIA Director Michael Morell, later issued a statement.
"We explained that the talking points provided by the intelligence community, and the initial assessment upon which they were based, were incorrect in a key respect: there was no protest or demonstration in?Benghazi," she said in the statement.
"While, we certainly wish that we had had perfect information just days after the terrorist attack, as is often the case, the intelligence assessment has evolved," she said.
"We stressed that neither I nor anyone else in the Administration intended to mislead the American people at any stage in this process."?
Tempest over talking points?
Rice's controversial?Benghazi?statements were based on a set of unclassified talking points prepared by?U.S. intelligence?agencies for members of?Congress.
White House?spokesman?Jay Carney?said Tuesday that the questions about?Rice's appearance on the talk shows and the talking points she used had been answered. "The focus on - some might say obsession on - comments made on Sunday shows seems to me and to many to be misplaced," he said.
But Republican senators said the meeting with?Rice and Morell left them with more concerns than before. In a statement McCain, Graham and Ayotte said there was now more confusion about who had made changes in the talking points before they were given to Rice.
nick young south dakota state long beach state beasley trailblazers michael beasley jermaine jones
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন