Benghazi is a manufactured controversy. The conspiracy theories behind the tragedy at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi were first only tossed around by Fox News and right-wing propaganda sites that cited Fox as their source. Repeat the same lies often enough, however, and the media in this country is “forced” to act as if the news is real.
It should be no secret to anyone that Libya is in a rather volatile region of the world, and the tensions in that region have been rising, largely due to U.S. actions. What is also no secret, though it seems to have been forgotten as of late, is that consulates in the Middle-East are attacked on a fairly regular basis.
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during the Senate hearings:
"Sitting here today, we probably have at least 20 other posts that are under a serious threat environment as I speak to you. We operate in places where we know that our facilities are being surveilled for potential attacks where we have a steady Intel stream of plotting."
What is true and undeniable is that attacks on diplomatic targets have dropped under Obama as compared to the level under the Bush administration. This is meant to put things in perspective, not shift the blame to Bush, though you only get one guess as to why they rose under the Bush administration.
Republicans can’t seem to wrap their heads around the fact that new information changes the official story. Fox News and the GOP seemed to think that as soon as the attack happened the Obama administration should have known exactly what was happening and reacted immediately. Republicans are very strict about sticking to their original story despite any new information brought to light.*
The main villain in this story is the 24 hour news cycle. When an investigation is in its beginning stages, a real reporter would know that any information given is only preliminary guesses, but with everyone having an agenda and true investigative reporting being dead, the only proper response one can give to questions these days is, “No comment,” at least until the intelligence is more solid.
During the Senate hearings, Clinton voiced the lessons learned from this manufactured mess:
"Just withhold. Don't say what you don't know for sure until it's finally decided."
*See Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
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