Last week the US House of Representatives called former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to appear before a select committee looking into the attack on a US facility in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012. The attack left four Americans dead, including US Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens.
As might be expected, however, the “Benghazi Committee” hearings have proven not much more than a means for each party to grandstand for political points.
In fact, I would call these Congressional hearings “too much, too late.”
Four years after the US-led overthrow of the Libyan government – which left the country a wasteland controlled by competing Islamist gangs and militias – the committee wants to know whether Hillary Clinton had enough guards at the facility in Benghazi on the night of the attack? The most important thing to look into about Libya is Hillary Clinton’s e-mails or management style while Secretary of State?
Why no House Committee hearing before President Obama launched his war on Libya? Why no vote on whether to authorize the use of force? Why no hearing after the President violated the Constitution by sending the military into Libya with UN authorization rather than Congressional authorization? There are Constitutional tools available to Congress when a president takes the country to war without a declaration or authorization. At the time, President Obama claimed he did not need authorization from Congress because the US was not engaged in “hostilities.” It didn’t pass the laugh test, but Congress did next to nothing about it.
When the Obama Administration decided to attack Libya, I joined Rep. Dennis Kucinich and others in attempt to force a vote on the president’s war. I introduced my own legislation warning the administration that, “the President is required to obtain in advance specific statutory authorization for the use of United States Armed Forces in response to civil unrest in Libya.”
We even initiated a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia asking the courts to rule on whether the president broke the law in attacking Libya.
Unfortunately we got nowhere with our efforts. When it looked like we had the votes to pass a resolution introduced by Rep. Kucinich to invoke War Powers Resolution requirements on the president for the use of force in Libya, Speaker Boehner cancelled the vote.
Why were there no hearings at the time to discuss this very important Constitutional matter? Because the leadership of both parties wanted the war. Both parties — with few exceptions — agree with the ideology of US interventionism worldwide.
Secretary Clinton defended the State Department’s handling of security at the Benghazi facility by pointing out that there are plenty of diplomatic posts in war zones and that danger in these circumstances is to be expected. However she never mentioned why Benghazi remained a “war zone” a year after the US had “liberated” Libya from Gaddafi.
Why was Libya still a war zone? Because the US intervention left Libya in far worse shape than it was under Gaddafi. We don’t need to endorse Gaddafi to recognize that today’s Libya, controlled by al-Qaeda and ISIS militias, is far worse off – and more of a threat to the US – than it was before the bombs started falling.
The problem is the ideology of interventionism, not the management of a particular intervention. Interventionism has a terrible track record, from 1953 in Iran, to Vietnam, to 2003 in Iraq, to 2011 in Libya and Syria. A real Congressional hearing should focus on the crimes and mistakes of the interventionists!
Well, I checked in to see who was the last one standing…
I see Admin made it through the Circle of Death.
Military Actions are all big Acts. I learned that during my ten years. I don’t know if they were always that way. I suspect they were: there is nothing new under the sun, Shakespeare said and I’m sure someone else said it before he.
I admire Ron Paul. (I’m not sure his son holds the same level of integrity as his father, but at least he carries some of it.) He isn’t afraid to speak truth to power and even though there are not enough like-minded constitutionalist/libertarians who really understand what liberty really is in terms of personal liberty and not liberty to grab something from someone else’s stash, in the end, he will stand as a great statesman in the history books that will be written by those writers who record such things.
Just call Hillary Peanut Butter because she spreads easily for any kind of bread or fruit. She loathes the military from way back in her liberal anti=Vietnam days, but was giggling the day that Qaddaffi was killed… we came, we saw, he died.. or some shit like that. She wants to make sure everyone has a chance at a good education, but sends her own kids to private schools that most people never even see, much less have the opportunity to attend. She doesn’t use loopholes to dodge law… she boldly declares they do not apply. Sets up a foundation for her husband while Secretary of State and then launders a fortune in bribes through that foundation for favors. Treason? Nope. Sends classified information to who knows where on a personal server set up in violation of federal law. Crime? Nope. Lied to Congress about what happened in Benghazi and here’s the evidence to prove it. Perjury? Nope.
Peanut Butter. Spreads easily for whatever it needs to and goes down in a second.
Glad to see you survived, Admin.
I only watched about 15 seconds (really and truly) of the hearings ….. by accident, while flipping through the channels. Nevertheless, I am able to provide a detailed summary of the proceedings for your reading enjoyment. Here ya go, in 5 minute segments ….
Lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, MEGA bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, ENORMOUS bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, UNBELIEVABLE bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, BULLSHIT bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, lies, lies, bullshit, lies, more GREATEST bullshit ever, lies, lies, lies, bullshit.
Afterwards, everyone shakes hands, smiles, and leaves.
Ya didn’t miss nuthin.
If Secy. Cliton had admitted running guns and having the queer ambassador killed to keep him quiet, it would not matter. Noone would have known about it because the media whores would not report it. Stucky might have reported it here(if he was watching). However, TBP unfortunately does not have enough visitors to make a difference. We are toast and have been for a long time.
Peanut Butter spreads well on toast.
Hillary: — “What’s the difference between peanut butter and jam?”
Bill: — “I can’t peanut butter my dick up your ass.”
Dedicated to Hillcunt;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56NTW4ZgR1g&feature=player_detailpage
Admin The Peanut, Bea The Pickle and Billy Penis were talking about their awful lives.
— Admin The Peanut said my life sucks, when i get big and fat they cut me up and cook me.
— Bea The Pickle said when I get big and fat they cover me in vinegar & throw me in a jar.
— Billy Penis said, when I get big and fat they pull a plastic bag over my head, stick me in a dark, damp room and bang my head against the wall till I throw up and go limp.
The ramifications of Thursday’s congressional grilling of Queen Hillary’s pasty white ass continue to reverberate through the political world. The marathon hearing along with the at times nonsensical, rambling and moot lines of questioning has by all indications resulted in Mrs. Clinton emerging stronger than she has been since the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens and others. The harsh and sarcastic inquisition by some has allowed Hillary to play the victim and to borrow the title from a classic Rolling Stones song, there is now “sympathy for the devil” taking root with the general public.
The mainstream media has nearly unanimously declared Clinton as having “won” and the narrative seems to now be shifting to that where South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy is leading a partisan witch hunt that is wasting taxpayer dollars to persecute the bitch. It’s one thing when the Washington Post editorial board and Rolling Stone magazine are blasting the House Select Committee but another when influential conservative pundit Eric Erickson is among the critics. Erickson, czar of the popular Red State blog as well as a Fox News contributor who rocketed to national stardom after banning Donald Trump from the Red State soiree after the phantom comments about Megyn Kelly’s vaginal blood flow, now is blasting what has turned into yet another dumpster fire for the GOP.
The sooner that Republicans are able to move away from Thursday’s clusterfuck the better for their long-term prospects because continuing to beat what is now an obviously dead horse only benefits one person: Hillary Clinton.
———- (formerly carryingtheflag blogspot)
You guys are SO funny…all of you missed the point of Paul’s post and that is BOTH parties wanted an overthrow of Libya’s government: “Both parties — with few exceptions — agree with the ideology of US interventionism worldwide.”
And why is that? Because the neocons are still in charge, with Cheney at the helm and running the show from “Site R” Raven Rock. And don’t think for a moment that Russia’s potent intervention in Syria, Iraq, and now Afghanistan (since they just asked for Russia’s help), won’t be met with another “9/11 style” attack on the U.S. from the same playbook the neocons used in the previous attack.
We live in dangerous times, mark my words.
Westcoast? Didn’t miss it… All military actions are Acts. They are actors on stage in a play being put on by the Producers in Congress, Directed by the Money brokers and Power mongers. Let’s calls Repukes the Money brokers and the Demoncrats the Power mongers.
So, the Repukes like War anywhere because it feeds their campaign coffers with the “vig” from the weapons and machinery of war that becomes increasingly needed as more and more is purchased to defeat the “enemy” that is an ever increasing threat to the American Way.
The Demoncrats like War anywhere because it gives them the opportunity to kill people (because every bleeding heart liberal at their hates anyone t unlike him/her they can’t sway with every fiber of their core and wants them dead) who won’t agree with them AND it gives them the cover to take rake their own personal take from the “vig.”
The American People LONG ago lost sight of the danger of foreign entanglements and when they allowed the Peanut Farmer (have you seen my Peanut Butter theory?) to implement a Department of Education that started national standards for our children, the cause of U.S. education was lost, except for those few of us who’d already garnered an interest in readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic or had someone in our extended family who might introduce us to that love of learning outside the halls of indoctrination and unlearning.
So, here we be in 2015 with not even the slightest semblance of a Republican system. We have Paul Ryan announcing his terms for accepting the throne as Speaker, so that he can bully the non-compliant immigration Repukes into line so that the Money brokers can have their cheap labor here at home and completely destroy any possibility of a living wage for middle class Americans any more, if there are any left at all. We apparently are going to have Hillbitch or Bernie whether they are Communist, confirmed liars, murderers or inept fools as our next president to contend with a rising China and Russia which together will completely overrun our borders and destroy our military. But, no worries, because our Money brokers and Power mongers have lots of friends there and they will make a deal. You can bet on that.
I’m sure it can be found in the “General Welfare” Clause, or, if not? Hillary and/or Bernie can just Exec Order it… “What difference does it make?”
Dangerous times? The Best of Times; The Worst of Times. The Times that Try Mens’ Souls.
Admin… if you think it worth it… I rewrote this for my own little group of friends and family…
One time when we were in Iceland, we were scrambling in the middle of an winter storm that we knew we would probably not be able to launch and fly in (or shouldn’t), but someone, somewhere in the NORAD system had detected Soviet bears flying to or from Cuba along the North American Coast, so that meant an AWACS plane should be the eyes in the sky to ensure the safety of Europe. Still a bit wet around the ears, I was still enthralled with the idea of protecting the world from the evil Communists who were just looking for a chance to penetrate our borders and attack our freedom-loving way of life. A wonderful pragmatic crew-daddy flight engineer I’ll call Robbie here to keep his identity safe (How’s Pooh Bear these days Robbie?) told me the truth that next night after we’d launched and flown halfway to Cuba back to send fighter jets to intercept several pairs of Bears flying within miles of the coast of the Southern United States on their routine practice runs against the coastline to see if we were watching.
Over a couple of beers and a game of pinochle in the MarBar, he told me that it would save the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. a lot of money if they would just use the post office. Because all they wanted was pictures of each others planes. We wanted pictures of all their Bears and they wanted pictures of all our AWACS planes and fighter jets. So, if the head honchos would just call one another and say “get ready, set, go” and then have someone in each country race to mail those pictures and the first one that received the pictures and could show them to their respective CIA or KGB agents could claim the O-9. (An O-9 was a type of dangerous flight that was logged into our records every time we were involved in a flight that intercepted Soviet fighters. Twenty O-9s equalled an air medal. I have three air medals. Oooooh. Aaaaaah. My father had an air medal too…. For being shot down and surviving. Somehow that made mine seem a bit trite.
So, I have learned that in modern times, military actions are Acts. Many of our young people are placed in danger as if they are actors on stage in a play being put on by the Producers in Congress, with stage direction by the Department of Defense and Military Industrial Complex, The play is produced with moneys provided by the taxpayer, meted out by the Money brokers and Power mongers. Let’s calls Repukes the Money brokers and the Demoncrats the Power mongers.
So, the Repukes like War anywhere because it feeds their campaign coffers with the “vig” from the weapons and machinery of war that becomes increasingly needed as more and more is purchased to defeat the “enemy” that is an ever increasing threat to the American Way. The threat being what they say it is, of course, as they determine what will frighten the most people into wanting to support their scheme to increase the machinations of war.
The Demoncrats like War anywhere because it gives them the opportunity to kill people (because every bleeding heart liberal at their core hates anyone unlike him/her that they can’t sway with every fiber of their being and wants them dead) who won’t agree with them AND WAR gives them the cover to take their own personal take from the “vig.” They also like being able to console the poor parents of the dead soldiers that the Repukes caused to be killed, while they themselves prefer sending drones and bombs that kill indiscriminately.
The American People LONG ago lost sight of the danger of foreign entanglements and when they allowed the Peanut Farmer (have you seen my Peanut Butter theory… that peanut butter spreads so easily that Hillary should adopt that as her campaign snack?) to implement a Department of Education that started national standards for our children, the cause of U.S. education was lost, except for those few of us who’d already garnered an interest in readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic or had someone in our extended family who might introduce us to that love of learning outside the halls of indoctrination and unlearning.
So, here we be in 2015 with not even the slightest semblance of a Republican system. We have Paul Ryan announcing his terms for accepting the throne as Speaker, so that he can bully the non-compliant immigration Repukes into line so that the Money brokers can have their cheap labor here at home and completely destroy any possibility of a living wage for middle class Americans any more, if there are any left at all. We apparently are going to have Hillbutter or BernieSanders whether they are Communist, confirmed liars, murderers or inept fools as our next president to contend with a rising China and Russia which together will completely overrun our borders and destroy our military. But, no worries, because our Money brokers and Power mongers have lots of friends there and they will make a deal. You can bet on that.
I’m sure it can be found in the “General Welfare” Clause, or, if not? Hillary and/or Bernie can just Exec Order it… “What difference does it make?”
Dangerous times? The Best of Times; The Worst of Times. The Times that Try Mens’ Souls.[img
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