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talkpoliticsSo unless people are paying attention, a terrible narrative has been falsely constructed. This narrative paints our president as expressing sympathy for the feelings of those who murdered our ambassadors. Though it may surprise some, this is not the case.
A timeline of events:
Source: http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/romney-libya-attack-benghazi.php
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/world/middleeast/us-envoy-to-libya-is-reported-killed.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Source: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/09/when_you_learn_theyre_not_ready.php?ref=fpblg
Source: http://www.salon.com/2012/09/12/mitt%E2%80%99s_shameful_libya_statement/
"The United States ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, was killed along with three of his staff members in a fiery and furious attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday night by an armed mob angry over a short American-made video mocking Islam’s founding prophet"
"The trigger for the anti-American outbursts was the amateurish, American-made video that opens with scenes of Egyptian security forces standing idle as Muslims pillage and burn the homes of Egyptian Christians. Then it cuts to cartoonish scenes depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a child of uncertain parentage, a buffoon, a womanizer, a homosexual, a child molester and a greedy, bloodthirsty thug."
"Bracing for trouble before the start of the protests here and in Libya, the American Embassy released a statement shortly after noon that appeared to refer to Mr. Jones:
"That Romney campaign’s first statement hit reporters’ in-boxes late Tuesday, before the full extent of the damage in Cairo and Benghazi was known, and before the death of Ambassador Stevens, the American envoy in Libya, was reported. It was also initially released with a midnight embargo — not to be released until after the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — before the Romney campaign decided to issue it in wide release sooner."
"Romney’s attack was not only ill-judged and ill-timed, it was actually based on what appears to be a demonstrable falsehood. Romney, or folks writing in his name at his campaign, claimed that the administration’s first response to the attacks was to issue a press release condemning the anti-Islam film which had helped trigger the attack. This they picked wholesale from the right-wing blogosphere.
In fact, according to all available press reports and the account of the State Department, the press release in question came from the US Embassy in Egypt and preceded the attacks. So to claim it was a response to the attacks was simply false. So while American diplomats were dying in the field, Romney pops up with an egregious attempt to politicize the deaths with a flat out lie."
Then, as the facts became known... Romney doubled down:
"In a press conference delivered minutes after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the attacks, Romney expanded on his initial statement, in which he said the administration’s first response was “to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.”"
It was the second time in just over 12 hours that Romney had suggested the White House sided with rioters and militants.""
.....
How can anyone not be astounded by the ineptitude exhibited here? To be clear, he responded to false reports of an Obama apology, delayed them because of Sept 11th, changed his mind and released his statement early, contradicted the facts of the situation, then repeated his accusation the next day. I cannot fathom the magnitude of the punditry shitstorm this would inspire had a democrat done this.
Is this what we have to look forward to from Romney foreign relations? Are we to predict neoconservative rash judgments, patently uninformed statements, and unending partisan scapegoating in the face of national tragedy? Does Mitt really believe that Obama is SYMPATHETIC to people who murdered our ambassador? Is Mitt really savvy enough to capitalize on the Backfire Effect to solidify his base?
A timeline of events:
Source: http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/romney-libya-attack-benghazi.php
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/world/middleeast/us-envoy-to-libya-is-reported-killed.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Source: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/09/when_you_learn_theyre_not_ready.php?ref=fpblg
Source: http://www.salon.com/2012/09/12/mitt%E2%80%99s_shameful_libya_statement/
"The United States ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, was killed along with three of his staff members in a fiery and furious attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday night by an armed mob angry over a short American-made video mocking Islam’s founding prophet"
"The trigger for the anti-American outbursts was the amateurish, American-made video that opens with scenes of Egyptian security forces standing idle as Muslims pillage and burn the homes of Egyptian Christians. Then it cuts to cartoonish scenes depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a child of uncertain parentage, a buffoon, a womanizer, a homosexual, a child molester and a greedy, bloodthirsty thug."
"Bracing for trouble before the start of the protests here and in Libya, the American Embassy released a statement shortly after noon that appeared to refer to Mr. Jones:
“The United States Embassy in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims — as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.”It later denounced the “unjustified breach of our embassy.”
"That Romney campaign’s first statement hit reporters’ in-boxes late Tuesday, before the full extent of the damage in Cairo and Benghazi was known, and before the death of Ambassador Stevens, the American envoy in Libya, was reported. It was also initially released with a midnight embargo — not to be released until after the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — before the Romney campaign decided to issue it in wide release sooner."
“I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.” — Mitt Romney"
"Romney’s attack was not only ill-judged and ill-timed, it was actually based on what appears to be a demonstrable falsehood. Romney, or folks writing in his name at his campaign, claimed that the administration’s first response to the attacks was to issue a press release condemning the anti-Islam film which had helped trigger the attack. This they picked wholesale from the right-wing blogosphere.
In fact, according to all available press reports and the account of the State Department, the press release in question came from the US Embassy in Egypt and preceded the attacks. So to claim it was a response to the attacks was simply false. So while American diplomats were dying in the field, Romney pops up with an egregious attempt to politicize the deaths with a flat out lie."
Then, as the facts became known... Romney doubled down:
"In a press conference delivered minutes after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the attacks, Romney expanded on his initial statement, in which he said the administration’s first response was “to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.”"
It was the second time in just over 12 hours that Romney had suggested the White House sided with rioters and militants.""
.....
How can anyone not be astounded by the ineptitude exhibited here? To be clear, he responded to false reports of an Obama apology, delayed them because of Sept 11th, changed his mind and released his statement early, contradicted the facts of the situation, then repeated his accusation the next day. I cannot fathom the magnitude of the punditry shitstorm this would inspire had a democrat done this.
Is this what we have to look forward to from Romney foreign relations? Are we to predict neoconservative rash judgments, patently uninformed statements, and unending partisan scapegoating in the face of national tragedy? Does Mitt really believe that Obama is SYMPATHETIC to people who murdered our ambassador? Is Mitt really savvy enough to capitalize on the Backfire Effect to solidify his base?
