Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “took responsibility” for the September 11 Benghazi attack back in October.
But that was then.
Secretary Clinton has since become about as visible as Harvey the rabbit. Indeed, she phoned in sick with a concussion this week—happens to be the very week that an independent investigation on Benghazi finds “grossly” inadequate security prevailed in Benghazi before the attack.
It is also the week that Mrs. Clinton was scheduled to testify about Benghazi on Capitol Hill. Two other State Department officials will testify in her stead. They should hope that stepping in for the Secretary on the matter of Benghazi works better for them than it did for U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice.
Let’s wish the Secretary a speedy recovery and make it clear that nobody would want her to get out of bed and testify with a concussion. Still, I do think that the country is entitled to a note from Mrs. Clinton's doctor. Charles Krauthammer, an M.D., offered a diagnosis of his own last night: “a severe Benghazi allergy.”
As for the independent review of the Benghazi attack, it revealed what already was painfully obvious: the U. S. State Department blew it in Benghazi, possibly contributing to the deaths of four Americans, including the first U.S. ambassador killed in the line of duty since 1979. Key finding: requests for beefed up security by diplomatic personnel in Libya were rejected by the U.S. Department of State:
The Washington Post reports:
An independent investigation of the fatal attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Libya on Sept. 11 found that “grossly” inadequate security and reliance on local militias left U.S. diplomats and other personnel vulnerable, the State Department told Congress on Tuesday.
The review of the assault on the mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans faulted systemic failures of leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaus of the State Department, according to an unclassified version posted on the department’s Web site Tuesday night.
Secretary Clinton did not do a good job of running the State Department—this report makes that abundantly clear. For an honorable person, this might be the time to consider resignation.
What are the odds of that? Paul Mirengoff of Powerline sums up the situation:
In a properly functioning society, this report would signal the end of Clinton’s chances of becoming president. The Peter Principle isn’t supposed to apply when it comes to the highest office in the land. But then, in a properly functioning society, Clinton’s successor would not be the wannabe statesman who concluded that Bashar al-Assad was the answer to our prayers for peace and harmony to the Middle East.