Quote:

---

Partisan politics has so polarized America that normal, honest behavior seems to be the oddity that stands out these days. Much ado is being made of Gov. Chris Christie’s common sense communication with President Obama during Sandy’s aftermath. Christie and the president working together for the good of the citizens who elected them for that very reason is seen as spectacular when it should have been the ordinary, the norm.

The attack of our embassy in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11,which resulted in four Americans being murdered, is now used as an opportunity to gain political points. Washington Republicans and the partisan pundits beyond have slapped on the war paint, donned the camouflage and are armed to the hilt—out to get Obama’s blood at all cost.

Now there is loud clamor for transparency and investigations, accusations of a cover-up and incompetence, with those doing the talking all the while professing to only want the truth as concerned Americans and conscientious politicians. Give me a break. The only conscientious concern here is self-serving partisan BS.

Where was all that concern for our men and women serving in embassies and consulates across the globe when all the other attacks and killings occurred?

Like in 2002 when the US Consulate in the Karachi, Pakistan, was attacked and 10 were killed?

Or in 2004 when the US embassy in Uzbekistan was attacked and two were killed and another nine injured?

How about in 2004, when the US Consulate in Saudi Arabia was stormed and 8 lost their lives?

There is more: In 2006, armed men attacked the US Embassy in Syria and one was murdered.

Then in 2007 a grenade was thrown at the US Embassy in Athens.

In 2008, the US Embassy in Serbia was set on fire.

In 2008, bombings in the US Embassy in Yemen killed 10.

Notice the dates, all before the Obama administration.

Not yet convinced that all the noise over Benghazi has nothing to do with love of countryman? How about the biggest, most catastrophic attack and murder of Americans? As a New Yorker, Sept. 11, 2001, is indelibly imprinted on my psyche and I’m sure on the rest of the country. 3,000 perished in the most brutal act of terror in our recent history—all under a Republican administration. George W. Bush and his team had nine warnings that al-Qaida would attack within the United States, but they did absolutely nothing. No one in that administration’s head rolled for that stunning incompetence.

But Republicans now want President Obama’s head for Benghazi.More at http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/13333916-number-of-embassies
-attacked-during-the-bush-years-before-benghazi-many

---

Quote:

---

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is defending Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for scoring political points by blaming “American weakness” for attacks on U.S. embassies in Egypt and Libya — even though terrorists attacked U.S. embassies 12 times during President George W. Bush’s tenure.

“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,” Romney had said over a statement from the U.S. embassy that denounced an anti-Muslim movie prior to the attacks.

That initial statement from the former Massachusetts governor and his press conference later in the day were both panned as “irresponsible” and “craven.”

The neoconservative former Defense secretary took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon to weigh in on the side of Romney.

“The attacks on our embassies & diplomats are a result of perceived American weakness,” Rumsfeld wrote. “Mitt Romney is right to point that out.”

Terrorists attacked U.S. embassies 12 times while President George W. Bush was in office. At least eight of those attacks occurred while Rumsfeld was serving as secretary of Defense. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/13/rumsfeld-defends-romney-embassy-
attacked-because-of-american-weakness/]]
Politics? Oh, heavens know, that could never be the case...

Refute the FACTS presented in that article, if you can, please.

Let's try a few specifics:

Quote:

---

U.S. Embassy in Sana’a, Yemen, Sept. 17, 2008; Nineteen people died and 16 were injured. UNDER BUSH

U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, Feb. 21, 2008; Several hundred demonstrators attacked the U.S. Embassy compound in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. Hours later, a charred body was found inside a torched office at the embassy. Crowds of masked young men broke into the compound and used metal bars to smash into the first floor of the building. A few demonstrators climbed the building and set the U.S. flag on fire as others used a door to ram the metal-barred windows. UNDER BUSH

U.S. Embassy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 6, 2004; Five consular employees were killed and four other local staff members were injured after militants stormed the U.S. consulate. Saudi police killed four of the assailants, who were members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). UNDER BUSH

U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Aug. 7, 1998; In a co-ordinated operation, car bombs exploded outside the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Aug. 7, 1998. The attacks killed 224 people, including 12 Americans. About 5,000 were injured. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, the leader of al-Qaeda in East Africa, had a $5 million US bounty on his head for allegedly planning the attacks. UNDER CLINTON

U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, Apr. 18, 1983; A Hezbollah suicide bomber drove a van up to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people, including at least 17 Americans. The act also destroyed the Middle East bureau of the CIA. That same year, an attack on the Beirut headquarters of American and French forces killed 298 people. UNDER REAGAN.More at http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/09/12/f-embassy-attacks.html]
Embassies have been attacked probably as long as there have been embassies. If you want to hold Presidents responsible for them, you can probably blame every President we've had for who knows how long??

On a related matter, Repubs felt completely different (of course) when it was another Rice up for Sec. of State:

Quote:

---

Eight years ago, when President Bush suggested Condoleezza Rice for Secretary of State, some people said, "Well, wait a minute, wasn't she part of misleading the American people about intelligence information that led to our invasion of Iraq?" McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., defended Condoleezza Rice by admonishing their Senate colleagues to not "hold her accountable for the intelligence that was given to her. She was simply relating what she had heard."

"(I)t wasn't her fault," Durbin said. "To hold Ambassador Rice accountable for a decision by intelligence agencies -- not by her, not by the White House -- to withhold some part of the information is fundamentally unfair."More at http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3460_162-57551559/durbin-gop-holding-susan
-rice-to-different-standard/

---

Wow. EXACTLY the same situation as far as what one Rice said, but a whole different story when another Rice does exactly the same thing!

Can we stop now? Or are we going to go on playing idiotic games?

Tit for tat got us where we are today. If we want to be grownups, we need to resist the ugliness. If we each did, this would be a better reflection on Firefly and a more welcome place. I will try.