I think this will end up much bigger than most people realize.
You have to remember that there is evidence that our secret arms transfers were going to the wrong groups. The State Department's plan to supply arms in support of the Arab Spring was collapsing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/world/africa/weapons-sent-to-libyan-rebels-with-us-approval-fell-into-islamist-hands.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0In August (Aug 15th), Ambassador Stevens sends the State Department a memo stating his concern for the security of the Consulate after attacks in April and June. 5 Days before the attack a Libyan ship called Al Entisar (“The Victory”) was discovered docked in the port of Iskenderun, carrying 400 tons of cargo including rocket-propelled grenades and shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles (MANPADS) destined for Syrian rebels. The ship’s captain told the Times of London that the Muslim Brotherhood and the free Syrian Army broke into a fight over the arms. There is suspicion that these were the exact arms used in the attack. The administration has invoked executive privilege to block this evidence, but the creation of a select committee can force these documents to be released to a federal judge who will then review them for sensitive material vs. evidence.
The morning of the attack Stevens meets with Turkish diplomat Consul General Ali Sait Akin, over concerns that weapons, specifically soviet made SA-7 missiles had fallen into the hands of local extremist groups. Stevens had arrived the day before by secret military transport and his presence at the annex was a secret. The only person besides his security dispatch to know he was there was Akin. Lindsay Graham admits that Stevens was there to "contain a situation."
That night, the attack began on the consulate, and all requests from the CIA base chief to US and Libyan forces receives no response. After nearly half an hour, the base chief takes a small team of 7 people to go defend the consulate. Meanwhile, after no response to his requests for rescue Ambassador Stevens begins calling other foreign consulates (NATO we would assume) in the area for help. Two hours later the remaining State Department members and CIA officers take shelter in the annex. Rebels hit the annex with rocket propelled grenades for over 5 hours. Finally at 6am, nearly 8 hours after the request for assistance was issued by the CIA base chief, the Libyan army arrives.
The next morning, what we now know to be a false narrative is offered to the public. SS Clinton does not offer a statement but instead there is a strange series of appearances by the Ambassador to the UN on all of the main networks to provide the public with explanation. There is a suspicion that Hillary may have flat-out refused to engage in the deception, and Rice was dispatched to force her hand by establishing the story, either way, she is involved now. The promotion of the internet video by the administration and world media sparked additional protests over the next four days that resulted in the loss of at least 4 lives.
http://www.abc15.com/news/national/anti-islam-youtube-video-innocence-of-muslims-sparks-violent-protestsThe primary questions that the administration refuses to provide suitable answers for are:
1. Why was there no response given to our CIA base chief when a United States asset was under attack?
2. Was there an order to stand down given, either to US or Libyan forces, and if so, why?
3. Who alerted the rebels of Steven's presence?
4. What was the source of the weaponry used?
5. Where was the president when this was happening? Again, he has exercised executive privilege to keep this from congress.
6. Why was a false narrative given to the public?
7. Why were all references to al Qaeda and terrorism removed from the original talking points?
8. By falsely promoting a rather obscure internet video as a cause for the attack, there were additional attacks on US and European interests and several people lost their lives. Who in the administration is complicit?
9. Why, when we have imagery from the CIA drone dispatched during the attack, the media, and the surveillance systems at both the annex and the consulate, have there been no arrests?
10. Considering that the president now labels the Benghazi attack as an act of terrorism, why has he designated the search for those responsible as a criminal investigation led by the FBI?
11. Why did the Libyan military guards outside the consulate not warn the U.S. staff of the gathering terrorists, and why did they leave the scene before the attack?
12. The administration claims there was no air support in the area during the night of the 11th, yet the survivors were evacuated by military transport on the 12th. How? From where?
13. During the attack, what other consulates did Stevens call for help and what was their response? Why haven't the transcripts of those calls been made available?
14. What NATO assets were in the area?
15. During the attack, did the president or his staff notify his campaign that he might have to cancel his fundraisers in Las Vegas the next day?
16. If the CIA facility in Benghazi was involved in the collection of $40 million in weapons from the U.S., as first reported by National Journal in 2011, where are they?
17. Is it possible that the president’s intelligence finding included an authorization for the weapons collected in Libya to be transferred to Syrian rebels? Was the CIA annex being used to facilitate these transfers? If so, how did the weapons physically move from Libya to Syria? By plane? By ship?
The administration's response was a very quick and unwise subterfuge, but it was their only option if they wanted to keep a scandal away from the media until after the election, and avoid canceling an extremely important fundraiser the next morning in Las Vegas. The decisions after the fact were solely political and we understand that now. The decisions before and during the attack may have contributed to or caused the death of people. That is what is criminal.
If the president had come out after the attack and admitted that our efforts to support rebels in Syria (who's primary architects were Hillary Clinton, David Petraeus and Panetta, and a plan that President Obama at least publicly came out against) had backfired and caused a large cache of weaponry to fall into enemy hands, and subsequently be used to attack our consulate and kill our ambassador and 3 others on the eve of September 11th, this would likely deliver the election to Romney, and also destroy Hillary's chances for a run in 2016. Thus, it was of the utmost importance for Democrats to squash the story and spin the narrative. Now that the president is in quick decline and Hillary looks to be the best candidate for 2016, it would be smart for him to go ahead and fall on this sword, and even go so far as to shield Hillary by claiming he forced her hand by sending Rice out to provide the false narrative. Biden can finish his term for him after he is removed and Hillary can scoot in to office in 2016. That is unless he opts to throw Hillary under the bus. I doubt she would go down without a fight though (unlike Monica).