Businessweek said that former deputy director Michael Morell of the Central Intelligence Agency rejected beliefs that there was politics involved in the botched account of the 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya. Standing before the House intelligence committee in a rare public session, Morell asserted that claims by Republicans that his agency had gotten involved in an Obama administration-led effort to mislead the public about the assault's nature were wrong and that there were no ulterior motives in the creation of the talking points that were used to explain the deadly attack.
The talking points in question, which was issued four days after the deadly attack, said that the incident was spontaneously inspired by the demonstrations held in Benghazi then over an anti-Islamic video. Moreover, the ruckus has sprung into a direct assault against the diplomatic post of the US, the talking points have stated. Also, it was also stated that extremists so happened to have participated in the demonstrations.
According to Morrell's testimony today, there was no demonstration at the Benghazi mission. He said that attackers who had links to terrorist groups had stormed the gates of the diplomatic post on the eve of September 11 and set the mission to fire. Businessweek said that the attack and another one just hours later at a CIA annex, resulted to the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
"Our analysts reached their initial judgment because that is where the best available information at the time led them, not because of politics. The White House did not make any substantive changes to the talking points, nor did they ask me to," Morell stated.
Republican lawmakers have criticized President Barack Obama and his administration for downplaying the terrorist nature of the Benghazi attack in order to shut or curb additional attack to the government's anti-terrorism programs in the months ahead of the mid-term elections in 2012. Moreover, the Republicans have insinuated that they will be using this failure of the State Department as an issue against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should she run in the presidential elections.
