Joe Klein blames Benghazi victims, wrong on diplomats dying
J. Christopher Stevens, United States ambassador to Libya from May 2012 until killed in an attack on the “safehouse” in September 2012
On Morning Joe, Joe Klein cleared Hillary of responsibility for American deaths in Benghazi, and blamed the CIA, claiming that the “guys” should have been able to protect themselves.
According to Klein, “this really was a CIA station there, not so much a consulate, and those guys should be able to protect themselves in most circumstances.” Just to be clear, this confirms reports here on the Dispatch that this was NOT an Embassy, it’s a CIA safehouse.
Klein doesn’t think Hillary should even be called to testify: “this is something that does not rise to the level of the Secretary of State.” He suggested instead that David Petraeus be hauled before the committee.
Mika Brzezinski responded with a “wow” before Klein falsely asserted that “diplomats get killed in every administraton,” Joe Scarborough shot back that this was the first ambassador killed since 1979. Watch the video below, transcript via Newsbusters.
JOE KLEIN: I think that Benghazi, most of the questions have been answered. I think that we haven’t heard enough about the fact that this really was a CIA station there, not so much a consulate, and those guys should be able to protect themselves in most circumstances.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Wow.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: So then what is your 30-second summary of what happened in Benghazi?
KLEIN: What happened in Benghazi is a couple of things, joined. One was the video which was affecting the entire Islamic world. There were riots across the entire Islamic world. Why should Libya be any different? And number two, you had a street gang which called itself a militia that was heavily armed, the way many of them are in that part of the world, who chose that moment to attack our facilities there.
And, you know, this is something that does not rise to the level of a — of the Secretary of State for sure. I mean, there are other people who should be questioned. David Petraeus was the CIA director at that point and I think that he had a significant role in how this thing was rolled out after it happened. But you got to remember that diplomats get killed in every administration.
SCARBOROUGH: Well, this is the first ambassador killed since ’79.
KLEIN: Yes, but, uh, but, but there are an awful lot of diplomats killed. You could talk to Ryan Crocker, who is probably our greatest Middle East diplomat, and he was digging his colleagues out of the rubble of the embassy in Lebanon.
Hillary Clinton testified on Benghazi, but ultimately asked “What difference does it make now?” but now the truth comes out on Benghazi
