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Rep. Joe Heck speaks to Veterans at the American Legion Post 40 in Henderson on Wednesday, June 8, 2011.
By Karoun Demirjian (contact) 
Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012 | 2 a.m.
WASHINGTON — Last week’s hearings with former Central Intelligence Agency Director Gen. David Petraeus have not fully cleared the air surrounding the Obama administration’s response to September’s terror attack in Benghazi, particularly as it affects the political future of Susan Rice, the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations.
At least one Nevada representative wishes lawmakers would focus on bigger takeaways from the terrible tragedy.
“A lot of attention has been paid to what happened after the attack,” said Nevada Rep. Joe Heck, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which was briefed by Petraeus following the attack and again on Friday. “We should be talking about whether or not anything that could have been done before, to obviate the attack, or during the attack... if we really want to take lessons learned about this, that will protect against future attacks.”
Since the election, Republicans and Democrats have been arguing over whether administration officials were completely forthcoming about what they believed caused the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that left the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other members of the diplomatic team, including one ex-Navy SEAL from Nevada, dead.
Initially, administration officials blamed an anti-Muslim YouTube video for sparking demonstrations that led to the raid on the U.S. embassy and the deaths of its personnel. But officials, including Petraeus, have since admitted that the CIA believed the tragedy was a terror attack early on. Nonetheless, while they were forming this opinion, other administration officials -- chiefly Rice -- were delivering the line about the video to the public.
“I don’t blame Ambassador Rice for the statement that she made," Heck said. "She was given talking points and she delivered them... there’s no blame to be laid for the story changing.”
Heck went on to say that his concern was more acutely focused on why it took so long for Rice and others to get the full story as it was unfolding.
“The issue is: Was the most current, up-to-date and complete information given to the American public as soon as possible, and was it given to the families of the individual that we lost?” Heck asked. “I don’t believe that the most up-to-date and and complete information was given to the American public as it was available. We understand that intelligence was an ongoing process. But the issue, for me, was: What was the timeline of the change vs. the timeline on which it was made available? Those two did not coincide.”
But right now, it does seem as though the public’s representatives are not quite ready to have that conversation.
During the presidential campaign, the administration’s line on Benghazi, and whether there was a cover-up, was a major point of contention between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Rice has become a focal point since the election, as she is rumored to be on a short list to take over the State Department from Hillary Clinton during Obama’s second term, and would have to be cleared by the Senate for the position.
That is helping to drive the urgency around heightened Republican demands for a reckoning. This week, Republican Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelley Ayotte demanded Congress appoint a special investigative panel to look into the details of the Benghazi tragedy, alleging that the administration had at best, lied, and at worst, engaged in a conscious cover-up of what had happened.
Democrats, led by Sen. Harry Reid, have flatly refused, accusing Republicans in a letter of “partisan politicization of national security” and charging that many in the House and Senate had “misrepresented the facts...through a constant stream of falsehoods, exaggerations and leaks of sensitive material.”
Not every Republican has been as vocal in their disdain for the administration’s response to the Benghazi tragedy as McCain, Graham and Ayotte.
In the days since their call for a formal investigation, several Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner, dismissed the idea of a special committee investigation, and expressed support for existing committees’ ability to conduct an official investigation.
McCain has also been roundly criticized for skipping a Benghazi briefing with the Senate’s Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee, of which he is a member, this week, on the same day as he went before cameras, demanding a special committee look into the Libyan disaster because, he said, Congress wasn’t getting enough answers from the administration.
But Heck says when it comes to the post-disaster politics, there’s really not much new to see.
The purpose of last week’s Petraeus and other intelligence briefings was to determine whether there had been major omissions or changes in what intelligence officials told Congress about Benghazi in September and what they revealed now.
“In essence there wasn’t,” Heck said.
Bengazi is a coverup of epic proportions.
obama was in the loop, hillary clinton was in the loop, leon panetta was in the loop, patraeus was in the loop, clapper was in the loop, the NSC was in the loop, susan rice was in the loop.
dont believe for a minute that the arab sympathizing communist democrats in control of the administrative branch and barely in control of the us senate dont want to bury this as deep as they can get it.
reids the one who wanted obama to run in the first place. hes thrown his lot in with the COMMUNIST democrat fairytale machine.
there were TONS of intelligence that bengazi was a terrorist death trap and obama sent the ambassador and the others to their deaths in libya JUST SO OBAMA THE COMMUNIST COULD GET RE-ELECTED.
obama's step-dad ala mentor FRANK MARSHALL DAVIS, card carrying member of the usa communist party in hawaii taught obama to hate capitalism and all it stands for. obamas not going to let four dead americans stand in his way of remaking the USA into the image of his real communist father, FRANK MARSHALL DAVIS.
why do you think the communist party of usa deperately wanted obama reelected.
bengazi was IGNORED by CNN, MSDNC, ABC, CBS, NBC, NYTIMES, WASHINGTON POST, all through the election because they have communist elements within their ranks who dont believe in supporting and defending the constitution of the united states of america.
bengazi was covered up horrifically by obama and co-conspiritors knowing full well that the leftist press wouldnt open their mouths about it, not even a peep. that press conference a few days ago was a joke except for the commentator from foxnews who got in obamas face and brought up bengazi. the rest of the socalled journalists were just a bunch kissee-face sycophants who keep their knee pads ready when obama is in the room.
bengazi IS a coverup of epic proportions. we need a special prosecutor with subpoena power NO STONES UNTURNED ON BENGAZI. IF IT LEADS TO OBAMA IMPEACHMENT SO BE IT.
Ah, as I gaze into my Crystal Ball, I see impeachment coming to a newscast near you soon. The guy with the Cheshire Cat grin can only lie so long and when the true story comes out, the howls for his head will grow louder and louder. Benghazi; "Fast & Furious;" General Petreaus; Obamacare; deficit spending; backing parasites, perverts & criminals; protecting liars such as Susan Rice & Eric Holder will finally bring an end to Osama Obama's reign of deceit & mismanagemnet. I, for one, will not miss the cretin!
Keep screaming "Benghazi-gate!" republican idiots, because i like watching you Romney voters freak out over Obama getting re-elected..
Let us momentarily set aside that Republicans ignored more attacks on American embassies and more American deaths during the Bush administration--after all, what could be "coloring" their judgment on the differences? Heh heh. Now back to seriousness. Did anyone watch Soledad O'Brien interview Joe Heckuvajobbrownie on CNN and try to figure out what he was trying to say? He didn't know, so I wondered if anybody else did.
Or we could focus on stuff that actually matters like removing tax incentives for shipping jobs overseas, or comprehensive immigration reform. Maybe he could start working on passing internet gambling legislation.
What do republican Teaheads think happened at Benghazi?
Something like: An aide rushed into the oval office while Obama was doing a few lines of cocaine and says: "Mr President! The embassy in Benghazi is under attack! Should we save them with our space laser?" And Obama looks up and says "No, let those Americans die. Mwahahahaha!"
Copy and paste that to Fox Nation if you like, free of charge
You lost, get over it.
Enjoyed the article, Karoun.
I just wanted to point out one thing about Rep. Heck though. A few days ago, he appeared on CNN with Soledad O'Brien talking about this issue.
And he embarassed himself beyond imagination.
The interview not only showed he didn't know what he was talking about, but he was all over the map so far and so wide that Soledad asked Rep. Heck to clarify some things he said, and after he gave another confusing response, Soledad essentially apologized to Rep. Heck that she couldn't follow what he was saying, that she turned to her panel of other contributors....who all essentially came forwards and stated they had no clue what Rep. Heck was trying to say.
What happened in Libya was bad. Really bad. And it is being investigated thoroughly.
But Tea/Republicans have decided to paint this as a testament against against President Obama, his entire administration, his policies and is clearly nothing but a Fox News generated and fueled savage and relentless right wing news media attack. An attack that is so incredibly bad that it blatantly gives off the impression they are not interested in the truth. Don't believe me? Then why was McCain in press conference saying they had no information about this...when at the same time of the press conference, he was supposed to be in a briefing about Libya? In ultra-conservative lah lah land, the rhetoric is more important than the reality.
Rep. Heck, mindless as he has come off, has decided to join in the attack along with McCain, Graham, Ayotte and others. They all seem to not be interested in facts, just partisan politics.
One thing should be pointed out regarding party politics and what the Tea/Republicans are doing. There is one thing that is left unsaid about all this. It has been touched upon by political experts but there is a concerted effort by the Tea/Republicans to try to throw a monkey wrench in any attempt by President Obama to appoint Ambassador Rice as the new Secretary of State.
The reason is apparent. They want Kerry. Because that leaves an opening in Massachusetts for Brown to get back in. Wall Street is going absolutely crazy in hopes of this. Because if that happens, they will saturate dirty angry money into making him a Senator again. Wall Street loves Brown. Why? Because he does exactly what they say. Brown is in their pockets. Always has been.
It's not about the the lives of four Americans who died in Benghazi. In Tea/Republican Land, it's politics. Nothing else.
Comment removed by moderator. Personal Attack
First who cares what happened during the Bush adminstration. Second as one of the 57 million who did not vote for President Obama, I want to know the truth. The one constant of the American government is that it does everything to protect its people, whether military or civilians. With all the e-mail traffic between the State Department and the Ambassador it seems no one in Washington was concerned about security and the protection of American lives. Those who failed to authorize the securing of the facilities, who denied funding for forces need to be identified and publicly fired. This should never be allowed to happen again!
@Colin: I read many of your posts and I find it hard to believe that you side with the WH on this issue. I find it hard to believe anyone does. The Dems keep saying its a witch hunt by Repubs. Facts are the WH lied. The top officials in this case LIED. They knew what was happening in REAL TIME and watched Americans get murdered. You others that make a joke about this are sorry excuses for people. You joke about this being sour grapes about the election but 4 people died while others watched and did NOTHING. Petraeus should be court martialed. Rice shouldn't be Secretary of State because she can't handle it. Clinton is up to her neck and has disgraced herself going along with this coverup. Holder should be put in jail based on Fast and Furious alone. You lefties can laugh and point your fingers but all it does it show just how un-American you truly are.
Heck has a point that our intelligence should be broader and more encompassing but I can't see any way that would happen at this time. Humint requires long term relationships with all strata of society. The United States has an unfortunate reputation for supporting elites and power brokers at the expense of ordinary folk and, even worse, has a reputation for ditching friends when the going gets tough. Our foreign policy is, notwithstanding platitudes, extremely self-centered. Those of you commenting who rail against "foreign aid' need to understand that a significant portion of government-sponsored foreign aid is spent right here in the US and never makes it overseas. The humanitarian and agricultural efforts are primarily sponsored by private organizations and individuals.
Comment removed by moderator. Personal Attack
Hello Colin,
I wonder why Ms. Demirjian saw fit to completely overlook Heck's obtuseness on CNN?
There are those among us who, because they are very sore losers, and have so much hate for this particular President of United States, that they will see any perceived 'failure' of the Administration as an 'OPPORTUNITY' to make some political hay...
and while Americans should know & care about what happens in Libya or any other outpost in which we have a presence, THIS...is not about THAT...
It's ALL ABOUT political opportunity for sore loser Right-Wing politicians, & for their lemmings that sit on their ample arses in front of FOX all day and hang on every word like their hearin' the Gospel of Jesus, just a' waitin' to give em' an AMMMMEN!
Right now, they're all SALIVATING & PANTING.
Here's video of Joe Heck trying to make HIS political hay, to feed both himself & his herd, and looking just like a GOAT in so doing.
http://americablog.com/2012/11/soledad-o...
just more right wing, repugnican propaganda.
47% of people swallow this kool aid, WITHOUT ANY QUESTION!
As Forest Gump said "stupid is as stupid does."
Here comes this repugnant Johnny Come Lately Heck when just a day ago the distinguished yet fallen leader of the CIA gave testimony that made it clear there was no cover up and the facts are no one actually knew what was happening until it was over.
Now if Heck,McCain and Issa want to investigate something they should explain why Bush ignored fifty-two warnings that terrorists were going to fly planes into American buildings, or why Condi Rice said Iraq has neclear weapons.
OMG.. the "right" just HAS to have to something to be angry and divisive about... you wanna be mad at something? Be mad at the bastards who attacked the consulate and killed those Americans... but no, as usual, the "right" wants something trivial to focus on instead of going after the real issue. Have you learned NOTHING from the last election???
The righties on this site make me want to puke. Their ignorance is appalling. Although the belly laughs I get from reading this drivel are absolutely tremendous. You need to talk about something you know about, not what you may think you know about.
I think an Eight Ball would be more appropriate for some people.
IF the administration really was with heads in the sand and unaware of the potential threats to our people, they must RESIGN and allow COMPETENT authorities to be in charge. If they were not unaware but FAILED TO ACT, they must be FIRED.
I PREDICT we will find a SCAPEGOAT any day now. Clearly, Ms. Rice is incompetent. Certainly others are to blame. The Pres needs to stop inflating support for the incompetent and GET DOWN TO BUSINESS. Enough with investigations. Who was in charge? Fix THAT.
On CNN, Heck was PC and did not show a bias towards anyone but he clearly want to pursue the TRUTH. Who was in charge? CHANGE that. If we allow the same Bozos to monitor Iran's development of nukes, the game is over.
Why is it that the 4,700 KIA in Iraq over fabricated intelligence never received the same foaming-at-the-mouth reaction from the sudden arm-chair experts on terrorism?
Thanks for the link, gmag.
That was the Heck/O'Brien exchange I was talking about in my comment that happened on CNN.
But what gets me is that you only need to watch this to see the complete idiocy of the attack. Heck completely and utterly made a fool out of himself.
But those on the other side of the aisle saw something else. Something that's simply not there.
I have a feeling that Heck will soon go the route of total mindless right wing irrelevancy like West, Walsh, Bachmann, the list goes on and on....
Nobody likes a sore loser and no group of losers are as sore as the Teabag party.
Massive Bengazi cover up? Yep. An unspeakable twinkie/ding dong genocide that the liberal media continues to ignore? Uh huh. Millions of little green men from outspace stuffed the ballot boxes for Obama? They have proof! Anything that can be imagined, the GOP has a conspiracy theory for it.
Psst ... I heard Vince Foster's ghost is haunting the White House and has implicated Sasha Obama in his murder ... Pass it on.
Fox News and talk radio garbage. What difference does it make whether they were terrorists or demonstrators? or some of both? A demonstrator can be a terrorist and a terrorist can be a demonstrator.
Also, in parts of the world like Libya, the Congo, Pakistan people have access to heavy weaponry. (Remember the weapons cashes of Gaddafi begin raided during their civil war?) An RPG or fully auto AK cost $20. in the world market.
Simple Questions for US Dept of State. et al
1. Why open a consulate in a place where security is so bad - you cannot leave the compound?
2. Why open a consulate where security is so bad - you cannot allow any Libyans enter the compound for visa processing, US AID projects etc?
3. Why open a consulate just as the British consulate is folding their tent because of incessant attacks?
4. Why downgrade the security forces in this enviroment?
This is simple stuff folks...We sent Americans into the lions-den with no protection and that is a scandal!
Americans love liars, liars love Americans.
We have right wingers and left wingers which are both parts of the same bird. Then there's Teabaggers and Fleabaggers, one wants responsible representation, the other is just a common parasite. The Benghazi incident as reported by the juvenile propaganda bureau thinks everyone is dumb, the 47%ers don't care.
On the day Susan Rice commented, multiple things were going on: The Muslim world was erupting over the video at US Embassies everywhere, AND the CIA were doing their usual business. Benghazi did not make sense to me, unless it was a highly classified operation. If Susan Rice actually knew and told what was going on, these same political forces would be holding hearings on leaking classified information. We need to find someone to run against Joe Heck that is not suffering post traumatic stress ore delusions of grandeur? Joe Heck is the problem!
Sure, lets sweep it under the rug like you always do when Obama is involved. If it was a republican you would be all over it. Nixon had Watergate, a stupid burglary that no one lost their life doing. Benghazi on the other hand has four dead Americans and the white house has lied! Get off the backs of the politicians that want answers and demand those answers yourselves. I want to hear the truth! Every American should demand it! They owe it to us!
The one thing I like about you clowns on the left is it's everybody else fault but the guy at the top. This is how Nixon was brought down go look at real history and learn. When Watergate happened the republicans were saying Oh it was just a small time burglary. Now the democrats are say this was a video.Well no one was killed in Watergate. But the Alphabet press is behind the this president as he lies about this incident. This was Terrorism with lies made to the American people.
When the radical extremist republicans gained majority control of the House of Representatives in 2011, they dusted off the same negative play book they used against President Clinton, and began their attack on President Obama, his staff, and his department secretaries.
They accused President Obama of anything and everything and used the strategy of obstruction and sabotage of the economy, just so they could blame President Obama and gain politically.
Well, the election of 2012 is over and Obama is still our president.
So, why haven't the Obstructionist republicans, Heck included, stopped their shenanigans?
Those citizens that voted for Heck should give him a call and tell him to stop being a party leadership boot-licker and work on legislation that will benefit the NV citizens.
Do yo, as a NV citizen, want two more years of obstruction with nothing being accomplished for you, your family, neighbor, friend, co-worker, and community?
Are you willing to pay Obstructionist Heck and Amodei $174,000 per year to rename post offices, pass the Ryan plan twice,voted against Obamacare 33 times, and made numerous "Bills to Nowhere?"
as long as my e.b.t. card is charged up I don't care about no stinking Bengahzi, 4 more years!
A few $trillion of taxpayer money later , 5000 US soldiers have died bringing democracy freedom and the western way of life to Iraq, another 2000 in Afghanistan. Why are some people shocked because the American ambassador was killed following the ongoing attempt to do the same in Libya. 50 to 100,000 people died in Libya in the attack on Libya they called Operation Odyssey Dawn(catchy, sounds good to). People die in wars specially when you stick your uninvited nose in someone else affairs.
I smell the putrid stench of another Birther-inspired GOP witchhunt. Investigating the Democrats is way more exciting than the boring task of creating jobs and ending this miserable Bush recession.
Just after their grand campaign of jobs , jobs , jobs,... again the R's are distracted with other things like grand investigations... Why on earth did anyone vote for this guy? You didnt know he was going to go off of Jobs and onto some other right wing agenda? Gosh!!
You get what you voted for in Heck! Another R looking for a conspiracy that will divert us from getting the budget fixed and dealing with the debt!
It is tragic what happened, but.. a grand investigation will not bring them back.. it will not solve our fiscal problems.. it will only waste valuable legislative time on witch hunts!
Heck you are the problem not the solution!
I'm watching this unfold and appreciating that this is just a purely partisan ruse by the Republicans to put a "gate" (as in watergate) on the end of something. And I'm watching my congressman being made to look like a total fool...on national T.V. no less.
So,I've got a suggestion for our congressman Dr. Heck. He is a Doctor, served our country admirably in uniform, has a wonderful family...an all around decent guy who unfortunately is WED TO THE CRAZIES OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!! When was the last time a congressman switched parties in mid term? I'd love to have him a a Democrat. Seriously. His party has gone nuts. Actually, he'd be doing his Republican party a tremendous service and give them the wake up call they seriously need!
I think the "coverup of epic proportions" is the Republicans trying to cover their own arses. Starting with Mitt Romney, his statements in the "47% video" that he would "seize any opportunity" to win. Then he grabs the grandstand by calling a press conference early in the morning after the Benghazi attack and making accusations against the President and the State Department before he had all the facts, and before the President spoke to the public. That made me suspicious that the Benghazi incident was a plot involving Romney, the neocons, the fundamentalist cabal in the military and intelligence agencies, along with Netanyahu's push to invade Iran. Issa's hearings and release of classified information before the election, Romney's accusation of the President during the foreign policy debate, the grandstanding this past week by McCain and Graham and other Republicans, and the disinformation and accusations they put out there in the week before the Petraeous briefing makes me even more suspicious of Republicans. As more facts are released and the investigation proceeds, their behaviour reeks of the Republicans' propensity to spin everything to their advantage. They want Scott Brown back in the Senate so they can continue their obstruction. They want more defense spending and another war, tax cuts for their rich friends, total control of the White House and both Houses of Congress, and the Supreme Court. There really is no limit to their greed and lust for power.
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While I agree there must be an inquiry, we all should realize that members of GOP (Tea Party faction of the GOP, Fox News, Rush, Beck, Trump, Etc.) will never be satisfied with what ever comes out of the Benghazi investigation. I guess that is the price of democracy and maybe it's a good thing.
All one has to do is watch Heck's interview with Soledad O'Brien to see what an incompetent idiot that we have representing Nevada's 3rd Congressional District.
Embarrassing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/15...
The fact is Americans can't handle the truth, that's why they lied about it. 47% are clueless, the rest are just dumb. Don't ask don't tell? Well, I guess we found out that pendulum only swings one way.
Senator Heck is again demonstrating what real leadership is--even when the inane are trying to divert attention to anything else. Maybe O. could tune in and look at the Senator's style, charm, integrity and even HOW an investigation proceeds--without pandering.
Despicable that the Right Wing is turning an attack on our consulate into a partisan issue. This is a sign that filthy politicians like Heck, Graham and McCain have no depth that they won't sink to in their partisan politicking.
A few points.
1)."Since the election, Republicans and Democrats have been arguing over whether administration officials were completely forthcoming about what they believed caused the Sept. 11, 2012, attack ...." is not true. The Republicans have been making these charges since before the election. They were debunked then (most famously by Candy Crowley in the debate). I am at a loss to explain why the Sun reports the facts differently.
2) Joe Heck is changing his tune since is incomprehensible babbling to Soledad Obrien on CNN.
3) We know exactly what happened in the lead up to the attack. After deciding that protecting American lives was less important that tax cuts for the wealthy, Republicans cut funding for embassy security.
truthserum is really drinking Kool-Aid!
Yes, yes Obama will be impeached for Benghazi, while Bush was not even questioned for starting a war in Iraq on falsified pretenses which caused the loss of tens of thousands of lives Americans and Iraqis!! Drink some more Kool-aid!
Heard him make a fool of himself on CNN. WMD in Iraq, that was OK, but whether it was terrorism or a demonstration in Libya, that is a big deal? Also, what about McCain saying the anthrax attack that killed 5 and sicken 100 people was "from Iraq." It was a USA strain of agricultural anthrax and not professionally weaponized by a government. Why did McCain lie?
Here is Heck doubletalking about the RICES.
http://youtu.be/93MtwI-xEpY