Susan Rice: Benghazi critics "dead wrong"

Those who have accused the Obama administration of a cover up in the wake of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi are "dead wrong, and they are in fact doing a disservice to those we lost," U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said Thursday on the "Daily Show with Jon Stewart."

Rice became a lightning rod for GOP criticism after she portrayed the attack as the result of a protest, rather than a premeditated terrorist assault, on the Sunday talk shows following the incident. She defended that characterization, telling Stewart, "I shared the best information that our intelligence community had at the time, and they provided the talking points that I used."

She admitted, "they were wrong in one respect, we learned subsequently... and that is that there wasn't, in fact, a protest. But in every other respect, they have more or less held up over time."

Asked why she was selected to brief the talk shows on that particular Sunday, Rice explained, "Secretary Clinton, who had been asked originally to do it, felt that she didn't want to, couldn't do it that week, having been through quite a pretty intense week with the loss of our colleagues in Benghazi...so I was asked as I've been in the past, and I said I would."

The "bigger tragedy" of the reaction to Benghazi, Rice said, "Is that we've spent all of these months trying to figure out the origin of some talking points which were cleared at the highest levels of the intelligence community, and in my opinion, not enough time doing the service that we owe to our fallen colleagues who have been lost."

She also disputed accusations that the administration is stonewalling, arguing that dozens of hearings and briefings have given Congress "ample opportunities" to understand the response to the attack.

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The U.N. ambassador also addressed the recent North Korean nuclear test, saying "we had every reason to expect that it was coming," though "we didn't know when, precisely."

But North Korea needs to understand, Rice said, that "The more they violate their international obligations...the more they're isolating and impoverishing their own people."

"It's not just the United States of America that finds this absolutely unacceptable," she explained. "It's the entire international community. It's China, who was none too amused by this latest" action.

[Independent11]

All I want to know is WHY:

WHY IS THE WHITE HOUSE HIDING the Benghazi survivors from the media, the Congress, and the People?

How do we know they are ok? Not being threatened into silence? Not having their First Amendment rights violated? Is this America, or Communist Russia?

It has been 5 months. Where are the Benghazi survivors?

[highlndr55]

She knew it was a lie. They knew it was a lie. Everyone nows knows it was a lie. She needs to move on and get on with her pitiful life.

[whaas2]

The leadership in our intellegence community said that they always knew it was a terroist attack. The President said that the morning after the attack, with the secetrary of state at his side, he announced to the American people that it was terrorist attack. Susan Rice has yet to tell the American people exactly who gave her the talking points that she used and exactly who gave the orders and made the arrangements with the media. We want to know where the decission to mislead the American people came from. It is a dishonor to the dead and to the American people to hide the truth. If Hilary was unable to address the American people in this case then she is unqualified to hold public office. We the American people deserve to know the truth.

[ammo17]

according to the hearings on c-span you lied because obama and the state department told you to lie.why we don`t hook you politicians up to a polygraph machine everytime you are on t.v..

[wfw3536]

For Rice and the Obama administration I hope it was a cover up. If it wasn't it just shows the total incompetence of this president and his administration. How and why we would let our Ambassador in a residence that didn't even meet the basic standards for security as outlined by the State Dept, and then we hear them whin about the 300 million they need for additional security, but find out the Mrs Clinton took almost 2 billion to fund global warming. How sad 4 brave Americans died needlessly.

[Mike239239]

The problem with you people on the right is you get all of your misinformation from the republican propaganda machine and have no idea what the facts are. You have computers why not look up some of the testimony that has been given on issues instead of being brain washed by some drug addicted draft dodging disc jockey?

[empirebuilder]

Having a chuckle, but......
2095 Air Miles Washington, DC - Las Vegas -Obama's 9/12 fund raiser
2095 Air Miles Bengahzi, Libya- Waterloo

By not reacting to Bengahzi on 9/11 is this a way of history telling Obama and his WH "crew" something?

[empirebuilder]

I am sorry, but I have as hard a time believing Susan's faux anger as I did Hillary's. When the heat is on, play the affront card.

If anyone paid disrepect to the deaths of four Americans, their families and the entire nation it was Susan. To give outright lies and denials of events is outrageous and an insult.

If she really did not know, would not her honest reaction be to go back on those broadcasts and apologize for misleading the nation and explaining her actions? Attempt some damage control of her reputation and gather some self-respect.

No she did not. She demurely hid from view. She did what she was asked to do... and now comes out and pretends to be angry?

[empirebuilder]

Actornaught... I would have to refer you to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid for your request of information..

[MTATL670]

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[indvfreedomliberal]

Well she got the dead part right since the biggest critics had they lived are dead.

[RobertVBrand]

Brainless people -- like you, real world -- have yet to figure out that the Obama administration could have as readily said it was an AQ terrorist attack instead of a protest. Obama never claimed AQ was dead and couldn't win one now and then. Laying the attack on their doorstep would have given him more powers. Calling whatever he said a "cover up" is a political move, not a real world one.

[indvfreedomliberal]

You guys don't get it, Americans know no one can really protect against a spontaneous mob attack, but this one wasn't one, they knew it immediately and then lied about it to soften the pre-election shock. And the more we know that they knew all along it was high risk and how reckless they were in protecting the ambassador borders on criminal negligence.

Well calculated lies and disinformation is what we get from this and past administrations and haven't we had enough of that over the last twenty years?

[jgg000010]

so you guys don't think the campaign narrative of "I got bin laden", "al qaeda has been decimated", "al qaeda is on the run"
and "bin laden is dead, GM is alive" would haved appeared disingenuous if the truth had been known that Benghazi was actually an al qaeda terrorist attack on a US consulate on the anniversary of 9/11 which resulted in the deaths of 4 Americans including the ambassador and 2 Navy Seals? And you don't think the rhetoric about the libya success, the wonderful "arab spring" and "getting qaddaffi" would have been jeoparized as a result of this al qaeda terrorist attack actually happening in Libya?