Some things are too important for political spin. They are items that have life and death consequences for Americans. They are perfectly fine to discuss in the political arena, but phony political positioning cannot be allowed; the harvest of such positioning is too awful to contemplate. Currently, the item which needs to be discussed clearly is the anger across the Middle East and the attacks on American interests and embassies that we are seeing every day. The American people and, more important, the American government need to understand the causes of these events so that a rational course of action to deal with the consequences can be achieved. Sadly, it seems that the government and its allies are trying to use political spin rather than logic and reason to decide how to respond.
There are certain facts that we know for certain at this point:
1) The date of 9-11 has major significance to both America and the terrorists. America knew that, but it did nothing to increase security at its embassies on that day. Indeed, marines and other guards at certain of the most vulnerable embassies were not allowed to carry ammunition even on that day.
2) Prior to the 9-11 attacks, the USA was warned that there could be trouble at its embassies on 9-11. Indeed, beyond the general warning about which we have heard previously, we now learn that in Libya the American embassy in Benghazi was specifically warned about the threat of armed terrorists congregating in that city; the warning came on September 7th, some four days before the attack. Despite these warnings, no steps were taken by the United States government to increase security at the embassies and nothing was done about the threat of terror attack in Benghazi.
3) For weeks and maybe months before the 9-11 attacks, there was on youtube a video which is the trailer for an amateurish film which has an unflattering portrayal of the prophet Mohammed. This video was discussed on Egyptian television for days prior to the attacks. It was also mentioned in other countries.
4) On 9-11 itself, the American embassy in Cairo heard that there might be a demonstration at its front gates on that day, so, before any demonstrators arrived, most of the embassy staff was sent home early. These folks were gotten out of harm's way, but no steps were taken to increase security.
5) As the demonstrators were assembling outside the US embassy in Cairo, the embassy released a statement which it followed up with tweets reinforcing the message. In the statement, the embassy apologized for the video showing Mohammed. It also condemned any statement that hurts the feelings of Moslems.
6) The demonstrators in Egypt scaled the walls of the embassy compound, ripped down and burned the American flag and replaced the flag with the black banner of jihad, the flag of al Qaeda. To make sure that their message was clear, the demonstrators chanted "Obama, Obama, we are all Osamas." They were not protesting a film; they were supporting jihad against the USA just like Osama bin Laden did.
7) In Benghazi, Libya, the embassy compound was attacked with rocket propelled grenades, mortars and semi-automatic rifles. The attackers came in well organized waves and quickly overran the compound. The ambassador and others were take secretly to a local safe house in accordance with the safety protocols of the embassy. The attackers immediately moved on to assault the safe house. They knew all about it; the secret location was obviously not so secret. The ambassador and three other Americans were killed; 17 were wounded.
None of these points is uncertain or conjecture. These are certainties. We do ourselves damage if we cannot accept this truth.
So why am I talking about spin? Here are five more facts that explain why.
1) When the embassy in Cairo issued its apology to the impending mob for the video, Mitt Romney issued his own statement condemning any policy which "apologizes" to America's enemies for our way of life. Romney pointed out that president Obama has gone to great lengths to apologize to Moslems during his term and that such conduct makes the USA seem weak and ineffectual to our opponents.
2) For his part, president Obama did not stay in Washington to oversee the response to these terror attacks. Instead, he went to a fund raiser and a campaign appearance in Vegas.
3) Within twenty four hours, Obama and Secretary Clinton both stated that the message released by the embassy in Cairo had not been approved by Washington and they both renounced the statement. In other words, the basically agreed with Romney.
4) The press in the USA went into a frenzy to try to paint the Romney statement as inappropriate or amateurish. Romney spoke out before the attacks were over. Romney spoke out before we knew that the ambassador had been killed. Romney criticized Obama during a foreign policy crisis. Romney did nothing to soothe the mobs in Egypt. These were the talking points.
5) The press and the Obama administration have also pushed relentlessly the position that all that happened is the result of the video. We are told that none of these events had anything to do with Obama's policies. Indeed, the man who made the video has been arrested in California by deputies acting on federal government instructions.
Let's stop fooling ourselves. There are certain conclusions that one must draw from these facts if we are ever to prevent future disasters of this sort:
a) The cause here is not the video. The video is an excuse and nothing more. The attack in Benghazi was obviously carefully planned for 9-11. It would have taken a serious intelligence effort for the terrorists to find the location of the safe house; those things take time. A spontaneous mob would not be armed with mortars and RPG's, not even in Libya. A spontaneous mob would not have been the subject of a warning delivered four days in advance.
b) Romney's statement was clearly correct. It was error for America to apologize for the video. In particular, that an apology for something that was not even the cause of the attacks makes no sense. More important, however, the video, no matter how offensive, is just a free expression by a resident of America. Free speech is one of the things for which our country supposedly stands. The president ought not apologize for it. Romney's instincts were 100% correct here. Even the timing of Romney's statement was fine. Surely, one cannot fault Romney for speaking prior to the end of the attacks if one realizes that Obama left to fly to Vegas at the same time. Romney's statement would not be any better or worse if the timing were changed.
c) The delusion that the problem is the video rather than a more basic problem with jihadists is a dangerous one. Since Obama cannot believe that those who attacked the embassies have a problem with America or with his policies, he cannot react in a way that will make a difference. No one in the terror groups cares whether or not the filmmaked in California is in jail. They want to destroy America and all it stands for. Remember: "Obama, Obama we are all Osamas!" They did not chant "get the filmmaker!"
In looking at today's press, I see that the die hard liberal supporters of Obama are still spreading the bogus points. Eugene Robinson in the Washington Post and Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times have both written pieces that focus on Romney's statement rather than on the crisis itself. I am heartened, however, to see that other segments of the liberal press seem to be coming to their senses. CNN has a detailed report on the specific warnings that the Obama administration got in Benghazi days prior to the attack and the inaction by Obama that followed. The truth is seeping out and into the American consciousness.
We need more, not less truth. If the focus stays on false criticism of the Romney statement and on punishing the filmmaker who just asserted his first amendment rights, there will be more dead Americans in the middle east. Only clear thinking and not political spin can help end the crisis.
I realize that the truth will not be helpful to president Obama. He will have to explain how he could have ignored warnings both general and specific and left the Cairo and Benghazi embassies defenseless. He will have to explain how the embassy in Cairo could believe that apologizing for America's right of free speech would be beneficial to our cause. He will have to admit that the problem here was not a video, but rather the existence of America and the American way of life. He will have to admit that his policies have not worked and then modify them to achieve our national goals. In other words, Obama will have to lead and not from behind. He will have to actually be president and not just talk about it.
So far, Obama has failed in this test. Four are dead in Libya, more are dead in Afghanistan. How many more will die until America gets a president who understands what it means to hold that office, that sometimes the president has to do what is right for the country no matter what the personal cost.
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