Benghazi

The latest document release makes clear that what anyone paying attention at the time thought had happened was what had happened:

In the fall of 2012, the Obama White House was focused on re-election to the point that it was shutting its real duties out. President Obama was shutting his own real duties out, campaigning far more than governing. He hadn’t met with his jobs council in months. He was skipping his daily security intel briefings. The Sept. 10 release was sent out to make him look presidential, without actually performing the duties of president. There was no security meeting, and no forces were actually moved around anywhere to gear up for the 9-11 anniversary. There was a conference call, a conversation, and a press release.

The administration had been warned that security in Benghazi was deteriorating and an attack was likely and would be deadly, repeatedly. The black flag of Islam was already flying over government buildings in Benghazi. Ansar al-Sharia, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Libya, was gaining power. Terrorists had already attacked the Red Cross and the British embassy in Benghazi, forcing both to abandon the city. The last remaining target of three that al Qaeda had stated its intent to attack was the US facility. But Clinton’s State Department consistently denied requests to beef up security, and Obama couldn’t be bothered to give a damn about anything but winning re-election.

The attack happens. It’s clear from the beginning that it was an attack, the military briefed administration officials that it was an attack, but the State Department had been denying field requests from Benghazi to beef up security, and there’s a paper trail of those denials. Obama hasn’t been attending to his daily intel briefings. Obama, derelict in his duty every bit as much as Clinton, has been campaigning on the theme that “al Qaeda is defeated and on the run.” Well, here they are to spoil that particular campaign line and re-write their own in the blood of four Americans.

The inconvenience of four dead Americans could not be allowed to become speedbumps slowing Obama’s path to re-election.

And so the ongoing parade of lies.

The Vision For Space Exploration

Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of Bush’s speech, and no one seems to have noticed. Down the memory hole, I guess.

Anyway, I’ll have a piece up sometime today about it at USA Today.

[Mid-morning update]

Heh. Google has picked up this post, and it’s the only one in the top ten that is actually discussing it. I can sort of see why NASA didn’t make a big deal of it, given that most people consider it to have been canceled in 2010. I disagree, though, as you’ll see.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!