.....By then Libya's temporary government, the National Transitional Council, had moved from Benghazi to Tripoli, where the American embassy had been reopened. At the time, other governments were moving their missions out of Benghazi, and there had been talk of winding down the American mission. Yet Stevens-who had served as U.S. representative to the National Transitional Council from March to November 2011 and would be sworn in as ambassador to Libya in May 2012-did not know what was planned for the Benghazi mission. [Susan] Brooks [R-IN] asked:
[Stevens] was in Washington, D.C., or back in the States during that time, and in December Ambassador Stevens, your soon-to-be ambassador, didn't know what was going to happen with the compound in Benghazi. How is that possible?....
Clinton offered a jarring response:
Well, Congresswoman, one of the great attributes that Chris Stevens had was a really good sense of humor. And I just see him smiling as he's typing this. Because it is clearly in response to the email down below talking about picking up a few, quote, "fire-sale items" from the Brits.
This comment comes out of nowhere. Why mention Stevens's sense of humor in response to a serious question about the future of the mission?....... Seemingly taken aback, Brooks noted that the fire sale actually referred to barricades the British were selling at cut-rate prices because they and "other countries [were] pulling out" of Benghazi, and American diplomats were looking to buy "because we weren't providing enough physical security for the compound."
Clinton responded: "Well, I thought it showed their entrepreneurial spirit, Congresswoman.....I applaud them for doing so." Given that over the next year Clinton's State Department would fail to provide sufficient security for the compound, this was a cold-blooded statement........
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
