Friday News Roundup - International
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-10-26/friday-news-roundup-international
The United States investigates a Tunisian suspect in the Benghazi, Libya, consulate attack. Israel and Hamas escalate fighting on the Gaza border. And a child sex abuse scandal roils the BBC. Diane and guests discuss the week’s top international stories: what happened and why.
Guests
Yochi Dreazen
senior national security correspondent for National Journal magazine.
Kim Ghattas
State Department correspondent for the BBC and author of a forthcoming book on Hillary Clinton during her years as Secretary of State.
Moises Naim
chief international columnist for El Pais.
Comments
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After the 2004 election, the Bush Administration insisted that there be elections in Gaza, to the consternation of Israel who knew Hamas would romp the elections in Gaza. Hamas won, Bush, therefore gave Hamas de facto the welcome mat to Israel's gates. Ask the children of S'derot, with bomb shelters next to their playgrounds how welcoming were the results of the Bush Administration's actions.
Did President Obama say that Israel move back to pre-1967 borders, without emphasizing the need for direct negotiation between Palestinians and Israel? Yes. Has he changed his position? Yes. Has he helped Israel defend the children of S'derot? Yes.
More recently, Mr. Romney, Mr. Ryan and Mr. Issa threatened U.S. assets after the recent Ben Ghazi attack. The Number 1 responsibility for the President after he found out about the killing of the four Americans was insuring the safety of other Americans and American assets based on professional advice. Mr. Romney took his Number 1 responsibility to insist on full disclosure and mocking the President's leadership before Mr. Romney knew any details of the attack. Mr. Issa released the names of our allies in Libya threatening their lives. The President has a senior diplomat, Mr. Pickering, a Republican from the Reagon Administration and the President's Administration, investigating the incident. The difference is the President acting with responsibility, while Mr Romney and company are acting with blind ambition. Well, “here we go, again”the Keystone Cops are back, in this case, Romney's foreign policy team, and the big one appears to be at the top of their ticket.
With all the newly released information on the terrorist attack in Benghazi that clearly points to a white house cover up for political purposes, not to mention a total disregard for the safety of the ambassador and embassy personal. I guess by what the main stream media reports we should not concern ourselves with these murders, government cover ups and incompetence but be more concerned about voting for a trash talking "historic" president that deserves to win the election based on nothing else accept the color of his skin and that he is a liberal.
You lead off with a story about a long dead pervert that probably no one in this country even knows. The Obama accomplice media at work, shame!
@Statman
"The Number 1 responsibility for the President after he found out about the killing of the four Americans was insuring the safety of other Americans and American assets based on professional advice."
NO! His responsibility started LONG before the Americans were dead. The leaked emails show that within TWO HOURS of the beginning of the attack, it was known in the White House that this was a terrorist attack and that it was ongoing. The attack lasted for SEVEN HOURS. Support troops were within ONE HOUR of Consulate. If the Administration had acted immediately to bring in support, four Americans might be alive.
The other thing that galls me is that the President and his spokespeople skip by responsibility and go straight to "we don't want this to happen again".
Listen to them - "bad things are going to happen and there's nothing we can do to prevent that, but we want to find out what happened and make sure it doesn't happen again". BS!!! Ambassador Stevens and others were BEGGING for more security - right up to the attack. Then, after it began, the White House did NOTHING. What? Did the emails go to their SPAM folders?! I don't think so. This is like saying, Yes, I smashed my car into that storefront and killed four people ... let's find out what happened and make sure it doesn't happen again! Think that would fly? Then why does the U.S. press let it fly when four Americans are dead in Benghazi?! This is CRIMINAL!
Romney vs. Romney! Priceless....I wonder which Romney would win...
Either way, we THE PEOPLE would loose
Dan Senor is probably the most dangerous advisor on the Romney campaign.
Despite Diane and Yochi's fawning, listeners should know his book, "Startup Nation" is all about how constant war is a competitive advantage, and why the U.S. should reinstate conscription.
It is also incredibly deceptive in that it won't talk about how Israel obtained nuclear weapons, or the massive espionage Israel conducts against the U.S.
A takedown of Senor and his dangerous ideas can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi41ODwu4eE
Thank you Phyllis Bennis for taking a stand based on facts having to do with the Israeli Palestinian conflict over the last five years. Always better late than never. Important and great that you could get that important example through the Rehm show. The U.S. American Jewish community is going through a real shift the last 5- 10 years.
Now if only the Rehm show would do a whole hour on illegal settlements continuing to expand
The Diane Rehm show: Another campaign program to re-elect Obama.
To the adjunct professor in Florida regarding Romney's experience. Are you kidding? President Obama had absolutely NO foreign policy experience, not to mention his lack of any other kind of policy experience aside from community organization meetings.
To promote fear of Romney due to his association with advisors who support national security, based on what Colonel Powell said, is just that, a scare tactic.
If you want to discuss fear, why don't you talk about the Saul Alinsky views on American military and his influence on Obama?
To those of you who continue to harp on Romney as "changing" his views and agreeing with Obama about national security...let me remind you that even on the DR show there have been guests who claim that Obama is simply carrying out President Bush's military policy on Iraq and Afghanistan. Ergo, Romney's agreement with Obama on those two theaters is more in line with Bush's than with Obama.
What gets completely ignored in the debate about the "lack of security" in Benghazi and that being President Obama's fault, is that the person who had to know better than anyone the dangers of Benghazi went there of his own volition.
To re-write the history is to besmirch the reputation of a true America patriot and hero, Christopher Stevens, who represented this nation with integrity and devotion and as such endeared himself and the America he represented to the Libyans!
Agreed. Thank you. It's always easier to criticize and blame those who are no longer present to defend themselves. Even during the congressional hearings last week Eric Nordstrom testified that Ambassador Stevens had requested, repeatedly, more security.
"Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said that the attack was over before the U.S. military had sufficient information on which to act"
I used to have respect for Panetta and always gave him the benefit of the doubt. Now we know he is just another mouthpiece for the Obama Administration.
WWWyatt3,
This is why you pay attention to Fox News. Because you will never hear this account from any other source:
"Fox News has learned from sources who were on the ground in Benghazi that an urgent request from the CIA annex for military back-up during the attack on the U.S. Consulate and subsequent attack several hours later was denied by officials in the CIA chain of command -- who also told the CIA operators twice to "stand down" rather than help the ambassador's team when shots were heard at approximately 9:40 p.m. in Benghazi on Sept. 11.
Former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were part of a small team who were at the CIA annex about a mile from the U.S. Consulate where Ambassador Chris Stevens and his team came under attack. When they heard the shots fired, they radioed to inform their higher-ups to tell them what they were hearing and requested permission to go to the consulate and help out. They were told to "stand down," according to sources familiar with the exchange. An hour later, they called again to headquarters and were again told to "stand down."
Woods, Doherty and at least two others ignored those orders and made their way to the Consulate which at that point was on fire. Shots were exchanged. The quick reaction force from the CIA annex evacuated those who remained at the Consulate and Sean Smith, who had been killed in the initial attack. They could not find the ambassador and returned to the CIA annex at about midnight".
Continued:
"At that point, they called again for military support and help because they were taking fire at the CIA safe house, or annex. The request was denied. There were no communications problems at the annex, according those present at the compound. The team was in constant radio contact with their headquarters. In fact, at least one member of the team was on the roof of the annex manning a heavy machine gun when mortars were fired at the CIA compound. The security officer had a laser on the target that was firing and repeatedly requested back-up support from a Specter gunship, which is commonly used by U.S. Special Operations forces to provide support to Special Operations teams on the ground involved in intense firefights. The fighting at the CIA annex went on for more than four hours -- enough time for any planes based in Sigonella Air base, just 480 miles away, to arrive. Fox News has also learned that two separate Tier One Special operations forces were told to wait, among them Delta Force operators. "
Way to go, Mr. President. Double down on the lies why don't you? We now KNOW them to be untrue.
"I've always been straight with the American people."
FALSE!
"And what is true," he continued, "...This is something that the American people can take to the bank—is that my administration plays this stuff straight. We don't play politics when it comes to American national security," the president said. "As information came in we gave it to the American people. And as we got new information, we gave that to the American people."
FALSE!
"But we're going to find out exactly what happened," he said. "Ultimately, though, any time there is a death of an American overseas, I want to find out what happened, because my most important job as president is keeping the American people safe."
NO. It isn't. These four Americans are already dead. Good luck keeping them "safe". What is most important right now is finding out who knew what and when they knew it. Which you will NEVER do, because you know you will be held personally responsible.
"And we will get to the bottom of what happened, and we're going to make sure most importantly that those who carried it out, that they are captured," Obama said.
Note ... not KILLED if necessary, but "captured or killed" becomes, just "captured". Oh, and Mr. President, does this sound familiar?
"Listen to them - "bad things are going to happen and there's nothing we can do to prevent that, but we want to find out what happened and make sure it doesn't happen again ... This is like saying, Yes, I smashed my car into that storefront and killed four people ... let's find out what happened and make sure it doesn't happen again!"
President Truman: "The buck stops here"
President Obama: "The buck stops anywhere but here".