| President Obama defends U.N. ambassador Susan Rice against criticism from Sen. John McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham over the Benghazi attacks in Libya. By James Eng, NBC News Updated at 3:37 p.m. ET: President Barack Obama on Wednesday spiritedly defended U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice over her response to the September attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead, assailing Republican criticism of her as "outrageous."  Bebeto Matthews / AP file U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice speaks during a meeting on Syria in the United Nations Security Council, Aug. 30. At his first news conference since winning re-election, the president said Rice has done "exemplary work" and accused GOP critics of trying to "besmirch" her reputation. "I don't think there's any debate in this country that when you have four Americans killed, that's a problem, and we've got to get to the bottom of it and there needs to be accountability. We've got to bring those who carried it out to justice. They won't get any debate from me on that," Obama said sternly. "But when they go after the U.N. ambassador, apparently because they think she's an easy target, then they've got a problem with me." One of Rice's main critics, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, refused to back down, saying shortly after Obama's news conference that he had "no intention of promoting anyone who is up to their eyeballs in the Benghazi debacle." Rice has been mentioned as a possible successor to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has said she will not continue to serve in Obama's second term beginning in January. Obama: 'No evidence' of national security harm in Petraeus scandal Senior Republican senators vowed earlier on Wednesday to block any future promotion of Rice, questioning her initial description of the Sept. 11 violence on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi as a spontaneous outburst rather than a planned attack as unfathomable. Killed in the violence were U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American officials. "My judgment at this time is that four Americans were killed, and the information that our U.N. ambassador conveyed was clearly false," Sen. John McCain, the top GOP senator on the Armed Services Committee, told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference. "There was overwhelming evidence that it was completely false. And she should have known what the situation and circumstances were and not tell the world on all Sunday morning talk shows." Graham, of South Carolina, supported that stance at the same news conference, saying of Rice, "I don't trust her. And the reason I don't trust her is because I think she knew better, and if she didn't know better, she shouldn't be the voice of America." The two lawmakers along with Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire are pressing for a special, Watergate-style select Senate committee to investigate the Benghazi attack. They complained that separate inquiries by various Senate panels will fail to get to the bottom of the deadly incident. Rice has been the focal point of accusations that the Obama administration misled the public about the nature of the Benghazi attack. Five days after the attack, she appeared on several news talk programs and said the attack stemmed from outrage in the Arab world over an anti-Muslim video, not an act of terrorism. The White House later corrected that claim. Obama wouldn't comment on whether he'd nominate Rice to replace Clinton on his Cabinet. But he said of Rice: "She has done exemplary work." "She made an appearance at the request of the White House in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence (on Benghazi) that had been provided to her. If Sen. McCain and Sen. Graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me – and I'm happy to have that discussion with them," he said animatedly. "But for them to go after the U.N. ambassador, who had nothing to do with Benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received, and to besmirch her reputation, is outrageous." Shortly after the president's remarks, Graham issued the following statement:
David Petraeus, who stepped down as CIA director last week after acknowledging an extramarital affair, has agreed to testify before Congress on the Benghazi attack, but it's unclear when that might be. President Barack Obama holds his first press conference at the White House since being re-elected to a second term. More content from NBCNews.com:
 |
11/14/2012
Obama: 'Outrageous' GOP attack on Rice over Libya
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment