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Letter: Cut it out, Senator

For the Monitor

Saturday, December 1, 2012

I am deeply saddened to see the continued effort by three U.S. senators to turn the tragic death of four Americans in Libya into a scandal they can use to batter the newly re-elected president. I am particularly disappointed to see New Hampshire’s junior senator, Kelly Ayotte, playing an ever sterner, ever more annoying role in this effort to stir up trouble.

The election is over. The nation needs to come together, and Congress needs to start finding solutions, and compromise solutions at that. The people of New Hampshire are not well served by continuing partisan sniping over an issue that is fabricated at best. Sen. Ayotte, be so kind as to cut it out.

Why not join Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in doing something useful, like passing filibuster reform? That would be worthy of our great state.

PETER HOE BURLING

Cornish

(The writer is a Democratic National committeeman for New Hampshire.)

LetThemEatCakezxcv wrote:
05/12/2012

But have another Black American women named Rice get up before Congress and swear that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction - knowing this to be false - yet she gets a pass from those same Republicans. Not only that, but senators McCain and Graham echoed her exact words on the Senate floor. And you're crucifying Susan Rice for talking points that she did not know at the time were not indicative of the true conditions in Benghazi? Have you Republicans no shame at all?
SCOzxcv wrote:
04/12/2012

Earthling asks " Should she have ignored the CIA and called you for the Right 20/20 hindsight talking points?" Earthling continues to ignore the fact that that the "CIA talking points" were changed by someone in the White House. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57555984/who-changed-the-benghazi-talking-points/ "CIA Director General David Petraeus told members of Congress that his original talking points cleared for public dissemination included the likely involvement by terrorists and an al-Qaeda affiliate. Petraeus said somebody removed the references before they were used to inform the public."
earthlingzxcv wrote:
04/12/2012

Here's the mentality: Maybe we can conjure up a way to impeach him for something......Let's see..............No break in like Watergate.....No secret arms for hostages deal....No war for no WMD reason.....No sex scandal.....No torturing..................Maybe somebody toned down some talking points somewhere "to protect sources" or something.

SCOzxcv wrote:
03/12/2012

Susan Rice stated that the 4 Americans were killed as a result of a protest of a video that got out of hand. THAT, Mr Burling, is the fabrication here. But, I am glad you have made at least some progress from you last letter, where you stated they were all racists for criticizing Rice.
earthlingzxcv wrote:
03/12/2012

Susan Rice based what she "stated" on information she received from the CIA. CBS News 11/15/12: "The CIA's talking points read as follows: "The currently available information suggests that the demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the US Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the US diplomatic post in Benghazi and subsequently its annex. There are indications that extremists participated in the violent demonstrations. This assessment may change as additional information is collected and analyzed and as currently available information continues to be evaluated. The investigation is on-going, and the US Government is working with Libyan authorities to bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of US citizens." The protests that the CIA referred to were because of the anti-Muslim video. Anyone who watched the news on TV knew that the protests were happening prior to and up until the embassy was attacked. So now you are saying that Rice fabricated the protests we all learned about on TV along with the CIA intelligence at the time of the attack? We have a lot of problems to work through here in America - why waste time making up stuff?
SCOzxcv wrote:
03/12/2012

"the demonstrations in Benghazi"......WHAT demonstrations in Benghazi???? Ambassador Stevens even stated that there were NO demonstrations less than an hour before. Why did I know that before Rice did??
earthlingzxcv wrote:
03/12/2012

Here's Susan Rice's exact words, September 16: "The currently available information suggests that the demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the US Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the US diplomatic post in Benghazi and subsequently its annex. There are indications that extremists participated in the violent demonstrations. This assessment may change as additional information is collected and analyzed and as currently available information continues to be evaluated. The investigation is on-going, and the US Government is working with Libyan authorities to bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of US citizens." So "extremists participated in the violent demonstrations" isn't the wording that suits you? Should she have ignored the CIA and called you for the Right 20/20 hindsight talking points?

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