Rice stuck to the talking points she had been given and said the attack evolved out of a protest against an offensive internet video.
White House messaging guru Ben Rhodes had drafted talking points which urged U.S. officials to emphasize that the attack stemmed from a protest of the video and not a failure in policy.
According to testimony from Rhodes, she was his third choice to go on the Sunday shows. Initially he tried Clinton, who did not respond, and then Tom Donilon, who was Obama's national security adviser.
Rice was not well-prepared for this task. Not only was she not a participant in the senior-level meetings to respond to the Benghazi attack, she wasn't even briefed by an intelligence analyst before appearing on the Sunday shows. Rhodes and senior Obama adviser David Plouffe briefed Rice instead.
In the wake of the Benghazi report, let’s spare a few thoughts for President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice. Yes, the headlines all say the House Select Committee …
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Why would anyone blame Dr. Rice for simply expressing the talking points she had been given?