Letting us in on a secret
That the Benghazi compound had included a large CIA presence had been reported but not confirmed. The New York Times, for example, had reported that among those evacuated were about a dozen CIA operatives and contractors. The paper, like The Washington Post, withheld locations and details of the facilities at the administrations request.
But on Wednesday, the withholding was on hold.
The Republican lawmakers, in their outbursts, alternated between scolding the State Department officials for hiding behind classified material and blaming them for disclosing information that should have been classified. But the lawmakers created the situation by ordering a public hearing on a matter that belonged behind closed doors.
Republicans were aiming to embarrass the Obama administration over State Department security lapses. But they inadvertently caused a different picture to emerge than the one that has been publicly known: that the victims may have been let down not by the State Department but by the CIA. If the CIA was playing such a major role in these events, which was the unmistakable impression left by Wednesdays hearing, having a televised probe of the matter was absurd.
The chairman, attempting to close his can of worms, finally suggested that the entire committee have a classified briefing as to any and all other assets that were not drawn upon but could have been drawn upon in Benghazi.
Good idea. Too bad he didnt think of that before putting the CIA on C-SPAN.
Dana Milbank: Letting us in on a secret - The Washington Post
The witholding was on hold...
The election is near and once again Republicans are only interested in their own shady agenda.