U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told me this morning on “This Week” that the United States is not “impotent” in the face of violent protests sweeping the Muslim world being aimed at American interests.More at that top link. And also the banner headline at The Daily Caller, "'We're Quite Popular In Libya' - Ambassador Susan Rice: Mideast crisis not an 'expression of deep-seated anti-American sentiment'."
“We’re not impotent,were not even less popular to challenge that assessment” said Rice. ” What happened this week in Cairo, in Benghazi and many other parts of the region was a result, a direct result, of a heinous and offensive video that was widely disseminated, that the U.S. government had nothing to do with, which we have made clear is reprehensible and disgusting.”
President Obama has been very public since the start of his presidential term that he intended to heal relations with the Middle East that were damaged during the Bush administration.
At the video above, Rice indicates that President Obama "picked up the phone" and told President Morsi in Egyp to get with the program. Okay, sure. Morsi doesn't want to lose his foreign aid. But if the U.S. had real power --- if Obama's Cairo foreign policy had any real effect --- those protests would have never taken place to begin with. And with protests, the Egyptian military could have smashed them with the blink of an eye. What popularity? The banner at the ABC News clip has 33 countries now mounting anti-American protests. This is the biggest popular repudiation of America I can remember in my lifetime. And Ambassador Rice is sticking with the meme that the "Innocence of Muslims" video is 100 percent the cause of all the violence and outrage? It's getting obscene to listen to this administration's dissembling and lies. Daniel Halper has that, at the Weekly Standard, "U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Doubles Down on Claim that Film Responsible for Middle East Mobs" (via Memeorandum):
This morning on Fox News Sunday, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, doubled down on the Obama administration's claim that an Internet video is responsible for anti-American mobs across the Middle East....More at Memeorandum.
CHRIS WALLACE: Joining us now our ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice. Ambassador, welcome back to Fox News Sunday.
AMB. SUSAN RICE: Thank you.
WALLACE: This week, there have been anti-American protests in two dozen countries across the Islamic world.Tthe White House says it has nothing to do with the president's policies. Let's watch.
JAY CARNEY: This is not a case of protests directed at the United States writ large or at U.S. policy. This is in response to a video that is offensive.
WALLACE: You don't really believe that?
AMB. RICE: Chris, absolutely I believe that. Because, in fact, it is the case. We had the evolution of the Arab Spring over the last many months but what sparked the recent violence was the airing on the Internet of a very hateful very offensive video that has offended many people around the world. Now, our strong view is that there is no excuse for violence. It is reprehensible and never justified. But in fact there have been those in various parts of the world who have reacted with violence. Their governments have increasingly and effectively responded and protected our facilities and condemned the violence and this outrageous response to what is an offensive video. But there is no question what we have seen in the past with things like Satanic Verses and cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad there have been such things that have sparked outrage and anger and this has been the proximate cause.
BONUS: From Scott Johnson at Power Line, "Fools and Knaves, Pt. 3."
Added: From Ed Morrissey at Hot Air, "Rice: Benghazi attack was spontaneous; Libya: No, it wasn’t":
There seems to be lingering confusion about the nature of the attack on the Benghazi consulate that cost four Americans their lives, including the first US Ambassador killed in the line of duty since 1979, J. Christopher Stevens. UN Ambassador Susan Rice insisted on Fox News Sunday that the attack on the consulate on the 11th anniversary of 9/11 was a spontaneous demonstration that just “spun out of control.” Rice also doubled down on the administration’s claim that the violence is all about the video...Well, it's not "confusion." It's deceit and obfuscation. The administration is lying. As pointed out at Power Line above, the Libyan government is claiming a pre-planned attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound. But keep reading at the post. Ed does cite additional information to that effect, but he attempts a balancing approach that doesn't seem warranted given the awful dishonesty the administration's adopted so far during the crisis.
More: From National Review, "Libyan President Contradicts Administration on Benghazi Attack."
More still: Blue Crab Boulevard links, "Liar, Liar." Thanks!
0 comments:
Post a Comment