I take responsibility on Libya, says Obama
18 Oct 2012 6:23 AM IST
President Barack Obama on Wednesday took ‘responsibility’ for the security failure in Libya as he clashed with his Republican rival in the second presidential debate, denouncing as ‘offensive’ Mitt Romney’s remark that his team played politics over the Benghazi attack.
‘I’m the president and I’m always responsible, and that’s why nobody’s more interested in finding out exactly what happened than I do,’ Obama said during the 90-minute face-off at the Hofstra University here for a town hall style debate.
His comments came a day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took ‘responsibility’ for the security failure in defending an attack on the Benghazi Consulate last month that left US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others dead.
Obama praised Clinton for the work she has done but said ultimately the responsibility for the safety of Americans posted abroad lies with him. ‘Secretary Clinton has done an extraordinary job. But she works for me,’ he said.
The ‘suggestion that anybody in my team whether the Secretary of State, our UN Ambassador, anybody on my team would play politics or mislead when we’ve lost four of our own, governor, is offensive.
‘That’s not what we do. That’s not what I do as president, that’s not what I do as Commander-in-Chief,’ an aggressive Obama then told Romney looking directly in his eyes with an angry stare before heading back to his seat.
Obama also accused Romney of trying to use the Libya attack to score political points saying that is not how a President and Commander-in-Chief operates.
‘While we were still dealing with our diplomats being threatened, Governor Romney put out a press release, trying to make political points, and that’s not how a commander in chief operates. You don’t turn national security into a political issue,’ a visibly testy Obama said.
Libya attack evoked strong reactions and a fiery back and forth between Obama and Romney with the Republican candidate accusing the Obama administration of being unclear for days on whether the Benghazi assault was a spontaneous demonstration over an anti-Islam video or a terrorist attack.
There was no demonstration involved. It was a terrorist attack and it took a long time for that to be told to the American people.
Whether there was some misleading, or instead whether we just didn’t know what happened, you have to ask yourself why didn’t we know five days later when the ambassador to the UN went on TV to say that this was a demonstration. How could we have not known,’ Romney said.
Obama sternly rebutted Romney’s claims that the administration had been slow in calling the Benghazi attack.
‘The day after the attack, governor, I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people in the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened. That this was an act of terror and I also said that we’re going to hunt down those who committed this crime,’ Obama replied. Romney retorted that Obama had not termed the attack an act of terror until 14 days later, prompting the moderator CNN’s Candy Crowley to correct him.
‘You said in the Rose Garden the day after the attack, it was an act of terror. It was not a spontaneous demonstration, is that what you’re saying... I want to make sure we get that for the record because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror,’ Romney said to which Obama deadpanned ‘Get the transcript’. Correcting Romney, Crowley said, ‘He did in fact, sir.’ Obama interjected with a stern look and said with a slight hint of anger, ‘Can you say that a little louder, Candy?’
Obama said the American diplomats posted abroad are not just representatives of the US but are his representatives.
‘I send them there, oftentimes into harm’s way. I know these folks and I know their families. So nobody is more concerned about their safety and security than I am,’ he said.
He said soon after the attack, he had instructed his national security team to beef up security not just in Libya but at every American embassy and consulate in the region and investigate exactly what had happened and to find out who was responsible for the attack.
RIGHTS GROUP ACCUSES LIBYA MILITIAS OF EXECUTIONS
Libyan rebels appear to have executed scores of fighters loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, and probably the dictator himself, when they overran his hometown a year ago, a human rights group said on Wednesday. The report by Human Rights Watch on alleged rebel abuses that followed the October 2011 capture of the city of Sirte in the final major battle of the eight-month civil war is one of the most detailed descriptions of war crimes committed by the militias that toppled Gaddafi, and which still play a major role in Libyan politics on Wednesday. The 50-page report ‘Death of a Dictator:
Bloody Vengeance in Sirte’ details the last hours of Gaddafi's life on Oct. 20, when he tried to flee the besieged city. The longtime leader's convoy was struck by NATO aircraft as it tried to escape and the survivors were attacked by militias from the city of Misrata, who captured and disarmed the dictator and his entourage.
‘I’m the president and I’m always responsible, and that’s why nobody’s more interested in finding out exactly what happened than I do,’ Obama said during the 90-minute face-off at the Hofstra University here for a town hall style debate.
His comments came a day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took ‘responsibility’ for the security failure in defending an attack on the Benghazi Consulate last month that left US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others dead.
Obama praised Clinton for the work she has done but said ultimately the responsibility for the safety of Americans posted abroad lies with him. ‘Secretary Clinton has done an extraordinary job. But she works for me,’ he said.
The ‘suggestion that anybody in my team whether the Secretary of State, our UN Ambassador, anybody on my team would play politics or mislead when we’ve lost four of our own, governor, is offensive.
‘That’s not what we do. That’s not what I do as president, that’s not what I do as Commander-in-Chief,’ an aggressive Obama then told Romney looking directly in his eyes with an angry stare before heading back to his seat.
Obama also accused Romney of trying to use the Libya attack to score political points saying that is not how a President and Commander-in-Chief operates.
‘While we were still dealing with our diplomats being threatened, Governor Romney put out a press release, trying to make political points, and that’s not how a commander in chief operates. You don’t turn national security into a political issue,’ a visibly testy Obama said.
Libya attack evoked strong reactions and a fiery back and forth between Obama and Romney with the Republican candidate accusing the Obama administration of being unclear for days on whether the Benghazi assault was a spontaneous demonstration over an anti-Islam video or a terrorist attack.
There was no demonstration involved. It was a terrorist attack and it took a long time for that to be told to the American people.
Whether there was some misleading, or instead whether we just didn’t know what happened, you have to ask yourself why didn’t we know five days later when the ambassador to the UN went on TV to say that this was a demonstration. How could we have not known,’ Romney said.
Obama sternly rebutted Romney’s claims that the administration had been slow in calling the Benghazi attack.
‘The day after the attack, governor, I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people in the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened. That this was an act of terror and I also said that we’re going to hunt down those who committed this crime,’ Obama replied. Romney retorted that Obama had not termed the attack an act of terror until 14 days later, prompting the moderator CNN’s Candy Crowley to correct him.
‘You said in the Rose Garden the day after the attack, it was an act of terror. It was not a spontaneous demonstration, is that what you’re saying... I want to make sure we get that for the record because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror,’ Romney said to which Obama deadpanned ‘Get the transcript’. Correcting Romney, Crowley said, ‘He did in fact, sir.’ Obama interjected with a stern look and said with a slight hint of anger, ‘Can you say that a little louder, Candy?’
Obama said the American diplomats posted abroad are not just representatives of the US but are his representatives.
‘I send them there, oftentimes into harm’s way. I know these folks and I know their families. So nobody is more concerned about their safety and security than I am,’ he said.
He said soon after the attack, he had instructed his national security team to beef up security not just in Libya but at every American embassy and consulate in the region and investigate exactly what had happened and to find out who was responsible for the attack.
RIGHTS GROUP ACCUSES LIBYA MILITIAS OF EXECUTIONS
Libyan rebels appear to have executed scores of fighters loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, and probably the dictator himself, when they overran his hometown a year ago, a human rights group said on Wednesday. The report by Human Rights Watch on alleged rebel abuses that followed the October 2011 capture of the city of Sirte in the final major battle of the eight-month civil war is one of the most detailed descriptions of war crimes committed by the militias that toppled Gaddafi, and which still play a major role in Libyan politics on Wednesday. The 50-page report ‘Death of a Dictator:
Bloody Vengeance in Sirte’ details the last hours of Gaddafi's life on Oct. 20, when he tried to flee the besieged city. The longtime leader's convoy was struck by NATO aircraft as it tried to escape and the survivors were attacked by militias from the city of Misrata, who captured and disarmed the dictator and his entourage.
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