Today, Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) jumped on the right wingnut Benghazi bandwagon via a release:

….On another matter, I am pleased that three career diplomats with knowledge of the events surrounding the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya were given the opportunity to testify before a House committee this week.

Mark Thompson, the U.S. State Department’s Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism; Gregory Hicks, the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Officer and former Deputy Chief of Mission in Libya; and Eric Nordstrom, the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Officer and former Regional Security Officer in Libya all provided insight and thoughts on what really happened when four brave Americans were killed.

As you might recall, the American people were first provided a story about a video being responsible for inflaming a group of Libyans, enraging these individuals to the point they decided to attack the U.S. consulate and murder Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The decision was then made to not disclose al-Qaeda’s role in the attack.

Mr. Hicks’ emotional account of what he experienced that night raises questions about the attack and whether more could have been done to assist U.S. personnel on the ground. And he told the committee of his shock at hearing United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice telling American TV audiences that the deadly attack grew out of a protest over the video. Mr. Hicks said of the official White House line: “I was stunned, my jaw dropped and I was embarrassed.”

The American people deserve to know the truth about what happened in Benghazi and why a team of special-operations forces was told to stand down instead of heading to Benghazi to help. The effort to learn the truth is not a “witch hunt” as some have suggested. It is an effort to determine why four Americans died that night in Libya and to inform the American people.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, which has held classified briefings and sought information of its own into the Benghazi attack, I must take strong exception to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comment, when questioned about Benghazi and the killings, “What difference at this point does it make?” It makes a difference to the families of those brave Americans whose lives were lost in Benghazi. Those families and all Americans have a right to know what happened and why it happened. I will continue to work with my colleagues to shed light on this sad event and to try to prevent similar such tragedies from happening in the future….

“….The American people deserve to know the truth about what happened in Benghazi and why a team of special-operations forces was told to stand down instead of heading to Benghazi to help….”

Robert Gates: Obama made right decisions night of Benghazi attack

[….]

By Brad Knickerbocker, Staff writer / May 12, 2013

….Republican critics have said a Special Forces team or overflights by fighter aircraft based in Italy might have prevented the US losses or at least frightened off the attackers. Mr. Gates disagrees.

Such actions, he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday, “without knowing what the environment is, without knowing what the threat is, without having any intelligence in terms of what is actually going on the ground, would have been very dangerous.”

“It’s sort of a cartoonish impression of military capabilities and military forces,” Gates said, referring to morning-after analysis. “The one thing that our forces are noted for is planning and preparation before we send people in harm’s way, and there just wasn’t time to do that….”

Uh, Robert Gates served as Secretary of Defense for both Presidents Bush and Obama.

“….It is an effort to determine why four Americans died that night in Libya and to inform the American people….”

No Shame

October 14, 2012

….The ugly truth is that the same people who are accusing the administration of not providing sufficient security for the American consulate in Benghazi have voted to cut the State Department budget, which includes financing for diplomatic security. The most self-righteous critics don’t seem to get the hypocrisy, or maybe they do and figure that if they hurl enough doubts and complaints at the administration, they will deflect attention from their own poor judgments on the State Department’s needs.

At a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last Wednesday, Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California and the committee’s chairman, talked of “examining security failures that led to the Benghazi tragedy.” He said lawmakers had an obligation to protect federal workers overseas. On Sunday, he said more should be spent on diplomatic security.

But as part of the Republican majority that has controlled the House the last two years, Mr. Issa joined in cutting nearly a half-billion dollars from the State Department’s two main security accounts. One covers things like security staffing, including local guards, armored vehicles and security technology; the other, embassy construction and upgrades. In 2011 and 2012, President Obama sought a total of $5 billion, and the House approved $4.5 billion. In 2009, Mr. Issa voted for an amendment that would have cut nearly 300 diplomatic security positions. And the draconian budgets proposed by Mitt Romney’s running mate, Representative Paul Ryan, would cut foreign affairs spending by 10 percent in 2013 and even more in 2016….

So, is Representative Hartzler (r) going to to let us know how she voted on those State Department requests for security funding? Just asking.

“….I must take strong exception to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comment, when questioned about Benghazi and the killings, ‘What difference at this point does it make?’ It makes a difference to the families of those brave Americans whose lives were lost in Benghazi. Those families and all Americans have a right to know what happened and why it happened…..”

A little more of that very special quote:

Hillary Clinton, Ron Johnson Engage In Heated Exchange At Benghazi Hearing (VIDEO)

Posted: 01/23/2013 11:09 am EST  |  Updated: 01/24/2013 12:12 am EST

“….With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans,” Clinton responded, raising her voice at Johnson, who continued to interrupt her. “Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk last night who decided to kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator….”

Context is everything, except in the right wingnut political universe.