May 16, 2013
The White House on Wednesday released more than 100 pages of inter-agency emails intended to bolster its argument it did not try to hide the fact that last year’s attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, was terrorism.
The messages — circulated Sept. 14-15 — show that CIA Deputy Director Mike Morrell asked that references to al Qaeda and another terrorist groups be removed from official administration talking points hours before State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland made a similar request.
One page of talking points dated Sept. 14 includes handwritten notes by Morrell, who scratches out parts of the talking points that say that there were “indications that Islamic extremists participated in the violent demonstrations,” and also that there were “at least five other attacks against foreign interests in Benghazi by unidentified assailants, including the June attack against the British ambassador’s convoy.”
But the emails also show that Morrell’s boss, then-CIA Director David Petraeus, wanted additional information, including warnings about earlier violence in the region, including in the talking points. He suggested he would rather not use the talking points without the additional disclosures.
No comments:
Post a Comment