Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer on Tuesday said the White House used David Petraeuss affair to get the CIA director to give testimony about the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that was in line with the administrations position on the matter.
Appearing on Fox News's Special Report, Krauthammer said, "The sword was lowered on Election Day" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: I think the really shocking news today was that General Petraeus thought and hoped he could keep his job. He thought that it might and it would be kept secret, and that he could stay in his position. I think what that tells us is really important. It meant that he understood that the FBI obviously knew what was going on. He was hoping that those administration officials would not disclose what had happened, and therefore hoping that he would keep his job. And that meant that he understood that his job, his reputation, his legacy, his whole celebrated life was in the hands of the administration, and he expected they would protect him by keeping it quiet.
And that brings us to the ultimate issue, and that is his testimony on September 13. Thats the thing that connects the two scandals, and thats the only thing that makes the sex scandal relevant. Otherwise it would be an exercise in sensationalism and voyeurism and nothing else. The reason its important is heres a man who knows the administration holds his fate in its hands, and he gives testimony completely at variance with what the Secretary of Defense had said the day before, at variance with what hed heard from his station chief in Tripoli, and with everything that we had heard. Was he influenced by the fact that he knew his fate was held by people within the administration at that time?
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As a point of reference, ABCNews.com reported on September 14:
The attack that killed four Americans in the Libyan consulate began as a spontaneous protest against the film The Innocence of Muslims, but Islamic militants who may have links to Al Qaeda used the opportunity to launch an attack, CIA Director David Petreaus told the House Intelligence Committee today according to one lawmaker who attended a closed-door briefing.
This of course was the administration line for almost two weeks after the attacks.
With that in mind, Krauthammer drove his point home further a few minutes later:
KRAUTHAMMER: Of course it was being held over Petraeuss head, and the sword was lowered on Election Day. You dont have to be a cynic to see that as the ultimate in cynicism. As long as they needed him to give the administration line to quote Bill, everybody was silent. And as soon as the elections over, as soon as he can be dispensed with, the sword drops and hes destroyed. I mean, can you imagine what its like to be on that pressure and to think it didnt distort or at least in some way unconsciously influence his testimony? Thats hard to believe.
If Krauthammer is correct, it's going to be very interesting to see if and how the Obama-loving media reports it.
Stay tuned.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/11/13/krauthammer- white-house-held-affair-over-petraeuss-head-favorable-tes#ixzz2CD1uDO39
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