More than eight hours of testimony on Capitol Hill last Thursday yielded little new information about how--or if--the attack that killed a U.S. diplomat and three other Americans in Benghazi, Libya, could have been averted. The hearing of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended at 9 p.m., but the House Select Committee on Benghazi will continue its work.
Despite accusations that the committee is politically motivated, its stated purpose is important: to write a final, definitive account of what led to the fiery assault on Sept. 11, 2012, and what happened in its aftermath.
House Republicans may be fishing, but they are looking for sharks. The much publicized gaffe of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, in which he appeared to admit the committee was formed to damage Clinton's candidacy for the White House, does not extirpate the tragedy of Benghazi, nor excuse those involved from accountability.
Uncomfortable questions remain. Why, despite 600 requests for ramped-up security, was the embassy not sufficiently protected on the anniversary of 9/11? Why was the public led to believe that the attack was an impromptu uprising and not an orchestrated assault by al-Qaida?
The answers are important, and not only to the families of the men who died at the U.S. embassy that night. They are necessary to ensure that Benghazi never happens again.
As Clinton said last week, "It is deeply unfortunate that something as serious as what happened in Benghazi could ever be used for partisan political purposes." But it's more than unfortunate that J. Christopher Stevens, Tyrone Woods, Sean Smith and Glen Doherty lost their lives; it's an outrage. The committee must finish its work and give an honest accounting, free of political bias. The longer it takes, the more it will look like McCarthy was right.
Editorial on 10/28/2015