On the anniversary of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was ambushed. Four Americans, including Ambassador Stevens, were killed. They say bad news travels fast, and this was no exception. Despite the frequent reports on the details of the tragedy, no one initially knew exactly what happened on the night of September 11, 2012.
Then-UN ambassador Susan Rice was sent onto five Sunday talk shows to explain the attack and set the story straight. Though she adamantly blamed an anti-Islamic video called “Innocence of Muslims” for inciting a spontaneous protest, recent House hearings on the Benghazi scandal revealed that Rice’s talking points were completely false. Not only was the consulate the target of a planned, terrorist attack, this information was no secret to the State Department. The fact is the explanations released by government officials simply weren’t true.
Though Rice wasn’t alone in propagating a scandalously false tale, her involvement in what some are calling Benghazi-gate stands out because of Wednesday’s announcement: Susan Rice has been appointed to take over for Tom Donilon as the US’ National Security Advisor.
It’s interesting because Rice’s Benghazi comments were considered so crippling that she was withdrawn from consideration for Secretary of State. Though she carried too much baggage to even dream of the needed Senate confirmation for that position, she has assumed a job which ironically gives her even more influence. The National Security Advisor need only be appointed by the President, and Rice’s role in the Benghazi drama has not lost her any favor with Obama.
Senator Rand Paul was one of the first to express his concern at this appointment. This apprehension is not unfounded because Rice’s account of Benghazi was not simply a Biden-esque political gaffe. K.T. McFarland, who held national security posts in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan Administrations, put it bluntly:
Either she knew what really happened and deliberately lied to the American people or she was a mere actress who read the script she was given and didn’t know enough to question whether the words she spoke were accurate.
This dichotomy calls into question Susan Rice’s suitability for one of the most powerful positions in the U.S. government. At best, she was incompetent, out of touch with current events and a pawn in a political game; at worst, she actively participated in an elaborate cover-up aimed at deceiving the American people. Either of these indictments should be enough to raise serious questions about her appointment.
With all of the criticism the NSA is facing today, Rice’s appointment serves only to add fuel to the fire. When it was revealed that the NSA has been using a court order to obtain millions of Verizon records, criticism resounded on social media sites and Capitol Hill. If evidence of secret surveillance has left Americans wary, Susan Rice’s promotion should heighten that anxiety. The secrecy which has shrouded the National Security Agency can only become more ominous with a less-than-trustworthy director.
Consider the scope of the National Security Advisor’s duties, which include compiling intelligence and other information into a complete package, presenting this to the President and advising the White House on a course of action. A 2004 White House study ascribed to the National Security Advisor the leading role in directing foreign and defense policy. As the Heritage Foundation explains:
[Rice] will be the lead for all security policy, not merely our foreign policy. This could easily turn from failure to disaster.
Because the Advisor is responsible for compiling and presenting an accurate picture of security threats and other critical situations, it is vitally important that the person appointed to this position has credibility and integrity. I will leave the implications of misinformation up to your imagination.
With daily reminders of the threat the US faces from Al Qaeda, Iran and North Korea, now more than ever, we need strong, honest leaders. On September 16, 2012, Susan Rice misled the American people. Whether it was a direct attempt at deceit or the result of incompetence, we will probably never know.
One thing, however, is clear: the appointment of Susan Rice endangers U.S. national security. How can the American people trust someone who is either an inept puppet or a direct conspirator in a political game? If Rice has purposely deceived or been ignorant enough to spread lies unwittingly, what’s to keep the past from replaying itself? Only then, who knows the consequences?
(Katie Hillery is a contributing editor for California Political Review.)
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