Clinton Attempts To Smooth Things For Hillary

It didn't come as a big surprise to many when former President Bill Clinton attempted to smear the GOP in an interview on "Meet The Press" Sunday. He claimed the GOP has a double standard when it comes to the Benghazi incident on September 11, 2012.

"When 10 different instances occurred when President Bush was in office where American diplomatic personnel were killed, how many outraged Republican members of Congress were there?" Clinton asked. "Zero," he said matter-of-factly.

Clinton conveniently overlooked the fact that of those killed during Bush's two were military members, one was with the Forest Service, none was an Ambassador, and most happened away from their assigned embassies. The list is as follows:

1. Barbara Green, an employee at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, killed in a hand grenade attack on a church, 2002.

2. Laurence Foley, a U.S. Agency for International Development official, shot dead outside his home in Amman, Jordan, 2002.

3. Edward Seitz, diplomatic security officer, killed in a rocket attack on a U.S. military base near the Baghdad airport, 2004

4. Jim Mollen, the U.S. Embassy’s consultant to Iraq’s education ministry, shot dead while driving in Baghdad, 2004.

5. Barbara Heald, an Army civilian, killed in Iraq during a rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, 2005.

6. Keith Taylor, a Navy commander, killed in the same rocket attack as Heald, 2005.

7. Stephen E. Sullivan, a diplomatic security agent, killed in a bomb explosion in Mosul, Iraq, 2005.

8. David Foy, facilities maintenance officer at the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killed in a suicide bomb attack in his car near the consulate, 2006.

9. Steven Stefani IV, Forest Service employee, killed in bomb explosion in Afghanistan, 2007.

10. John Granville, a USAID official, shot dead in his car while returning from a New Year’s Eve party at the British Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, 2008.

The comparison of these incidents compared to the organized terrorist attack on the consulate in Benghazi, in which the fight by former American Navy SEALs lasted up to 7 hours before they were killed, without any assistance from the White House or our military units within range, and the notable absence of the President from the Situation Room, is ludicrous.

Clinton wasn't quite accurate about there being no reaction from Congress concerning any of the attacks. Situations being completely different - no - there was no big outcry. But the death of Barbara Green in Pakistan prompted a Congressional investigation into the lack of proper security outside the embassy. “Despite recommendations by several panels since the late 1980′s, programs to enhance security outside the embassy walls remain a porous patchwork,” said Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), who presided over the hearing into the matter.

Maybe not outrage but they did investigate it and determine that security was lacking. Not that anyone did anything about it.

I can answer the most important part of Clinton's question with another question - the one that David Gregory should have asked. "Mr. President - in any or all of the events you cited during the Bush administration - how many times did President Bush, his Secretary of State, or his U.N. Ambassador, go on national television and lie to the American people about what happened?"

Yeah. That's what I thought.