The onslaught was immediate. After jihadists attacked the American embassy in Benghazi Lybia, the Republicans followed in their tracks and continued the offensive. Presidential candidate-at-the-time Mitt Romney’s criticism came immediately. Since Obama had no major foreign policy gaffes or missteps throughout his first term, the Republicans needed to find something to draw attention to as a fault. At the center of the controversy, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, Obama’s top choice as the next Secretary of State.
It’s not right
It was the comments around what happened in the attack in Lybia that lit the fuse. Confusion over whether the attack was a protest gone awry or an organized strike by a terrorist group caused a period of time when information went back and forth. The real problem was completely ignored: the question of the safety of America’s officials who work overseas. The issue that came up was how the State Department talked about a rapidly unfolding event with little outside information.
While it is the duty of officials to present accurate information to the people who elect them, in the world of counter-terrorism information is very hard to come by. When a few individuals act with the complete element of surprise, it is natural that it takes some time to get any sort of bigger picture. Under normal circumstance, the nation would unite against the attackers. Susan Rice is a target only because the controversy managed to stick.
Republicans are desperate for some sort of victory, and Susan Rice just handed them one when she formally withdrew her candidacy for Secretary of State. It is a shame, since Rice is a highly educated and experienced diplomat who spent many years outside of the United States. She is in every way qualified and deserving to go through the application process to be Secretary of State. Instead, Republicans, who dislike the UN anyway, wanted to show that they could still impact national politics. Since nearly every opinion poll shows the Republicans on the wrong side of the table on almost every issue, it was really their only option. It is unfortunate for the nation as a whole, but if predictions come true and Senator John Kerry is tapped, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
