http://rt.com/usa/rand-clinton-benghazi-paul-109/
Amid intensifying rumors that he’s considering a run for president,
United States Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) has come down hard on the
White House over last year’s tragedy at the American consulate in
Benghazi, Libya.
On Wednesday a Congressional committee heard testimonies from witnesses of the September 11,
2012 attack, but eight months after the fact many questions still
remain unanswered. Sen. Paul weighed in on the event as well
this week, but in doing so challenged the administration of US
President Barack Obama and particularly Hillary Clinton, the former
Department of State secretary at the helm of the agency at the time
of the attack and another rumored candidate in the 2016
election.
In an interview aired on CNN Thursday evening, Sen. Paul said he
hasn’t ruled out the possibility that last year’s attack unfolded
as a result of a secret arms trade. The confusion in the immediate
aftermath of the event — including unfounded admissions from
America’s United Nations envoy Susan Rice that contradicted what is
known today about the attack — could actually be a cover-up, the
senator said.
“I never have quite understood the cover-up — if it was
intentional or incompetence,” he told host Erin Burnett.
“But something went on. I mean, they had talking points that
they were trying to make it out to be a movie when everybody seemed
to be on the ground telling them it had nothing to do a movie. I
don’t know if this was for political reasons.”
In the wake of the attack, then-UN ambassador Susan Rice said
the storming of the consulate resulted after an anti-Islamic video
produced in the US ended up on YouTube. The government has since
admitted her statement was false, but conflicting reports among
Washington’s elite has led in part to Paul’s questioning of the
incident.
“I’ve actually always suspected that, although I have no
evidence, that maybe we were facilitating arms leaving Libya going
through Turkey into Syria,” he said.
“Were they trying to obscure that there was an arms operation
going on at the CIA annex?” Paul asked. “I’m not sure
exactly what was going on, but I think questions ought to be asked
and answered, and I’m a little curious when employees of the State
Department are told by government officials they shouldn’t testify
and then they are sort of sequestered and kept away from testimony,
so I think there may be more to this.”
This is not the first time either that Senator Paul raised
questions about possible arms supplies under the CIA umbrella.
During her testimony in the Senate, Rand Paul asked then-Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton whether the spy agency was sending weapons
from Benghazi into other countries. Clinton replied that he would
have to ask CIA officials about it.
On Friday morning, Paul scolded the former State Department
secretary in a Washington Times op-ed and said Clinton “should
never hold high office again.”
“My office is currently seeking out the witnesses and
survivors of Benghazi to testify before the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee. To date, the Obama administration has refused
to let them testify. Too many questions remain unanswered. Now,
there are too many new questions,” Paul wrote. “The evidence
we had in January already suggested that Mrs. Clinton ignored
repeated requests for more security in Benghazi. The new evidence
we have today – and that continues to mount – suggests
that at the very least, Mrs. Clinton should never hold high office
again.”
Paul said during a Thursday radio interview that he’s
“considering” a run for president in 2016. A Quinnipiac
University poll published earlier the week found that Clinton would
dominate the Democratic race, winning perhaps 65 percent of the
party’s vote if she decides to run.
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