Many of us have seen the narratives refuting “Benghazigate.”
“Where was the outrage about all those embassy attacks under Bush? What about all the people killed in those attacks? Where was Fox News then?”
Let’s put aside for now that this line of questioning has nothing at all to do with why people are concerned about what happened during and after the Benghazi terror attack. Just take a look at this meme:
One of the best-known versions of this meme is the ridiculous screed atHuffington Post “13 Benghazis That Occurred on Bush’s Watch Without a Peep from Fox News,” which has around 90K shares and likely well over a million views.
The post was nearly replicated on numerous left-wing sites, such as DailyKos, the Daily Banter, and PolicyMic.
Here goes: the “13 Benghazis That Occurred on Bush’s Watch Without a Peep from Fox News” – cases versus reality.
1. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“January 22, 2002. Calcutta, India. Gunmen associated with Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami attack the U.S. Consulate. Five people are killed.”
REALITY: NONE WERE AMERICAN. (The Tribune)
2. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“June 14, 2002. Karachi, Pakistan. Suicide bomber connected with al Qaeda attacks the U.S. Consulate, killing 12 and injuring 51.”
REALITY: NONE WERE AMERICAN. (BBC)
3. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“October 12, 2002. Denpasar, Indonesia. U.S. diplomatic offices bombed as part of a string of ‘Bali Bombings.’ No fatalities.”
REALITY: NONE WERE AMERICAN.
You said it, Huffington Post.
4. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“February 28, 2003. Islamabad, Pakistan. Several gunmen fire upon the U.S. Embassy. Two people are killed.”
REALITY: NONE WERE AMERICAN. (Fox News)
5. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“May 12, 2003. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Armed al Qaeda terrorists storm the diplomatic compound, killing 36 people including nine Americans. The assailants committed suicide by detonating a truck bomb.”
REALITY: NINE AMERICAN DEFENSE CONTRACTORS KILLED.
After numerous State Department warnings, and Saudi Arabia investigating al Qaeda for a potential planned attack, three defense compounds were assaulted with car bombs and armed attackers. Nine defense contractors were killed.
Bush immediately called the attack part of the “war on terror,” and two of the attackers that survived the raid were killed by Saudi police forces. You know, just like Benghazi. (CNN)
6. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“July 30, 2004. Tashkent, Uzbekistan. A suicide bomber from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan attacks the U.S. Embassy, killing two people.”
REALITY: NONE WERE AMERICAN. (BBC)
7. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“December 6, 2004. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda terrorists storm the U.S. Consulate and occupy the perimeter wall. Nine people are killed.”
REALITY: NONE WERE AMERICAN. (Guardian)
8. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“March 2, 2006. Karachi, Pakistan again. Suicide bomber attacks the U.S. Consulate killing four people, including U.S. diplomat David Foy who was directly targeted by the attackers. (I wonder if Lindsey Graham or Fox News would even recognize the name ‘David Foy.’ This is the third Karachi terrorist attack in four years on what’s considered American soil.)”
REALITY: ONE U.S. DIPLOMAT KILLED.
Finally, something that’s like Benghazi! Except that the Ambassador wasn’t missing, he was killed instantly. There wasn’t an 8-hour-long siege, an AWOL president and Secretary of State, or service personnel hung out to dry with no rescue attempt. It wasn’t a recent warzone, and there weren’t requests for additional security turned down. Oh, and no one falsely blamed a video for causing a non-existent protest. Except for those caveats, just like Benghazi.
9. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“September 12, 2006. Damascus, Syria. Four armed gunmen shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ storm the U.S. Embassy using grenades, automatic weapons, a car bomb and a truck bomb. Four people are killed, 13 are wounded.”
REALITY: NONE WERE AMERICAN. (CNN)
10. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“January 12, 2007. Athens, Greece. Members of a Greek terrorist group called the Revolutionary Struggle fire a rocket-propelled grenade at the U.S. Embassy. No fatalities.”
REALITY: NONE WERE AMERICAN.
You said it, Huffington Post.
11. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“March 18, 2008. Sana’a, Yemen. Members of the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic Jihad of Yemen fire a mortar at the U.S. Embassy. The shot misses the embassy, but hits nearby school killing two.”
REALITY: NONE WERE AMERICAN. (CNN)
12. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“July 9, 2008. Istanbul, Turkey. Four armed terrorists attack the U.S. Consulate. Six people are killed.”
REALITY: NONE WERE AMERICAN. (Reuters)
13. HUFFPO: THIS WAS JUST LIKE BENGHAZI.
“September 17, 2008. Sana’a, Yemen. Terrorists dressed as military officials attack the U.S. Embassy with an arsenal of weapons including RPGs and detonate two car bombs. Sixteen people are killed, including an American student and her husband (they had been married for three weeks when the attack occurred). This is the second attack on this embassy in seven months.”
REALITY: NONE WERE AMERICAN.
“Attackers used vehicle bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons to mount a coordinated assault on the U.S. Embassy here Wednesday, leaving 10 guards and civilians dead outside the main gate but failing to breach the walled compound. No Americans were killed.” (Washington Post); (CSM)
(Even if there was misreportage, no embassy officials were killed or missing, and those who were killed were done so in a matter of minutes.)
So of all the Americans killed, only one was a diplomat, and he was killed almost instantly. Nine others were defense contractors.
It is my belief that this “13 Benghazis” post was published with the intention of deceiving the public. It may have been an attempt at persuading Americans to dismiss further inquiry into how the Benghazi terror attack was handled and how it was reported to the public.
The post also suits the purpose of running political cover for Hillary Clinton and President Obama. Of course, all conclusions are left up to the reader to decide.
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