Rice defiant on Benghazi remarks

22 November 2012 Last updated at 01:47 GMT Rice is tipped to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

The US ambassador to the United Nations has defended comments she made days after a deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Susan Rice said her remarks in a series of TV interviews on 14 September were based on information provided by the US intelligence community.

Ms Rice has faced Republican criticism after saying the attacks stemmed from protests over an anti-Islamic film.

She is tipped to be President Obama's next choice as secretary of state.

Current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is not expected to continue in the role for a second four-year term.

Ms Rice, 48, is a long-term ally and supporter of Mr Obama, and he recently defended her in public against a growing tide of criticism from political opponents.

Leading Republicans believe that the Obama administration was not frank with the public over al-Qaeda involvement in the Benghazi attack.

Congressional hearings have sought to piece together what happened, focusing on whether the CIA knew the attack involved al-Qaeda, or whether the state department failed to provide adequate protection for those in Benghazi.

The attack killed four Americans, including the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, on the anniversary of the 11 September strikes on New York and Washington DC.

'Best assessment'

The US now accepts that it was a planned terror attack and not a spontaneous demonstration that turned violent.

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None of us will rest, none of us will be satisfied, until we have the answers and the terrorists responsible for this attack are brought to justice”

End Quote Susan Rice But in her remarks just days after the violence in Benghazi, Ms Rice appeared to stick by the explanation that protests against a low-budget US film had sparked the violence in Benghazi.

Speaking at the UN on Wednesday, Ms Rice defended her initial position, and described some of the comments about her - including those by Senator John McCain, a leading critic - as "unfounded".

"As a senior US diplomat, I agreed to a White House request to appear on the Sunday shows to talk about the full range of national security issues of the day," she said.

At that time, she added, those concerns were "primarily and particularly the protests that were enveloping and threatening many diplomatic facilities, American diplomatic facilities around the world, and Iran's nuclear program".

"When discussing the attack against our facilities in Benghazi, I relied solely and squarely on the information provided to me by the intelligence community.

"I made clear that the information was preliminary, and that our investigations would give us the definitive answers," she added.

Republican Peter King said last week that the CIA knew Benghazi was a terror attack from the outset

"Everyone, particularly the intelligence community, has worked in good faith to provide the best assessment based on the information available."

She said a "definitive accounting" would not be possible until FBI and state department reviews were finished, and described the Benghazi incident as a "heinous terrorist attack".

She praised Mr Stevens, adding: "None of us will rest, none of us will be satisfied until we have the answers, and the terrorists responsible for this attack are brought to justice."

In a post-election news conference a week ago, Mr Obama defended Ms Rice, saying her critics should "go after me" instead of launching "outrageous" attacks on the UN ambassador.

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Rice says Benghazi comments based on preliminary intelligence

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) Susan Rice speaks with the media after Security Council consultations at U.N. headquarters in New York June 7, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Allison Joyce

UNITED NATIONS | Wed Nov 21, 2012 7:29pm EST

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, broke her silence on Wednesday and defended her remarks on a September attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to the North African nation.

Republicans have criticized Rice for appearing on several TV talk shows five days after the September 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi and saying that preliminary information suggested the assault was the result of protests over an anti-Muslim film, rather than a premeditated strike.

"I relied solely and squarely on the information provided to me by the intelligence community," said Rice, who is seen as a possible nominee to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"I made clear that the information provided to me was preliminary and that our investigations would give us the definitive answers," Rice told reporters at the United Nations in her first comments on the controversy.

The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans were killed in the attack, which has raised questions about security of diplomatic missions, U.S. intelligence about the threat, and the adequacy of the immediate response.

"Everyone, particularly the intelligence community, has worked in good faith, to provide the best assessment based on the information available," Rice said. "None of us will rest ... until we have the answer and the terrorists responsible for this attack will be brought to the justice."

Senate Republicans John McCain and Lindsey Graham vowed made last week to oppose any attempt by President Barack Obama to elevate Rice to a Cabinet position that would require Senate confirmation.

Rice said some statements about her by McCain were "unfounded." "I look forward to having the opportunity at the appropriate time to discuss all of this with him," she said.

The White House has also said that Rice's comments were based on the best information she had at the time.

Obama warned Republicans last week that if they had a problem with his administration's handling of the Benghazi attack to "go after me" rather than picking on Rice.

Senator Carl Levin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on Sunday the criticism of Rice was "one of the most unfair attacks I've ever seen in Washington in 34 years. Susan Rice was using the unclassified talking points which were provided by the intelligence community."

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Paul Simao and Christopher Wilson)

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White House says didn't heavily edit Benghazi talking points

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE | Sat Nov 17, 2012 5:55pm EST

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House did not heavily alter talking points about the attacks on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya, an official said on Saturday.

"If there were adjustments made to them within the intelligence community, that's common, and that's something they would have done themselves," Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser, told reporters. "The only edit ... made by the White House was the factual edit as to how to refer to the facility."

After a closed-door hearing with former CIA Director David Petraeus on Friday, Republican Representative Peter King said that unclassified talking points prepared by the CIA for use by lawmakers about the September 11 attack originally pointed specifically to al Qaeda involvement. King said they were edited before being cleared for use.

Rhodes said the White House, and also the State Department, changed references to the diplomatic facility as a "consulate," "because the consulate in Benghazi was not formally a consulate. Other than that we worked off the points that were provided by the intelligence community, so I can't speak to any other edits that may have been made."

The assault on the U.S. mission and nearby CIA annex in Benghazi has turned into a flash point between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republicans.

Republicans accuse the White House and in particular the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, of misleading the public just after the attack by suggesting the assault was a spontaneous act instead of a planned terrorist operation. The Obama administration denies misleading anyone and says it discussed information about the Benghazi tragedy as it came in.

"What I can say is those points, and what Susan said, indicated that we believed extremists were involved in this attack," Rhodes said.

When asked on Fox News on Saturday who might have made the edits, King said he did not know.

"That's why it's important to find out why it was done. It could be anywhere in the Defense Department, the State Department, the Justice Department, the White House," King said. "(We need) to find out why it was done, what the purpose of it was."

He added: "I have my own beliefs, that for whatever reasons, the administration honestly believes that the war against al Qaeda is pretty much over and that's the message that they wanted to present. But on the other hand, they may have some valid reason. I think we have to look at it."

(The story changes to consulate from conflict in fourth paragraph.)

(Reporting By Jeff Mason, Additional reporting by Doug Palmer in Washington, Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Bill Trott and Eric Walsh)

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