Sen. John McCain said that it was “unbelievable” that Ambassador Susan Rice, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and White House press secretary Jay Carney initially suggested that the deadly attack in Libya was “spontaneous.”
On CBS’s “This Morning” on Thursday, Charlie Rose asked McCain about his concern with the apparent “inability” of the Obama administration to indicate whether the attack was spontaneous or pre-planned.
McCain mockingly responded, “C’mon honey, bring your mortars, we’re going to a spontaneous demonstration.”
He continued, “It was obvious that this was a planned attack. They carried heavy weapons: mortars and RPGs. Clearly it was not a demonstration.”
A report released Wednesday indicates that within 24 hours of the Sept. 11 attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi, the administration labeled the attack an act of terrorism. The report also indicates the Obama administration had “strong indications al-Qaida-affiliated operatives were responsible for the attack.”
The Obama administration has only recently said publicly that it believes the deadly attack was a premeditated act of terrorism. On Sept. 16, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Dr. Susan Rice went onto five Sunday talk shows and claimed the attack was a result of demonstrations that “spun out of control” and as a result of an anti-Islam YouTube video.
On Sept. 17, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland refused to say the attack was an act of terrorism. But by Sept. 20, White House spokesman Jay Carney said it was “self evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack.”
Obama has repeatedly denounced the YouTube video and also said that the violence was unacceptable either.