You might think that the fact that four Americans died in the 2012 attack on our embassy in Libya (on Hillary Clinton’s watch) was bad enough, but you’d be wrong.
Stephen Collinson of CNN:
Hillary Clinton’s real Libya problemHillary Clinton has another Libya problem.She’s already grappling with the political headaches from deleted emails and from the terror attack that left four Americans dead in Benghazi.But she’ll face a broader challenge in what’s become of the North African country since, as secretary of state in 2011, she was the public face of the U.S. intervention to push out its longtime strongman, Moammar Gadhafi.Libya’s lapse into the chaos of failed statehood has provided a breeding ground for terror and a haven for groups such as ISIS. Its plight is also creating an opening for Republican presidential candidates to question Clinton’s strategic acumen and to undermine her diplomatic credentials, which will be at the center of her pitch that only she has the global experience needed to be president in a turbulent time.Gathering questions over Libya also point to one of the central complications of Clinton’s campaign for the Democratic nomination, due to formally launch on Saturday: the fact that she must own a record at the State Department that lacks clear-cut diplomatic triumphs. She’ll also have to answer for misfires in the Obama administration’s wider foreign policy as GOP candidates who have not faced the same tough choices can nitpick her record with the advantage of hindsight.
If Hillary Clinton gets the 2016 Democratic nomination, an idea which still seems inevitable despite small advances by Bernie Sanders, Democrats will rely heavily on her foreign policy experience as secretary of state.
Unfortunately for them, nothing on her resume reflects success.
Kenneth R. Timmerman of Accuracy in Media:
The Clinton Record on LibyaOn August 21, 2011, a top aide to Hillary Clinton penned a memo lauding his boss for steering U.S. policy in Libya, aimed at convincing the media of her accomplishments as Secretary of State.“HRC has been a critical voice on Libya in administration deliberations, at NATO, and in contact group meetings—as well as the public face of the U.S. effort in Libya. She was instrumental in securing the authorization, building the coalition, and tightening the noose around Qadhafi and his regime,” Clinton aide Jake Sullivan wrote.Sullivan’s memo to Mrs. Clinton’s inner circle is, of course, embarrassing today, which is one reason you are not reading about it on the front pages of The New York Times or The Washington Post.
At the Democratic convention in 2012, Obama boasted that al Qaeda was on the path to defeat.
Hillary Clinton won’t be able to make the same claim in 2016.
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