THE BENGHAZI HOAX

Talking points for liberals to refute talking points by conservatives over a controversy that just won't quit.

On Sept. 11, 2012, the U.S. embassy compound in Benghazi, Libya, suffered a terrorist attack that left four Americans dead, including U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, and 10 injured. Initial speculation that this was a protest against an anti-Muslim YouTube video was soon corrected to confirm that it was a well-plotted action by terrorists who have yet to be caught. Beyond these facts, so much remains up for grabs, with conservatives claiming that the compound should have been better protected and should have received reinforcements, that President Barack Obama is soft on terrorism and tried to shift blame, and that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has lied about her role and responsibility in the tragedy. To the contrary, asserts Media Matters for America founder Brock (The Republican Noise Machine: Right-Wing Media and How It Corrupts Democracy, 2004, etc.) in this strong defense of the Democratic response, a conspiracy of conservative lies has kept this controversy alive, primarily through the Fox News talking heads and other “hoaxsters,” including Mitt Romney and senators John McCain, Lindsay Graham and Kelly Ayotte. They have progressed from the scapegoating of Obama to an attempt to derail Clinton's campaign as the front-runner to be nominated as his successor. "The reality is that there are two Benghazis," writes the author, one in which "the most basic facts would get twisted, contorted, even invented out of thin air to create bogus narratives" by "a Republican noise machine."

If Hillary Clinton does indeed run for president, questions concerning Benghazi will continue to be raised, and this book attempts to answer every one of them in her defense.