Congress to investigate Benghazi 'talking points' [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By ANNE FLAHERTY

WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers said Sunday they want to know who had a hand in creating the Obama administration's now-discredited "talking points" about the Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, and why a final draft omitted the CIA's early conclusion that terrorists were involved.

The answers could explain why President Barack Obama and top aides, including U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, described the attack for days afterward as a protest against an anti-Islam video that spontaneously turned violent and why they played down any potential link to al-Qaida, despite evidence to the contrary.

Administration officials have defended the portrayal of the attack as relying on the best information available at the time that didn't compromise classified intelligence. Democrats say CIA and other intelligence officials signed off on the final talking points.

Republicans have alleged a Watergate-like cover up, accusing White House aides of hiding the terrorism link in the run-up to the Nov. 6 presidential election so voters wouldn't question Obama's claim that al-Qaida's power had diminished.

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Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20121118/DA2KK4T00.html

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Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., left, with Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., right, speaks during a media availability after a closed-door oversight hearing of the committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, looking into the circumstances surrounding the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)