BENGHAZI (RIP)

Now that a couple Senators have shown their ill manners to Hillary Clinton over Benghazi, maybe this issue can be put to rest.  Maybe congress will supply more funds for security (If it is a real issue.) or maybe they won't.  A number of Republicans insist on trying to make Benghazi a huge political issue, but it didn't work in the presidential election and it is not working now; they just can't get public notice in spite of much media support.  But I'm sure the issue will come up again if Hillary runs for president in 2014.

I thought that in her testimony it was interesting that closing the consulate in Benghazi had been discussed, but the option had been discarded by the ambassador and Clinton because it was felt that some contact was needed with the "home" of the group that has taken hold of the country in spite of its dangers.  In view of this, perhaps more security should have been provided, but just how many has never been discussed that I know of.  Since the attacking force was estimated to be a couple of thousand, it seems to me that the security would at least have had to be in the hundreds, which probably would have been impossible.  I suspect that though the area was known to be dangerous, no one expected such a large force to attack the consulate.  This turned out to be wrong, of course, and is unfortunate.  But life moves on.

Ronald Reagan had an embassy bombing and the Marine barracks bombing in Lebanon and an embassy bombing in Kuwait; yet, many feel he was a great president.  So I suspect that in the end, Clinton will be forgiven what turned out to be a  bad choice in a distinguished career.

Some people seemed to be surprised that Hillary could fight back against ill manners, but they don't know the group of women who came of age at the beginning of the women's rights era.  They may have had a velvet exterior, but, if that didn't work, they were all nails underneath.   I saw it in geology.  Though a trickle of women geologists already existed, those in the 60s and 70s were still pioneers. And they had to have a lot of determination and iron will to go into "man's" fields.  It would be wise to remember this.