Comments on: Benghazi - the Partisan Political Game Goes On . . . http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/2012/11/19/benghazi/ John Coyne Babbles is a collection of comments, opinions, musings, and outrages from this RPCV who served with the first group (1962-64) in Ethiopia. Sat, 25 May 2013 15:12:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Tino Calabia http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/2012/11/19/benghazi/comment-page-1/#comment-2635 Tino Calabia Mon, 26 Nov 2012 03:04:58 +0000 http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/?p=6358#comment-2635 Dennis, Joey: Amb. Susan Rice never served. Had she been a PCV, she might have lost her sharp, ragged edges by working amicably as most PCVs must. At the State Dept., she’s been criticized for hurling insults at colleagues. E.g., during one meeting she appalled other top staff by flipping the bird at Amb. Richard Holbrooke.* No, Rice is hardly the inspiring model diplomat that Amb. Chris Stevens was. Thus, though an exceedingly bright woman, Rice might be considered by some as temperamentally unfit for the highest post in U.S. diplomacy. Of course, unfitness is not why her disparagers seek to block her nomination for Secretary of State. Those who announced their fierce opposition to her candidacy accuse Rice of misleading everyone about what happened in the 9/11 Benghazi attack. (As of today, Nov. 25th, both Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham have backed off a bit.) In any case, Thomas Pickering, named by Reagan as Amb. to Israel who served also as ambassador to Russia and several other countries and was himself the U.S. Amb. to the U.N., co-chairs an Accountability Review Board (ARB) which is required by law to investigate serious matters of embassy security. My bet? The ARB’s eventual findings will clear Rice of the charge that she deliberately misled the public when she said on Sunday TV talk shows that a protest demonstration had occurred in Benghazi, followed by a heavy weapons attack on the U.S. facilities in that city. Once the ARB report is released, Secretary Hillary Clinton is expected to answer to a Congressional Committee about Benghazi. Stay tuned. The fireworks will continue. *Dana Milbank, Washington Post, Nov. 16, 2012 Dennis, Joey: Amb. Susan Rice never served. Had she been a PCV, she might have lost her sharp, ragged edges by working amicably as most PCVs must. At the State Dept., she’s been criticized for hurling insults at colleagues. E.g., during one meeting she appalled other top staff by flipping the bird at Amb. Richard Holbrooke.* No, Rice is hardly the inspiring model diplomat that Amb. Chris Stevens was.

Thus, though an exceedingly bright woman, Rice might be considered by some as temperamentally unfit for the highest post in U.S. diplomacy. Of course, unfitness is not why her disparagers seek to block her nomination for Secretary of State. Those who announced their fierce opposition to her candidacy accuse Rice of misleading everyone about what happened in the 9/11 Benghazi attack. (As of today, Nov. 25th, both Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham have backed off a bit.)

In any case, Thomas Pickering, named by Reagan as Amb. to Israel who served also as ambassador to Russia and several other countries and was himself the U.S. Amb. to the U.N., co-chairs an Accountability Review Board (ARB) which is required by law to investigate serious matters of embassy security. My bet? The ARB’s eventual findings will clear Rice of the charge that she deliberately misled the public when she said on Sunday TV talk shows that a protest demonstration had occurred in Benghazi, followed by a heavy weapons attack on the U.S. facilities in that city.

Once the ARB report is released, Secretary Hillary Clinton is expected to answer to a Congressional Committee about Benghazi. Stay tuned. The fireworks will continue.

*Dana Milbank, Washington Post, Nov. 16, 2012

]]> By: Joey http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/2012/11/19/benghazi/comment-page-1/#comment-2634 Joey Fri, 23 Nov 2012 22:48:11 +0000 http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/?p=6358#comment-2634 Dennis, I am unaware of any note that says Susan Rice served in the Peace Corps. Do you have a reference? Also, are you aware of new procedures to protect PCVs? Dennis,

I am unaware of any note that says Susan Rice served in the Peace Corps. Do you have a reference?

Also, are you aware of new procedures to protect PCVs?

]]> By: Dennis Grubb http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/2012/11/19/benghazi/comment-page-1/#comment-2633 Dennis Grubb Fri, 23 Nov 2012 19:04:28 +0000 http://peacecorpsworldwide.org/babbles/?p=6358#comment-2633 Speaking of being sucked into a "who struck first debate" over qualifications , RPCV's ,as a result of this incident ,should be concerned at the extra precautions the Peace Corps will put in place to protect the safety of PCV's therby limiting field and site effectiveness . Limiting PCV's effectiveness in the field , due to security precautions, will make volunteering less attractive to the likes of the late Ambassador Stevens and myself. Refresh my memory where did Susan Rice serve in the Peace Corps? I remember Stanford and Oxford! Dennis Grubb Speaking of being sucked into a “who struck first debate” over qualifications , RPCV’s ,as a result of this incident ,should be concerned at the extra precautions the Peace Corps will put in place to protect the safety of PCV’s therby limiting field and site effectiveness . Limiting PCV’s effectiveness in the field , due to security precautions, will make volunteering less attractive to the likes of the late Ambassador Stevens and myself.

Refresh my memory where did Susan Rice serve in the Peace Corps? I remember Stanford and Oxford!

Dennis Grubb

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