Letter: Plenty to learn from Benghazi report

According to much of the mainstream media, and Hillary Clinton herself, the House Select Committee on Benghazi was a waste of both time and money, and now it’s time to move on.

Did we actually learn anything from this effort, and does it perhaps tell us something about what type of president Clinton may be, should she be elected this fall?

The buck stops somewhere else: It is well documented that security at the compound was inadequate, and despite multiple requests to improve the situation, apparently mid-level officials in her organization failed to take appropriate action. Although as Secretary of State she was in charge, she apparently bears no culpability because she did not personally decline any of the diplomats’ requests.

Transparency is so yesterday: It was through the work of the Benghazi committee that we all learned about Clinton’s exclusive use of a private server to conduct all of her (and her close aides’) state department business. No plausible explanation has been given about why this step was taken, but one would have to assume that the main purpose was for her to avoid the Freedom of Information Act and other inquiries about her activities.

Politics trumps everything: From Hillary Clinton’s own emails, it was apparent that the state department knew very early on that the attack was terrorist-related, and not the result of an anti-Muslim video. Despite this knowledge, even families of the dead were told by Clinton that this was the root cause of the conflict.

This story was originally published July 6, 2016 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Letter: Plenty to learn from Benghazi report."