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McCain, Graham and Ayotte gang of 3

Posted: Nov 28, 2012

Here's a little CV background info on the gang's senate committee/subcommittee assignments:

John McCain is Ranking Member on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, whose primary function is to provide strategic and critical materials for common defense. He's also on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and a member of the Subcommittee on International Security, who provides oversight on current national security methods and systems.

Kelly Ayotte is also on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, a ranking member of the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, whose responsibilities include military readiness, training, logistics and maintenance. She is also a member of the Subcommittees on Personnel and SeaPower.

Lindsey Graham serves on the Armed Services Committee, and is a member of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, an assignment I find of particular interest. It has jurisdiction over the Department of Defense counter-proliferation and counter-terrorism programs, Special Operations Forces, defense science and technology policy and programs, information technology programs, and intelligence support and cyber operations, strategic communications and information operations.

Graham is also on the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support described above, and is a ranking member on the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs, which oversees the US State Department and international programs and agencies, including programs within the Department of Defense, on whose subcommittee he also serves, which provides for funding of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Central Intelligence Agency.

So in the those days leading up to the Benghazi embassy attack, just how seriously were they taking their own jobs? Let's see now. Keeping in mind that Kelly Ayotte was on Romney's VP/token woman short list, one of her more memorable contributions was her declaration that, "President Obama has never even run a lemonade stand!" She helped Romney promote false pants-on-fire claims deriding Obama's foreign policies, while spending inordinate amounts of time defending Romney's disastrous overseas tour gaffes. Similarly, McCain and Graham were both busy being "You Didn't Built That"/"We Built it" town cryers.

What I want to know is, if these guys sit on all these committees, why didn't THEY do their jobs and "ask the right questions?"

;

Their first job is being Senators - backwards typist

[ In Reply To ..]
Committees and sub-committees meet at certain times. They're not in session every day of the week. If they were, they wouldn't be able to do their Senate job at all.

May I ask you why the Democrats on the committee weren't doing their job then, if you think the 3 you stated didn't do theirs?

After all, the Democrats are in the majority on this committee and the Chairman is Carl Levin.

The Armed Services Committee is "a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy (as pertaining to national security), benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and other matters related to defense policy."

The Readiness and Management Support subcommittee has "oversight of military readiness, including training, logistics and maintenance, defense environmental programs, business operations and working capital funds, real property maintenance, military construction, Base Realignment and Closure, Armed Forces Retirement Home, readiness procurement and military depots, shipyards, ammunition plants, and arsenals."

I see nothing in these descriptions where they are supposed to monitor activities of the armed services 24/7. I think the committees are for the above descriptions and investigating if something goes wrong.

I am very aware of various committees' compositions. - Please note, that's plural committees,

[ In Reply To ..]
ones that the 3 members of the Benghazi lynch mob not only sit on and enjoy impressive collective access to classified information, but also are responsible for DEFENDING when things go all awry. Evidently, part of their defense strategies rely heavily on good ole fashioned CYA scapegoating.

May I reply to your rhetorical red herring by asserting that the dems on those committees evidently have no destructive partisan to promote, are not rushing to judgment and, instead, are patiently waiting for conclusive findings of those three separate, comprehensive investigations before moving forward with any determinations. As you well know, my OP is directed at the committee loose cannons, not those majority of cooler heads whose numbers prevail.

So you "see nothing" about these various jobs descriptions that apply to defense and security of our overseas embassies? Wow. Who knew stuff like military readiness, training, logistics and maintenance" policies are only in place "if something goes wrong?" How about that subcommittee you neglected to mention? You know, the one on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, whose DOD jurisdiction specifically includes counter-proliferation and counter-terrorism programs, Special Operations Forces, defense science and technology policy and programs, information technology programs, intelligence support and cyber operations, strategic communications and information operations? Unrelated?

Whatever happened to that well-worn GOP "personal responsibility" axiom? The lynch mob gets a pass on that while the president is ultimately held responsible for any and all real or imagined screw-ups that happens "under his watch?" Nice to know GOP hypocrisy and hubris is alive and well.

Rice did her job when sticking to unclassified script while speaking in a public venue. We all know how much hell she'd have to pay had she deviated from THAT long-established policy. The gang of 3's ruse is unraveling out from under them. Even some of the more level-headed GOP pols, who learned their post election lessons regarding the futility of unrelenting, unfounded smear campaigns, have caught on and are distancing themselves from this latest case study, including Joe Lieberman, who had the decency to back off now that he's seen the light.

What you are stating is that you expect these committees are supposed to be watching every move 24/7 - backwards typist

[ In Reply To ..]
You're putting words in my mouth just to make an argument in favor of the high and mighty democrats on the committee that don't have the guts to come out and say anything against their guys nominee. At least I try to be fair and look at both sides, but when there is no comment from one side, I have to wonder why. Since it is a closed door meeting and the GOP came out and made a statement, you would think the Democrats would come out and either counter those statements, but all I hear are crickets from them, so I would assume that they are agreeing with the 3.

We shall see what happens when the findings are all in.

I was NOT stipulating that the definition of the committee(s) were only if something went wrong. They are responsible for the definitions I pasted right from the site but they are NOT in session 24/7 because they are senators first and on these committees second that meets at certain times during the year.

As for Rice sticking to unclassified script while speaking, fine the first day or so but when she went on all those shows, why didn't she just state that the investigation was ongoing and leave it go at that? No, she had to keep harping on the video being the reason for the attack.

I have a stupid question. - RC

[ In Reply To ..]
Couldn't the video have inspired the terrorist attack? With all the crazy rioting it caused, I can't help but think it was the ammo that was needed for an attack.

I'm not trying to make a point for one side or the other, just trying to understand.

I really don't know. I didn't see it and from what I heard - backwards typist

[ In Reply To ..]
there were only 3500 views on it, so not many people knew about it and because of that, it had very little to do with it.

Not a stupid question - bootstraps

[ In Reply To ..]
I heard or read somewhere today (I'm sorry I can't post a link or say where, so you'll just have to accept [or not] my hearsay account, and I believe this was an educated speculation from whomever said it) that it was most likely a planned terrorist attack, but many times on the way to the "site" the group will pick up "helpers" off the streets.

Supposedly one of the inciting factors used to gather up some help was the video. Keep in mind that the history of the guy in Gainesville who burned the Quran is like a smoldering forest just wanting for a douse of gas. So, it really wasn't necessary to see the video to get a mob riled up.

Now, IF this scenario is even partially true, and it is still being sorted out by the State Department, then the truth could include a little of both.

For what it's worth, my gut feeling is that it was a planned terrorist attack and it was from the beginning. Ever since the original 9/11, every anniversary I'm holding my breath expecting an Al Qaeda "celebration." Time intensifies my apprehension. So, it was just my knee-jerk reaction to assume it was a terrorist attack.

If you take away the release/reaction to the video in Egypt, there would be absolutely no question that this was a terrorist attack in Benghazi.

I know that's probably an irrational approach on my part because obviously the video was released and the reaction happened, so it has to be part of the scenario, and obviously the CIA has to consider the big picture.

So even though I believe something went drastically wrong that day, I still don't understand why some are blaming Susan Rice. If there are other issues they have regarding Rice or even issues related to her Sunday comments, when and if she is nominated by President Obama as the SOS, then they should be addressed in the hearings that follow to confirm (or not) her nomination.

It seems likely, tho, that they would have known as much or - more than Rice. She was only U.N. Ambassador.

[ In Reply To ..]
A very small potato compared to Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham.

The fact that they were all on these committees - and did not know anything

[ In Reply To ..]
even more strongly supports feelings that the administration did not want the truth to come out just a few days before the election.

Why this sidetrack - from the OP question?

[ In Reply To ..]
The gang of 3's Rice roast has now devolved into why she "didn't ask the right questions?" I think that's a fair question to pose to the self-appointed grand inquisitors, all of whom sit on those committees. It's as much their job as it is hers. Makes you wonder precisely what they did and did not know, and when did they know what they did know? An example of some awesome asleep-at-the-wheel bungling is the alleged "scheduling glitch" McCain blamed for his missing the intelligence briefing when he was too busy blasting the White House for keeping him and his committee out of the info loop!

BTW, voters are not interested in support for "feelings" of those bent on their rush to judgment. They simply want to hear the factual findings of the investigations, to see a unified, bipartisan effort to (first and foremost) bring the TERRORISTS to justice (remember them?), then movement forward to identify what went wrong, why, and how to prevent such attacks in the future.

what truth? - bootstraps

[ In Reply To ..]
They had the same CIA briefing Rice did.

There was the classified and the unclassified. Rice went with the unclassified.

If the administration changed the talking points, then they should answer to that. She just went with the script. Guess that's never happened before, right? Especially with national security issue.

The only truth is that there was a breakdown in intelligence and security. The State Dept is conducting an investigation as to why this happened. Then we will know the truth.

Going after Rice has no purpose. She's not even been named yet.

They also campaigned for Scott Brown - bootstraps

[ In Reply To ..]
As did Susan Collins, who strongly endorsed Kerry today as SOS.

If Kerry is SOS, his senate seat opens and Scott Brown (R), defeated by Liz Warren (D), is ready and waiting to run in a special election.

That's why they are doing this. And you are spot on. Their over-vocalization is just making their agenda more transparent.

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