Through their outbursts, cryptic language and boneheaded questioning of State Department officials, the committee members left little doubt that one of the two compounds at which the Americans were killed, described by the administration as a “consulate” and a nearby “annex,” was a CIA base. They did this, helpfully, in a televised public hearing.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) was the first to unmask the spooks. “Point of order! Point of order!” he called out as a State Department security official, seated in front of an aerial photo of the U.S. facilities in Benghazi, described the chaotic night of the attack. “We’re getting into classified issues that deal with sources and methods that would be totally inappropriate in an open forum such as this.”
A State Department official assured him that the material was “entirely unclassified” and that the photo was from a commercial satellite. “I totally object to the use of that photo,” Chaffetz continued. He went on to say that “I was told specifically while I was in Libya I could not and should not ever talk about what you’re showing here today.”
Well let's see, now why would an innocent-looking annex freak Rep. Chaffetz out? Well, that's because it wasn't an innocent-looking compound annex. Who else besides diplomats hang out in embassy compounds? If you said "duh, the CIA" then congratulations, you're smarter than a Republican. Libyans knew it. We of course knew it. Everybody knows it. We don't just publicly say "Hey, our spies are hanging out here next to the embassy. We thought you should know." That's why we tell people "It's an innocent-looking embassy compound annex" because it's hidden in plain sight. You're not supposed to confirm this to anyone who is watching.
In other words, Jason Chaffetz just blew the CIA's Libya embassy cover. In public. On television. And people wonder why I think Republicans in Congress are worthless on national security. They can't even keep their OWN mouths shut.
Now that Chaffetz had alerted potential bad guys that something valuable was in the photo, the chairman, Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), attempted to lock the barn door through which the horse had just bolted. “I would direct that that chart be taken down,” he said, although it already had been on C-SPAN. “In this hearing room, we’re not going to point out details of what may still in fact be a facility of the United States government or more facilities.”
May still be a facility? The plot thickened — and Chaffetz gave more hints. “I believe that the markings on that map were terribly inappropriate,” he said, adding that “the activities there could cost lives.”
All but tipping off anyone with half a brain that the Benghazi annex was in fact the CIA's little home in Libya. Good work, moron. What started out as yet another of Issa's witch hunts against the Obama administration, this time against Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has now turned into Republicans pointing out just where our CIA spies are hanging out in Benghazi.
Just thinking about it gives me a headache.
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