On Sunday’s “This Week” on ABC, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) explained why the Obama administration’s handling of the Sept. 11, 2012 Benghazi attack is such a serious matter and warrants this level of scrutiny from lawmakers.
Kinzinger argued the military had dropped the ball on what is taught in survival training, which protestations from Democratic strategist and “This Week” regular Donna Brazile.
Partial transcript as follows:
KINZINGER: As a military pilot, when I went through survival training, I was told your country will never leave you behind and it will move heaven and earth to come get you. If you find yourselves behind enemy lines, don’t worry. There will be an F-16 and guys coming to get you at some point. That didn’t happen.
The YouTube video to me is beyond you know, the politics of it. And I get it and that’s an issue. It’s the fact there was an attempt by the administration to cheapen the death of four Americans and not give them their due rights of having died on the war on terror.
BRAZILE: That is not true. That is not true.
KINZINGER: Initially, they said it was because of a YouTube video, not because of the war on terror.
BRAZILE: That is not true. That is not true. The president said that the day after this was an act of terrorism. And the administration has not only expressed regret for the lives of those Americans lost. But if you look at all the reports that have come out about Benghazi. There is nothing in the reports that say the administration tried to keep the Defense Department from doing their jobs. They wanted to get to those people. They wanted to help the secretary.
KINZINGER: They had seven hours between the first and second attack.
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