On Thursday, the parents of two of the four Americans killed by terrorists in Benghazi last year said the Obama administration has lied to them and insulted the intelligence of Americans about what happened last September at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
Patricia Smith, the mother of Sean Smith, and Charles Woods, the father of former Navy SEAL Ty Woods, testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Thursday. Smith said she wondered whenever she saw the bloody fingerprints “crawling down the wall of that Benghazi place” on television if “those belong to my son.”
Smith said “nobody has told me anything,” about what happened to her son. She blasted President Barack Obama, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, then-Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, Vice President Joe Biden, and then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta for telling her that the attacks occurred because of a “YouTube video.” She said they knew they were lying then and the spin about the YouTube video and other information she was being told “were all lies.”
“They all lied to me,” she said, noting that top officials all also told her, “I will check up on it and get back to you for sure.”
She pleaded that she just wanted to know “what happened to my son” and asked Representatives if they wanted to know how many times she has heard since from those like Obama and Clinton.
“None,” she answered. “I don’t count. People of America don’t count.”
Smith said the only thing that mattered to the politicians in the Benghazi scandal was themselves.
Woods said he wanted to know who made the decision to “stand down” and “when and why was that decision made.”
“There are very credible sources that say Ty and five of his special forces workers were denied three times,” Woods said.
He also wanted to know if General Carter Ham was relieved from duty by an inferior officer for saying “screw it” to the “stand-down” order Ham was reportedly given. The Obama administration has claimed Ham was relieved because of a “pre-scheduled rotation.”
“I think that’s an insult to the intelligence of the American community to say that a general in the middle of a battle would be relieved because of a pre-scheduled rotation, especially by an inferior officer,” Woods said.
Woods called on Congress to call Ham and have him give public testimony. He then asked, “If the president’s child were in benghazi, would the rescue attempt have been more aggressive?”
Woods, who said he sent Obama the questions he wanted answered as well, said public testimony is necessary to ensure the freedom of Americans. He emphasized that Americans deserved to see witnesses testify so they could determine if the right questions are being asked and if their answers are credible.
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