Hillary Clinton declared during NBC News’s Commander-in-Chief forum that no lives were lost in Libya when she made the move to take out dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Even so, the former secretary of state did not mention the fact that 11 months later four Americans — including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens — were killed in a terrorist attack in Benghazi that arose from the instability that the overthrow created.
“With respect to Libya, again, there’s no difference between my opponent and myself,” Clinton stated, attempting to dismiss her hawkish-foreign policy record. “He’s on record extensively supporting intervention in Libya when Qaddafi was threatening to massacre his population. I put together a coalition that included NATO, included the Arab League, and we were able to save lives.”
“We did not lose a single American in that action,” she declared.
Clinton was referencing the 2011 overthrow of Mummer Gaddafi that left Libya in chaos, where less than a year later the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi was attacked, killing Ambassador Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods ,and Glen Doherty.
Clinton stood by her decision with regards to Libya.
“And I think taking that action was the right decision,” she continued. “Not taking it and permitting there to be an ongoing civil war in Libya would have been as dangerous and threatening as what we are now seeing in Syria.”