Live from the Roasterie: : Benghazi Fever: "I will not assert that the State Department did everything right for [consulate] security [in Benghazi]...
...because I lack the necessary knowledge and experience to make that assertion, but the fact that embassy security issues did not need the Secretary’s approval is actually a very good thing. Ambassadors should be talking to the Secretary of State about government-to-government policy issues, secure in the knowledge that operational and safety matters at embassies are in the hands of professionals who can do their jobs without endless meddling from above.
On the other hand, the fact that humanitarian aid to Libya required approval at the highest level is an indication that, superficial appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, dispensing that aid was not something that the State Department was particularly eager to do. One would think that the Republicans, who allegedly hate government red tape, would get that.
