E-mails released by the White House Wednesday revealed a fierce internal jostling over the governments official talking points in the aftermath of last Septembers attack in Benghazi,not only between the State Department and the CIA,but at the highest levels of the agency.
The e-mails showed a disagreement between David H Petraeus,the then CIA director,and his deputy,Michael J Morell,over how much to disclose in the talking points,which were used by UN ambassador Susan E Rice in TV appearances days after the attack.
While the e-mails showed US officials being sensitive to the concerns of the State Department,they suggest that Obamas aides mostly mediated a bureaucratic tug of war between the State Department and CIA over how much to disclose.
In a related development,President Barack Obama called on Congress on Thursday to take action to bolster security at American Embassies. Im calling on Congress to work with us and support and fully fund our budget request, he said,asking for support to increase the number of Marines posted at embassies.
