LAWRENCE SELLIN, PHD
April 3, 2014
Muslims are permitted to lie to infidels in order to advance the cause of Islam. There are
two forms: taqiyya - saying something that isn't true and kitman - lying by omission.
It seems that politicians and federal officials are permitted to lie
to the American people if it advances the cause of the government or
their career aspirations.
Did former acting CIA director Michael Morell mislead Congress and
the American people during his testimony about the Benghazi attack
before the House Intelligence Committee?
I don't know, but it may demonstrate how Washington DC constructs the truth to preserve the corrupt status quo.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may have accurately defined the political strategy of truth construction when she
said:
"the fact is we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest or
was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided that they'd
they go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it
make?"
In other words, what good would it do to hold government officials accountable? It won't bring back the dead. Let's move on.
Clinton continued: "It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again."
Unfortunately, the truth would not advance the cause of government or promising careers.
As
reported
by Fox News, Morell overruled the guidance provided by the CIA chief of
station in Libya that the attacks were "not/not an escalation of
protests" in favor of the narrative eventually promoted by the Obama
Administration that the attacks were an outgrowth of demonstrations in
response to an anti-Islamic video. Morell is accused of heavily editing
the so-called Benghazi "talking points," which were the basis for
then-U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's controversial comments on several
Sunday shows that also blamed the attacks on a protest spawned by a
video.
A 2011
article
"The Rise of Another CIA Yes Man" described Morell thusly: "as with
many other successful CIA careerists, his strongest suit seemed to be
pleasing his boss and not antagonizing the White House."
I cannot say that Morell lied during his testimony nor do I know his
motives for the actions he took. I do think he made a critical choice in
the hours and days following the attack. Morell chose the narrative
favored by the Obama Administration over what appears to be the more
likely scenario described by those on the ground in Libya. Obviously,
the former choice was the path of least resistance and, perhaps, also
the one leading to greater professional opportunity and financial
benefit. The latter may have been career-ending.
Morell is now a Counselor to
Beacon Global Strategies, a strategic advisory firm specializing in International Policy, Defense, Cyber, Intelligence, and Homeland Security. Among
other Beacon employees are:
- Philippe Reines, whom the New York Times magazine described as Hillary Clinton's "principal gatekeeper;"
- Jeremy Bash, former chief of staff to Leon Panetta, Obama's CIA Director and Defense Secretary;
- Andrew Shapiro, Hilary Clinton's policy adviser at the State Department; and
- Republican J. Michael Allen, who was a former majority staff
director for the House Intelligence Committee, headed by Republican Rep.
Mike Rogers, the man who led the interrogation of Morell.
Bill Allison, whose Sunlight Foundation is a nonprofit that supports
government transparency, likened Beacon to "a [government-lobbyist
] revolving door on steroids."
Critics of the Obama administration's handling of Benghazi have
raised questions about the "talking points", suggesting they may have been adjusted to protect Hillary Clinton's image. The CIA
edited
"al-Qaeda" out of their Benghazi talking points after the State
Department's spokesman raised concerns about aspects of the
talking-points draft.
Islamic scholars
teach
that Muslims should generally be truthful to each other, unless the
purpose of lying is to "smooth over differences," either by taqiyya -
saying something that isn't true or kitman - lying by omission.
Sounds like a description of Washington DC bipartisanship.
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