During the debate last night, Obama claimed that he called the Benghazi attack an “act of terror” the day after in a statement he made from the Rose Garden. Here is the claim Obama made during the debate –

“The day after the attack, governor, I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people in the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened,” Obama said. “That this was an act of terror and I also said that we’re going to hunt down those who committed this crime.”

 Obviously, this caught me by surprise as I recalled no such labeling of the attack as an “act of terror.” So I went searching for the Rose Garden statement –

(FYI –You can a video clip of the entire Rose Garden statement here.)

From the Wall Street Journal – I copied a large portion of the statement to provide context. The portion of this statement prior to what is below is a tribute to those who died and to diplomats who serve in dangerous locations around the world.

Of course, yesterday was already a painful day for our nation as we marked the solemn memory of the 9/11 attacks.  We mourned with the families who were lost on that day.  I visited the graves of troops who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan at the hallowed grounds of Arlington Cemetery, and had the opportunity to say thank you and visit some of our wounded warriors at Walter Reed.  And then last night, we learned the news of this attack in Benghazi.

As Americans, let us never, ever forget that our freedom is only sustained because there are people who are willing to fight for it, to stand up for it, and in some cases, lay down their lives for it.  Our country is only as strong as the character of our people and the service of those both civilian and military who represent us around the globe.

No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for.  Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America.  We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act.  And make no mistake, justice will be done.

But we also know that the lives these Americans led stand in stark contrast to those of their attackers.  These four Americans stood up for freedom and human dignity.  They should give every American great pride in the country that they served, and the hope that our flag represents to people around the globe who also yearn to live in freedom and with dignity.

We grieve with their families, but let us carry on their memory, and let us continue their work of seeking a stronger America and a better world for all of our children.

Thank you.  May God bless the memory of those we lost and may God bless the United States of America.

Let’s continue the search just to confirm that the WSJ had the text right –

From CNN –

“No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done.”

CNN, of course being CNN, would then go on to label the statement by Romney as false, but then you need to look at this piece of information I came across about the panel discussion on CNN, where Candy Crowley joined in, and Anderson Cooper is slamming Obama and Crowley for getting it wrong.

 This peaked my interest to find video…so…

Candy Crowley admits that Romney was right – Ignore the article and go to the video clip. She starts trying to parse her own words eventually trying to put the focus on the economy as being the main issue in the election – which was an out she was provided by John King and supported by David Gergen as well – and off the fact that she screwed it up. So, CNN was almost immediately trying to walk back the screw-up by another liberal journalist who thought she knew what she was talking about and save what little is left of her credibility. 

However, during the debate, Obama said he called the Benghazi attack an “act of terror” the day after the attack in the Rose Garden. No qualifications, no equivocations – he said he called that attack an “act of terror.”

All you have to do is look at the text and judge for yourself –

  • Obama mentions it being an “attack” – but not a “terrorist attack”
  • Obama mentions “attackers” – but not identifying them as “terrorists” or “terrorist attackers”
  • Obama labeled the attack as “brutal” and “terrible” but not a “terrorist attack”
  • Oabma makes a statement referencing the video 

Obama is trying to split hairs over the words in this statement. That what he meant when he said “acts of terror” – was that the Benghazi attack was an act of terror. Context matters – and Obama is taking himself out of context to put an end to BenghaziGate.

Since by Obama’s own standards, all we have is to split hairs over what he meant by what he said – look at this paragraph from the statement.

Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths.  We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others.  But there is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence.  None.  The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts

Is it me or is he is saying that the attack was because of the video that was insulting Islam?

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Update #1 — I found this link on another site — http://www.therightscoop.com/after-debate-obama-admitted-to-benghazi-questioner-that-he-really-did-delay-calling-it-a-terrorist-attack/ – I think there needs to be an interview with Kerry Ladka for more information. I am going to look for more information and will post it here as I find it.