Chuck Todd: 'Very Rational' Not To Have Sent More Special Ops to Benghazi

May 8th, 2013 9:26 AM

Chuck Todd has defended the Obama admin's decision not to send more special ops to Benghazi.

Appearing on today's Morning Joe, NBC News political director Todd claimed that the decision to send only two special ops to Benghazi was "very rational."  He also literally laughed off the notion that Benghazi could boil into a major scandal.  View the video after the jump.



Todd argued that it made sense not to send more special ops to Benghazi because doing so would have left the Tripoli embassy without such forces.  Really?  When the American ambassador was going to be in Benghazi--on September 11th?

Note: the screencap shows Todd literally laughing off the notion that Benghazi could become a big scandal for the Obama admin. 

CHUCK TODD: I think we sometimes forget what was going on at that time.  We did have multiple embassies in the region, both in North Africa and in the Middle East, that were dealing with protests.  Remember, they raised a black flag on the U.S. embassy in Tunisia during that same period. We had the issues that were going on in Cairo. So, you had, and in fact one of the reasons they didn't send all six special ops, they say at the time, is that they didn't want to have Tripoli unguarded at all. And don't forget, that was the U.S. embassy. And considering what was happening to U.S. embassies in the region at the time, it's actually very rational thought: all right, let's dispatch two guys to the consul--to Benghazi for now.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Again, as we go to break, we've passed this, and by the way, it's on a cheat sheat from the Daily Beast right now--House to reveal new Benghazi evidence--but as we do go to break, Chuck, again, it is important to remind people: we're not brushing aside any allegations. The State Department has already been hammered. Hillary Clinton has testified --

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: There's more coming.

SCARBOROUGH: There's more coming. And there should be more coming.  Because the fact is Hillary Clinton and the State Department did not heed the concerns of a U.S. ambassador who ended up dead. That does warrant investigation.  Is this going to be bigger than Watergate and Iran-contra, ten times over?  

TODD [laughs]: It doesn't look that way.

SCARBOROUGH: I don't know. Let's just wait and see.