Allen West chews into Obama administration for seeking military response in Syria while withholding it in Benghazi

By Kelsey Osterman 
Former Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) can’t believe the Obama administration is calling for a military response in Syria, but just a year ago it seemingly ignored requests for a response in Benghazi, Libya.
Speaking at The Heritage Foundation event “Benghazi: Another Tragic September 11 Anniversary” on Tuesday, West — now a contributor to Fox News and PJ Media‘s “Next Generation TV” — condemned the Obama administration for not sending forces to help the diplomatic mission when it was attacked on Sept. 11, 2012.
“I find it very hypocritical that at this moment in time, the American people are being told that they have a moral obligation to go into Syria because of the chemical gas attacks, but yet I never heard the same type of indignation coming from the President, nor this administration, when our national security interests were attacked,” he said. “Because an American consulate is sovereign American territory.”

The former Congressman added that the administration tried to brush the attack aside with a “move along” attitude.
“Where was our moral indignation, our moral obligation?” he asked. “Where was our response? If there was a time to commit the United States forces to do something, that would have been the time.”
West accused the Obama administration of not paying attention to the warning signs on Sept. 11, 2012. He also questioned the decision to send U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens — who was one of four men killed in the attack — into Libya while the “black al Qaeda flag was prominently flying.”
The former Congressman also pointed out that American people had not heard from the witnesses who present during the attacks — and West is not alone in that concern.
On Tuesday, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry outlining how the State Department had displayed an “overall lack of cooperation” with the committee’s investigation into the attack on Benghazi. He condemned the DOJ for not following through on promises of cooperation.

“The State Department has not lived up to these unequivocal commitments to ‘provide answers,’” Issa wrote. “Instead, the Department has attempted to limit the Committee’s access to important documents and information, including witnesses such as the Benghazi survivors.”
Issa wrote that he needed confirmation that the witnesses would be made available to the Committee by Sept. 24, at which time he subpoena the witnesses.
During his speech on Tuesday, West was also critical of Susan Rice’s promotion from her post as U.S. Ambassador to the UN during the time of the Benghazi attack to National Security Advisor now. He lashed out at the National Constitution Center for giving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton an award for her service — especially in light of Clinton’s “what difference, at this point, does it make?” comment during her testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January.