Clinton Takes Responsibility for Benghazi, Which Could Help her

Clinton Takes Responsibility for Benghazi, Which Could Help her Campaign

17:05 24 October 2015 Read: 747

The fact that former US Secretary of State Clinton has claimed responsibility for America`s inability to handle a 2012 attack in Libya, in which Christopher Stevens and three other diplomats were killed, could help her presidential campaign, the Director of Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia Barbara Perry told Radio Sputnik.

During her testimony before a House of Representatives committee on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Hillary Clinton took responsibility for America`s inability to foresee, prevent or ultimately repel an Islamic militant attack on the American Diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya and said she had launched reforms to make sure diplomats are better protected in the field. She claims this will help reduce the chance of a similar tragedy happening in the future.

"It is always helpful for those who are in charge, in that case as Secretary of State, that she say that she was responsible for all the things that she was responsible for," said Barbara Perry, who added, "so I think that she, in a very powerful way and in a way that sounded convincing to those who would at least be open-minded about her, said that she was taking responsibility for the tragedy that occurred there."

Perry recalled President John F. Kennedy`s decision to take full responsibility for the botched Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba at a press conference on April 21, 1961.

"Within a few days he went on national television and said at a press conference `I am the responsible party of the US government and so therefore I take responsibility for this.` And his approval rating shot up to 83 %."

Clinton owning up to her inability to stop the Benghazi tragedy could benefit her campaign in a similar way and help her gain votes, Perry believes.

"The combination of that and her superb performance in the first Democratic candidate debate recently has actually caused her to be stronger in the polls and among Democrats,” she said. “And the fact that Joe Biden has announced now that he is not going to run indicates that she will continue to gain strength."

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