Clinton defends her response to Benghazi attack

WASHINGTON: Hillary Rodham Clinton is defending her handling of the deadly 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, writing in her new book that she will “not be part of a political slugfest on the backs of dead Americans.”
The former secretary of state devotes a chapter of her upcoming book, “Hard Choices,” to the Benghazi attack, responding to Republicans who have accused the Obama administration of stonewalling congressional investigators and misleading the public about the nature of the attack in the weeks before the presidential election. Four Americans were killed in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack, including US Ambassador Chris Stevens.
The former first lady is the leading potential Democratic presidential candidate for 2016. If she decides to run again, Republicans are sure to make Benghazi a line of attack against her during the campaign. The Republican-controlled House voted earlier this month to establish a select committee to conduct what will be the eighth investigation into the attack, a panel that Democrats reluctantly joined.
In the chapter, which was obtained by Politico, Clinton takes responsibility for the loss of life in the attack but writes that there have been “a regrettable amount of misinformation, speculation and flat-out deceit” by some in politics and the media.
“I will not be a part of a political slugfest on the backs of dead Americans. It’s just plain wrong, and it’s unworthy of our great country,” Clinton writes. “Those who insist on politicizing the tragedy will have to do so without me.”
Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said that “until the book is released, there’s nothing to say. And once it’s released, it will speak for itself.”
Clinton’s account of the Benghazi attack is one of the most anticipated sections of her forthcoming book, which will be released June 10 and will describe her four years at the State Department.
President Barack Obama and Democrats have accused Republicans of politicizing a national tragedy and the president’s allies have argued that there is no new information following more than a dozen public hearings and the release of 25,000 pages of documents.