narus.info PRISM/US-984XN

Here is the first version of the story, pulled down by the New York Times since and revised, which originally included this passage:

For a country looking to understand how Mr. Romney, a Republican candidate with no foreign policy experience, would respond to a major crisis, this was a first glimpse. And as an adviser to the campaign who worked in the George W. Bush administration said on Wednesday, Mr. Romney’s accusation that Mr. Obama had invited the attacks because he had weakened America looked like “he had forgotten the first rule in a crisis: don’t start talking before you understand what’s happening.”

This was removed from the first version of the story and is not in the second, current version. Let’s look at the incredible difference between that statement from the former Bush administration official and that of the current President, Barack Obama:

In response to Mitt Romney’s criticism of the Obama administration for its handling of recent violence in Egypt and Libya, President Obama told CBS News on Wednesday that Romney “seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later.”

Why did the New York Times remove the Bush official’s quote?

Here is an update on the differences and the New York Times’ defense of their actions.

Ryan obviously wants to run for President in 2016. Mitt Romney is now so finished as a Presidential candidate, his running mate is even trying to back away from him. If this continues it will be noticed by the media.

It is hard to express how disgusting this timeline is. Here is a detail of what happened in Libya, where the attack seems to have been the work of Al Qaeda taking revenge for the US killing of their second in command in June 2012. Dan Senor, the chief Bush apologist in Iraq from circa 2007, was behind Romney’s strategy on September 11th and 12th. On September 11, 2012, after hours of calculation, the Romney campaign broke a pledge against campaigning designed to honor the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the reason they did this was to take advantage of the death of State Department officer Sean Smith in Libya. This attack was based on lies from the very beginning, and the head of the Republican National Committee was involved. The US Embassy in Cairo had to defend itself from a scurrilous political attack based on lies from Mitt Romney at the same time a mob was breaching its walls outside. Look at the expression on Mitt Romney’s face as he ended an impromptu news conference to lie and lie again to exploit the deaths of four Americans.

I can’t recommend this editorial enough as reading on this incident.

The statement from the Romney campaign was initially released by Romney press secretary Andrea Saul at 10:09 PM — but under an embargo until midnight on September 12th. In other words, it was embargoed until September 11th was over.

Then a few minutes later at 10:24 PM the embargo was lifted and reporters were told they could use the statement immediately. There was no clear explanation of the change.

Bear in mind, this was all happening while attacks on US personnel abroad were ongoing. According to a statement released this morning by the White House, the President was told last night that Ambassador Chris Stevens was unaccounted for. Only this morning did he learn that Stevens had died in the attacks that were on-going last night.

The campaign also authorized Romney’s top foreign policy advisor to give a blistering interview attacking the president while the attacks were continuing.

UPDATE: The coordinated military style attack against the US consulate in Benghazi lasted 4 hours and involved the use of heavy artillery.

It is what it is, people. Apparently the Romney organization wants us to back the neocon filmmaker who intentionally provoked the protests. The US Embassy in Cairo actually had to spend time defending against Romney’s attacks at the same time a mob was trying to get inside.

Condemning a United States Embassy hours before it is besieged by a violent mob is political and diplomatic suicide.

This is quite significant, and the beginning signs of a major victory in November.