McCain steps up attack on Obama over Libya

WASHINGTON

Senator John McCain joined other top Republicans on Sunday in attacking Washington's shifting explanations of the September 11 assault that killed the US ambassador to Libya.

McCain, interviewed on CNN's "State of the Union" show, hinted at "certain political overtones" in the initial claim by President Barack Obama's administration that the assault was part of a spontaneous anti-American demonstration.

His comments were the latest thrust in what appears to be a coordinated Republican effort to undermine Obama on foreign policy, seen as his strong point and a big weakness for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice went on the Sunday talkshows that week to say the hours-long assault with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades on the US consulate in Benghazi was part of a spontaneous demonstration over an amateurish video that mocked the Prophet Mohammed.

Four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens, died in the assault.

But that explanation was revised over the next weeks. And by Friday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the consulate attack was planned and linked to Al-Qaeda, but stressed that "many unanswered questions" remained.

The administration's initial explanation for the attack was flat wrong, said McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate.

"That doesn't pass the smell test," he said.

"It was either willful ignorance or abysmal intelligence to think that people come to spontaneous demonstrations with heavy weapons, mortars and the attack goes on for hours."

Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan also sought to skewer Obama on the White House's handling of the incident.

"It's part of a bigger picture of the fact that the Obama foreign policy is unraveling literally before our eyes on our TV screens," Ryan said on "Fox News Sunday."

He also revealed that Romney was planning a major foreign policy speech soon.

McCain and Ryan joined Republican Senator Bob Corker and Congressman Pete King in expressing anger over the Libya affair.

On Friday, King called for Rice, a member of Obama's inner circle, to resign. The New York congressman said Rice's statements had been "irresponsible."

And on Saturday, Corker sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper demanding "straight answers" on the incident.

Senior Obama adviser David Plouffe, speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," said it was "preposterous and really offensive" to suggest the government withheld information on Libya for political reasons.

"We do have an election in 37 days. You know, and we're happy to have a debate about our approach to terrorism and foreign policy," Plouffe said on ABC's "This Week" show.

Senior Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod, speaking on CNN, said the administration first said the Libya attack stemmed from a spontaneous demonstration because that was the information it had available at the time.

Axelrod then referred to Obama's description of Romney as someone who has a "tendency to shoot first and aim later" when the Republican claimed the administration sympathized with demonstrators who assaulted the US embassy in Cairo the same day of the Libya attack.

"What we don't need is a president or an administration that shoots first and asks questions later," Axelrod said.