Outrageous Benghazi blunders, cover-up

To the editor:

Every day, more is revealed about the Obama administration’s egregious and outright outrageous actions and statements regarding the vast incompetence, willful negligence and grand malfeasance in the Benghazi slaughter on Sept. 11, 2012.

The Obama administration persists in downplaying its part and in distancing itself from the slaughter of vulnerable Americans including Ambassador Chris Stevens, and in continuing to make excuses for its intentional cover-up and failure to take decisive action to protect the lives of the Americans assigned to the unprotected diplomatic post in Benghazi.

This failure was nothing less than a cunning, ugly and deadly ploy to avoid the political image of a resurgent al-Qaida at a time when President Barack Obama and his handlers were downplaying the existence of an al-Qaida threat across the globe, and in this case a threat to an unprotected outpost in Libya. After all, Mr. Obama was claiming in his 2012 re-election bid that with the demise of Osama bin Laden on his watch, al-Qaida had been decapitated and was no longer a threat.

On this false and misleading premise, the Benghazi Americans became the sacrificial lambs of a corrupt and intentionally cowardly Obama administration, which had abandoned its essential duty to protect American lives in this remote diplomatic post.

BOB JACK

NORTH LAS VEGAS

Buried Benghazi

To the editor:

The front page of Thursday’s Review-Journal had the headline “Death penalty on table” and a large photo of Jodi Arias. This was the day after the Benghazi hearing and the revelations about what happened in Benghazi. The actual story about Benghazi was found on Page 8A.

Here we have a story about the demise of our country on Page 8A. In Benghazi, we had four Americans killed, lies about the cause of the attack and an administration that cannot determine who was responsible for the false reports. The Review-Journal aided the demise of the country when the decision was made to place the report on Benghazi on Page 8A and, instead, headline a local murder story and story about a girl killing her boyfriend.

The national media — ABC, NBC and CBS — almost neglected the Benghazi hearings. MSNBC didn’t provide one second on the Benghazi story. The media as a whole have failed to report the Benghazi story to any meaningful extent even though four Americans were killed and lies about the cause of the attack were given by “important” people, even to our president.

An unbiased media is necessary if we are to remain true to the reasons for the founding this great country. The Review-Journal seems to go along with the national media by placing the Benghazi story on Page 8A. Seems like a “Harry” factor to me.

DAVID A. MECKLEY

LAS VEGAS

Chaos

To the editor:

Your May 7 editorial, “Middle East chaos,” assumes that President Barack Obama and the United States have a duty to bring order around the world, especially to West Asia and North Africa.

You ask, “Is this the kind of hope and change Mr. Obama meant to offer the people of the Middle East?” Maybe you weren’t aware that Mr. Obama was elected president to serve the people of the United States, not the people of the Middle East.

Don’t you think that Mr. Obama’s attention should be devoted exclusively to the American people? Our problems today are enormous, and Mr. Obama should focus more on nation-building at home.

BASIM ZAKARIA

LAS VEGAS

Sales tax politics

To the editor:

The sales tax is a consumption tax imposed by the states to everybody. It’s a rip-off for the American consumers.

Sales taxes are cruel and unusual punishment for the poor, the low-income Americans, the retirees and the unemployed who don’t pay federal or state taxes according to their income, but have to pay sales taxes for buying basic necessities. Every time the states need money, they increase the sales tax, a tax that is unfair for everybody, the rich and the poor.

Some states lowered corporate and personal income taxes and increased sales taxes that hurt the poor and low-income Americans the most.

GERARD A. SANCHEZ SR.

LAS VEGAS

It’s not a race thing

To the editor:

On the outset of reading Xazmin Garza’s April 20 column, ”With rush to label bombing suspects, a dreadful sense of deja vu,” I was appalled that she seemed to stoke racism. She mentioned that she had received tweets regarding the Boston Marathon bombing. I would think the tweets would be interested in the capture, not the color.

The suspects were described by CNN (I know the network meant no ill will) as dark-skinned “and not much more,” added by Ms. Garza. In the chaos and horror of the moment, that was the take from the video or witnesses. Get over it.

What does it matter what the shade of skin, height, weight, hair length and distinguishing physical characteristics are? We needed to get these scumbags, and this is what came to broadcast at the time. Ms. Garza’s column was consumed with the color issue, and it devoted half a page to it.

Maybe a piece on the tragedy of the four violently slaughtered Americans, including the police officer, or the 14 Americans having their limbs wiped away could have filled that half page.

As a white American, I couldn’t care if the headline read, “Caught! They Are White.”

Each person stands on his or her own deeds.

ARDELLE BELLMAN

LAS VEGAS