Fire Alarm

Bradley F. Podliska

doi:10.5771/9781666906172

Summary

Fire Alarm: The Investigation of the U.S. House Select Committee on Benghazi is a study of legislative-executive friction, partisanship, and Congress's attempt to recount events surrounding the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack that killed four Americans. Using publicly available sources, Bradley F. Podliska details the history of congressional investigations, arguing that both Republicans and Democrats use taxpayer-funded investigations as an arena to mount political attacks for electoral advantage. He traces the events of September 11, 2012, and applies a new partisan model to frame the role of Speakers of the House John Boehner and Paul Ryan in investigating the Obama administration’s attack response and post-attack narrative. Employing qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the divisive investigation, Podliska finds Speaker Boehner’s selection of party loyalists for the committee, placement of vetted staff in crucial investigative assignments to ensure execution of party strategy, and emphasis on former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, minimized the examination of White House, Department of Defense, and Intelligence Community responses. As a result, the investigation failed to determine responsibility for U.S. policy in Libya, the author of the post-attack narrative, and why the military did not perform a timely rescue.

Keywords

Search publication

Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2022
ISBN-Print: 978-1-6669-0616-5
ISBN-Online: 978-1-6669-0617-2
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 190
Product type: Book Titles

1. Dedication No access
2. List of Figures No access
3. List of Tables No access
4. Acknowledgments No access
1. The Puzzle: How Did Investigating a Terrorist Attack on Americans Turn Partisan? No access
2. Problems and Pitfalls in Existing Research No access
3. Contributions of this Study No access
4. Roadmap No access
5. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. The Security Environment in Libya No access
3. 1. Benghazi Events No access
  2. Washington, DC, Actions No access
  3. Stuttgart, Germany, Actions No access
  4. Tripoli Actions No access
  5. 1. President Barack Obama No access
    2. Vice President Joseph Biden No access
    3. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton No access
    4. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta No access
    5. General Martin Dempsey, Chair Joint Chiefs of Staff No access
    6. General Carter Ham, Commander of U.S. Africa Command No access
    7. Admiral James Stavridis, Commander of U.S. European Command No access
    8. CIA Director David Petraeus No access
4. 1. September 11 Actions No access
  2. September 12 Actions No access
  3. September 13 Actions No access
  4. September 14 Actions No access
  5. September 15 Actions No access
  6. September 16 Actions No access
  7. Post-September 16 Actions No access
  8. Post-2012 Presidential Election Actions No access
5. Conclusion No access
6. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. 1. History of Congressional Oversight No access
3. 1. Commission vs Congressional Investigation No access
  2. Congressional Investigation: Fire Alarms and Police Patrols No access
  3. Fire Alarm: Partisan Brand No access
  4. Partisan Brand: Leadership and Focus of Investigation No access
4. 1. Committee Leadership and Staff No access
  2. Focus of Investigation No access
5. Hypotheses No access
6. Research Design No access
7. Conclusion No access
8. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. 1. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (OGR) Investigation No access
  2. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Investigation No access
  3. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) Investigation No access
  4. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Investigation No access
  5. House Foreign Affairs Committee Investigation No access
  6. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) Investigation No access
  7. House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Investigation No access
  8. Senate Committee on Armed Services (SASC) Investigation No access
  9. House Judiciary Committee Investigation No access
3. 1. Creation of the Select Committee on Benghazi No access
4. 1. Benghazi Committee Leadership and Staff No access
  2. 1. Witness Interviews No access
    2. Press Releases No access
    3. Document Requests No access
5. Assessment No access
6. Conclusion No access
7. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. Phases of the Investigation No access
3. Political Costs on Democrats No access
4. 1. The Republican Fracture No access
  2. White House and State Department Accountability: The Libyan Strategy No access
  3. White House and State Department Accountability: The Talking Points No access
  4. Pentagon Accountability: The Response No access
  5. Source of the Groupthink No access
5. Conclusion No access
6. Notes No access
1. Introduction No access
2. Findings No access
3. 1. Applying the Partisan Model No access
4. Solving the Puzzle No access
5. Conclusion No access
6. Notes No access
Appendix No access Pages 151 - 166
Bibliography No access Pages 167 - 182
Index No access Pages 183 - 188
About the Author No access Pages 189 - 190