NEW YORK, NY - JULY 11: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice addresses the media following a UN Security Council meeting on July 11, 2012 in New York City. At the meeting the UN and Arab League peace envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, said via a video conference from Geneva that the UN Security Council is discussing what action it could take next to address the crisis. (Credit: Getty Images)
The CIA talking points U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice parroted on national television following the deadly terrorist attack on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi claim the demonstration was "spontaneously inspired by the protests at the US Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the US diplomatic post in Benghazi."
CBS News was able to obtain a copy of the talking points on Thursday. Rice has been under fire from GOP lawmakers after she went on "Face the Nation" on Sept. 16, nearly a week after the attack, and said the attack in Benghazi was spontaneous and caused by an anti-Muslim YouTube video.
Read the CIA's talking points provided to Rice:
The currently available information suggests that the demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the US Embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the US diplomatic post in Benghazi and subsequently its annex. There are indications that extremists participated in the violent demonstrations.This assessment may change as additional information is collected and analyzed and as currently available information continues to be evaluated.
The investigation is on-going, and the US Government is working with Libyan authorities to bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of US citizens."
President Barack Obama on Wednesday passionately defended Rice against Republicans' attacks, saying she had nothing to do with Benghazi. That led syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer and other analysts to ask, if she had nothing to do with Benghazi, why did the White House send her out to talk about it?
What seems strange is that the CIA would come to such a conclusion when there were people on the ground at the CIA annex in Benghazi. It is now clear there were no protests outside the U.S. compound in Libya before the attack and the White House had access to live information as the attack unfolded. Also keep in mind, Rice's comments came nearly a week after the attack, not immediately after.
TheBlaze also reported on Wednesday that Gen. David Petraeus, the former director of the CIA, clashed with agency chiefs over the CIA's portrayal of the Benghazi attack in the days before his resignation, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Featured image via AP/CBS News, Chris Usher
