NBC's Betrayal

On September 11, 2012, the United States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked by nearly 150 heavily armed Islamist Militants who were equipped with Rocket Propelled Grenades, AK-47 Assault Rifles, Heavy Machine Guns, and Mortars. A rescue mission was mounted by a small force of CIA Operatives, from a nearby CIA Annex. The small force was soon overwhelmed and retreated. They were unable to recover U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who had been trapped in the consulate. The nearby CIA Annex was then attacked as well. It was here that several CIA Contractors made their stand. Amongst these men were former Navy Seals Tyrone Woods and Glenn Doherty. These men valiantly defended the annex from the attackers for a number of hours. By the end of the attack, nearly 100 of the militants lay dead, but so did Tyrone Woods and Glenn Doherty, who had been killed by mortar fire.

The following day, when discussing the attack, President Obama described it as a "spontaneous protest", that had been sparked by a hateful Anti-Muslim video, released several months before the attack. In an interview with 60 Minutes, the President said it was "to early to know exactly" whether or not this was a terrorist attack. The President then repeated this story for the next few weeks, until finally, on September 26th, he identified the attack as an Act of Terror.

Fast forward to October 24th. CBS, FOX, CNN, and ABC News all feature the same shocking story. President Obama had received information on the same day as the attack, that the assault on the consulate was indeed a terrorist attack, perpetrated by the terrorist group Ansar al-Sharia. MSNBC News and her sister organization, NBC, were the only two news corporations not to feature the story. Instead, they chose to focus on the controversy surrounding Indiana Senate Candidate Richard Mourdocks comments on unborn children that are the result of rape.

In doing so, NBC and MSNBC absolutely and unequivocally failed in there journalistic responsibilities. In my mind, the fact that the President of the United States lied to us about a matter of National Security, is quite a deal more important than the nonsensical ramblings of a religious extremist. Not only did NBC and MSNBC betray the public by not reporting this pertinent information, they spit on the memories of the four Americans who died in Benghazi. Glenn Doherty and Tyrone Woods died as American Heroes, and these news organizations reluctance to report this story is the ultimate betrayal to their legacies.