Ralph Peters on Benghazi: CIA Should 'Never Play Politics'

by Wanda Carruthers
Newsmax
June 1, 2014

https://www.legal-project.org/4277/ralph-peters-on-benghazi-cia-should-never-play

As the investigation continues into who crafted White House talking points after the 2012 bombing in Benghazi, Libya, retired Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters says it's important to remember that the line between intelligence and politics should never blur.

"The one thing you do not want to do to this country is to turn intelligence into politics, to politicize it," Peters told Fox News' "America's News HQ" on Tuesday.

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is investigating the way intelligence and politics merged in developing the talking points about the Benghazi bombing. It is probing the exact roles of the Central Intelligence Agency and the administration of President Barack Obama in crafting the initial response to the attack.

Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell will testify Wednesday on Capitol Hill about his role in the now-discredited talking points about the Benghazi attack, in which four Americans died, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Peters stressed that the role of the intelligence agencies was to "never play politics." When it came to reporting the facts on intelligence, Peters said, the CIA "can't spin it."

Peters said former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus should be called to testify before Congress about what he knew about the events surrounding the bombing and the subsequent message from the White House.

"They've got to call Petraeus and put him under oath," Peters said.

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