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November 11, 2013

"60 Minutes" Retracts Benghazi Story; Watchdog Urges Independent Review 
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CBS News has retracted a controversial story on the deadly attack on the
U.S. diplomatic site in Benghazi, Libya. In a segment for "60 Minutes"
that aired last month, security contractor Dylan Davies offered what he
called an eyewitness account of the militant raid that killed four
Americans, including the U.S. ambassador, on September 11, 2012. Davies
claimed he rushed to the scene and clubbed a militant attacker with the
butt of his rifle. He also said he visited Ambassador Christopher
Stevens in the hospital. His comments fueled right-wing theories
surrounding a lackluster U.S. military response. But Davies' own
statements to both the FBI and the firm he worked for, Blue Mountain,
undermined his claims. Davies had in fact told investigators he spent
most of the night of the attack in his villa. CBS failed to vet Davies'
comments for accuracy despite working on the story for one year. After
initially standing by the story, "60 Minutes" correspondent Lara Logan
apologized to viewers.

Lara Logan: "On Thursday night when we discovered the account he gave
the FBI was different than what he told us, we realized we had been
misled, and it was a mistake to include him in our report. For that we
are very sorry. The most important thing to every person at '60 Minutes'
is the truth. And the truth is we made a mistake."

Davies was on "60 Minutes" to promote his new book, which is published
by Simon & Schuster, itself owned by CBS's parent company, Viacom. The
book has now been pulled from shelves. In an interview, the chair of CBS
News, Jeff Fager, called the report "as big a mistake as there has been"
in 60 Minutes' five decades on the air. The watchdog group Media Matters
is calling on CBS to form an independent panel to investigate the
Benghazi report as it did with a story about President George W.
Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard. The Bush report led to
the ouster of CBS anchor Dan Rather and several other journalists. The
reporter on the Benghazi story, Lara Logan, has previously advocated a
forceful response to the Libya attack. In a speech last year, Logan said
the United States should send in its military forces to "exact revenge."

Lara Logan: "When I look at what is happening in Libya, it’s a big
song and dance about whether this was a terrorist attack or a protest.
And you just want to scream 'For God’s sake, are you kidding me?' The
last time we were attacked like this was the U.S.S. Cole, which was a
prelude to the 1998 embassy bombings, which were the prelude to 9/11.
And you are sending in FBI agents. I hope to God that you are sending in
your best clandestine warriors who are going to exact revenge and let
the world know that the United States will not be attacked on its own
soil. That its ambassadors will not be murdered. And the United States
will not stand by and do nothing about it."

 

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