Let me start by cautioning everyone against seizing on any single statement or piece of information to draw final conclusions. It's essential that we go through all of the information and the entire context so that we can get a full and complete accurate understanding of what happened. I take this responsibility very seriously, and I believe that our diplomats, our leaders, and the American people deserve a rigorous, serious, careful process ... no one wants the answers more than we do here at the department. And now based on the reviews so far, we're developing a better understanding of what happened, but we have a lot of work to do to give complete and accurate responses to all the questions and statements that are swirling out there.
At this point, I think it’s unquestionable that “mistakes were made,” and obviously, with tragic effect. But, I don’t believe a strategic withdrawal of all U.S. citizens and personnel from the Persian Gulf or the Muslim world is really the answer. [“Should have been gone long ago,” “Just want them to come home.”]
Do you?
