During a press gaggle on board Air Force One on September 20, 2012, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters he hadn't referred to the attack in Benghazi on September 11 as a terrorist attack.
Q: Can you — have you called it a terrorist attack before? Have you said that?
MR. CARNEY: I haven’t, but – I mean, people attacked our embassy. It’s an act of terror by definition.
Q: Yes, I just hadn’t heard you –
MR. CARNEY: It doesn’t have to do with what date it occurred.
Q: No, I just hadn’t heard the White House say that this was an act of terrorism or a terrorist attack.MR. CARNEY: I don’t think the fact that we hadn’t is not — as our NCTC Director testified yesterday, a number of different elements appear to have been involved in the attack, including individuals connected to militant groups that are prevalent in eastern Libya, particularly in the Benghazi area. We are looking at indications that individuals involved in the attack may have had connections to al Qaeda or al Qaeda’s affiliates, in particular al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Carney's statement above came eight days after President Obama spoke about the attack in the Rose Garden on 9/12. Last night, President Obama claimed he referred to the attack in Benghazi as terrorism during his Rose Garden remarks. Carney's statement above, Romney's rebuttal last night and Obama's own words prove otherwise.
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