“If we keep on getting distracted by this problem, then we are not solving it.” – Senator Barack Obama, 2007
When Barack Obama uttered those words during a debate, he was saying something totally ridiculous but it was also a predictor of how he would govern. The notion that a problem is not solved if one is distracted by it leaves one to conclude that he believes the inverse, that problems are solved by ignoring them. When Benghazi was on the cusp of making major news, it was a problem the administration could not be distracted by; it needed solved.
Voila! #BringBackOurGirls
If you remember the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, it was about enlisting mainstream media figures, Hillary Clinton, and first lady Michelle Obama to use twitter to rescue more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls from Boko Haram. The campaign predictably failed in that regard as the terrorist group has announced that the girls have been married off. A major reason it failed was because it was designed to serve as a distraction from Benghazi, not to really do anything about rescuing the girls.
First, the latest on the girls. According to France24:
In a new video on Friday, Boko Haram’s leader said the 219 kidnapped schoolgirls who remain hostages of the Islamist group had converted to Islam and were married off. The group also denied Nigerian claims that a ceasefire had been agreed.
In a new video obtained by AFP, the Islamist group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, denied claims by Nigeria’s government that it had agreed to a ceasefire and apparently ruled out any future talks on the release of the girls.
Shekau also said the Islamists were holding a German national, who was kidnapped in Adamawa state in northeast Nigeria in July.
Some 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped from the remote northeast town of Chibok in Borno state in April, sending Boko Haram – whose five-year insurgency in northern Nigeria has claimed an estimated 13,000 lives – into the international spotlight.
The new video comes after a surprise announcement by the Nigerian military and presidency on October 17 that a deal had been reached with the militants to end hostilities and return the kidnapped children.
As far as the Obama administration – and Hillary – are concerned, however, the real purpose of #BringBackOurGirls was to distract attention away from the ‘smoking gun’ Benghazi email released by Judicial Watch on April 29th, two weeks after the kidnappings, as Shoebat.com reported. The email was so damning that House Speaker John Boehner was finally forced to announce the formation of a House Select Committee on the morning of May 2nd.
Later that day, on Fox News Channel’s The Five, which was prepared to delve into the latest developments with Benghazi, liberal Bob Beckel came unglued in a moment of feigned outrage, by suggesting that instead of Benghazi, people should be focused on the schoolgirls. It was out of left field and it was intentionally done. Have a look:
Less than 48 hours later, Hillary sent out a tweet about the #BringBackOurGirls effort:
A day later, Rep. Trey Gowdy is announced as Committee chairman. Later that day, a collective mainstream media narrative to focus on Boko Haram’s kidnapping of the schoolgirls begins. On May 5th and 6th, the AP, Washington Post, and NBC’s Brian Williams all devote significant time to the story; Benghazi developments are ignored.
On May 7th, Michelle Obama’s infamous photo is sent out via twitter. Ignoring Benghazi by drawing attention to something else meant one thing – problem solved.
However, the problem of kidnapped schoolgirls would also be solved by ignoring it. Tell that to the schoolgirls.
Michelle Obama: Failed to Bring Back the girls; succeeded in helping to distract from Benghazi.