A foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romney, in a preview of the second presidential debate, said on Tuesday that Romney will ask President Obama to "man up" on his response to the terrorist attack in Libya that left four Americans dead.
Richard Williamson, the former special envoy to Sudan under President George W. Bush, was asked on Fox News how Romney would bring up the issue of September’s attack on the American mission in Benghazi in the debate.
“I think Governor Romney, quite properly, will be asking questions, probing, and trying to ask the president to man up, accept his responsibility and explain to the American people the failure that resulted in four American deaths," Williamson said.
He later added of Obama: “He can run but he’s not going to be able to hide. He’s going to have to man up and tell the American people what he knew, when he knew it and what he’s doing.”
On Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she took “responsibility” for the terrorist attack that led to the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Williamson said that there needs to be “transparency” from the administration about the attack. “The administration has to come clean,” he said. “It is a presidential-level decision protecting our diplomats overseas. It's the president's obligation to make sure that diplomats in difficult situations have adequate security so they can do their job, and clearly they failed here.”
Williamson also alleged that Obama must have seen information in daily briefings indicating the previous attacks on the compound and other threats in Libya. “The information was there. The White House has certain responsibilities,” he said.
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