The Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said on Sunday that it was a “horrible idea” for the Obama administration to put out an ad in Pakistan denouncing the anti-Islamic video that has been blamed for sparking protests around the globe.
Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said, “I think it was a horrible idea. It gave credibility and it gave a permission slip to al-Qaida, to Pakistani officials.” He added that, “I don’t know who gave them the advice. It was horrible advice. It has exacerbated the situation.”
The ad featured both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denouncing the film, made by a U.S. filmmaker and called “The Innocence of Muslims.” The State Department paid $70,000 to seven Pakistani stations to run the ad.
This week, the administration described the attack on U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens as an act of terrorism, but insisted that the attack had not been preplanned. The administration's account differs from some Republicans in Congress, who characterize the attack as both deliberate and planned.
Rogers said that he sat in on briefings from the administration on the matter, and that “not a lot came out of it,” but noted that, “It seemed that they doubled down. They doubled down. I think they thought they were boxed in a corner, and they had to double down on their information. It was -- it was a little confusing to me. I didn't understand why they chose to do that.”
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