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BENGHAZI | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation
March 7, 2023 @ 6:00 pm EST
Author Ethan Chorin was one of a handful of American diplomats posted to Libya in the wake of US rapprochement with Colonel Gaddafi in 2003. Six years later, he was in Benghazi when the US mission came under attack, killing US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Stevens had invited Chorin to the mission for dinner that night, and the two were to have met the following day.
Despite 10 sets of Congressional hearings, a deep dive into Hillary Clinton’s emails, and the trial of two suspects (acquitted of the most serious charges), many of the burning questions Americans originally had about Benghazi remain, at best, incompletely answered. This is largely because the fusion of two Benghazi narratives to partisan identity left little room for update, revision, or re-assessment, even after the immediate fog of battle had cleared. 10 years later, that’s changing.
In BENGHAZI!, Chorin puts the attack and the scandal in their broader political and historical context, sorting out fact from ‘fake news’. Understanding Benghazi, he argues, is no less relevant today than it was in 2012, for the attack and multi-year scandal left a profound mark on American politics and foreign policy, and suggest several key areas for policy reform.
To tell this story, Chorin draws on his own jarring experience during the Benghazi attack, his expertise as a former diplomat and scholar of Libyan history, and more than 250 interviews with Libyan insiders, eyewitnesses, and a Who’s Who of US officials, on both sides of the aisle.
Democrats and Republicans agree on little when it comes to Benghazi, but both sides are likely to find themselves feeling vindicated by some of Chorin’s revelations and conclusions, while strongly contesting others.
Dr. Ethan Chorin is joining the Busboys stage to discuss this new book release. He will be joined in conversation by Prof. Bradley F. Podliska, author of the just-released “Fire Alarm,” an insider analysis of the deliberations of the House Benghazi Committee. This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of BENGHAZI will be available for purchase before and during the event. Please note that this event will not be livestreamed.
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