Fox News Constructs A Catch 22 Over Possible Military Response To Benghazi Attack

Fox is constructing a Catch 22 for President Obama over the possibility of a military strike in response to the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. If Obama orders military action before the election, that action will be politically motivated. If he doesn't he will be motivated by other political considerations.

Fox News and a Catch 22On October 15, Associated Press reported that the White House had put military forces in North Africa on standby, “ready to strike militant targets from Libya to Mali” if a connection is found between them and the consulate attack. In response to that report, Fox rushed to politicize any such strike, claiming that Obama might order an attack in order to improve his re-election odds. 

On today's Fox & Friends, co-host Gretchen Carlson asked guest Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, a senior fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, saying that there's been “some whispering going on that potentially this administration would try to take out the people responsible for the terror attack in Libya, before the election, maybe before the foreign policy debate. Where do you fall on that?”

Shaffer responded with a different theory, suggesting that Obama would likely not order a strike before the election because of political considerations. Shaffer explained: “This administration has talked about how great things are in Libya, based on their leading from behind, and starting shooting predator -- using Predator drones to shoot Hellfire missiles at people, right before the election is the wrong optic. I just don't think they're going to do it.”

Whether Obama orders a strike in Libya or not, it seems that Fox is ready with a response.