State Department Continues to Ignore Benghazi, 9/11 Anniversaries

    At 8:46 AM on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 was piloted into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City by terrorists.  Eleven years later on September 11, 2012, events unfolded in Benghazi, Libya, that would ultimately leave a US diplomatic facility gutted and four Americans dead.  As of 8:46 AM today, the US State Department had not acknowledged either anniversary.
    Up until yesterday, as noted by THE WEEKLY STANDARD, neither the White House or the State Department had mentioned the upcoming anniversary of the Benghazi attack.  Then last night around 8 PM, the White House issued a statement by the press secretary noting a preparedness meeting the president held on Tuesday in anticipation of the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.  The notice referenced the Benghazi attack as well:

September 11th has been a day of remembrance for 12 years for Americans and others around the world. The events of last year, losing four brave Americans – Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods – brought home the reality of the challenges we face in the world.  As we near this day of remembrance, we continue to mourn the death of our cherished colleagues and honor their dedication to public service.  We remain committed to bringing the perpetrators of the Benghazi attacks to justice and to ensuring the safety of our brave personnel serving overseas. 

    The silence from the State Department, however, continues.  There is nothing on Wednesday's public schedule of the State Department regarding any observance, memorial, or remembrance of either 9/11 or Benghazi.  There are no mentions of 9/11, Benghazi, or Ambassador Christopher Stevens any time recently on the State Department website, the Facebook page, or the Twitter account.

    However, in the last three months, the State Department has noted the following anniversaries:

• 10th Anniversary of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program
• 18th Anniversary of Srebrenica Genocide
• 46th anniversary of the founding of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
• 10th Anniversary of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
• 15th Anniversary of East Africa Embassy Bombings
• 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington
• 2nd Anniversary of the Arrest of leading Belarusian human rights organization Ales Byalyatski
• 40th Anniversary of the State Department’s Thursday Luncheon Group

    This morning, the White House tweeted the following:

At 8:46am ET, please join President Obama, @FLOTUS, the @VP, and @DrBiden in observing a moment of silence to mark the anniversary of 9/11.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 11, 2013

    As of 8:47, the message had been retweeted 262 times.  The State Department was not one of them.


Note: A version of this article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.