The mother of one of four Americans killed in the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya lashed out at President Barack Obama on Friday for saying the attack was “not optimal.”
“My son is not very optimal. He is also very dead,” Patricia Smith, 72, the mother of Sean Smith, told the
Daily Mail. “It was a disrespectful thing to say, and I don't think it’s right.
“How can you say somebody being killed is not very optimal? I don't think the President has the right idea of the English language,” she said.
In an interview on “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, Obama responded to a question from host Jon Stewart about his administration's confused communication after the assault by saying, “If four Americans get killed, it’s not optimal.”
The attack at the consulate in Benghazi also killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and security men and former U.S. Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods.
The White House initially blamed the assault on anti-Muslim sentiment towards a movie made by a California real estate developer. It later branded the attack as an act of terrorism.
Obama’s remark also came under fire on Friday for its insensitivity from former GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona and other conservatives.
Patricia Smith told the Daily Mail: “It's insensitive to say my son is not very optimal. He is also very dead. I've not been ‘optimal’ since he died – and the past few weeks have been pure hell.
“I am still waiting for the truth to come out and I still want to know the truth,” Smith told the Daily Mail from her home in San Diego. “I'm finally starting to get some answers, but I won't give up.
“There's a lot of stupid things that have been said about my son and what happened – and this is another one of them,” she said.
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