Ambassador Chris Stevens was a capable, dedicated public servant, so the unwritten code of chivalry says we should not tarnish his memory. "Don't blame the dead guy" is the rule. "Blame his boss if she's a member of the opposing party" seems to be the operative corollary.

Details of the actual scenario and "what if" scenarios are so sparse and speculative that neither Congress nor the rest of us should dare to make any judgments about what happened, what might have happened and what legitimate blame should be assigned and punitive actions taken.

My first question is, "What in Hades was the ambassador doing in Benghazi when he, better than anyone else, knew it might be fatally dangerous?" Next, "Where was he when he sent the infamous cable(s), already in Benghazi, or in the safety of the embassy in Tripoli?"

Next, "How much time elapsed between sending the cable and his death?" There are numerous other questions, but let's finish with, "If Secretary Clinton had personally received the cable, what credible action might she have taken that would have prevented Stevens' death?"

Fox News and Republican committee members can jump to all the conclusions they like; the rest of us should be smarter than that.

MARTIN BENSKY, Richland