The complexity of Washington scandals as they unfold usually involves many moments at which it is possible to lose sight of the forest for the trees. Two such instances have come into sharper relief in recent weeks. One is that we still have no good explanation for U.N. ambassador Susan Rice’s talking points for her round of talk show appearances the Sunday after the 9/11/12 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi.

As readers well know, The Scrapbook prefers to see the glass half-full rather than half-empty, and so Act One, Scene 2 of the Obama scandals has been interesting to watch. True, it took evidence of the administration’s deep (and possibly unlawful) hostility toward the press to prompt the mainstream media to pay attention—and to take Benghazi and the IRS outrages seriously.

Grasping the realities of the Middle East is never easy. This is not primarily because they change quickly, but because so much time, effort, and money is spent to prevent reality from breaking through. Fifteen Saudis kill 3,000 Americans on 9/11, so the Saudis spend even more millions to persuade Americans they are friends and allies. Egypt under Hosni Mubarak presents itself as the very model of stability.

For over a week now, the Syrian town of Qusayr in Homs Province has seen some of the heaviest fighting in the two-year conflict. The struggle for Qusayr, says besieged President Bashar al-Assad, “is the main battle” in all of Syria.

As the investigation into the Obama administration’s handling of the attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi intensifies, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are seeking to conduct transcribed interviews with thirteen top State Department officials in the coming weeks in order to learn more. Those named in the letter include a wide range of current and former State Department personnel, from senior advisers to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to mid-level career officials with responsibility for diplomatic security.

President Obama is using his national security address today to reject the "Global War on Terror."

In a speech today, President Obama is calling for the transfer for Gitmo inmates to the United States.

Caroline Alexander, at Bloomberg, delivers some bad news about Syria and its civil war:

Spain has its problems, including an unemployment rate that could be a prelude to revolution or ruin ... or both.  But the country seemed to feel it needed a fleet of warships.  To include submarines.  It made plans to build four of them,  but there was a problem.  As Roberto A. Ferdman at Quartz reports:

The State Department today announced the dedication of a new "environmentally-sustainable" embassy in Bujumbura, Burundi. The cost of the building project is $133 million.

The White House press office announces that President Obama and his wife, Michelle, will travel to Africa next month:

Statement by the Press Secretary on the President’s Travel to Africa