The ideal thing would be to create a parody of “Volare,” but I can’t write in Italian, so this will have to do:
I was posted in Benghazi
When the uprising went down.
You could see the trouble brewing.
There was anarchy in town.
Armed gangs were approaching
The embassy that day.
We tried to call for help, but
All help was far away.
They blew up everything they could
And left the place a ruin.
We did our best to stop them, but
It was nothing doing.
I’d like to think that all my friends
Didn’t die in vain.
But the squabbling that ensued
Deserves only disdain.
Investigate, for all you’re worth
The failures that took place.
But don’t forget our tragedy
Still has a human face.
Election time is drawing near.
A reckoning’s at hand.
But please think twice before you draw
New lines in the sand.