Panetta is lying to cover his a$$. How do I know?
Long ago I was a SEAL officer and I attended many joint and combined operational planning meetings in the USA, abroad, and on ships at sea. This type of rescue mission is called a “NEO” operation, for Non-combatant Evacuation Operation. Every embassy and consulate has and practices all kinds of emergency evac plans, in concert with the US military.
For example, Marines and SEALs practice NEO ops prior to deploying on every float, as a VERY high priority mission. They involve full dress-rehearsals, with civilian role players, helos, landing craft, rounding up stranded stragglers, opfor ambushes, role-playing “angry mobs,” fighting your way to LZs or even beaches while protecting a gaggle of civilians down to babies etc. Conducting successful NEO ops is a TOP TOP TOP military and state department mission priority. I cannot emphasize this enough. NEO ops are planned and practiced over and over and over.
When the alarm goes off worldwide that an embassy or consulate is being attacked, the entire U.S. military swings into rescue mode, without waiting for any orders from the White House. The military does all of the operational planning and begins to execute the rescue op.
The one thing they CAN’T do is cross an international border without permission from POTUS. So the US Military will be inbound full-steam-ahead to make the rescue, and all they need from POTUS is a “proceed” order. In this case, they got a “stand down” instead.
This is at the POTUS level, it is not a decision taken at State. State and the military (JCS) should be in the Situation Room with POTUS soon after a critical incident like this begins, so all decisions can be made in real time. (I have heard nowhere that POTUS went into the Situation Room at all. Apparently he went to the Oval Office briefly, but not down to the Situation Room, where the “war planning” screens, full staffs and commo tools are all located for dealing with a major crisis.)
But if POTUS punts after a brief Oval Office meeting with Dempsey and Hillary and goes upstairs to the family quarters....the stranded Americans will die.
Only POTUS can give the order to cross international borders. Only POTUS can allow US warplanes to give air support to Americans battling on the ground in a foreign country. If POTUS makes himself unavailable, the Americans will die.
Even the VEEP or Secretary of State cannot make that call. The VEEP can only do it if the POTUS is determined to be medically unable to perform his functions. If the POTUS goes upstairs and turns off his phone, there is nothing anybody can do about it. Nothing. And the besieged Americans will die.
On Friday an anonymous Pentagon insider (”Doug”) called into Rush with a lot of new details about this disgraceful fiasco. But what we really need now is for a high-ranking officer with insider knowledge to go public, risk his pension and career, and tell the truth.
The blame for this humiliating and shameful national disgrace is pointing directly at the POTUS, and America needs to know why the inbound rescue operation was aborted.
"But what we really need now is for a high-ranking officer with insider knowledge to go public, risk his pension and career, and tell the truth."
Exactly the point of a vanity article I posted and pinged you to.
Thank you, Travis for explaining the “why didn’t we go?” so exquisitely. That is the bottom line. Right now, and ultimately, all that matters is that he didn’t send help. That’s what needs to be broadcast to every American. He could have sent help but did nothing. Somehow this needs to break through the media embargo before Nov. 6.
Thank you sir, for your service and for this information. I heard that caller Doug on Rush’s show. My question is...why was the security detail pulled out just weeks before? Why was our ambassator left defenseless?
“... This type of rescue mission is called a “NEO” operation, for Non-combatant Evacuation Operation. ... Only POTUS can allow US warplanes to give air support to Americans battling on the ground in a foreign country. If POTUS makes himself unavailable, the Americans will die. ...”
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YES YES YES!
Yours is the most detailed outline of this process that I have yet seen. I know from my military experience this exists, but was never involved, so you taught me a lot here.
Please try to phone various outlets like Glenn Beck, Hannity, Levin, Rush, etc., and get this read on air. Please be persistent, maybe EMailing them. Perhaps you can get a hold of Hannity through Twitter, also. Give your phone number to them and ask them to give it to other show hosts so you can repeat it more than once. Please spend the time using your experience here to educate all of America, not only FReepers.
Excellent description. Thanks.
There is no chance in hell that the CJCS was not informed of any assets available and that he did not offer those for use. And only one person could say no.
The CIA & the State Department don’t get to make those decisions. Heck, within minutes of the attacks being reported on the news, any Sq/CC with forces that MIGHT be able to respond started planning TO respond, just in case called. I’d bet a lot of stateside units were told to look at what it might take.
Military force was offered as an option. And Hillary didn’t have authority to say no...
First again thanks for your service active duty and as a “former SEAL”!
You summed up the reality of what happened:
“The one thing they CAN’T do is cross an international border without permission from POTUS. So the US Military will be inbound full-steam-ahead to make the rescue, and all they need from POTUS is a “proceed” order. In this case, they got a “stand down” instead.
“This is at the POTUS level, it is not a decision taken at State. State and the military (JCS) should be in the Situation Room with POTUS soon after a critical incident like this begins, so all decisions can be made in real time. (I have heard nowhere that POTUS went into the Situation Room at all. Apparently he went to the Oval Office briefly, but not down to the Situation Room, where the “war planning” screens, full staffs and commo tools are all located for dealing with a major crisis.)”
“But if POTUS punts after a brief Oval Office meeting with Dempsey and Hillary and goes upstairs to the family quarters....the stranded Americans will die.”
LBJ and Carter are role models for the current traitor posing as POTUS. They and the current Poseur POTUS ignored the requests for permission to engage, and good men died.
We had one, one who refused to take orders from the commie, Col. Lakin.
First again thanks for your service active duty and as a “former SEAL”!
You summed up the reality of what happened:
“The one thing they CAN’T do is cross an international border without permission from POTUS. So the US Military will be inbound full-steam-ahead to make the rescue, and all they need from POTUS is a “proceed” order. In this case, they got a “stand down” instead.
“This is at the POTUS level, it is not a decision taken at State. State and the military (JCS) should be in the Situation Room with POTUS soon after a critical incident like this begins, so all decisions can be made in real time. (I have heard nowhere that POTUS went into the Situation Room at all. Apparently he went to the Oval Office briefly, but not down to the Situation Room, where the “war planning” screens, full staffs and commo tools are all located for dealing with a major crisis.)”
“But if POTUS punts after a brief Oval Office meeting with Dempsey and Hillary and goes upstairs to the family quarters....the stranded Americans will die.”
LBJ and Carter are role models for the current traitor posing as POTUS. They and the current Poseur POTUS ignored the requests for permission to engage, and good men died.
Thanks for sharing that valuable info.
This is beyond outrageous. It is negligent homicide at least.
Travis, thank you for your service, and thank you for explaining this.
What i don’t understand is why Zero didn’t give the go order, so he could be the “heroic” Commander in Chief, saving American lives from terrorists ?
could they have been worried about a black hawk down type ambush ?
“Only POTUS can give the order to cross international borders. Only POTUS can allow US warplanes to give air support to Americans battling on the ground in a foreign country. If POTUS makes himself unavailable, the Americans will die.”
Your whole post here was most informative. Thanks Travis for letting us know your inside experience on this sort of operation. Few of us would understand the subject matter as well without your incisive input.
Thank you for all that you do and for all that you have done.
Thank you for your insight and service.
The Administration is nuts to believe there are no military personnel who know what you obviously do.
Ambassadors are unarmed representatives of all American citizens. They cannot defend themselves and should necessarily expect to have the US military - on hand - sent immediately once their lives are threatened.
Seems like something any eighth-grader would know.
Then again, this Administration condones the killing of unarmed, unborn citizens.
Travis, you are spot on!
I recall our MCCRES (Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation System) evaluation at Camp Lejeune, NC prior to deploying with the 24th MAU (now MEU’s) to the Mediterranian Sea in 1978.
The evaluation included NEOPs and we were instructed that this evolution of our evaluation was to ensure we were ready to evacuate Non-combatant Americans in any situation and in particular from US Embassies.
We did a dress rehearsal with many Marines dressed as civilians.
Well, there you have it — Obongo Bozo was, indeed, asleep at the switch!
IMHO, that is an impeachable offense.
HST, there are bits and pieces of two stories swirling around the Internet that the attack on the Benghazi Mission was to be the “October Surprise.”
The plan, so the stories I have read, was that the Ambassador was to be kidnapped by Libyan thugs and either rescued by the Regime in a military operation or exchanged for the Blind Sheik before the election.
That plan would have worked, if and only if, there was diminished security around the Ambassador. IOW, increased security on 9-11-12 and/or mounting the rescue mission after the attack began would have prevented the kidnapping.
With no kidnapped Ambassador to rescue or ransom, the “October Surprise” would have been a colossal failure.
When the Ambassador died, the whole scheme blew up in the Regime’s face, and they had to go to a deeply flawed LIE and cover up plan, which obviously had not been thought all the way through.
Having failed at “October Surprise #1,” one has to wonder what “October Surprise #2” is?
BTW, Travis, have you wondered why there were no OBAs (or weapons, for that matter) in the Mission “Safe Room?” My understanding is that the Ambassador and his aide died of smoke inhalation.
PS You might want to update your profile page — the links do not work.
“But what we really need now is for a high-ranking officer with insider knowledge to go public, risk his pension and career, and tell the truth.”
Thank you Travis. I agree, in fact, I’d like to see more of the families of the fallen speak out. However, the question is...anyone willing to risk everything could tell the truth to whom? Even with everything we already know, including Mr. Woods’ speaking out, and all that has been proven til now...only Fox is covering it....I keep skimming every other station and thus far have found absolutely no reports on what really happened in Benghazi...not even a soundbite of Mr. Woods.... We’re preaching to the choir. We need to find a way to FORCE the media, because if and when they finally do give it some coverage, it will be on Obama’s terms.
FWIW, my brother confirms what you said.