Posted on 11/04/2012 11:28:23 AM PST by null and void
Just days before the presidential election, U.S. officials are striking back at allegations they failed to respond quickly or efficiently against the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, detailing for the first time a broad CIA rescue effort.
In the first days after the attack, various administration officials linked the Benghazi incident to the simultaneous protests around the Muslim world over an American-made film that ridiculed Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Only later did they publicly attribute it to militants, possibly linked to al-Qaida, and acknowledged it was distinct from the film protests. The changing explanations have led to suspicions that the administration didn't want to acknowledge a terror attack on U.S. personnel so close to the Nov. 6 election, a charge Obama has strongly denied.
The AP has reported that the CIA station chief in Tripoli and a State Department official sent word to Washington during the attack citing eyewitnesses as saying it was not a film protest but the planned work of armed militants.
The Pentagon would not send forces or aircraft into Libya -- a sovereign nation -- without a request from the State Department and the knowledge or consent of the host country. And Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the information coming in was too jumbled to risk U.S. troops.
According to the detailed timeline senior officials laid out Thursday, the first call to the CIA base came in at about 9:40 p.m., and less than 25 minutes later about the team headed to the consulate. En route they tried to get additional assistance, including some heavier weapons, but were unable to get much aid from the Libyan militias.
By that time, one of the Defense Department's unarmed Predator drones had arrived to provide overhead surveillance.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
I suspect a single low altitude supersonic flyover would have broken the back of the assault.
Perhaps it would have.
test
Did you pass?
And less than an hour later, a heavily armed Libyan military unit arrived and was able to take the U.S. personnel to the airport.
Translation to actual events: A second wave of ragtag militia, friendly at present to the almost non-existent Libyan Gov't, which was unable to provide any security to the "Consulate" at all, until after the fact, showed up. The pinned down force at the Annex plus the new arrivals were able to beat back the attackers enough that the escape to the airport was accomplished.
This gives a pretty good idea of what level of force the U.S., by far the greatest military force in the world, would have needed to apply, say, by 1 a.m., to win the day handily. This would not have saved Ambassador Stevens (a simple battery powered ventilation and fire supression system, not to mention more security in the 1st place, probably would have done that.) It also would not have saved Sean Smith. But it almost certainly would have saved Woods and Doherty, not to mention the Annex and most of whatever operation was going on there.
Nully, I’m barely limping along in my FR reading lately, many thanks to everyone for posting on this. You and everyone else.
Somewhere I read that Stevens had $64 million apparently at this Consultate or whatever it was. I didn’t read the article, just planned to, so I don’t know where the money came from.
I may even have a window open about it; or not.
I’m really frazzled or I’d have a link or something. Have you read this?
A good man defending the Benghazi mission was illuminating a jihadist mortar team with a laser sight.....and this is the best these a$$ hat officials can do?
Who refused or failed to act.All of those people should be in jail.
Or hanged.
"Evinces a wanton disregard of human life" fits the criteria for murder.
"The betrayal of one's own country by waging war against it or by consciously or purposely acting to aid its enemies." is treason.
IMHO, the attack was pre-arranged as a hostage taking kidnapping; if not originated in the Oval Office, at the very least accepted and blessed there.
What the White House naïvely bought into IN ADVANCE was a scheme to allow Amb. Stevens to be kidnapped and held for ransom.
Obama and Valerie Jarret desperately wanted to show Obama as the Master Negotiator, a mensch capable of doing what even the Great Jimmy Carter couldn't: successfully redeem hostages from muslims, and just in time for the election.
As an added bonus, it would provide the all the cover needed to release the Blind Sheik and all the "political" prisoners from Gitmo.
I believe Bronco and Val were astonished when the scorpion stung them in mid-river.
That they were so (dare I say it?) UNEXPECTEDLY betrayed caught them so utterly flat-footed that they still haven't come up with a good cover story!
Just one old, tired and cynical guy's opinion, of course.
Prove me wrong. Cite one demonstrable fact that says they didn't commit conspiracy to commit kidnapping at the least, murder and treason, both capital crimes, at the worst, if you can...
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