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Behind crisis in Benghazi, a lack of firepower
Washington Times ^ | November 5, 2012 | By Rowan Scarborough

Posted on 11/05/2012 12:20:11 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife

As Americans fought for their lives in Benghazi, Libya, the Pentagon’s options for direct intervention were narrowed to one: a fleet of F-16 fighters parked across the Mediterranean at NATO's air base in Aviano, Italy.

How the best military in the world came to having only one real choice in a terrorist attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other U.S. citizens is the story of an ill-equipped commander.

U.S. Africa Command, which oversees military options in North Africa, had no access to AC-130 gunships or to armed drones, such as the Predator, that could have killed the attackers from the air.

The command also lacked ground forces and had to look to others for help. Two quick-reaction special operations units — one from central Europe, the other from the United States — would arrive in Sicily, but it was too late for insertion into Benghazi’s chaotic streets on the evening of Sept. 11 when the attack erupted. The siege by militants at the U.S. Consulate and a CIA base ended hours before the morning of Sept. 12.

..............But on Sept. 11, AfriCom was still a command “in paper only,” as one former Bush administration official put it.

The military source told The Times, “AfriCom has very few assigned forces.”

Gen. Ham lacked what is called a commander in-extremis force, which other combatant forces have set up to respond to crises such as Benghazi. He also lacked the assets to assemble a generic quick-reaction force..........

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government
KEYWORDS: benghazi; benghaziaftermath; benghaziexcuses; clinton4alqaeda; clintontreason; clintonvsamerica; dnc4alqaeda; dnc4terrorists; military; navyseals; obama4alqaeda; obamacya; obamatreason; obamavsamerica; panetta4alqaeda; panettatreason; panettavsamerica; threatmatrix; threatmatrixbenghazi; treason
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To: TigersEye
The military source told The Times, “AfriCom has very few assigned forces.”

The timing of this leak is suspicious, and the info impossible to verify.

Freepers recognize that even if true, this in no way exonerates Obama, but voters who follow this story in a cursory way or via headlines and soundbites might see it as a mitigating factor in regard to Obama's lack of response.

21 posted on 11/05/2012 5:30:50 AM PST by BlatherNaut
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Clinton’s military service is exactly twelve years less than mine. Mine began in 1956 and I can assure him that we were a fully integrated military then and when I left the service. Many of my fellow military men (granted, women were in short supply in the 50s and 60’s) were black and Americans of Mexican heritage. I saw very little bad blood between the troops, and as a noncom leader of men, would not have tolerated it.

So for him to suggest that it has been his record, and that is exactly what he implies, is unvarnished BS. I believe that Harry Truman was the democrat who integrated the armed forces, and he was the last one to have the balls to win a war by any and all means.


22 posted on 11/05/2012 5:37:27 AM PST by billhilly
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

The article doesn’t explain THIS:

The questions concerning General Ham’s role in the September 11 events continue to percolate. Congressman Jason Chaffetz, Utah Republican, said that General Ham told him during a visit to Libya that he had never been asked to provide military support for the Americans under attack in Benghazi. Former United States Ambassador to the U.N. John R, Bolton also mentioned Mr. Chaffetz’s account, and contrasted it with Mr. Panetta’s statement that General Ham had been part of the team that made the decision not to send in forces. “General Ham has now been characterized in two obviously conflicting ways,” Mr. Bolton concluded. “Somebody ought to find out what he actually was saying on September the eleventh.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/robbins-report/2012/oct/29/general-center-benghazi-gate-controversy-retiring/


23 posted on 11/05/2012 6:11:47 AM PST by MissMagnolia (Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't. (M.Thatcher))
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To: Cincinatus' Wife; All
Obama says he knew from the first phone call, it wasn’t a lack of fire power, it was a lack of resolve “to secure those Americans” and no follow through;

They sat in the situation room, well, Obama after his 5pm meeting with Biden and Panetta, for hours and there's no way they did everything, and it was the State Department that supplied the back-up Troops from Tripoli according to what we learned from Bing West on Greta.

TRANSCRIPT: Presidential debate on foreign policy at Lynn University
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/22/transcript-presidential-debate-on-foreign-policy-at-lynn-university/

Obama “Now with respect to Libya, as I indicated in the last debate, when we received that phone call, I immediately made sure that, number one, that we did everything we could to secure those Americans who were still in harm’s way;”

Initial phone call to Washington which would have been 9:40 p.m. at the consulate, 3:40 p.m. in the Eastern Time zone;

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/10/198791.htm

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL:“...I neglected to mention from the top that that agent from the top of this incident, or the very beginning of this incident, has been on the phone. He had called the quick reaction security team, he had called the Libyan authorities, he had called the Embassy in Tripoli, and he had called Washington.”

24 posted on 11/05/2012 7:04:43 AM PST by Son House (Romney Plan: Cap Spending At 20 Percent Of GDP.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Why have we not considered the October suprise that went sour [Pres. O/Muslim Brotherhood deal]for the kidnaping/Big O release of the ambassador? This was caused by the direct disobedience of the Seals.


25 posted on 11/05/2012 7:09:37 AM PST by Toosoonold
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To: greeneyes
I am sure I read that 2 C-130’s were actually assigned to Libya.

No, I have not. I would love to have a source on that for my extensive bookmark file. I have heard that two surveillance drones were assigned to Libya but no confirmation on whether they were armed or capable of being armed.

26 posted on 11/05/2012 10:36:39 AM PST by TigersEye (dishonorabledisclosure.com - OPSEC (give them support))
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
And this, in the face of indisputable facts [it is (was) no secret] that “al-Qaeda” — in all its Islamic terrorist manifestations under that umbrella name — are training, spreading out and building strength; much of it due to “Arab Spring.”

Indeed.

Al Qaeda Plants Its Flag in Libya

Benghazi: A Sea of Al-Qaeda Flags Nov. 5, 2011

27 posted on 11/05/2012 10:41:50 AM PST by TigersEye (dishonorabledisclosure.com - OPSEC (give them support))
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To: BootsOfEscaping
From what I’ve been hearing it was because there were Al Qaeda ambush teams waiting for the rescue response to cause another Blackhawk down situation...

I think Panetta was the one who put that out there. I don't think I buy that. A Delta Force team and 100 Recon Marines with air support from an AC-130 or an Apache helo could deal with that I believe. Do we ask for guaranteed outcomes now before going to defend 41 Americans who volunteered to serve in harm's way?

28 posted on 11/05/2012 10:51:02 AM PST by TigersEye (dishonorabledisclosure.com - OPSEC (give them support))
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To: Eagles6

That’s how it read to me.


29 posted on 11/05/2012 10:54:32 AM PST by TigersEye (dishonorabledisclosure.com - OPSEC (give them support))
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To: Cincinatus

That is true. Nothing redounds to this administration’s benefit.


30 posted on 11/05/2012 10:59:35 AM PST by TigersEye (dishonorabledisclosure.com - OPSEC (give them support))
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To: BlatherNaut
An anonymous 'military source' doesn't mean much does it? Could be virtually anyone who ever served in the armed services. Technically it wouldn't even have to be someone who served in U.S. armed forces.

“AfriCom has very few assigned forces.”

I can't say that that isn't true but it sure doesn't sound believable. If we parse that statement (thank you Slick Willie for teaching us that we need to do that) 'few' could be a relative term. Few compared to other theaters?

They want us to believe there weren't enough assets to affect a rescue of 40 people against a force of about 150-200 taking just a few hours in a port side city on the Mediterranean. So, what does Africom consist of? A leaky rowboat, a Piper Cub and a rundown office staffed by techies and paper pushers? Does 0bama plan to scale them back and drydock the rowboat?

31 posted on 11/05/2012 11:55:39 AM PST by TigersEye (dishonorabledisclosure.com - OPSEC (give them support))
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To: TigersEye

I know I read it. I don’t remember the source, and I have been to so many websites I doubt that I can backtrack it easily.

However, I will keep an eye out and if I happen across it again, I will let you know.


32 posted on 11/05/2012 1:19:45 PM PST by greeneyes (Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)
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To: greeneyes

Thank you.


33 posted on 11/05/2012 1:28:01 PM PST by TigersEye (dishonorabledisclosure.com - OPSEC (give them support))
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
"In the end, Gen. Ham, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, agreed that the picture on the ground was too clouded to order an airstrike."

it's one of their lines. There are quite a few actually, routinely changing as actual facts are leaked.

34 posted on 11/05/2012 4:46:14 PM PST by Eagles6 (DNC 2012 Convention: Celebrating infanticide and sodomy. Denying God.What could possibly go wrong?)
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To: Cincinatus
Yep. Cowardice, incompetence or it went according to plan.

Originally for weeks it was the video, then "We've always said it was a terror attack". Then they couldn't put forces in because they didn't know what was going on (except for the 2 highly trained former SEAL warriors and multiple CIA assets on the ground that they were in direct and continuous communication with and live video from the drones).

Now we are to believe that there were no assets, none, air or otherwise that could have been deployed from Sigonella, a huge US, NATO and Italian air and operations base 480 miles away, "The Hub of the Mediterranean" that could have gotten there in time? No Warthogs, no AC-130s, no fighters, no bombers, no copters, no armed drones, hell, not even a P-51?

35 posted on 11/05/2012 7:07:56 PM PST by Eagles6 (DNC 2012 Convention: Celebrating infanticide and sodomy. Denying God.What could possibly go wrong?)
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To: Cincinatus; TigersEye; 1010RD
Yep. Cowardice, incompetence or it went according to plan.

Originally for weeks it was the video, then "We've always said it was a terror attack". Then they couldn't put forces in because they didn't know what was going on (except for the 2 highly trained former SEAL warriors and multiple CIA assets on the ground that they were in direct and continuous communication with and live video from the drones).

Now we are to believe that there were no assets, none, air or otherwise that could have been deployed from Sigonella, a huge US, NATO and Italian air and operations base 480 miles away, "The Hub of the Mediterranean" that could have gotten there in time? No Warthogs, no AC-130s, no fighters, no bombers, no copters, no armed drones, hell, not even a P-51?

36 posted on 11/05/2012 7:08:38 PM PST by Eagles6 (DNC 2012 Convention: Celebrating infanticide and sodomy. Denying God.What could possibly go wrong?)
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To: TigersEye
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/10/26/ac-130u-gunship-was-on-scene-in-benghazi-obama-admin-refused-to-let-it-fire/

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/04/what-laser-capability-did-benghazi-team-have/

37 posted on 11/05/2012 7:24:33 PM PST by Eagles6 (DNC 2012 Convention: Celebrating infanticide and sodomy. Denying God.What could possibly go wrong?)
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To: Eagles6
...from Sigonella, a huge US, NATO and Italian air and operations base 480 miles away, ...

Basically they just have a NATO sign on a false-front building so those darned Ruskies don't get any frisky ideas. /s10

You know they actually rented those planes from Hollywood to bomb Gadaffi out of existence right?

Don't forget that there were on the ground live streaming security cams from the main compound too if not the annex as well. I think Leon was expecting the Ansar al Sharia guys to call in their positions and give them some live cam-feed from their side of the firefight. Without that you just couldn't know enough.

38 posted on 11/05/2012 11:47:03 PM PST by TigersEye (dishonorabledisclosure.com - OPSEC (give them support))
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To: Eagles6
I saw that PJ Media story when it came out. Unfortunately it's just speculation based on the report that Woods was lazing a target. There was another article from somewhere that said those two AC-130s were taken off of that assignment a few months ago.

It's a logical speculation though and there has been no solid denial that there were no AC-130s available or even that there was not one in the air over Benghazi. If they could truthfully say there was not wouldn't they have said that by now?

39 posted on 11/05/2012 11:56:48 PM PST by TigersEye (dishonorabledisclosure.com - OPSEC (give them support))
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