Benghazi witness: US military response could have ‘scared’ off attackers, prevented mortar strike

FoxNews.com ^ | May 6, 2013 | FoxNews.Com

[Biggirl]

The U.S. military could have prevented one wave of the deadly attack on American personnel in Benghazi if fighter jets had been promptly deployed, a top diplomatic official who was in Benghazi during the Sept. 11 assault told congressional investigators.

[Biggirl]

Long Title:

"Benghazi Witness: US military Response Could Have "Scared" Off Attackers, Prevented Mortar Strike"

[gaijin]

There’s a Naval Air Station on Sigonella, Sicily, and that’s just 420 miles away from Bengazi —CLOSER to the scene than freaking Tripoli.

An F-18 hits the burners and can be overhead in 16 minutes or so —a sonic boom or two, and they all scatter.

Easy, sleazy BUT NOooooooo....

Didn’t want to attract attention to the biiiig arms smuggling venture they had going on, there.

[A.A. Cunningham]

mortar

[blueunicorn6]

These hearings are “political in nature”?

I don’t know. Let’s ask the four dead Americans what party they belonged to. Oh, that’s right. We can’t ask them.....they’re dead. Left there to die.

[MestaMachine]

Is there going to be anything left to say at the hearing that we don't already know?

Anyone wanting on or off this ping list, please advise.

[Diogenesis]

"What difference does it make?"

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream.
It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same,
or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children
and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."
President Ronald Reagan

[ex-snook]

That’s his best shot?

[TigersEye]

Adm. James Lyons (Ret.) on Growing Benghazi Scandal

ADMIRAL LYONS: …All those comforting words that “We don’t want to put our forces at risk.” We had people at risk—they were crying for help! In a situation, you go with the resources you have available—and, in this particular case, we did have that 130-man Marine force recon team sitting there at Sigonella. Even if I only got 50 of them over there, that would have been significant in turning the situation around. We may not have been able to save the ambassador, but we certainly could have saved those other two SEALs that were over on the annex.

ADMIRAL LYONS: In perpetuating this lie, we also had administration officials lying to Congressional committees. That’s a felony. So, “What difference does it make?” It makes all the difference in the world. You cannot flaunt the truth here, just walk away from it and, basically, tell the American public to stuff it. That’s not acceptable.

The point on the organizing the two Marine anti-terrorist teams in Rota, that was good to go ahead and stand ’em up. What I find incomprehensible: The first team, it took them 23 hours to go a few hundred miles from Rota to Tripoli. I could go around the world in 23 hours, so that makes absolutely no sense to me.

[TigersEye]

The Panetta Doctrine

On Benghazi, Panetta Says Needed 'Advance Notice' of Surprise Attack for Timely Response

They had real-time onsite video, secured e-mail and were speaking with personnel at both compounds over at least two lines of radio transmission and cell phones. There were two drones overhead. All of that was live-streaming to the entire DoD-DC network of sit-rooms around the world including the White House.

Did Panetta expect al Qaeda to call in with GPS-camera phones and relay their plans and positions to him? Maybe we can air drop laser sighting tags throughout the Muslim world and ask them to all kindly affix one to the tops of their heads? With barcodes so we can target specific jihadis. Oh, and let's require that terrorists submit detailed plans of attacks to a committee for review at least six months in advance.

[no-to-illegals]

Is there going to be anything left to say at the hearing that we don't already know?

Prayers Up, for what is due zer0 and hillary! Accountability and Punishment!

[spawn44]

THE FOREIGNER and HILLARY both hit the SNOOZE BUTTON on the 3 am call.

[ozzymandus]

Exactly. One low pass, one sonic boom, and attackers run away. Why didn’t it happen?

[Bon mots]

Benghazi Timeline

[Lurker]

Because Obama was running guns to the Libyan rebels and he couldn’t let that get out so close to the election. So he left his Ambassador, the personification of the United States of America, to be sodomized and murdered in the street.

That is why.

[Wurlitzer]

“”What difference does it make?””

---

It would have made a world of difference if this nasty vile POS were to have been in Benghazi that night.

I know half the country would have let out a collective cheer.

[1_Rain_Drop]

"US military response could have ‘scared’ off attackers, prevented mortar strike"

I don't think so. US has got to be the biggest joke ever. The attackers would have died laughing.

[thouworm]

Is there going to be anything left to say at the hearing that we don't already know?

I was just asking that question to myself this morning. There has been a flood of info.

Lindsey Graham hasn't backed off. Senate will have a hearing.

And...Issa and Chaffetz won't be finished tomorrow. They were on Hannity last night. Issa was his cautious self, but you could have fried an egg on Chaffetz' head.

Hannity asked Issa if a crime had been committed. Issa said, "Lying to Congress is a crime."

[rdcbn]

Loaded with 250 lb precision JDAMs the F18 combat radius is over 500 miles and could have been on site in about a half hour flying subsonic.

That's without external fuel stores.

Given the circumstances, at least several F 18s should have been on the ground configured for rapid reaction precision ground strike with external fuel stores to allow for fast turn around ground support to destroy any Target of opportunity caches of stolen surface to air missiles that turned up in Libya