Posted on 03/08/2014 9:11:36 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
If former CIA Director David Petraeus and his ex-deputy Michael Morell are recalled to testify on Benghazi, they can expect hard questions about the mortar attack on the CIA annex which killed two former Navy SEALs.
Republican Mike Rogers, chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee, is weighing whether to recall one or both of those officials over their Benghazi congressional testimony.
Rogers said the evidence suggests a highly skilled team carried out the mortar strike. Fox News has confirmed five rounds were fired in under a minute, with three hitting the annex roof -- a target roughly the size of two convenience stores.
When pressed on the sophistication of the mortar attack, two sources familiar with Petraeus' statements to Congress said he also seemed to downplay the necessary planning and skill, stating the mortars could have been fired from the back of a truck with the same accuracy.
None of the five military officers contacted by Fox News said the truck explanation was plausible.
"A truck would not permit you that stable platform necessary to make that fine adjustment from Point A to Point B to put the rounds down," Tony Shaffer, senior fellow with the London Center for Policy Research, said. "Because every time you fire, the truck shakes. That's not adequate for any type of direct fire.”
Others take a more skeptical view. "It just sounds to me like General Petraeus was trying to do a favor for the administration. I just can't see any way around it because he's an infantry man, he knows you can't do it," Peters said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
It is time to recall them all for testimony - Hillary, Susan Rice, Petraeus, Panetta. Put them all under the lights.
In addition, the committee should seek testimony from the POTUS by sending him a list of questions and asking him for written responses.
A MANPAD could. Am I wrong Marine/Army types? What about a Javelin?
And what if the truck was at a complete standstill. RPG’s would work. Just sayin...
The Downing Street mortar attack was carrired out from a van. It’s not impossible, though in this case, improbable.
Hard to get RPG’s to land on top of the roof unless they were fired from above it. just sayin..
“That’s not adequate for any type of direct fire.””
Mortars are indirect. And that’s some nice shooting, for nighttime, with no adjusting rounds. Interesting. Another lie about Benghazi,,,,.
Unbelievable. Secret ops, etc etc.
But whatever the excuses, our government will soon reach a point where it permanently loses our trust because it lies constantly, and about almost everything. The list of official lies is so huge its amazing.
Hillary must have something a lot more damaging in her file on David Patreus. Affairs are common place in D.C. and his is old news. So, what might she have that is causing him to make a fool of himself and tarnish his entire career in order to participate in the cover up?
Wrong size warhead and damage effect.
The mortars were placed in preregistered spots allowing predialed data to be fired on thus allowing a pretty reasonable mathematical chance of a hit.
I was towed artillery, some of the info and usage is similar between light towed and mortar disciplines.
You can mathematically compute distance to target, amount of powder, and warhead weight to generate a rough and tumble idea of where it will go.
There are computational tables used to make this even easier.
I think I saw one online not too long ago.
If any mortarmen are around, they may be able to elaborate on the actual mortar side of things.
Of course. Didn't know that they hit the roof. I never read the specifics of the attack.
It’s time that House Speaker be called out for his DERELICTION OF DUTY!
The Oath of Office that he Swore to (”I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”) OBLIGATES him to name and convene a SELECT COMMITTEE to get to the bottom of the BENGHAZI SCANDAL.
Our very best hope to get this Regime brought under control is to have some serious and major change in GOP “leadership”.
ex-deputy Michael Morell.......lying his arse off. A disgrace!
Thanks. Like I said above, I didn't read the exact determination of the weapons they used, if it has ever been proven. I only followed the outcome and political a**-covering in the hearings.
BTW, what's the difference between a Javelin and a MANPAD? Aren't both guided?
a. Mortar on technical
b spotter on the roof
c. One long
d. one short
e. on target
I saw it discussed on Fox, the military expert said the rounds landed on top of the roof from a location out of the sight of the rooftop.
He said nothing but mortar fire from a known distance measured in advance, could have done that.
I don't believe anything coming out of this 0bama admin.
5.56mm
I’m getting old and forgetful, but I believe Mortar Soldiers used to be a separate Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) under the Infantry. I think they were 11Cs. Mortars are very common in the US Army. They are great weapons. I was not an 11C, but I did command units that had mortars in them. Putting effective fire on a target with the third round out of the tube is pretty good shooting. Could an untrained person do it? They would have less than a 1% chance. For most mortars, you have to figure out the amount of charge (chemical power) you need to use to get the projectile to the target. Some mortar charge looks like the old floppy discs.
I guess the short answer is, it was a trained mortar crew. It wasn’t some slob who came along and saw a mortar with some rounds and decided to see what he could do.
It's absurd to believe they were fired from a pickup truck since the pressure alone would blow through the bed. Note that multiple rounds were fired and accurate adjustments made IOT gain effect on target. These weapons were well/professionally layed in advance of the assault. As a Marine Gunner, Infantry Weapons Officer, Retired, with 34 years of service, even I am impressed with the rapid accurate fire of this mortar crew.
No Infantry Officer would ever make a foolish statement like Petraeus unless he purposefully intended to mislead the congress. His statement was all about protecting something or someone!
Manpad is usually air defense.
Javelin is anti-armor.
Here’s what wackypodia has to say about the javelin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FGM-148_Javelin
Apparently it is IR guided.
I haven’t used one of those.
MANPAD usually refers to the FIM-92 stinger or similar.
MAN Portable Air Defense.
Many of us were busy during the “Cover your butt” hearings and could only pay cursory attention to the issues.
So don’t feel bad.
Copy that.
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