Greece, Turkey, and Italy are all members of NATO--it is just a few hundred miles from Crete to Benghazi, but the official line was that there were no planes close enough to get there in time to help.
Yes, multiple people have testified they could have had a jet there for at least a fly by in no time and troops, AC-130 and helos in a fairly short period of time. You have to assume it would have made a difference. .