Panetta Says Risk Impeded Deployment to Benghazi (Admin has painted itself into a corner)

New York Times ^ | 10/25/2012 | ELISABETH BUMILLER

[Tennessean4Bush]

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Thursday that he and top military commanders “felt very strongly” that deploying American forces to defend against the fatal attack last month on the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, was too risky because they did not have a clear picture of what was happening on the ground.

[throwback]

Other than the drones, it sounds like nothing else was deployed. Even if you were concerned that other assets might become casualties, there seems to be no evidence that they even attempted to alert the cavalry. Plus they had no concern that air only assets might become casualties during the take down of Qaddafi when he still had some degree of functional AA capability, so why now? It appears these people were allowed to die because of politics, and yet on the Sunday shows the Obama defenders cry that raising this issue is due to politics. If he gets reelected then the final firewall to stopping a bad president will have failed.

[Fitzy_888]

Where was the risk aversion when:

You had an ambassador and communication professional (Smith) who were guarded by the ‘February 17th Martyrs Brigade’.

Were they trafficking heavy arms to Syria? Probably. We’re they doing something hinky? Definitely.

Was what they were doing likely the province of the CIA? Most definitely.

Had people, including Stevens, raised alarm bells about the lack of security? Yup!

Was the CIA looking in on outright incompetence, while literally within earshot of rifle fire? Yes!

[manc]

this is the worst cover up, worse than watergate by an administration and by the media.

Never in my life and I thought I had seen a lot even with fast and furious but this beats them all, .

[manc]

nonone has asked this question and it needs to be asked.

WHERE WAS OBAMA?
WAS HE SLEEPING OR DID HE GO TO SLEEP DURING THE ATTACK?
DID HE WATCH THE ATTACKS AND THEN LEAVE OTHERS TO DEAL WITH THIS ISSUE?
DID HE AND HIS CAMPAIGN DECIDE ON THE LIES AND WHAT TO SAY?

WHY IS THE GUY WHO MADE THE VIDEOAND USED BY A SCAPEGOAT STILL IN JAIL OR MISSING?

[Qbert]

Enough of the spin from this administration. POTUS said he issued three "very clear directives" to do whatever we need to do to secure personnel at the consulate. Where are they?

[peeps36]

Why was the Obozo regime so willing to let the ambassador fall into terrorist hands or be murdered? They were committed to letting him die from the very beginning of the attack. We know this because they told Ty Woods to stand down three times in the first minutes of the attack. What is the regime trying to hide from us in Benghazi? Why did these scumbags turn their backs and abandon our people in Benghazi and then blatantly lie about it for three weeks? It's too bad Hillary, Berry, and Leone weren't the ones stuck in that building in Benghazi.

[what's up]

Your point is well taken.

If it was a spontaneous demonstration in which people were dying, the military would not have been averse to helping out.

However, if they knew if was an act of war with RPG's, mortars, etc. and thus were worried about going in it shows they knew it was not just a "demonstration".

They're either lying or cowards.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

So it was too risky for Delta force, jet fighters, and the AC130 but not too risky for an unarmed Ambassador and his staff.

No, I believe it was too risky for the political aspirations of the administration.

[muawiyah]

Been suppressing it in my mind, but there was a time I was in the same boat as the guys at Benghazi - it was the night of 20–21 August 1968, there we were on a hillside watching a road in Czechoslovakia and here came the Russian Army with tanks and trucks, and thousands of troops ~ and the only thing between us and them was a minefield designed to stop civilians.

We reported the event up the line.

They got back to us 6 days later with some orders ~ thank goodness there was no running battle going on ~ our machinegun was broken so all we had were 6 rounds each plus our pistols ~ if we had been issued a pistol.

What made me mad ~ and the only thing ~ was this young buck Lieutenant with us who didn't want to call in the event. His argument was it was just a road and it was in a foreign country, and they ran tanks and trucks up and down it all the time ~ our argument was that 500 motor vehicles in a couple of hours was NOT NORMAL so our orders were to report it.

Besides, like I just noted, we were low on ammunition.

George McGovern lost my vote of course ~ and that of all the other guys out there on that observation point, and probably most of the guys in USAREUR in the '68 election.

Wasn't supposed to be any war going on in Europe that year ~ they promised ~ and there it was ~ a hair's breadth away ~ our jets and their migs nose to nose along the border from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, and a thin tripwire of expendable guys down on the ground.

The Democrats were in charge that time too ~ blew it bad. They are not educable.

[Mustangman]

Geeze, just buzzing the area with F-15s (or similar) is enough to intimidate a bunch of terrorsit soldiers. Those planes are intimidating and would certainly worry the terrorist that more was on the way....even if really wasn’t..couldn’t even do that.

[kabar]

Stop falling for what? That they lied about the ability to actually intervene with armed air support? His statement about Monday morning quarterbacking and not sending people into harm's way without have good intel are indicative of the fact that he could have acted.

If the WH wants people to believe that they believed the risks were too great to rescue Americans under attack, then they are insane.

[danamco]

Yes you are!

Nice to see the Slimes is “waking” up. The problem is there was NO Consulate in Benghazi, none what so ever or a diplomatic site. The Consulate is in Tripoli out of the Embassy!!

The Benghazi site was a huge “secret” cesspool of CIA gun-running operation to Syria via Turkish agents and spearheaded by the American Ambassador. The W.H. was not Interested in saving the people there trying to bury the truth of this operation being published to the American People (a stupid Video) like they are stone walling F & F. There are a lot of traitors in DOD and the W.H. where particular we have a WAR CRIMINAL sitting!!!

[americas.best.days...]

You’ll notice this article is from 10/25. About 5 min.
later, i suppose the NYT got the call ordering the
benghazi blackout. There hasn’t been anything since. This
will be a watershed moment for the meaning of a free press,
as established in our Bill of Rights. Ironically, this
has occurred at the same time in history as the emergence
of an alternative media and citizen journalism,via the
internet.

I have to believe its part of God’s plan for this country.

I can only imagine what Andrew Breitbart would be saying
about this right now.

[danamco]

Just remember Clint Eastwood’s later comment: “This is the biggest hoax perpetrated on the American People!!!

I wonder how Hollyweird will produce a movie of this cover up like Hank in “Private Ryan”???

[RedMDer]

Tired of this?
Support Free Republic


Blue State or Red State or somewhere in between,
We must Vote and rid us of the Marxist and send a very big message to not try that again in
The USA!

[Reily]

It wouldn't have risked anything to have buzzed the compound area with a couple of F18s. It might have put a little “this-attack-is-a-bad-idea” in the attackers minds!
Any hesitation on their part would have increased the chance of a rescue and/or successful on ground intervention.

It seems their was a armed predator on station, someone laser painting targets from the roof of the “CIA annex” and a AC-130 gunship. Depending on what the predator was armed with (Let's say 2 Hellfires!) it might have been enough. The attacking force was NOT in the 100s maybe maybe a few dozen. A Hellfire strike at the proper moment at the right spot might have turned the attack immediately into a retreat. Four or five of your pals turned into pink mist from out of no where does prey on the mind! Then there is the gunship, it alone could have ended it immediately.

What was missing was the will to act! Why?
Incompetence? Certainly! I don't care? Likely! That's pure Zero and his rampant narcissism! Nothing surprising there!
Not enough intelligence? pure BS on Panetta's part! His positive paragraph in history on getting UBL, just got wiped out!

Again Hillary's incompetence and moral callousness is out there for the world to see! Keeping the stupid explanation going that it was all caused by the video! Telling Tyrone Woods' father (the ex-Seal) that 'they would punish the video maker!' shows again her complete lack of empathy for others and desire to keep her "political viability" alive. (Clintons love being "politically viable"!) She is through now for 2016 and forever!

Why does anyone think this Hillary is a political genius? (Or any other sort of genius!) She is the ultimate strap hanger!

[Tomato lover]

“too risky” is simply a euphemism for “Our arms transfer to al Qaeda might be discovered” or

“Our use of terrorists working for the State Dept might be discovered” or

“Our treason against America might be discovered”

or, of course, all of the above.

---

Oh, this is a 1st grade post and deserves highlighting . . . Thank you.

[agere_contra]

Black Hawk Down only happened in the first place because Clinton didn’t like the optics of using tanks against blacks.

Black Hawk Down is what happens when Presidents pussy-foot around for political reasons.

The military’s job is to kill and break things. The military’s job is to prevail. The only thing that could stop your military from prevailing against 200 rag-heads was the weak sister in the White House.

Well, look what happened. The weak sister got four men killed.

At the very least we must make the White House OWN this debacle, and not excuse Bambi’s moral cowardice because ‘war is dangerous’.

[Reily]

I think its much simpler then that!

How about:
“ I am much more interested in maintaining my own power and all its perks rather then do the right thing and resign.
Also if I resign I betray the Zero regime reelection chances and the Rat party. This would preclude me from future Rat political appointments where I would get power and perks that I love so well.”

[Terry Mross]

obama had repeated over and over at the beginning of the Libyan uprising that he would never put “boots on the ground”. That could be one reason he “stood down”. The actual word should be “backed down”.