Posted on 10/26/2012 4:20:01 AM PDT by maggief
The U.S. military did not get involved during the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, last month because officials did not have enough information about what was going on before the attack was over, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Thursday.
At a Pentagon news briefing, Panetta said there was no "real-time information" to be able to act on, even though the U.S. military was prepared to do so.
"You don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on," Panetta said. "(We) felt we could not put forces at risk in that situation."
A defense official provided more context on Panetta's comments about the decision-making involved in not sending U.S. troops to the consulate being attacked in Benghazi.
He said there was a drone aloft but not directly over the area at the time the attack began.
He said the drone was redirected and arrived in time to record some of the attack. But he described what the drone saw as "looking down, seeing a bunch of buildings and fires, a lot of chaos on the ground."
He said it was not enough to discern exactly what was happening.
"We didn't have good eyes on the situation. There were security forces there on the ground, but they're in the middle of a firefight - not sending a Sitrep (Situational Report).
(Excerpt) Read more at security.blogs.cnn.com ...
I know it sounds pathetic...maybe it is...but this is how the process for impeachment starts. I can insure you that Obama will be impeached if he wins the election and we keep the house and win the senate.
We should all write our congress critters demanding answers to this treasonous abuse of power by this administration.
In my opinion, Pantyetta (deliberate spelling) should resign for that statement.
There is not one of our military who wouldn’t have volunteered, without hesitation and rushed in to save Americans in danger. It’s what they do , WHEN ALLOWED by their commanders. NOT ONE.
What if George Washington before crossing the Potomac River had said...”Men, I am canceling this mission, I just can’t be sure of what we be facing over there”
“Could not put forces at risk”
He has just proposed the best argument for his boss’ defeat...
This may be all well and good but, weren’t you guys telling us it was a mob action and not an attack? Surely, a military unit could handle a mob?
Rightly or wrongly, I credit Issa for those hearings. :)
That is just an amazing statement when thought about. What are quick response teams for if not just this exact situation. They really think Americans stupid.
So idiot Panetta admits they were aware of it as it was occurring
Well Leon can you tell us where the CIC was during all this
I will admit to not being a fan of Boehner. It might be clouding my judgement.
Another thing we need to keep in the forefront is that Obama and Company were willing to watch 37 Americans be slaughtered...not just the ambassador and the 4 other heros. There were almost 40 Americans on the ground when this started. They were rescued by some Libyans and gotten to safety where they waited for an hour to be picked up by our government.
Obama was ready to watch almost 40 people die to protect his secret gun running to AQ!!
I don’t like him either, believe me, but we have to give credit where due. The wheels are in motion. We might need to grease them though by writing and calling our congressmen to demand answers.
At least in Iran Contra we were on the side of the good guys!! Even back then, the democrats were on the side of the Marxists in south America and the mullahs in Iran!! That is insanity. I doubt seriously that IRan contra will pass any dems lips in regards to this because it highlights their hypocrisy...lol.
However, a drone should be sufficient to figure out: 1. The composition of the enemy forces deployed. 2. Their armament. 3. The terrain. 4. Civilian disposition. 5. Other factors and circumstances (night.day etc.
Small unit leaders are taught to "Run to the sound of the guns". You may deploy flank security and forward scouts, but the idea is to "get in the fight" This was and is a series of major failures on the part of this administration.
A failure to render aid for a station under assault.
A failure to tell the truth to the citizens as well as a complete fabrication of events in an attempt to avoid responsibility - lying and fabricating a coverup.
Causing the arrest of a citizen based on the lies and the coverup.
A failure of the Foreign policy of this administration in the most troublesome and sensitive region.
A encouragement to our enemies and a disappointment to our friends regarding our abilities and our resolve in dealing with dangerous situations.
I could go on but I have work to do.
One final point. This is a big story, bigger than Watergate, bigger than Lewinsky, but the impact is diminished because the mainstream media refuses to give it the attention it deserves. Abdicating their responsibility and their duty to the citizens of the Republic will hasten their demise.
Something isn’t right here. They were watching the security cameras from inside the compound in real time...saw the ambassador shake the Turkish ‘visitor’s’ hand as he was leaving. Charlene Lamb testified at the hearing that they were seeing this as it all happened and now they are saying no good intel?
And WHO has the videotape from those security cameras now?
Now that is interesting.
They are confronting this situation. Boehner has written a letter demanding answers from the president. Paul Rand has written an oped
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I am sorry but this is NOT good enough for me.
Too little, too late.
If you are just passing on info. Thank You.
If you are trying to ‘convince’ me these lily livered clowns are taking action, Sorry, I don’t buy it.
Why isn’t ‘OUR’ Congress trying to defund all these ‘sort of shady’ appointments, the Czars etc etc etc.
Sorry, this Congress does NOTHING for me and they all should be replaced.
They are confronting this situation. Boehner has written a letter demanding answers from the president. Paul Rand has written an oped
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I am sorry but this is NOT good enough for me.
Too little, too late.
If you are just passing on info. Thank You.
If you are trying to ‘convince’ me these lily livered clowns are taking action, Sorry, I don’t buy it.
Why isn’t ‘OUR’ Congress trying to defund all these ‘sort of shady’ appointments, the Czars etc etc etc.
Sorry, this Congress does NOTHING for me and they all should be replaced.
I am just reporting the facts..you decide. I agree that they have been dragging their heels but this is how the congress operates..they write official letters demanding answers. the WH has been stonewalling for over a month. The other thing I believe we are going to find when this all shakes out...is that there were republicans like McCain who thought it a good idea to arm AQ to go into Syria. They are going to be dodging and weaving too...but I could be wrong. I hope I am.
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