You understood correctly. Either POTUS -- or somebody speaking for him (Jarrett? Axelrod?) -- said "No go."
In any event, the responsibility lies totally within the White House.
Imagine yourself one of the Delta force guys sitting in a chopper on the tarmac in Sicily. You've been briefed, you know the target, you know what to do and how you're going to do it...and the order never comes.
When the lives of his diplomats were on the line, the Commander-in-Chief failed. EPIC FAIL is insufficient...
Hey, cut Obama some slack he was busy on the phone giving parenting advice to Beyonce and Jay-Z. Then he had to cram for his interview with Nickelodeon.
Besides, as Judge Lind informed us at Lt. Col. Lakin’s court martial, the chain of command ends at the Pentagon.