FWIW, while trying to grasp the lines of thought which must have been running through the minds of any Watch Officer as info was coming in near real time, and perhaps sporadically, I would think their starting point would include some of the following assumptions:
1) Prior reports of possible coordinated 9-11 attacks by various groups including Al Qaeda.
2) Egypt protests begin about 8 hrs before the Residence compound is assaulted.
3) Is this like 9-11? Where the WTC, Pentagon, and WH are targeted in a coordinated attack?
4) AFRICOM is in the direct operational chain to handle crises in his AOR.
5) Live on site ex-SEAL eyewitness reports give accurate assessment of local conditions.
ERGO.
1)If there was a fog of war involved, then under no means interfere with AFRICOM sending in their rescue team, grant the CBA, and maintain wherewithal at the NCA level for the first indication of other more significant larger picture coordinated attacks elsewhere.
The last thing that should cross their mind would be to ‘stand down’ defense of Benghazi, even in the fog of war.
1a) Political plausible deniability,...no matter what happened with AFRICOM entering the fray, it was SOP and in defense of Americans in hams way and defending US Soil. (play a film clip from the Wind and the Lion and get patriotic.) It also would provide security to any MANPADS in the area.
2) If denied support, then bolster the local government by remaining in Benghazi. The attackers burnt down the local militia friendly to the new govts’ barracks. By not sending in reinforcments, it appears we intend for their enemies to overthrow their temp government.
3) It appears the unspoken US objective was to vacate both compounds or have them overrun by others, providing the attacking force more than 24 hours of complete access to the facilities, while maintaining plausible deniability.
If not, they just tied up a significant amount of their resources only focusing upon Benghazi, when the ‘fog of war’ would indicate that would only be a lesser target of perhaps a worldwide coordinated attack.
US military bases didn’t even increase their threat condition levels the following day.
Conjecture: This implies the guys at the top had their hands full and they had prior knowledge of a preplanned coordinated attack and its scope, because nobody was responding to a probable larger coordinated attack during the fog of war period.
I concur on the CBA issue. There are also many issues which should have been major concerns but appear to void in consideration.
Obama still campaigns claiming Al Qaeda is no longer a threat. If they had just gone through a fog of war ordeal with several embassies being assaulted/protested, that risk would remain in his mind.
IMHO, the evidence lends itself to conclude Obama has intended for the MANPADS to be delivered to Al Qaeda or at least appear that way amongst international intel circles, while denying any involvement.
What a disgusting mess. If not extreme incompentence, then something worse.
I saw Bing West on Greta last night, speaking about “execute orders” to cross into Libyan air-space, not quite the CBA terminology but close. And he says, as I have been, that the explicit “execute order” can only come from POTUS and nobody else. The formal “execute order” would be sent to Ham’s staff in Stuttgart by message, so you know Ham either has it, or not. And without an “execute order,” Ham would not be able to send the rescue air-armada into Libyan air space.