Posted on 11/01/2012 4:23:39 PM PDT by maggief
The CIA rushed security operatives to an American diplomatic compound in Libya within 25 minutes after it had come under attack and played a more central role in the effort to fend off a night-long siege than has been publicly acknowledged, U.S. intelligence officials said Thursday.
The agency mobilized the evacuation effort, took control of an unarmed U.S. military drone to map possible escape routes, dispatched an emergency security team from Tripoli, the capital, and chartered aircraft that ultimately carried surviving U.S. personnel to safety on Sept. 12, U.S. officials said.
The account, which was provided to news organizations Thursday by senior U.S. intelligence officials, is the most detailed chronology presented so far of an attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans, including two CIA security officers. The attack has become a flash point in the U.S. presidential campaign.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Funny you should speak of the Pueblo Sarge. I was researching that today because of something I found out I thought was very strange
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
The Pueblo (and Liberty) were both tragic examples of ‘leaving our own behind, on their own to face whatever’.
At least the Pueblo had a reasonable, although ‘conspiracy theory’ excuse, that NSA (no such agency) was trying to get a TTY into the hands of the Russians - with a ‘glitch’ in it.
The ‘story’ kind of ties together when you realize Johnny Walker was selling codes etc to the Russians and once the ‘new’ machine got into their hands we ‘knew’ they were ‘reading our mail’.
Like I say, on the conspiracy level, but a plausible ‘excuse’ but no reason to completely abandon all the souls aboard the Pueblo.
Funny you should speak of the Pueblo Sarge. I was researching that today because of something I found out I thought was very strange
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
The Pueblo (and Liberty) were both tragic examples of ‘leaving our own behind, on their own to face whatever’.
At least the Pueblo had a reasonable, although ‘conspiracy theory’ excuse, that NSA (no such agency) was trying to get a TTY into the hands of the Russians - with a ‘glitch’ in it.
The ‘story’ kind of ties together when you realize Johnny Walker was selling codes etc to the Russians and once the ‘new’ machine got into their hands we ‘knew’ they were ‘reading our mail’.
Like I say, on the conspiracy level, but a plausible ‘excuse’ but no reason to completely abandon all the souls aboard the Pueblo.
Funny you should speak of the Pueblo Sarge. I was researching that today because of something I found out I thought was very strange
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
The Pueblo (and Liberty) were both tragic examples of ‘leaving our own behind, on their own to face whatever’.
At least the Pueblo had a reasonable, although ‘conspiracy theory’ excuse, that NSA (no such agency) was trying to get a TTY into the hands of the Russians - with a ‘glitch’ in it.
The ‘story’ kind of ties together when you realize Johnny Walker was selling codes etc to the Russians and once the ‘new’ machine got into their hands we ‘knew’ they were ‘reading our mail’.
Like I say, on the conspiracy level, but a plausible ‘excuse’ but no reason to completely abandon all the souls aboard the Pueblo.
VERY INTERESTING
I had not heard that before. Humm. The ship is still commissioned last I heard.
Sorry about the 3fer...
I only submitted once BUT I kept getting the ‘no data received’ msg.....
Sorry again
There is a book by one Robert Liston (I think) called “Surrender of the Pueblo” or “The Pueblo Surrender”.
I normally ‘s-can’ the conspiracy theories, but the title intrigued me and I was in that Community (on the lower, lower, level) so the plausibility of it happening made sense, although played down as outlandish.
Like everything else, standing on its own makes it look iffy, but start connecting the dots, have an inkling of how these peoples minds operate and something outlandish can make sense, on occasion.
Amazing this story and the CNN article come out AFTER it is revealed no one convened the Counter Terrorism Security Group.
None of this is new. For instance:
“...Among the new disclosures is that the CIA station chief in Tripoli sent an emergency security force, with about a half-dozen agency operatives as well as two U.S. military personnel, to Benghazi aboard a hastily chartered aircraft while the attack was underway...”
That is NOT a new disclosure. What a bunch of liars.
Time for Obama to throw someone under the bus - let's watch.
This is shameful reporting. Flies in the face of the statement issued by Patreaus.
Yes.Now it is, well, really, that’s not the way it was! Response, Well, how was it anyway? Well, that’s classified. You just have to take our word!
Amazing this story and the CNN article come out AFTER it is revealed no one convened the Counter Terrorism Security Group.
None of this is new. For instance:
“...Among the new disclosures is that the CIA station chief in Tripoli sent an emergency security force, with about a half-dozen agency operatives as well as two U.S. military personnel, to Benghazi aboard a hastily chartered aircraft while the attack was underway...”
That is NOT a new disclosure. What a bunch of liars.
So true. This was covered by the Bret Baier special.
My take. obama was ok with anything inside Libya, but never ordered anything outside the country be deployed. Hence the stand down, and no
Cross border ok ever being authorized to send troops in.
The weasel wording is pure run out the clock playbook
There are so many things wrong with the timeline provided. Why did it take over three hours to get out of the airport in Benghazi? Where was Obama and Hillary who should have been on the phone with the Libyan President? Why didn't we demand that the Libyan government send forces over to the annex immediately after the attack on the mission compound? Why didn't we mobilize other assets nearby to provide support?
The fact that the WH didn't convene the interagency counter-terrorism task force boggles the mind. We had about 30 American lives at risk. If the host country was unwilling or incapable of protecting our personnel, the WH must protect our people. It is a total failure of leadership.
As I have indicated elsewhere, the timeline provided will set off a firestorm of criticism. By tomorrow, the Benghazi affair will be front and center despite the MSM stonewalling. Once the dam breaks, it will engulf all of them including Obama and Hillary.
If the host government was incapable of protecting our people, we should never have been there in the first place. Yes, we send our diplomats to dangerous places, but you don't send them on a suicide mission.
Another thing....All of a sudden this was a CIA operation? I thought the Defense Department (ie Panetta) was on top of this.
Do they believe any of this crap they write or do they do the bidding of the WH with nary a whimper. In the privacy of my own home where there are no little ears, I call them a bunch of that bad “P” word.
I want to know who wakes this stuff up and how much they get paid to do so.
None of this matters, sticky finger Obama couldn’t pull the trigger, just like when it took him 3 months to decide on the Afgan surge level. The man can’t making a decision on his feet.
Also, FP article says Stevens and staff drafted letter to Libyan gov't on Sept. 11 in Benghazi complaining that promised extra Libyan security for that day failed to show and that assigned Libyan police officer was across street taken surveillance film of compound rather than guarding.
What security he did have that day could have sussed the situation out by flashing back to The Godfather hospital scene where Michael saves his father when he notices police guards gone.
We didn't know that the CIA played the lead role in securing our personnel and that it appears that most of the decision-making was done locally. Where was the direction from the WH and the failure to call the inter-agency counter-terrorism task force to coordinate assistance to the beleaguered mission with 30 American lives at risk? Based on the timeline the CIA station chief requested assistance from the "the February 17 Brigade, other militias and the Libyan intelligence service seeking vehicles with .50-caliber machine guns. Nobody responds." Washington knew this at 10.04 local time. Shouldn't this set off alarm bells in the WH?
An unarmed drone is overhead by 11:11 PM diverted from another mission. Why wasn't an armed drone and other assets dispatched once it was learned that the host government couldn't provide assistance?
● 11:56 p.m.: CIA officers at the annex are attacked by a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms. Sporadic attacks continue for about another hour. The attacks stop at 1:01 a.m., and some assume the fight is over.
Where was Obama and Hillary? They should have been on the phone with the Libyan President and Foreign Minister demanding immediate protection for the annex. There were already seriously injured people at the annex and one dead American, Sean Smith, whose body was transported from the compound. Again, what assets were being assembled to assist the post?
There is the claim that the "seven-person rescue squad from the agency’s Global Response Staff (GRS) leaves in two vehicles. The team leader is a career CIA officer; the team includes a contractor named Tyrone Woods, who later died. During the previous 24-minute interval, the CIA base chief calls the February 17 Brigade, other militias and the Libyan intelligence service seeking vehicles with .50-caliber machine guns. Nobody responds. The team leader and the base chief agree at 10:04 that they can’t wait any longer, and the squad heads for the consulate.
Yes we knew that there was a relief team from the annex that headed to compound to assist those there, but the story has been that they disobeyed orders and went despite being told to stand down. If they were sent, then it goes against the Panetta doctrine of not sending people into harm's way without complete intel.
● 1:15 a.m.: CIA reinforcements arrive on a 45-minute flight from Tripoli in a plane they’ve hastily chartered. The Tripoli team includes four GRS security officers, a CIA case officer and two U.S. military personnel on loan to the agency. They don’t leave the Benghazi airport until 4:30 a.m. The delay is caused by negotiations with Libyan authorities over permission to leave the airport; obtaining vehicles; and the need to frame a clear mission plan. The first idea is to go to a Benghazi hospital to recover Stevens, who they rightly suspect is already dead. (Also killed was a State Department communication specialist.) But the hospital is surrounded by the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia militia that mounted the consulate attack.
Seven people from Tripoli to assist Benghazi on a chartered aircraft? Again, it appears to be a local decision--too little, too late. One of the members of the Tripoli team, Doherty, is killed in Benghazi. How much of a difference can this assistance have provided given the size and weaponry of the terrorist attackers?
Over three hours at the airport negotiating with Libyan officials? Again, where was Obama and Hillary to facilitate such assistance to our people? They should have been in direct contact with the Libyan Government at the highest levels. If the Libyans were as cooperative as Obama said they were, why were any negotiations required? And what was the Libyan government in Benghazi doing to protect the annex since it was hit originally at 11:56?
And the hospital was surrounded by "the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia militia that mounted the consulate attack." So how could Obama say the next day in the Rose Garden and for several weeks that this was not a terrorist attack? It was already know from our people on the ground that it was and that AQ was involved.
●5:04 a.m.: The team from Tripoli arrives at the CIA base. Glen Doherty, one of the GRS men from Tripoli, goes to the roof and joins Woods in firing positions.
●5:15 a.m.: A new Libyan assault begins, this time with mortars. Two rounds miss and the next three hit the roof. The rooftop defenders never “laser the mortars,” as has been reported. They don’t know the weapons are in place until the indirect fire begins, nor are the mortars observed by the drone overhead. The defenders have focused their laser sights earlier on several Libyan attackers, as warnings not to fire. At 5:26 the attack is over. Woods and Doherty are dead and two others are wounded.
So the relief team arrives at the annex and within 11 minutes they are under attack. A coincidence? So the lasers are focused on the attackers as warnings not to fire? Of course by doing that, the defenders compromise their positions. Dubious at best. We need the video and audio that might be available. Almost 8 hours have elapsed since our compound was hit and still no assets from abroad.
The elephant in the room for this whole timeline is the absence of leadership and participation by the WH, SECSTATE, and the counter-terrorism task force. The CIA is running the show and decisions are being made locally on what to do? Bringing in assets from Tripoli is very strange indeed.
As someone who has served in an Embassy that was overrun by an armed mob, I find this story to be almost unbelievable if this timeline is true. It reeks of incompetence and dereliction of duty. With 30 American lives at risk, is the best we can expect from our government?
Tomorrow this entire timeline will be scrutinized and discussed. It will raise the profile of the Benghazi attack and you can bet that Obama will become ground zero because of the questions raised by this description of events. Stay tuned.
Yep, seeing Obama trotting around in that AF-1 bomber jacket emblazoned with CIC was almost a parody. It looked like a kid dressed up in his parent’s clothes. He is an empty suit and he betrayed the most important duty of a CIC, protecting his troops. It has been and always will be about him and his image. If this isn’t reason enough to kick this bastard out of the WH, what is?
Bless you and thanks for your service. I refer you to my post on another thread. Recall that TOTUS has bragged that he’s better at policy, speech writing, EVERYTHING than any of his staff and advisors. Now he deludes himself by thinking that he’s Jack Bauer.
This is worse than the USS Pueblo.
According to this SOMEONE made a decision not to follow SOP and instead let the local CIA handle it.
After the election we’ll probably find out who that SOMEONE was.
Our Narcissist-in-Chief is a sociopath incapable of human feeling. He has been handed everything in his life because of the melanin content of his skin. He won the Nobel Peace prize on potential. This would be laughable if it weren’t so serious. How the Hell did this empty suit ever get to be President? He is a cruel joke on this country.
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