Posted on 11/04/2012 11:28:23 AM PST by null and void
Just days before the presidential election, U.S. officials are striking back at allegations they failed to respond quickly or efficiently against the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, detailing for the first time a broad CIA rescue effort.
In the first days after the attack, various administration officials linked the Benghazi incident to the simultaneous protests around the Muslim world over an American-made film that ridiculed Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Only later did they publicly attribute it to militants, possibly linked to al-Qaida, and acknowledged it was distinct from the film protests. The changing explanations have led to suspicions that the administration didn't want to acknowledge a terror attack on U.S. personnel so close to the Nov. 6 election, a charge Obama has strongly denied.
The AP has reported that the CIA station chief in Tripoli and a State Department official sent word to Washington during the attack citing eyewitnesses as saying it was not a film protest but the planned work of armed militants.
The Pentagon would not send forces or aircraft into Libya -- a sovereign nation -- without a request from the State Department and the knowledge or consent of the host country. And Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the information coming in was too jumbled to risk U.S. troops.
According to the detailed timeline senior officials laid out Thursday, the first call to the CIA base came in at about 9:40 p.m., and less than 25 minutes later about the team headed to the consulate. En route they tried to get additional assistance, including some heavier weapons, but were unable to get much aid from the Libyan militias.
By that time, one of the Defense Department's unarmed Predator drones had arrived to provide overhead surveillance.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
More lame excuses can only hurt Obama and his stooges.
As the events were unfolding, the Pentagon began to move special operations forces from Europe to Sigonella Naval Air Station in Sicily. U.S. aircraft routinely fly in and out of Sigonella and there are also fighter jets based in Aviano, Italy. But while the U.S. military was at a heightened state of alert because of 9/11, there were no American forces poised and ready to move immediately into Benghazi when the attack began.
The Pentagon would not send forces or aircraft into Libya — a sovereign nation — without a request from the State Department and the knowledge or consent of the host country. And Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the information coming in was too jumbled to risk U.S. troops.
According to the detailed timeline senior officials laid out Thursday, the first call to the CIA base came in at about 9:40 p.m., and less than 25 minutes later about the team headed to the consulate. En route they tried to get additional assistance, including some heavier weapons, but were unable to get much aid from the Libyan militias.
The team finally got to the consulate, which was engulfed in heavy diesel smoke and flames, and they went in to get the consulate staff out. By 11:30 p.m., all of the U.S. personnel, except Stevens, left and drove back to the annex, with some taking fire from militants along the way.
By that time, one of the Defense Department’s unarmed Predator drones had arrived to provide overhead surveillance.
At the CIA base, militants continued the attack, firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades. The Americans returned fire, and after about 90 minutes, or around 1 a.m., it subsided.
Around that time, the second CIA team, which numbered about six and included two military members, arrived at the airport, where they tried to figure out where Stevens was and get transportation and added security to find him.
Intelligence officials said that after several hours, the team was finally able to get Libyan vehicles and armed escorts, but by then had learned that the ambassador was probably dead and the security situation at the hospital was troublesome. The State Department has said a department computer expert, Sean Smith, also was killed.
The second CIA team headed to the annex, and arrived after 5 a.m., just before the base came under attack again.
According to officials, militants fired mortar rounds at the building, killing two of the security officers who were returning fire. The mortar attack lasted just 11 minutes.
And less than an hour later, a heavily armed Libyan military unit arrived and was able to take the U.S. personnel to the airport.
Another article meant to confuse. The only two issues that are at the heart
Of this scandal
Why wasn’t more security provided before the attack?
Why wasn’t help provided during the attack?
The different stories don’t answer either and are meant to confuse.
Weasel words and dissembling. Of course no SOFs were "poised and ready to move immediately into Benghazi when the attack began," nobody ever claimed they were. But they sure as hell could and should have beaten the ad-hoc CIA "rescue team" of six shooters on a chartered twin engine. It's just as far from Sigonella or Tripoli to Benghazi.
The Pentagon would not send forces or aircraft into Libya — a sovereign nation — without a request from the State Department and the knowledge or consent of the host country. And Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the information coming in was too jumbled to risk U.S. troops.
Utter BS, more lies and dissembling. Of course we can move forces and aircraft into a sovereign nation without the knowledge or consent of the host country. This happened in Pakistan with the OBL mission, when Obama DID grant cross-border authority, without informing the Pakistan govt in advance.
I have still not seen anything about Benghazi that does not fit within the Cross-Border Authority logic prism.
Benghazi's Smoking Gun: Only President Can Grant Cross-Border Authority (PJMedia link)
http://tinyurl.com/ctc3786
They LIE. One thing is for sure. As much as Bush turned out to be a big disappointment- You can rest assured that this would not have happened if he had still been president.
Say what???
Who told these "eyewitnesses" the "protest" was over a film? Because otherwise, where would they have got that idea?
If the State Department and the CIA were told that "witnesses" were telling them the protest was not about a film, why did they say it was for over a week?
This "story" smells very.... smelly!
Same answer for both.
The attack was pre-arranged as a hostage taking kidnapping:
IMHO, the attack plan was, if not originated in the Oval Office, at the very least accepted and blessed there.
What the White House naïvely bought into IN ADVANCE was a scheme to allow Amb. Stevens to be kidnapped and held for ransom.
Obama and Valerie Jarret desperately wanted to show Obama as the Master Negotiator, a mensch capable of doing what even the Great Jimmy Carter couldn't: successfully redeem hostages from muslims, and just in time for the election.
As an added bonus, it would provide the all the cover needed to release the Blind Sheik and all the "political" prisoners from Gitmo.
I believe Bronco and Val were astonished when the scorpion stung them in mid-river.
That they were so (dare I say it?) UNEXPECTEDLY betrayed caught them so utterly flat-footed that they still haven't come up with a good cover story!
Just one old, tired and cynical guy's opinion, of course.
Cite one demonstrable fact that says it isn't true, if you can...
Eyewitnesses: "We're being attacked"
White House (Sticking to pre-arranged script): "Don't worry, that's just a protest over the film"
Eyewitnesses: "Negative, negative, negative, this is a full blown attack, not a film protest!"
White House: (click)(dial tone) "So long, suckers"...
That is absolutely a lie.
0bama gave CBA to get bin Laden. He gives CBA for drone strikes in populated areas of northern Pakistan. He gives CBA for drone strikes in Yemen. He gave CBA for a rescue mission in Somalia a little while back. He never asked permission from those three nations.
Here we had 41 Americans, all employed by him, under attack and he didn't give CBA for a rescue mission. We know that for a fact.
why was the initial QRF so small?
Cuz they were CIA contractors who were technically civilians. They simply had to travel from one part of Libya to another —a task requiring no input from the toPresident. We can theorize that if gayMuzzie’s authorization had also been required for this measure that it, too, might not have been taken.
OK, drones were flying over Bengazi —why weren’t they armed?
There had already been reasons in place for that, for surveillance. But
having them ingress while armed would have needed new authorization and new input from the President. We don’t know per se if he was asked, but that would be abundantly reasonable. Ergo since they were not armed it is likely that the President simply refused that measure.
I totally agree with your synopsis.
Before,during and after are three definite periods.
1. Before. Additional security denied. ( the Brits leave.)
2. During. Assistance denied. ( Stand downs ordered. )
3. After. True facts to the American people denied. ( Big cover up. )
Obama’s freudian slip! - He says now he is going to get the “ folks” responsible for it.
FOLKS! Really.
RELEASE THE EFFING FILM!!! GIVE US THE AUDIO AND THE VIDEO. PROVE IT. PUT UP OR SHUT UP!!!
They won’t even give us a snapshot of the damn situation room!!! Was the 0 present or wasn’t he?
This ‘explanation’ is so full of misinformation it isn’t worth the paper they printed out the faxes on.
Excellent video. Everyone should watch it.
I agree! It is a damning indictment of ADMN failures. Please PING your FRiends. Thanks!
Good video here! Must see.
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