Posted on 02/08/2013 4:28:30 PM PST by Kaslin
We didn’t get to this yesterday, but it’s definitely worth watching — especially for the skill shown by Lindsey Graham in his examination of Leon Panetta and General Martin Dempsey. The headline takeaway will be what is remembered most: the revelation that Barack Obama never bothered to keep in touch with his chair of the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of Defense after being informed that an American consulate was under attack from terrorists.
But if that’s all you hear from this, you’re missing the big picture. Graham managed to elicit a number of damaging statements from the two. Not one aircraft had been deployed during the attack; not one boot left the ground outside of Libya. As far as the 281 concurrent threat reports that Panetta and Dempsey claimed kept them from considering Benghazi a special threat, Graham asks how many of those cables came from US Ambassadors stating specifically (as Stevens’ did) that an American installation was incapable of defending itself against a sustained attack and that government buildings nearby were flying al-Qaeda flags — “because I want to know about them, if they do,” Graham adds. Dempsey tries to push that off to State, at which time Graham informs Dempsey that Hillary Clinton claimed never to have seen that cable, even though Dempsey clearly had, which he admits is “surprising.”
Graham then circles back to the lack of action from the White House once the attack was under way:
Lindsey Graham Hammers Leon Panetta & Gen Dempsey on Benghazi and not getting troops there
SEN. GRAHAM: Are you surprised that the president of the United States never called you, Secretary Panetta, and say, ‘how’s it going?’SEC. PANETTA: I — you know, normally in these situations –
SEN. GRAHAM: Did he know the level of threat that –
SEC. PANETTA: Let — well, let me finish the answer. We were deploying the forces. He knew we were deploying the forces. He was being kept updated –
SEN. GRAHAM: Well, I hate to interrupt you, but I got limited time. We didn’t deploy any forces. Did you call him back — wait a minute –
SEC. PANETTA: No, but the event — the event was over by the time we got –
SEN. GRAHAM: Mr. Secretary, you didn’t know how long the attack would last. Did you ever call him and say, Mr. President, it looks like we don’t have anything to get there anytime soon?
SEC. PANETTA: The event was over before we could move any assets.
SEN. GRAHAM: It lasted almost eight hours. And my question to you is during that eight-hour period, did the president show any curiosity about how’s this going, what kind of assets do you have helping these people? Did he ever make that phone call?
SEC. PANETTA: Look, there is no question in my mind that the president of the United States was concerned about American lives and, frankly, all of us were concerned about American lives.
SEN. GRAHAM: With all due respect, I don’t believe that’s a credible statement if he never called and asked you, are we helping these people; what’s happening to them? We have a second round, and we’ll take it up then.
Graham just demolished the entire White House defense on Benghazi in less than ten minutes of cross-examination.
As for the MSM, they lower the bar on journalistic ethics every day. Who knows what they'll stoop by the time its all over to protect the incompetent pile of hyena squeeze in the WH.
If Obama was being updated he must have slept through the updates.
Fact is Obama did not give a damn. He turned it over to a subordinate so he would have plausible deniability of somehting went wrond.
Obama was covering his own ass, something that he does well and more than a few have had that bus driven over them.
IMPEACH OBAMA NOW (ION)
Obama is never going to tell the whole story. Ever. Period.
I just recalled it was Panetta who ordered the killing of Osama Bin Laden, He got Obama off the Golf Course after the fact the mission was under way.
That one turned out good so Obama took the credit and claimed he got Osama single handed.
This one did not turn out so good so he stays hidden in the closet.
This Obama is Barf, Plain and simple. Nothing but barf.
Neither can I
0bama was notified immediately and automatically when the Benghazi consulate triggered the "Imminent Danger Notification System" alert. He did nothing.
Judge Jeanine Investigates Benghazi Gate Part 4 - 10/20/2012 video 6:53
Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer (U.S. Army ret.), former CIA Station Chief Gary Berntsen and former CIA operative Mike Baker
Howie Carr interview with Col. Hunt On The Newest Libyan Revelations audio 28:37
There are three scandals here...
---------------------------------------------------------
Denial of requests for security were a dereliction of duty. The lies and misdirection about the "video" after the attack were fraud and malfeasance under the color of authority. The inaction during the attack was something more than that.
The failure to act during the attack is the direct equivalent of desertion IMO.
ONE man had the authority to act that night.
ONE man deserted his post!
EXCLUSIVE: CIA operators were denied request for help during Benghazi attack, sources say
0bama abandoned his post.
0bama did nothing!
There is no denying, that arrogant pos is the worst president ever
As for the "MSM"...they don't lower the bar, they threw the bar away when they were bought and paid for the Communists.
Why, oh why, do Freepers still whine about the MSM not reporting the truth?
They were bought a long time ago...this is all part of the Alinsky plan.
Wake up and smell the Starbucks!;-)
my 70 yr old mother knew more about what was happening in Benghazi then the president of the United States
yea... that’s not dereliction of duty
/eye-rolling-sarcasm
The more questions asked the more questions arise. Questions not asked, answers not forthcoming.
TREASON...continuous, in real-time, agency-abetted, on display, in-your-face, unchallenged, pre-meditated, unquestioned, ongoing...
It’s so comforting to know the videographer is in custody. Closure for family and friends of Doherty, Smith, Stevens, Woods.
R.I.P. men. Thanks for your service to treasonous, hand-wringing bureaucrat-traitors.
If any one needs to be impeached, that arrogant pos occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave does forsure
Handle it, Leon, handle it!
I’ll check in later.
(Then leave the room with the phone off the hook.)
JFK would have been on it every second.
Great post - pfl.
“We were deploying the forces...”
Really? What forces did we deploy, Mr. Secretary?
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