IIRC, there was a General who was in charge of the forces deployed in Africa, A General Hall...
He was also summarily relieved of his command because of his (duties) response, per his standing orders AND rules of engagement, and has not been heard from after that as well...
I believe his plight is relevant to this issue as well...
Amazing how this had to come out of CPAC...I’m actually shocked that this question, that I have had from the start as well, is re-surfacing...
And since we have had changes in the administration from Secretary of State, CIA, Secretary of Defense...We are almost assured that this issue will not come back up unless someone gets a backbone and brings it up in an official capacity...
Now, General Hall, and Admiral Gaouette had a chain of command as well, (i.e.: 5th Fleet C.O. and the army equivalent) Sorry Army, I am Navy, so I am not too familiar with the Army’s organizational chart here...
Obviously there are still questions to be answered...One that anyone with any military experience knows and understands you do not relieve established commanders in the field willy-nilly...And if you do, it comes down from a very short chain of command AT THAT LEVEL...Or it comes dirrectly from NCA (the President)...
I believe these two commanders acted in accordance to standing orders passed on from the previous administration and acted tactically to those procedures...But those policies had not been addressed strategically (politically) by the current administration, or modified to fit his Obama’s agenda...
The rules of engagement were probably also in play by both forces, both the Fleet and Army elements which were turning and burning to get a bubble over Bangazi as quickly as possible...
BECAUSE THAT WAS WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE!!!
And Obama pulled the plug on these guys, and their commands...These commanders were ready to go,and had the wheels in motion to allow lives to be saved!!!
WHY!!!
If this had been Bush, or even Reagan in the loop on this one, and they did this...I would demand the same damn answer from them...
Problem is, I believe we all know pretty much why this happened anyway...
On a side note, I have forgotten the exact title of General Hall at the time of his dissmisal...Was he the Commander of Forces (Africa)??? Is that a proper Army command post???
Just curious...I’d love to be brought up to speed from an Army brother in arms...
We need to not let this go now...They are hoping we forget about all of this...
I believe you are referring to GEN Carter Ham, who was the AFRICOM commander at the time. Speculation is that he was spinning up the rescue attempt in defiance of orders from Panetta to stand down and was summarily relieved. Ham was nearing mandatory retirement anyway and was due to step down, which gives Obama and Panetta cover. He should be brought before committee to confirm or deny the rescue attempt and the details, if applicable.