[Bigtigermike]

Hmmmm!

[Robe]

Would someone please explain what this “ missing the plane” comments are all about??..
Was it some scheduled airline????(doubt it)
Wouldn’t a military C-130 Wait ??

[freekitty]

May God Bless these brave people who testify. They stand for America and may our committee in Congress do the right thing for America. They must stand up.

[pabianice]

Full Coverage in The Boston Globe Workers Circle

[Billthedrill]

Somebody gave the order. There aren't very many possibilities. It's infuriating enough that the order was given but people, especially amateurs, do make mistakes in combat situations. Now, however, just as during the Nixon administration, we have a cover-up that will expose somebody far more than the decision ever did.

Their only choice is to stonewall, delay, distract, and hope that the whole thing fades away. If any combination of corrupt administration and partisan media could pull it off, this is the time.

[mrsmith]

Authorization for the military to cross borders can only be given by the president (there are probably some exceptions).

Obama’s fault.
However the media will claim that the military couldn’t have done anything anyway.

[cookcounty]

"was forbidden from doing so by U.S. Special Operations Command South Africa. "

Should be "US Special Operations Command, Africa" (US SOCAFRICA), not South Africa

[Marine_Uncle]

Thanks for the post.

[gaijin]

Something they’re not talking about: The guys who finally did charter a jet and started flying 2 Bengazi were at first in full military garb. That fact was communicated to higher-ups during the flight and for reasons that remain unclear that garb agitated higher-ups so much that they had to LAND AND CHANGE CLOTHES.

And this change took 90 minutes WHILE the bullets were flying.

NINETY MINUTES.

Obviously there was a lot of legalism still going on, then.

[gaijin]

Rush’s explanation:

“The biggies didn’t really WANT them to die. Rather, they consider themselves enlightened, loved, and infallible, and the notion that the Bengazi locals were NOT star-struck with the regime in the way the Beltway Crowd is simply did not occur to them —they thought the attack was just rock throwing...”

My explanation:

“There was NO Embassy or Consulate in Bengazi. There was a large facility for Libya->Turkey->Syria arms transfer, which formed the cornerstone of Obama plans for the toppling of Syria. The program was larger and more sensitive than is commonly understood, and an involved rescue might not only have failed per Desert One but surely would have brought sharper media attention on a covert program on the eve of an election. 30 more deaths at “The Farm” was an eventuality preferable to the unmasking of this sensitive operation —the higher-ups were scared and simply pulled the plug.”

[EDINVA]

Reading these stories is making me physically sick to my stomach. That our ‘leaders’ would let Americans who answered their nation’s call just be slaughtered, not only without help sent their way, but with help pulled back and forbidden to give the aid needed.

We all know military and foreign service personnel, some are family, who go willingly into harm’s way. We always know of the danger and that there is the possibility that they won’t return from their latest mission. But we do NOT expect them to be left to die at the hands of our enemy, while our POTUS goes to sleep for his pre-fundraising beauty rest.

All of this is inexcusable from our POTUS, SoS, SecDef, the whole damned lot of them.

[peter0107]

Mar 7/13: General Carter Ham, Commander, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) regarding the programs and budget needed to meet current and future requirements within the AFRICOM area of responsibility (AoR). This was General Ham’s last testimony to the SASC in this position, Full Transcript. He stated that this administration lied to the American people. I think it’s going to go down in history as one of the really great cover-ups. And the press doesn’t care. It’s really disturbing to me. Senator GRAHAM. Do you recall Jason Chaffetz asking you what military assets you ordered deployed to Libya once you learned that the embassy’s Special Mission Compound in Benghazi was under attack? According to Chaffetz, you responded that you could have deployed assets; however, it was not requested. Do you recall saying that? General HAM. Not in those specific terms, Senator. I recall having a discussion about the forces that were available, the forces I requested of Secretary of Defense be placed on heightened alert, in some cases— Senator GRAHAM. Did you ever recommend to Panetta, General Dempsey, Obama or anyone in authority to move assets into Libya? General HAM. Yes, sir, and they approved that and the teams did move. Senator GRAHAM. So what was the closest team? General HAM. The team that was best postured to move was the Fleet Antiterrorism Support Team (FAST) in Rota, Spain. Senator GRAHAM. So when did they begin to move? General HAM. I don’t know—I don’t know precisely when they began to move. They arrived in Tripoli about 24 hours after the attack. Senator GRAHAM. Well, I guess my point—were fighter aircraft available in Aviano that could have gotten into Libya within 24 hours? General HAM. They could have been, sir. I did not so request— Senator GRAHAM. Did you ever suggest that we deploy any military asset quicker than 24 hours? General HAM. I did not. I considered, but did not request the deployment of fighter aircraft. Senator GRAHAM. Did anybody ever ask you, General Ham, what do we have to get to the aid of these folks quickly? Did anyone ever suggest that we use an F–15 or F–16 to buzz the compound once the Ambassador was found missing? General HAM. Not to my knowledge, sir. Senator GRAHAM. Were you ever told to stand down in any of your efforts to move people into Libya because we were concerned about violating Libyan air space? General HAM. No, sir. Senator GRAHAM. Were you ever tapped on the shoulder by anyone and said, you’re going ahead of yourself here? No one ever suggested to you to stop what you were doing? General HAM. No, sir. Senator GRAHAM. So how could it be that, given this threat string—and you didn’t—did you know when the attack was going to be over when it started? General HAM. Certainly not. Senator GRAHAM. What kind of reaction was there in the system when the Ambassador was found missing? General HAM. Shock, to be sure; and all-out effort to find him and hence the diversion of the unmanned system to get that overhead as quickly as possible. Senator GRAHAM. Well, an all-out effort. Did we have air assets within two to three hours of Libya? Was there any 130s available to go in? Were there any AC–130 gunships? General HAM. I know for a fact there were no AC–130s in the theater. I would have to check if there were any C–130s. Senator GRAHAM. Could you do this. Could you give this committee in writing a detailed analysis of the military assets available that could have gotten into the Benghazi area within 12 hours? General HAM. Yes, sir. Senator GRAHAM. And please tell us what you recommended and who you recommended to what to do with those assets. General HAM. I will, sir.
Senator GRAHAM. Did you ever talk to Obama?
General HAM. Not on this matter, no, sir.
Senator GRAHAM. When the Secretary of Defense turned to you and said, there’s really nothing we can do within 24 hours to help these people, what was his reaction? General HAM. Sir, it wasn’t—it wasn’t that kind of a conversation. It was—the initial discussion was about the initial reports of an attack, trying to gather information, what’s happening, what forces are available to respond. That’s what precipitated the alert to the Fleet Antiterrorism Support Team, to the Commander’s In Extremis Force. Senator GRAHAM. Well, just finally, did it become apparent to everybody in the room there’s nobody can get there within 24 hours? General HAM. Pretty quickly. Not necessarily the 24 hours, because the Fleet Antiterrorism Support Team and the Commander’s In Extremis Force could have arrived earlier. But then, again knowing what we knew then, different than what we know now, the attack culminated and seemed—
Senator GRAHAM. Did you stop their deployment?
General HAM. We did not. We timed the deployment then in concert with the embassy to say, when do you want this, when do you need this team to arrive.

[Grampa Dave]

[neverdem]

This may well be the last story from SHARYL ATTKISSON at CBS.