Posted on 07/31/2013 6:53:04 PM PDT by xzins
A Marine operations commander told lawmakers Wednesday he gave troops in Libya permission to respond to a September 2012 attack on a U.S. mission in Tripoli.
Testifying in closed session before the House Armed Services Committee, Col. George Bristol contradicted claims by some congressional Republicans he had issued a stand-down order following the attack, in which U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stephens and three other Americans were killed, The Hill reported.
Bristol, who commanded Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trans Sahara at the time of the attack, said he gave the Tripoli security team leader, Lt. Col. S.E. Gibson, permission to act freely in response to the attack, The Hill said, citing a description it had received of the committee's members-only briefing.
Gibson told Congress last month he was ordered not to send his team to Benghazi because they were needed in Tripoli in the event of an attack on the U.S. Embassy.
Republicans argue the United States wasn't prepared to respond adequately to the Benghazi attack.
They accuse the Obama administration of downplaying or covering up the administration's handling of the attack, its lead-up and aftermath during the heat of the 2012 presidential campaign.
"Colonel Bristol has experience that could be valuable in deepening our understanding of the events of that day," a committee source told The Hill.
"Of particular interest to the committee is what our posture was in the weeks and months that preceded the attack," the source said.
Bristol, a seasoned combat commander, stepped down from his task force commander post in March.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
Lt Colonels are called Colonel....as in Colonel Oliver North or as in every Battalion Commander I ever had. The same way a general at any level is referred to as “General”, and a Sergeant at any level can be referred to as Sergeant.
I'm well aware...as a retired Lt Col with 28 years of service.
The same way a general at any level is referred to as “General”...
I'm commenting on the folks calling the Colonel in this story a General.
The truth means nothing. --xzins
I'm thinking they're just having brain cramps, although, many have never been in the military. I think the nation has about 10% who are either currently serving or who are living veterans.
But, it probably is still just a brain cramp.
There’s a bit of difference between expressing sarcasm at a political situation and an ad hominem against a fellow traveler.
Perhaps it would be appropriate for Gibson to make a personal visit to Bristol: Marine to Marine.
Gibson is an Army LTC. In SpecOps, they cross all services and are united at the Special Operations Command at MacDill in Florida. JSOC is “Joint Special Operations Command” and is the active arm of SpecOps when working on a combined mission. The US Army Spec Ops Command is out of Bragg and includes Rangers, Green Berets, SOAR SpecOps Aviation (the old TF 160), Delta, Psyops, and Civil Affairs. Navy, Air Force, and Marines each have their spec ops forces that they add to the mix. (For example Navy Seals.)
But, they work together, and especially in terms of specific missions.
“Rouge agents at an IRS office in Cincinnati”
What? Two little old ladies with very pink cheeks?
Probably the third. “Freedom to act” can be played with. It is not the same thing as ordering him to go to Benghazi, and is not mutually exclusive of ordering him to stay in Tripoli, but giving him freedom to do what ever he can for Benghazi without leaving Tripoli.
I stand, or rather sit corrected. I was thinking of another thread, another player in this scandal when I wrote the improper rank. Being a veteran, former Military Police at that I should have been absolutely perfect in my posting of such matters.
wait and see who gets promoted, Gibson or Bristol
Gibson said he was told not to take action. Who did he say it was who told him?
I was told by two different former military people that the document needed to move the military into another country is called a “Cross-Border Authority”. ONLY the President can sign it.
Obama met with Pentagon and NSA at 5 pm EDT (??). The document should have been signed at that time. If it was not signed, then there was no reason to give a “stand down order”, because not signing the CBA basically told everyone to stand down (without having to give that order).
Is it possible that Obama didn’t understand that he alone had to sign the CBA; after all, he did tell his immediate staff to go ahead and do what needed to be done .. but he didn’t do HIS PART.
I just find it alarming that nobody is talking about the CBA and asking why Obama didn’t sign it ..??
Travis McGee knows all about this. What you say is true.
Except the part about 0bastard “not knowing” he had to sign it. He and the others in charge wanted all those men to die.
After not granting CBA at the 5pm meeting in the oval office, (but being tipped off to the gravity of the situation), all the POTUS had to do was disappear, and be “unreachable.” That’s why his missing 8 hours are so critical. That’s why he never popped into the situation room: he would have been asked to grant CBA directly to his face.
“Something here isn’t “always faithful””
If you don’t believe the Marine brass will lie, download the documentary “Semper Fi” from Netflix or Amazon. Learn about the million Marines and dependents who drank contaminated water at Camp Lejeune from the 1950’s to the 1980’s and the coverup by the Marine Corps and the Department of the Navy. Many have died or suffered cancer, birth defects, and other maladies as a result of the brass looking after their own butts and careers instead of the troops and their families.
As an enlisted man, an O-6’s “wish” was an order to me.
He “gave permission”, huh? He’s weasel wording. OR, he really did pass the buck down to subordinates. If he admitted to giving an order, the next questions would be about what was done about failing to follow his orders.
“... wanted all those men to die.”
I quite agree about Travis (I’ve known him for some time).
Why would they want all those men to die ..?? Was it to cover up the operation(s); gun-running and body exchange - Stevens for the Sheik ..??
Yes, I would “assume” O would have been told that he alone had to sign it .. but the testimony was that O told them to do what was necessary .. when in reality O already knew they couldn’t do anything without the CBA.
But, I’ve also heard that if O had just picked up the phone and called the new govt in Libya, he might have been able to get permission for a rescue without signing the CBA, just in case something went wrong - no paperwork - O could have denied he got permission.
And .. what I realized today is maybe O will support Christie against Hillary; if true, it would put O in a perfect position to dump all the Benghazi fallout right on Hillary.
Outstanding post. Thank you, Yosemitest.
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