Posted on 02/12/2014 9:07:15 AM PST by Nachum
The attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, continues to be a line of political attack against the Obama administration, but a new report from the Republican-led House Armed Services Committee belies at least one aspect of the popular conservative criticism, that U.S. forces were ordered to “stand down” when they could have saved lives in Benghazi.
The Republican-authored report’s findings are, by no means, a love letter to President Obama or then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. For example, the report concludes that U.S. personnel in Benghazi were woefully vulnerable in September 2012 because a) the administration did not direct a change in military force posture; b) there was no intelligence of a specific “imminent” threat in Libya; and c) the Department of State, which has primary responsibility for diplomatic security, favored a reduction of Department of Defense security personnel in Libya before the attack.”
The balance of the report contains many such harsh judgments of the Obama administration, the State Department, and the intelligence community.
However, as ThinkProgress notes, the report does undermine a key spoke in conservative talking points about Benghazi:
As Media Matters reports, Fox News cited reports of a stand-down order no fewer than 85 times during prime-time segments as of June 2013. As the new report — which the Republican majority of the committee authored –makes very clear in its findings, however, no such order ever existed. “There was no ‘stand down’ order issued to U.S. military personnel in Tripoli who sought to join the fight in Benghazi,” the report says, noting that the military was not positioned to respond to the attack.
(Excerpt) Read more at mediaite.com ...
Excuse me, if you do not give an order to cross international borders, that inaction is by definition a ‘stand down’ order. I find it difficult to believe that there were no U.S. military assets available anywhere in the Mediterranean area at the time.
Why should the next band of terrorists worry about a response from the United States, when the history is now that we won't engage in the moment?
-PJ
BUT—they didn’t even try... They could have at least tried to do something... people were asleep at the switch.
Of course that’s what has been concluded...the GOP is nothing more than the “controlled opposition” for the traitors.
...Similarly, the U.S. Air Force F-16 fighters stationed at Aviano, Italy at the time were configured for training flights.74 None were on combat alert.75 Furthermore, unlike typical preparations during the Cold War, NATO allies also had no planes on war-fighting status. This meant other nations could not offer combat aircraft to respond on behalf of the United States.76...
who are we going to believe? F-16’s configured for training, what were they training for, WAR or cocktails and dog and pony shows? Did they not train for immediate response and arming?
Some posters almost seem to want the House to make things up. If the evidence shows there wasn’t a stand down order, so be it. People on the left constantly distort the truth to make their politics palatable, but conservatives don’t need to do that. All we have to do is shine a light of truth on the cock roaches. The truth is usually bad enough in its own right.
And that by definition is a ‘stand down’ order. The POTUS has to give a cross border order. He did not. This inaction is a ‘stand down’ order.
Anotyer GOPe show trial. I bet all along they were advising Hillary what to answer and it got her on her staged high horses of tough btch when they all along were getting campaign contributions from terrorists.
How else can we explain their stance on Syria.
These stonewall orders are actualy pretty common sad ROE killing troops in Afghanistan, and that is the salient point.
RINO traitors.
Technically and legally speaking, not doing something is not the same as doing it. And that’s the legal dodge that has enabled him to skip out on all of this.
Both of he and Hillary were unreachable during most of the Benghazi attack.
BS -
The right wing of the political elite party has just covered for the left wing, in an effort to keep the subjects (us) from disturbing their control over the USA.
TEA PARTY
So all the Rs are now official wholely owned by Hitlery and FreakinChief? They agree with the official story (whatever that is)? It’s over? The lie is now accepted in toto?
Curse them.
Of course that’s what has been concluded...the GOP is nothing more than the “controlled opposition” for the traitors.
That’s it.
A crap sandwich.....courtesy of Boehner & Co. Eat up!
Here is a video of Rep. Chaffetz saying that Gen. Ham, commander of AFRICOM at that time, told him that assets were near enough to help and ready to go.There is no doubt whatsoever that the assets were in motion preparing to receive an order to go.AFRICOM leader General Carter Ham was never given the order to secure the consulate in Benghazi. Youtube 1:43
Adm. James Lyons (Ret.) on Growing Benghazi Scandal
ADMIRAL LYONS: …All those comforting words that “We don’t want to put our forces at risk.” We had people at risk—they were crying for help! In a situation, you go with the resources you have available—and, in this particular case, we did have that 130-man Marine force recon team sitting there at Sigonella. Even if I only got 50 of them over there, that would have been significant in turning the situation around. We may not have been able to save the ambassador, but we certainly could have saved those other two SEALs that were over on the annex.
ADMIRAL LYONS: In perpetuating this lie, we also had administration officials lying to Congressional committees. That’s a felony. So, “What difference does it make?” It makes all the difference in the world. You cannot flaunt the truth here, just walk away from it and, basically, tell the American public to stuff it. That’s not acceptable.
The point on the organizing the two Marine anti-terrorist teams in Rota, that was good to go ahead and stand ’em up. What I find incomprehensible: The first team, it took them 23 hours to go a few hundred miles from Rota to Tripoli. I could go around the world in 23 hours, so that makes absolutely no sense to me.
I'm having the Ft Marcy burger at the Whitewater Hotel ...
Thanks for the compendium. I will get Loudon’s book.
They got To Ham, I am not sure what he had in his NSA file but it was pretty embarrassing, His wife was sick then and the reason he was getting out, I am sure they said “sure would be a shame if she found out about all these e-mails”
Tripoli rescue team told to stand down.
Hicks: Special Forces ‘Furious’ Upon Being Told to Stand Down video at link"According to Benghazi whistleblower Gregory Hicks, the deputy chief of mission in Libya, special forces were “furious” when they were told to stand down during the Benghazi attack. “I will quote Lieutenant Colonel Gibson,” Hicks told the House Oversight Committee in hearings today, “He said, ‘This is the first time in my career that a diplomat has more balls than somebody in the military.’”"
This might be considered a stand down too.
Whistle-blower: Botched talking points hurt FBI probe of Benghazi attack"Another whistle-blower questioned Wednesday why more military assets were not deployed sooner during the Benghazi terror attack. Mark Thompson, a former Marine and official with the State Department's Counterterrorism Bureau, said he was rebuffed by the White House when he asked for a specialized team -- known as a FEST team -- to be deployed. This is a unit made of special operations personnel, diplomatic security, intelligence and other officers."
Here is a third way a "stand down" policy was implemented IMO.
Blow-by-Blow: How Obama & Hillary Left Americans to Die"Nordstrom further testified in writing that Hillary Clinton waived security requirements for the Benghazi consulate despite high and critical threat levels in the six categories of security standards established under the Overseas Security Policy Board and the Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 1999. The waiver can only be authorized by the Secretary of State, who cannot delegate that responsibility to someone else. ”If the Secretary of State did not waive these requirements, who did so by ordering occupancy of the facilities in Benghazi and Tripoli?” Nordstrom wrote."
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