Posted on 05/01/2014 8:59:17 PM PDT by Olog-hai
A retired U.S. general came under sharp criticism from a Republican committee chairman on Thursday after testifying that the Obama administration reacted weakly to the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Retired Brig. Gen. Robert Lovell, the star witness at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing, testified that U.S. forces “should have tried” to get to the outpost in time to help save the lives of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. He blamed the State Department for not making stronger requests for action.
A few hours later, the powerful chairman of the Armed Services panel, Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., challenged the testimony of Lovell, who was in U.S. Africa Command’s headquarters in Germany monitoring the attack. …
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Bump
When Democrats need the trash taken out they seem to always be able to count on DC Republicans to lend a helping hand.
I listened to part of Lovell’s testimony. I was amazed at his candor and apparent honesty. This whole thing of Benghazi has been saucered and blown as a full blown cover up of an arms running operation and a political ploy / grandstanding from almost the first day.
Why all the pussy footing around I don’t understand. It is an open and shut case and an open and shut crime.
McKeon sounds like a real pinhead.
From the article:
“The unusual rebuke also pitted McKeon, who has said he was satisfied that the military did all it could, against Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a House committee chairman who has doggedly pursued the question of whether the military was told to “stand down” on the night of the attacks.”
To show how bad things are here, the only reason the Pubbies have any relevance here is that the Rats had to throw out three state Senators for being convicted of corruption or being indicted for taking bribes and selling weapons to terrorists to finance their campaigns. That moved them (just) below the 2/3 level so now the Pubbies can possibly get some input into the budget. But you can count on them screwing that up and getting totally outmaneuvered by the Rats.
Despite this corruption, the Rats will almost certainly recover and win back their supermajority in the election this fall.
//””We have no evidence that Department of State officials delayed the decision to deploy what few resources the Defense Department had available to respond,” McKeon said. “Lovell did not further the investigation or reveal anything new, he was another painful reminder of the agony our military felt that night: wanting to respond but unable to do so.”//
40+ different Benghazi articles today.
It sounds like old “Buck” is an Obama “republican” looking out for his massa.
It’s like bubbling back to the surface.
That’s not what the liberal media’s saying. Why help their customary narrative to recover, when they are currently trying to defeat themselves?
Despite this corruption, the Rats will almost certainly recover and win back their supermajority in the election this fall …
McKeon playing CYA since his committee pretty much whitewashed the whole thing?
You need to pick up a copy of "Eyes On Target" by Scott McEwen and Richard Miniter, Bucky old boy. It's all there.
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 watched a good part of this and the general was obviously emotionally moved and concerned about what happened in Benghazi, but he did seem ambivalent in what he said, at one point saying more should and could have been done to rescue those under attack, but at another conceding as Cummings, as always trying to cover up for the administration rather than get to the truth, insisted that assets had been staged and moved into place in Europe and elsewhere. But at another time the general had said that there were signs that help was on the way, but then it “stopped” - the question is then why did it stop - why were those assets Cummings bragged on never brought to bear on the attackers - and who gave that order?????......
The question is "who didn't give the order?" Only one person can.
Only the POTUS had the authority to act!
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...
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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 Is A Deserter!
0bama did nothing!!!
Do you think Mr. Stevens knew the plan you described was to take place in other words was he a willing victim?
“
I have said this before... I think Ambassador Stevens was purposely left under protected so he could be captured in a prearranged deal. The president would make loud noises, the ambassador would be released, making O and Hillary look strong on foreign policy(their weak point) going into the final days of the election. Under the table, arms would be given to the terrorists. That is why no rescue was allowed. But two ex-seals stepped into the breach beyond duty, forcing the attackers to over play and kill everyone. Then, it was a scramble to find an excuse. “
I have said it before too... This was an incompetently executed October surprise. And yes I think Mr Stevens knew the plan. But he was not a willing victim. It was not suppose to happen this way. In a bout of pure Hubris, Hillary and her Henchmen assembled this plan. There was suppose to be a Kidnapping, a standoff and the Big Zero was going to parade in at the last minute to be the Big Hero negotiator. Rescue his gay pal from zero’s terrorist buddies. It all went to hell when a couple of SEAL team members started shooting and defending the compound as they were trained to do. This plan reveals Incompetence, miscommunication, badly conceived, and then it was buried in a shallow grave.
The outlines of the scandal described here can be seen like a bloody sheet carelessly tossed over a battered corpse. You know what happened, but there is pretense to cover it.
Another person who testified said that he never saw Obama in the Situation Room (where Bammy claimed to have been monitoring things) and in fact that Obama could not be found or contacted that night. I wish I could find that info. Someone posted it here yesterday.
You can’t expect His Exalted Magnificence King Fubo (peace be upon him) to involve himself in such trivial matters as a dead ambassador. He needed his beauty rest so he could be sharp for the all important fundraiser the following day.
T’anks.
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