My heart went out to the Air Force general as he said rescuing our people in Libya was NOT the question, but that we didn’t even TRY!
It’s one thing to try and fail. It’s something unacceptable to not even try.
Part of this saga is directly related to your comment. Monday morning quarterbacking is easy. The question becomes exactly how did anyone know at the time how long this situation would continue? It could have gone on for days. The response should have been ordered whether they were on time or not. The truth is they did not want to have to admit that Al Qaeda was not on the run but active.