Replies

It was both, the drone was probably not there as the attack began and may have been directed there, after the alert from the state dept. That could account for the discrepancy in the time.

This is a quote from the WSJ article that attempted to explain away the delay as the "fog of war". The first to be flown to Tripoli were American diplomats and civilians. The U.S. security team waited for a second flight. During the wait, Libyan troops went, without any Americans, to the Benghazi Medical Center to retrieve the ambassador's body. Around 8 a.m., according to Libyan officials, the security detail flew back to Tripoli, carrying the body.

State Department officials dismissed the suggestions as unrealistic. "They would not have gotten there in two hours, four hours or six hours. They don't have troops sitting in a room next to an airplane with a pilot just sitting in the next room drinking coffee," one senior State Department official said."

Some officials say the U.S. could have sent military forces to Benghazi from U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella, which is some 450 miles away in Sicily, or mobilized a Marine team in Rota, Spain. Some officials said the U.S. could also have sent aircraft to the scene in a "show of force" to scare off the attackers. State Department officials dismissed the suggestions as unrealistic. "They would not have gotten there in two hours, four hours or six hours. They don't have troops sitting in a room next to an airplane with a pilot just sitting in the next room drinking coffee," one senior State Department official said."

Let me get this straight, since it was unrealistic to send in troops to aid the embattled staff and ambasador Stevens they just let them die?Amazing.