Posted on 10/26/2012 1:39:18 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Yesterday, Leon Panetta told reporters that the US military didn’t intervene to assist our consulate in Benghazi during the attack because of a lack of real-time intelligence. Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin now reports that the CIA got at least three requests for support from the annex in the city to help fend off the attack — and that the chain of command not only refused the requests, but ordered its personnel to “stand down.” Two of the Americans killed in the terrorist attack disobeyed orders and attempted to rescue their fellow Americans:
Fox News has learned from sources who were on the ground in Benghazi that three urgent requests from the CIA annex for military back-up during the attack on the U.S. Consulate and subsequent attack nearly seven hours later were denied by officials in the CIA chain of command — who also told the CIA operators to “stand down” rather than help the ambassador’s team when shots were heard at approximately 9:40 p.m. in Benghazi on Sept. 11.
Former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were part of a small team who were at the CIA annex about a mile from the U.S. Consulate where Ambassador Chris Stevens and his team came under attack. When they heard the shots fired, they radioed to inform their higher-ups to tell them what they were hearing. They were told to “stand down,” according to sources familiar with the exchange. An hour later, they called again to headquarters and were again told to “stand down.”
Woods, Doherty and at least two others ignored those orders and made their way to the Consulate which at that point was on fire. Shots were exchanged. The quick reaction force from the CIA annex evacuated those who remained at the Consulate and Sean Smith, who had been killed in the initial attack. They could not find the ambassador and returned to the CIA annex at about midnight.
At that point, they called again for military support and help because they were taking fire at the CIA safe house, or annex. The request was denied. There were no communications problems at the annex, according those present at the compound. The team was in constant radio contact with their headquarters. In fact, at least one member of the team was on the roof of the annex manning a heavy machine gun when mortars were fired at the CIA compound. The security officer had a laser on the target that was firing and repeatedly requested back-up support from a Specter gunship, which is commonly used by U.S. Special Operations forces to provide support to Special Operations teams on the ground involved in intense firefights. The fighting at the CIA annex went on for more than four hours — enough time for any planes based in Sigonella Air base, just 480 miles away, to arrive. Fox News has also learned that two separate Tier One Special operations forces were told to wait, among them Delta Force operators.
It’s not as if there was no resources to respond, either:
A Special Operations team, or CIF which stands for Commanders in Extremis Force, operating in Central Europe had been moved to Sigonella, Italy, but they too were told to stand down. A second force that specializes in counterterrorism rescues was on hand at Sigonella, according to senior military and intelligence sources. According to those sources, they could have flown to Benghazi in less than two hours. They were the same distance to Benghazi as those that were sent from Tripoli. Specter gunships are commonly used by the Special Operations community to provide close air support.
Griffin’s sources tell her that the annex had painted a laser target at a terrorist mortar position and had called for an air strike. I’m not sure what that looks like in Panetta’s world, but it at least sounds like real-time intelligence on the attack, as well as a clear target, if this report is correct.
Saxby Chambliss is right — this gets uglier every day.
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Official: No Marines in Libya at time of Benghazi attack ^
09/15/2012 1:46:37 PM PDT · by 2ndDivisionVet
During the last term, every headline started with "Bush Administration."
Sen. Rand Paul Speaks Out Against Pres.Obama's Actions in Libya - 10/20/12 video 2:34
Panetta’s excuse that they did not have sufficient intel to send in the Delta unit does not hold water. If they had enough intel to send in the eight Marines from Tripoli, then they surely had enough intel to send in Delta as well. Why did you really tell Delta to stand down, Mr. Secretary???????
You are correct. There is only one person who has the authority to order US military forces to enter another country and open fire upon enemies of the United States: the Commander in Chief, Obama.
He refused to give that order.
Does Leon think there is some mystical source of intel that is better than a real time conversation with someone on the ground?
Panetta is a bald-face liar.
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taking a break to see what Foxnews , kudlow and o'Reilly have turned up.
I was just thingking....I wonder if they were afraid of the islamists having MANPADs that could take down a C-130 gunship.....
GWB on October 26, 2012 at 3:32 PM
Yes, let's keep our facts straight. Griffin reported that calls for support, made from the annex while it was under fire, were also denied.
There are over a half a million of those in the world. Were there none in Iraq or Afghanistan?
Bttt
And at post #56....State Dept rules.
“But I fully expect this administration to take full advantage of the CIA’s obligation to stay quiet and try to pin any malfeasance on them.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2950753/posts
They CIA’s not taking the fall for this one.
Posted on Fri 26 Oct 2012 15:10:44 PDT by penelopesire
“It’s odd that the headlines from two stories, today, lay the blame at the military and the CIA, when it’s not their call to make those decisions.”
Obama is apparently now hoping that the American people will be gullible enough to believe that the CIA has the unilateral authority to hang a U.S. ambassador out to dry.
Why should reporters waste their time trying to get any kind of honest answer from someone who has lived a lie in so many forms all his life. The Manchurian President was put into the White Hut for one reason. Do the biding of those striving to undermined the United States of America, in a variety of ways.
CIA issues a statement (carefully worded ) saying that help WAS NOT DENIED !!!
Any one see a thread...???
LLS
West is not sure ....Kudlow says they seem to be making this up as they go.
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