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The Panetta Doctrine
National Review ^ | October 28, 2012 | Jonah Goldberg

Posted on 10/29/2012 2:51:17 PM PDT by Snuph

The secretary of defense in his best grown-up voice says:

“(The) basic principle is that you don’t deploy forces into harm’s way without knowing what’s going on; without having some real-time information about what’s taking place,” Panetta told Pentagon reporters. “And as a result of not having that kind of information, the commander who was on the ground in that area, Gen. Ham, Gen. Dempsey and I felt very strongly that we could not put forces at risk in that situation.”

It seems obvious that Panetta is trying protect Obama from responsibility for the administration’s Benghazi response. I don’t think that works. The decision to outsource the call is still a presidential decision.

But there are two problems bigger problems with the Panetta doctrine. First, Panetta says they didn’t have real-time information. Uh, if having a live video feed and real-time reports from assets on the ground for hours doesn’t count as real-time information, what does? And if, as rumors suggest, the drones monitoring the situation were armed, the idea that the administration was trying to avoid some kind of “black hawk down” situation seems incomprehensible.

Which brings us to the second, I think bigger, problem with the Panetta doctrine. If the circumstances in Libya didn’t meet the “enough information” threshold for a rescue attempt or some other form of intervention, then what does? And, note, Panetta & Co. make it sound as if the decision to let the Americans on the scene twist in the wind was sort of a no-brainer, not a difficult decision. So what happened in Libya didn’t even come close to the threshold for intervention.

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: shadowwars; threatmatrix
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1 posted on 10/29/2012 2:51:17 PM PDT by Snuph
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To: Snuph

Panetta’s a commie


2 posted on 10/29/2012 2:54:26 PM PDT by goodnesswins (What has happened to America?)
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To: Snuph

The Panetta Doctrine cover the president’s re-election hopes at all costs.


3 posted on 10/29/2012 2:55:52 PM PDT by American Constitutionalist
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To: Snuph

“I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm’s way.”
- John Paul Jones

“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
- Admiral David Farragut

“Better to fight for something than live for nothing.”
- General George Patton

“We signed up knowing the risk. Those innocent people in New York didn’t go to work thinking there was any kind of risk.”
- Pvt. Mike Armendariz-Clark, USMC (in Afghanistan, September 20, 2001)

I doubt that Panetta will ever be quoted alongside our greatest Americans.


4 posted on 10/29/2012 3:01:50 PM PDT by Pollster1 (Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. - Ronald Reagan)
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To: Snuph

Does Leon have a military background?


5 posted on 10/29/2012 3:03:26 PM PDT by Real Cynic No More
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To: Snuph

If we’d followed his doctrine, there never would have been a D-Day invasion.


6 posted on 10/29/2012 3:05:15 PM PDT by mass55th (Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway...John Wayne)
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To: Snuph

Every time I drive by the gate to Panetta’s “ranch” in Carmel Valley I have to repress the urge to stop and take a dump!


7 posted on 10/29/2012 3:07:13 PM PDT by vette6387
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To: Real Cynic No More

Nah, Paneta’s from California, Carmel area, no less ... as far as I can recall, there’s only one sane person in that area, and he’s a aging but dynamic and prolific movie person...


8 posted on 10/29/2012 3:08:21 PM PDT by ArmyTeach (Our liberties, we prize and our rights we will maintain ... USS Iowa BB 61)
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To: Snuph
We know some support was sent from Tripoli so they're contradicting themselves at that point to say they don't insert into less than well defined situations.

Furthermore, Tripoli and Sigonella are almost the same distance (410 vs 470 clicks) from Benghazi so time isn't an issue. In fact, some assets at Sigonella could have gotten there faster.

The only intelligence Panetta cared about and didn’t have was whether the Mujis had successfully snatched Stevens. He held off rescue efforts so that the plan to trade Stevens for the Blind Snake as an October Surprise could go forward.

When the SEALs ignored the stand down order and went to Stevens rescue the Obama plan was thrown into chaos. At that point, the only chance for the cabal of Jarrett/Axelrod/Obama/Panetta/Clinton to get out of this was to hold off any stronger rescue attempt in hopes the Mujis could pull their fat from the fire and get away with Stevens after all.

9 posted on 10/29/2012 3:09:11 PM PDT by Paine in the Neck (Socialism consumes everything)
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To: Snuph
June 5th, 1944, somewhere in England.

“General Eisenhower, we have five infantry divisions loaded onto transports in the Chanel. We have three more airborne divisions ready to go. We have only a brief period fair weather tomorrow. If we don't go, we have to wait at lest a month. What's your decision?”

“Gentlemen, the basic principle is that you don’t deploy forces into harm’s way without knowing what’s going on; without having some real-time information about what’s taking place. I'm afraid we'll just have to wait.”

10 posted on 10/29/2012 3:10:55 PM PDT by Hugin ("Most times a man'll tell you his bad intentions, if you listen and let yourself hear."---Open Range)
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To: Pollster1
Photobucket
11 posted on 10/29/2012 3:12:27 PM PDT by Gamecock (Bayonets, Benghazi, Balls, Binders, Big Bird, Birth Control, BS.....)
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To: Snuph

I guess men in a firefight communicating and calling for help is not considered “real time information” and doesn’t give anyone a clue as to “what is going on”.

This is like firefighters waiting to see if the fire is going to go out by itself, if it doesn’t, they will bring the bodies out when it cools off.


12 posted on 10/29/2012 3:13:45 PM PDT by Toespi
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To: Snuph

The Russians are supporting the government in Syria. We have been supporting the opposition. A Russian General in Syria has been telling the press for quite some time that they are capturing weapons from the opposition that were made in the US. The story that everyone is tiptoeing around is that the Annex in Benghazi, where the two former SEALs were killed was known as the CIA Annex building. The word coming out is that Benghazi was about shipping arms to the opposition in Syria.
Now, there is plenty to be suspicious of in Benghazi. What was going on? Why no military rescue? Why the coverup? Don’t get caught up in those questions. Benghazi is just part of a bigger scheme.
Why are Obama and Hillary messing around with the governments of Libya, Egypt and Syria? They’re just a couple of money-grubbing Democrat grifters. What do they care about Libya, Egypt and Syria? Read THE ILLINOIS PAY TO PLAY BLOG. No, it’s not me. It explains why Obama and Hillary were messing around in the Middle East. These two Democrat grifters, and their Democrat buddies, wanted to set the Middle East on fire so they could make billions rebuilding it. If that doesn’t make your stomach turn, then something’s wrong. They are using American taxpayer money and US government personnel, facilities and equipment to kill people and overthrow foreign governments to enrich themselves. There are people dying for their profit. That is CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY stuff. That is Nuremberg Trials stuff. Read it and think through it.


13 posted on 10/29/2012 3:13:48 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Snuph

General Ham was relieved from duty for disobeying the command to stand down? So, him saying ask Ham is borderline crazy.


14 posted on 10/29/2012 3:14:23 PM PDT by BushCountry (I hope the Mayans are wrong!)
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To: Real Cynic No More

Not hardly. He is however well connected to several communist and islamic orgs.


15 posted on 10/29/2012 3:15:07 PM PDT by Snuph ("give me Liberty...")
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To: Snuph

Between tweets and emails and cell phones and live video feed O’s White House had more real time information than any White House in history.


16 posted on 10/29/2012 3:16:50 PM PDT by marron
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To: Snuph
Hopefully the truth will still sink Obama and he will take this lying
sack of manure named Panetta down with him.


17 posted on 10/29/2012 3:19:31 PM PDT by Iron Munro (Psalm 109:8 "Let his days be few, and let another take his office.")
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To: Snuph
If you look closely at this weasel, he is fidgeting, nervous and all the while he is speaking, his eyes are everywhere but looking at the camera or reporters.

He is so obviously obfuscating and prevaricating to make it laughable, if this was not so serious a matter.

He is but another sycophant, Demo-Rat, puppet who will do or say anything to advance this corrupt Regime's narrative.

18 posted on 10/29/2012 3:20:18 PM PDT by neveralib
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To: Snuph

The latest explanation, from retired General Keane (interviewed by Giraldo), is that the drone has a narrow line of vision and the compound is in what’s classified as a residential area so they couldn’t tell the bad guys from the militia. That explanation doesn’t make sense if the drone was unarmed, so I’m presuming that this is an admission that the drone was armed.

Woods had painted the target and someone was giving the drone coordinates. For Panetta et al to say that they couldn’t tell who the bad guys were even those eyes on-site had painted the target for them is to say that they didn’t trust Woods - from the top of the annex building - to be able to tell them where the incoming fire was coming from. They had all the knowledge they needed but they didn’t trust it - if you believe the reasons being given right now.

I think Panetta, Ham, and whoever they say was commander in the Benghazi area owe the Woods family an explanation for why they didn’t trust the eyes and/or motives of a guy who had just risked his life to rescue 30 people and was at that very moment taking the time to paint a target while being fired at on the top of a building as he continued to risk his life to protect those 30 people.

If our ROE say that somebody in DC has to be able to see the target before anybody can fire on it, then let’s just line up all our soldiers and shoot them right now, because that’s what those ROE would mean.

I read that when they found the 2 SEALs killed on the top of that building, their weapons were caked with blood, indicating that they had been up there fighting even though they were wounded.

Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. How disgusting are the vermin in DC, that they would know the sacrifices made by somebody like Woods and would hang him out to dry, claiming he wasn’t trustworthy enough to tell them where the fire against him was coming from! If they can’t trust somebody of that caliber, then who are they suggesting we trust?

The Taliban is on the inside of the building, indeed.

I propose we impeach Obama and give what would have been his lifetime pension to the widow of Tyrone Woods, and that we impeach Leon Panetta and Hillary Clinton and give what would have been their pensions to the newborn son of Tyrone Woods - which Tyrone never got to even hold in his arms because he died at the hands of these “fine public servants”.

(spit)


19 posted on 10/29/2012 3:22:26 PM PDT by butterdezillion
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To: Snuph
Diogenes is walking the streets of DC with his lantern brightly lit, looking for that "ONE" honest person who will break ranks with this Regime and do the honorable thing by coming forth and spilling the beans.

One can only hope!!!

20 posted on 10/29/2012 3:25:32 PM PDT by neveralib
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