Posted on 01/03/2016 6:12:14 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
An email recently obtained by Judicial Watch shows that the Pentagon was demanding Hillary allow them to send help to Benghazi during the 2012 attack. This would completely contradict the claim from Hillary and Leon Panetta that no forces were available and within reach to provide help to the compound that was under siege.
From Fox News:
As the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was unfolding, a high-ranking Pentagon official urgently messaged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s top deputies to offer military help, according to an email obtained by Judicial Watch.
The revelation appears to contradict testimony Defense Secretary Leon Panetta gave lawmakers in 2013, when he said there was no time to get forces to the scene in Libya, where four Americans were killed, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens.
“I just tried you on the phone but you were all in with S [apparent reference to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton],†reads the email, from Panetta’s chief of staff Jeremy Bash. “After consulting with General Dempsey, General Ham and the Joint Staff, we have identified the forces that could move to Benghazi. They are spinning up as we speak.â€
The email was sent out at 7:19 p.m. ET on Sept. 11, 2012, in the early stages of the eight-hour siege that also claimed the lives of Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith and two former Navy SEALs, Ty Woods and Glen Doherty, private CIA contractors who raced to the aid of embattled State Department workers.
Although the email came after the first wave of the attack at the consulate, it occurred before a mortar strike on the CIA annex killed Woods and Doherty.
“This leaves no doubt military assets were offered and ready to go, and awaiting State Department signoff, which did not come,†Judicial Watch, a nonprofit government watchdog said in a statement.
Parts of the email from Bash were redacted before release, including details on what military forces were available.
But, if you want to know what forces were likely to be available, all you have to do is listen to, or read, the account from an ex Special Forces member who explained it to Bryan Suits on the “Dark Secret Place,†a popular radio show in Los Angeles.
In the interview from November of 2012, he explained why Panetta’s claim was a LIE, and described the CIF which stands for Commanders In extremis Force, that could have been sent to Benghazi:
[The CIF is a] heretofore little known American option…You’ve probably never heard that before. It’s not secret per se, but it’s not publicized very much… the CIF, as it’s called is something that is available to every theater commander.
The CIF are US army special forces soldiers who are specifically dedicated to being prepared at all times for months on end to leave with no notice, with little or no information to move by air or whatever vehicle, to a situation, that they have been determined to be the best immediate solution to. They oftentimes get in the air with absolutely no idea where they’re going or what the mission is. Oftentimes they are briefed in the air.â€
“The entire purpose of this [CIF]… in the extreme, there is no worse case than this. Something is happening right now, and we don’t have 24 hours to get Delta force in there. Something is happening right now, and that’s why these forces, the CIF are pre-positioned… to at the drop of a hat, to go anywhere and do anything.
It’s time to explain what is angering so many people in the special operations community, because they’re aware of the CIF.
He then explained why Panetta was lying about there not being enough time to send them:
The bottom line is this – did the president have an option? He did. What Leon Panetta said about “real-time informationâ€, when Leon Panetta was saying that on Thursday, we know that’s a LIE. Because we’ve known for weeks that there was a predator drone orbiting the Benghazi consulate. Have US forces been sent places with less information? YES. I can personally vouch for being sent places where my initial mission was to find out what was going on.
There’s no such principle that you don’t deploy people without information.
So there it is. Panetta and Hillary LIED to the American public over and over, and the media never pressed them enough to demand answers.
And this information has been available since a MONTH after the attack…
“This would completely contradict the claim from Hillary and Leon Panetta that no forces were available and within reach to provide help to the compound that was under siege.”
No time?
First, how can you say there is no time when you have no idea how long the siege will last.
Second, as explained by Col Phil ‘Hands’ Handley, there was time (http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/191373/betrayal-benghazi-colonel-phil-handley):
BETRAYAL IN BENGHAZI - The gross violation of the U.S. Military’s sacred combat code.
The combat code of the US Military is that we don’t abandon our dead or wounded on the battlefield. In US Air Force lingo, fighter pilots don’t run off and leave their wingmen. If one of our own is shot down, still alive and not yet in enemy captivity, we will either come to get him or die trying. Among America’s fighting forces, the calm, sure knowledge that such an irrevocable bond exists is priceless. Along with individual faith and personal grit, it is a sacred trust that has often sustained hope in the face of terribly long odds.
The disgraceful abandonment of our Ambassador and those brave ex-SEALs who fought to their deaths to save others in that compound is nothing short of dereliction-of-duty. Additionally, the patently absurd cover-up scenario that was fabricated in the aftermath was an outright lie in attempt to shield the President and the Secretary of State from responsibility.
It has been over eight months since the attack on our compound in Benghazi. The White House strategy, with the aid of a “lap dog press” has been to run out the clock before the truth is forthcoming. The recent testimonies of the three “whistle blowers” have reopened the subject and hopefully will lead to exposure and disgrace of those responsible for this embarrassing debacle.
It would appear that the most recent firewall which the Administration is counting on is the contention that there were simply no military assets that could be brought to bear in time to make a difference. . .mainly due to the unavailability of tanker support for fighter aircraft. This is simply BS, regardless how many supposed “experts” the Administration trot out to make such an assertion. The bottom line is that even if the closest asset capable of response was half-way around the world, you don’t just sit on your penguin ass and do nothing. The fact is that the closest asset was not half-way around the world, but as near as Aviano Air Base, Italy where two squadrons of F-16Cs are based.
Consider the following scenario (all times Benghazi local):
When Hicks in Tripoli receives a call at 9:40 PM from Ambassador Stevens informing him “Greg, we are under attack!” (his last words), he immediately notifies all agencies and prepares for the immediate initiation of an existing “Emergency Response Plan.” At AFRICON, General Carter Ham attempts to mount a rescue effort, but is told to “stand down.” By 10:30 PM an unarmed drone is overhead the compound and streaming live feed to various Command and Control Agencies. . .and everyone watching that feed knew damn well what was going on. At 11:30 PM Woods, Doherty and five others leave Tripoli, arriving in Benghazi at 1:30 AM on Wednesday morning, where they hold off the attacking mob from the roof of the compound until they are killed by a mortar direct hit at 4:00 AM.
So nothing could have been done, eh? Nonsense. If one assumes that tanker support really was not available. . .what about this:
1. When at 10:00 PM AFRICON alerts the 31st TFW Command Post in Aviano Air Base, Italy of the attack, the Wing Commander orders preparation for the launch of two F-16s and advises the Command Post at NAS Sigonella to prepare for hot pit refueling and quick turn of the jets.
2. By 11:30 PM, two F-16Cs with drop tanks and each armed with five hundred 20 MM rounds are airborne. Flying at 0.92 mach they will cover the 522 nautical miles directly to NAS Sigonella in 1.08 hours.
3. While in-route, the flight lead is informed of the tactical situation, rules of engagement, and radio frequencies to use.
4. The jets depart Sigonella at 1:10 AM with full fuel load and cover the 377 nautical miles directly to Benghazi in 0.8 hours, arriving at 1:50 AM… which would be 20 minutes after the arrival of Woods, Doherty and their team.
5. Providing that the two F-16s initial pass over the mob, in full afterburner at 200 feet and 550 knots did not stop the attack in its tracks, only a few well placed strafing runs on targets of opportunity would assuredly do the trick.
6. Were the F-16s fuel state insufficient to recover at Sigonelli after jettisoning their external drop tanks, they could easily do so at Tripoli International Airport, only one-half hour away.
7. As for those hand-wringing naysayers who would worry about IFR clearances, border crossing authority, collateral damage, landing rights, political correctness and dozens of other reasons not to act. . .screw them. It is high time that our “leadership” get their priorities straight and put America’s interests first.
The end result would be that Woods and Doherty would be alive.
Dozens in the attacking rabble would be rendezvousing with “72 virginsâ€â€¦ and a clear message would have been sent to the next worthless POS terrorist contemplating an attack on Americans that it is not really a good idea to “tug on Superman’s cape.”
Of course all this would depend upon a Commander In Chief who was more concerned with saving the lives of those he put in harm’s way than getting his crew rest for a campaign fund raising event in Las Vegas the next day. As well as a Secretary of State that actually understood “What difference did it make?”, or a Secretary of Defense whose immediate response was not to the effect that “One of the military tenants is that you don’t commit assets until you fully understand the tactical situation.” Was he not watching a live feed from the unarmed drone. . .and he didn’t understand the tactical situation? YGBSM!
Ultimately it comes down to the question of who gave that order to “stand down?” Whoever that coward turns out to be should be exposed, removed from office, and face criminal charges for dereliction of duty. The combat forces of the United States of America deserve leadership that really does “have their back” when the chips are down.
Colonel Phil “Hands” Handley, USAF (Ret.) is credited with the highest speed air-to-air gun kill in the history of aerial combat. He flew operationally for all but 11 months of a 26-year career, in aircraft such as the F-86 Sabre, F-15 Eagle, and the C-130A Hercules. Additionally, he flew 275 combat missions during two tours in Southeast Asia in the F-4D and F-4E. His awards include 21 Air Medals, 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and the Silver Star. (http://www.goefoundation.org/index.php/eagles/biographies/h/handley-phil-hands/)
True. . .they were more concerned about another “Blackhawk Down” situation than saving American lives.
Seriously.
They killed people to help their election.
Only according to Russia AFAIK.
I can’t confirm it. There simply isn’t enough information for me at this point.
Good question.
Are all of those 32 democrats and doing the usual democrat thing—doing everything they can to protect the democrat machine?
Could not have stopped the attack BUT she could have allowed the military to save them.
See Post 181 and 182.
Thank you Rep. Trey Gowdy...for absolutely NOTHING!
The troops were ordered by their military commander to “spin up” and then when denied by Hitlery, they were ordered to stand down by commanders.
Please see Post 181.
PFL
Ham was right and someone gave the order to stand down and kick him to the side.
I thought the amount was 6 BILLION. Did I misunderstand that? Thanks
“PFL?”
Please help me understand what that acronym means.
Thanks.
Where was the nearest carrier? I bet a couple determined Marine F-18s inbound at mach 1 plus might ruin that crowd’s day if they stuck around.
No I think you are correct. My mind glitched!
Jpsb might need meds of his own---of the anti-nausea variety---after reading the first two pages of this thread. I counted seventeen Freepers saying a dictator is what we need (beginning at post #5).
Thanks for the appalling news, though the intellectual dishonesty of not recognizing what they are doing is perhaps more appalling to me than their willingness to embrace a dictator.
If virtually no one is going to ever try following the constitution again, formally ditching the constitution and adopting a dictatorship is something that one might consider. Still, one ought to be up front about it, and if some one is going to advocate a dictator, is Trump the best they can come up with?
I’d hope for one more kick at the can of a constitutional order pursued constitutionally, and failing that, a marine attempting to restore constitutional order through extraconstitutional means.
“PFL?â€
“Please help me understand what that acronym means.
Thanks.”
PFL=Ping For Later. Just a way to bookmark a post, or thread for future reading, or reference. I appreciated the information in your post and wanted to mark it so that I could refer back to it in the future. Thanks for posting it!
What sickens me the most about it is that it happens on what is supposed to be ‘the’ most conservative site on the web.
I expect the general public to have it’s share of people craving their own subjugation. Yhay I cannot grasp is why, on a conservative site, such idiocy isn’t dogpiled by everyone. But it isn’t. It just goes on and on.
I suppose I do understand. It’s just another aspect of what I often say. Many people want liberalism. But as cynical as I am, it’s still hard grasp that my fellow ‘conservatives’ arent willing to fight for what they claim, but obviously don’t really believe in. And if they won’t fight anonymous liberals among them, they sure as hell won’t fight when the crap gets real.
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