Once again, Two questions on Benghazi
The term “stand down order” has been used to describe multiple orders/non-orders. My question about a “stand down order” concerns the very first one.
When the mission, consulate, whatever you want to call the place where the ambassador was first came under attack, certain people at the “CIA annex”, who were ready to run to the sound of the guns were told, by phone, not to do so. They were ordered to “stand down.” This information was reported by Katherine Herridge as coming from “people on the ground.”
Who was it that gave that order to NOT go to the aid of the ambassador? This was before Stevens was determined to be “missing”, before the 7:30 PM WH meeting and before any US military assets were ordered mustered.
My second question is WHY were there some 30-40 people at this “CIA annex”? What was their mission? WHAT were they doing there?
With Gen. Dempsey beside him at the witness table, Mr. Panetta asserted that the U.S. military “spared no effort to save” the lives of Stevens, State Department officer Sean Smith and former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.
He argued that the manner in which the violence unfolded in Benghazi — with an attack on a diplomatic post, where Mr. Stevens is believed to have died, and a second on a nearby CIA annex, where the former SEALs were killed — rendered an effective counterstrike or rescue attempt impossible.
“These were actually two short-duration attacks that occurred some six hours apart,” Mr. Panetta said. “We were not dealing with a prolonged assault that could have been brought to an end by a U.S. military response.”
The assertion drew a harsh criticism from Mr. Graham, who asked: “Did you know how long the attack was going to last, Secretary Panetta?”
“No idea,” the defense secretary responded.
“Was any airplane launched anywhere in the world to help these people?” pressed Mr. Graham as the tension filled the hearing room.
Mr. Panetta said C-130 aircraft were ultimately flown in to evacuate American survivors, but Mr. Dempsey responded that if Mr. Graham was “talking about a strike aircraft,” the answer was no.
The exchange seemed to define Thursday’s hearing, during which Republicans demanded to know why there had not been a more robust U.S. military response to the attack and why the Obama administration had not immediately recognized the incident as a coordinated act of terrorism.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/7/panetta-no-time-military-response-benghazi-attack/
30-40 people. Shame on them for keeping silent.
There WAS a gun running mission that blew up in their faces and they did NOTHING but protect their own political ass!!!
I wish we,would get the answers however our government is Corrupt on BOTH SIDES !!! USEXIT!!! MR. TRUMP MUST clean out this cesspool!!!!!