Republicans have been attacking the Obama administration over the Benghazi attack since it occurred. The Republican’s criticism has varied over time as their various charges have proven to be false, but one constant has been a generic “lack of security.”
One criticism that some Republicans have made was that there should have been more security in place. What they fail to mention is that Congressional Republicans had an opportunity to fund additional security for the State Department and refused to do so. Highly trained security personnel are expensive, but Congressional Republicans have an opportunity now to make the investment that will protect our diplomats abroad. Will they?
Here, thanks to CBS and Fox News, is the truth about Benghazi.
Benghazi Timeline, The Truth at Last.
Fox News released a Benghazi timeline in October 2012 whose specific criticism was that the administration failed to send a rescue force from Europe to the compound in Benghazi when needed. This line of attack motivated Defense Secretary Panetta to issue a statement and reply to the charge. He said "… the basic principle here ... is that you don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on."
Frederick the Great, (1712-1786) King of Prussia, may be consulted for insight on the issue of a hastily improvised rescue mission. He has listed some general maxims or rules for strategy “according to the situation in which one finds Himself.”
[Clarifications in brackets provided by me]
1. Whoever wants to undertake a war [or a battle] must procure accurate knowledge of the strength of the enemy that he is about to fight and of the assistance that the enemy can draw from his allies, in order to compare the enemy’s forces to his own and to judge which side is superior.
2. It is necessary to have an accurate knowledge of the country [or town] where one wants to wage war [or fight a battle] in order to arrange the details of the intended expedition [or rescue mission] accordingly.
3. You must pay the greatest attention to the provisions [and weapons and ammo] you will need for this campaign [or rescue mission] and must not limit your activities to collecting them, but must think beforehand of means to facilitate their transport. [example, a secure and safe LZ, or landing zone]
Also,
1. Your strategy must pursue an important objective. Undertake only what is possible and reject whatever is chimerical. …Give battle only when you have reason to hope that your success will be decisive…
2. Never deceive yourself, but picture skillfully all the measures that the enemy will take to oppose your plans, in order never to be caught by surprise. Then, having foreseen everything in advance, you will already have remedies prepared for any eventuality.
3. Know the mind of the opposing generals [or terrorist leaders] in order better to divine their actions….
4. Consider all the mischief that the enemy can do to you and prevent it by your prudence.
5. Leave as little to fortune as possible by your foresight- chance will still have too much influence in military operations.
(Jay Luvaas, Frederick the Great and the Art of War. The Free Press. New York. 1966. Pages 334-335)
What has been lost in the back and forth over the attack in Benghazi is that a Rescue Force was sent to the compound. This Rescue Force was dispatched from Tripoli and arrived as quickly as humanly possible, in a matter of hours. Both the CBS and Fox News timeline details the arrival of the Rescue Force and the results. The Rescue Force safely evacuated the diplomats and security teams from the compound and to the airport in Benghazi. This was the 2nd Rescue Force dispatched.
The first Rescue Force was the Benghazi CIA contingent accompanied by a friendly Libyan militia who traveled the one mile from the CIA compound and evacuated all Americans from the State Department facility. They recovered the body of Sean Smith and returned to the CIA compound.
CBS News/ November 2, 2012, 8:55 PM
Benghazi timeline: How the attack unfolded
Besides Building C, where Ambassador Stevens was staying, there are three other structures in the compound: Building B, a residence with bedrooms, a cantina and dining room; a Tactical Operations Center (TOC) located across from building B, containing offices, one bedroom and security cameras; and barracks located by the front gate, staffed by Libyan security guards.
At this time, there are five diplomatic security agents (DS) on site - three based in Benghazi and two traveling with Stevens. According to a U.S. State Department account given Oct. 9, 2012, there was "nothing unusual outside of the gates. "
9:40 p.m. (3:40 p.m. ET): Gunfire and an explosion are heard. A TOC agent sees dozens of armed people over security camera flowing through a pedestrian gate at the compound's main entrance. It is not clear how the gate was opened.
The agent hits the alarm and alerts the CIA security team in the nearby annex and the Libyan 17th of February Brigade, one of several powerful militias serving as a de facto security presence in Benghazi. The embassy in Tripoli and the State Dept. command center were also alerted.
Around 10 p.m. (4 p.m. ET): At the compound, several DS agents leave to get “tactical gear” from Building B. One agent stays in Building C with Ambassador Stevens and Information Officer Sean Smith. The mob sets fire to the 17th of February Brigade barracks on site.
DS agent Scott Strickland moves Stevens and Smith to the closest "safe haven" in Building C.
The other agents, currently in Building B and the TOC come under attack.
The attackers get into Building C, light furniture on fire, then the building's exterior. (Ambassador) Stevens, (Sean) Smith and Agent Strickland move to the bathroom and lay on the floor but decide to leave the safe haven after being overcome by smoke.
Strickland goes out an emergency escape window. Stevens and Smith do not follow. Strickland returns several times but can't find them in the overwhelming smoke. He goes up to the roof and radios the other agents.
Three agents return to Building C via armored vehicle. They search and find Smith's body, but not Stevens.
10:25 p.m. (4:25 p.m. ET): A six-member CIA team arrives from the (CIA) annex with 40 to 60 members of 17th of February Brigade. The team removes Smith's body.
At the compound, the 17th of February Brigade says they can't hold the perimeter and withdraws.
DS agents make final search for Stevens and leave with the CIA team in an armored vehicle heading for the annex, taking fire along the way.
Around 12:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. ET): A six-man security team, including two Defense Dept. personnel, leave Embassy Tripoli for Benghazi.
1:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. ET): The U.S. security team from Embassy Tripoli lands in Benghazi and learn that the ambassador is missing. They try to arrange for transportation into town, with the goal of locating Stevens.
5:15 a.m. (11:15 p.m. ET): The U.S. Regional Security Office in Tripoli gets a phone call from an Arabic-speaking source who says a Westerner has been found in Benghazi and is perhaps at a hospital. It's believed to be Ambassador Stevens. Transfer to airport is arranged.
At around the same time, [actually earlier] the additional security team finds transportation from the airport under the escort of the Libyan Shield, another local militia, but decides to head to the annex after learning that Stevens was almost certainly dead. Just after their arrival, the annex takes mortar fire, sustaining three direct hits. The precision of the attacks indicates a level of sophistication and coordination.
Former U.S. Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty are killed in the mortar assault, which lasts just 11 minutes before dissipating; a DS agent and annex security member are severely wounded.
After the mortar attack, about 30 Americans evacuate the annex and head to the airport, with the assistance of the Libyan security convoy.
Ambassador Stevens is confirmed dead later that morning, as Americans see his body at the airport
Around 7:40 a.m. (1:40 a.m. ET): Unable to fit on one plane, the first wave of Americans - consisting of U.S. diplomats and civilians - departs Benghazi and heads to Tripoli, leaving behind security staff and bodies.
Around 10:00 a.m. (4 a.m. ET): The second flight leaves Benghazi for Tripoli with U.S. security members and bodies.
Around 8 p.m. (2 p.m. ET): U.S. special forces team arrives in Sigonella, Sicily, becoming the first military unit in the region.
Around 9 p.m. (3 p.m. ET): A FAST platoon arrives in Tripoli.
10:19 p.m. (4:19 p.m. ET) The C-17 carrying Stevens' body and the other Americans arrives in Ramstein.
© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.cbsnews.com/...
The Republican Conspiracy says outright that the Obama administration “covered up” details about the attack for partisan political reasons. Yes, there was a political party and presidential candidate who tried to exploit the attack for partisan political reasons and with the upcoming election in mind, but it was the Republican candidate and party, not the Democratic.
10:25pm EST, 9/11/12, Mitt Romney releases a statement slamming the Obama Administration:
"I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks."
According to CBS, the U.S. Embassy statement from Cairo in question was issued before the attack in Libya.
And, 12:01am EST, 9/12/12 One minute after midnight, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus tweets:
"Obama sympathizes with attackers in Egypt. Sad and pathetic."
What is sad and pathetic is that the two leading figures in the Republican party cannot get their facts straight, or more likely, don’t care to, when a falsehood is more politically effective. Did they coordinate their statements? That would be the definition of a conspiracy.
But what about the Fox News version of the events released less than ten days before the election. The Fox News version will be taken as gospel by many Americans.
EXCLUSIVE: CIA operators were denied request for help during Benghazi attack, sources say
By Jennifer Griffin. Published October 26, 2012. FoxNews.com
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/...
[This will be an edited version of the Fox News article. My comments will focus on Fox News contradictions with the CBS version. The entire Fox News time-line is located at the end of the article.]
Fox says: Fox News has learned from sources who were on the ground in Benghazi that an urgent request from the CIA annex for military back-up during the attack on the U.S. consulate and subsequent attack several hours later on the annex itself was denied by the CIA chain of command -- who also told the CIA operators twice 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.
[This is denied by the CIA and highly unlikely. The phrase “CIA chain of command” is vague and meaningless. The awkwardly worded paragraph is confusing as to when “military back up” was denied. We know from the CBS time-line that the Tripoli Rescue team was dispatched by plane at 12:30 AM and arrived at the Benghazi airport at 1:30 AM. The Rescue Team was delayed while transportation was arranged through a local militia. This was predictable.]
Fox says: Former Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods was part of a small team who was at the CIA annex about a mile from the U.S. consulate where Ambassador Chris Stevens and his team came under attack. When he and others heard the shots fired, they informed their higher-ups at the annex to tell them what they were hearing and requested permission to go to the consulate and help out. They were told to "stand down," according to sources familiar with the exchange. Soon after, they were again told to "stand down."
[This paragraph finally explains the vague “chain of command” phrase, “higher ups at the CIA annex gave the order.” One might presume from the first paragraph in the Fox time-line that the “stand down” order came from Washington, D.C. The CBS time-line says that the agent manning the TOC alerted the annex as well as the local Libyan militia “17th of September Brigade,” who were in their barracks at the compound. Fox News barely mentions the presence of this Libyan militia, a curious omission, since their primary task was protection of the compound. The stand down order was only temporary and was probably issued in order to wait for the Libyan militia to rally at the CIA annex, which they did.]
Fox says: Woods 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 rescue team 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.
[This paragraph represents a combination of two separate actions and as described is probably mostly imaginary. According to the CBS time-line, between 9:40 and 10:25, three DS (Diplomatic Security) agents were present in the compound. At 10 PM, two unnamed DS agents went to Building B to obtain “tactical gear.” They were pinned down by terrorist gunfire. The terrorists attacked the Libyan militia barracks and set it on fire. One DS agent remained with the two diplomats, and when the terrorists gained entrance and set the building on fire, the agent took the diplomats to a safe area. The agent attempted to lead the diplomats out of an escape window, but they did not follow.]
[All of these actions happened somewhat simultaneously and quickly following the entrance to the compound by the attackers. At some point, according to CBS, three unnamed (DS, not CIA) agents “return” in an armored vehicle to the residence and discover Smith’s body, but not Stevens. They do not remove the body at that point. Thus, Ambassador Stevens and Smith had died within the first 45 minutes. These three unnamed agents could have been Tyrone Woods and two companions but this would not be a “return,” but their first visit. Therefore it is likely that these agents were stationed at the State Department facility, not the CIA annex.]
[Fox leaves out the arrival of the 6 CIA agents from the annex, almost certainly including Tyrone Woods and Glenn Doherty, accompanied by 40-60 Libyan militia members. According to CBS, they search for Stevens body and remove Smith’s body. They return to the CIA annex around midnight. What Fox describes next, the mortar attack, happens about four hours later, not “ at that point.”]
Fox says: 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 to 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 Spectre 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.
[According to CBS, the mortar attack lasted about 11 minutes.]
[The Fox timeline is confusing and misleading, almost certainly deliberately so. Because no time estimate is given the Fox timeline is rendered meaningless. The mortar attack described by Fox happened at four AM, not right after midnight, which Fox News tries to imply. More importantly, the Tripoli Rescue Force, including Libyan militia members in dozens of vehicles some of which were mounted with 50 caliber machine guns had arrived at approximately 3 AM.]
[Fox says the CIA team called for help and were denied. However, at the first call for help at the start of the attack earlier in the evening, the Tripoli Rescue Force immediately prepared to deploy. The 6 men of the rescue force would need some time to collect their gear and gather intelligence, and the plane would need to be pre-flight checked. There were no other military assets who could arrive any quicker than the team based in Tripoli. They left Tripoli at 12:30 AM and arrived at the Benghazi airport at 1:30 AM. At that point in time, the fighting at the CIA annex had died down]
Also, it’s not likely that there were any Spectre gun ships based anywhere in the area. Diplomatic embassy’s usually don’t rate gun ship protection.]
[According to CBS at 10:25 p.m. a six-member CIA team arrives from the annex with 40 to 60 (read 50) members of the 17th of February Brigade. The team removes Smith's body. Again, Woods was probably a member of this group. The attack began at 9:40.]
[At the compound, the 17th of February Brigade says they can't hold the perimeter and withdraws. It’s not clear if they return to their barracks or to their homes.]
[The team secures Smith’s body. DS agents make a final search for Stevens and leave with the CIA team in an armored vehicle heading for the annex, taking fire along the way.]
[CBS says the team returns to the CIA annex at approximately midnight.]
Fox says: CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood denied the claims that requests for support were turned down.
"We can say with confidence that the Agency reacted quickly to aid our colleagues during that terrible evening in Benghazi," she said. "Moreover, no one at any level in the CIA told anybody not to help those in need; claims to the contrary are simply inaccurate. In fact, it is important to remember how many lives were saved by courageous Americans who put their own safety at risk that night-and that some of those selfless Americans gave their lives in the effort to rescue their comrades."
[Fox implies incorrectly that the fighting at the CIA annex went on for more than four hours (midnight to four a.m.)-- enough time for any planes based in Sigonella Air base, 480 miles away, to arrive.]
Fox says: Fox News has also learned that two separate Tier One Special operations forces were told to wait, among them Delta Force operators.
[CBS does not document that fighting was going on over the span of four hours. According to US officials quoted by Fox News “… there was a period of several hours when the fighting stopped before the mortars were fired at the annex, (the fighting had stopped from approximately midnight to 4 a.m.) leading officials to believe the attack was over.” ]
Fox News says there were military assets in the joint Italian US Naval Air base in Sigonella, Sicily that could have come to Benghazi and saved the day. Fox News also conducted a separate interview with a disgruntled special operator who says this rescue force could have arrived in Benghazi in four to six hours, (read five) however, for all intents and purposes, the main fighting was over.
[But as to the claim of this person, the second rescue force would have arrived in the Benghazi airport, and stood around for hours waiting for the local militia to come back and show them the way to the compound. The local militia had already linked up with the Tripoli Rescue Force and left for the compound.]
[Certainly there would not have been vehicles at the airport terminal at three or four in the morning to ferry this larger force, which, as it turned out, was not needed anyway. Even in an emergency such as this, no commander in his right mind would have sent his troops into dangerous territory without sufficient knowledge of the terrain, and without knowing the capabilities of the forces that might oppose his troops, or without local guides. No US military leader would want to go down in history as the guy who led his troops into the Battle of the Little Bighorn 2, not should he.]
[One question that Fox News must account for, is, why did Fox blatantly disrespect and barely mention the heroic actions of the CIA Rescue Force and the Tripoli Rescue Force? Why did Fox News consider them to be an inadequate response? Why did Fox News insist that other US military personnel had to be flown in to save the day? Is it only because they weren’t?]
[Obviously these other special forces soldiers stationed in Europe are some of the best in the world. But what about the four special operators who flew in from Tripoli, and the two other military guys assigned to the Tripoli embassy, who probably volunteered to tag along and share the danger. Why did Fox News disrespect the bravery and potential sacrifice of the Tripoli Rescue Force?]
[If there had been Spectre gun ships shipped in on AF cargo planes, ground crews with spare parts would have had to set up a temporary base. The gun ships would have had to be reassembled, fueled, armed and flight checked which would have consumed precious hours.]
[Meanwhile, by that time, which would have been approximately seven in the morning, according to the CBS timeline, all of the Benghazi personnel would have arrived at the airport and the first group would have been evacuated to safety.]
[Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday that there was not a clear enough picture of what was occurring on the ground in Benghazi to send help. (Other than the help already sent from Tripoli. See comments by Frederic the Great above)]
[Frederic the Great would have agreed with the Defense Secretary. "There's a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking going on here," Panetta said Thursday. "But the basic principle here ... is that you don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on."]
Fox says: Tyrone Woods was later joined at the scene (the CIA annex) by fellow former Navy SEAL Glen Doherty, who was sent in from Tripoli as part of a Global Response Staff or GRS that provides security to CIA case officers and provides countersurveillance and surveillance protection. They were killed by a mortar shell at 4 a.m. Libyan time, nearly seven hours after the attack on the consulate began -- a window that represented more than enough time for the U.S. military to send back-up from nearby bases in Europe, according to sources familiar with Special Operations.
[That would be a serious charge, except for the inconvenient fact that, according to both Fox and CBS, the Tripoli Rescue Force was already on the scene, accompanied by Libyan militia in dozens of vehicles.]
Fox says: Four mortar(s) [shells]? were fired at the annex. The first one struck outside the annex. Three more hit the annex.
[Fox switches the order of the previous paragraph and the following paragraph in order to encourage the reader to conclude falsely that the agents were carelessly, callously and needlessly left in the lurch. Thus readers would be deceived into thinking the US military, the civilian run Defense Department, President Obama and Susan Rice are all incompetent and a threat to the Republican Party’s way of life.]
Fox says: A motorcade of dozens of Libyan vehicles, some mounted with 50 caliber machine guns, belonging to the February 17th Brigades, [CBS says it was the Libyan Shield Militia] a Libyan militia which is friendly to the U.S., finally [!] showed up at the CIA annex at approximately 3 a.m. An American Quick Reaction Force sent from Tripoli had arrived at the Benghazi airport at 2 a.m. (four hours after the initial attack on the consulate) and was delayed for 45 minutes at the airport because they could not at first get transportation, allegedly due to confusion among Libyan militias who were supposed to escort them to the annex, according to Benghazi sources.
[It’s interesting that this paragraph contains the first use of the word “allegedly,” and here it refers to the easily foreseen transportation snafu at the airport with the Libyan militia. Obviously, the fact that a Rescue Force has arrived in Benghazi at this early moment pretty much undermines the conclusions of the Fox news time-line that help was requested but not sent. The timely arrival of the Tripoli Rescue Force also undermines the Republican’ politician’s talking points as well.]
[The delay of the arrival of the Libyan militia is easily explained in “welcome to the real world” terms. The leader of this US friendly militia was probably not called until after ten o’clock, local time, quite possibly later. The militia leader would then have to notify all of his men, the dozens of vehicles would need to be gassed and armed and the soldiers would have to be called up and rendezvoused at some safe rally point. Then, as a convoy, they would safely proceed to the airport and link up with the Rescue Force. The militia would not be so naïve as the Fox News team apparently is to think that any rescue force would not be a prime target of the terrorists.]
[Once the probably deliberately misleading statements are corrected, even Fox admits that dozens of Libyan vehicles escorting the Rescue Force from Tripoli had arrived an hour earlier than the mortar attack which killed Navy Seals Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, and seriously wounded two other Americans.]
[There is a discrepancy between Fox and CBS as to the exact arrival time of the Rescue Force, but both agree that the Rescue Force was on the scene when the mortar attack took place.]
[In fact, it is almost certain that the mortar attack was triggered by the very presence of the Tripoli Rescue Force. This was Mogadishu redux. This sort of follow up attack is standard operating procedure for Al-Queda linked terrorists whose goal would have been to ambush and kill any American reinforcements rushing to the scene.]
[Had one of the military units from Europe been deployed to Benghazi, they would have only presented more targets for the Terrorists to shoot at. For all practical purposes, the fighting was over by around midnight. Most of the terrorists had left, only the mortar squad was left behind to shoot at the US rescu force.]
The Fox News time-line was illogical, inaccurate and almost certainly deliberately misleading. It’s no wonder that politicians, citizens and pundits who depend on Fox News for their news are often-times seriously misinformed.
Jim McMeans
Danielsville, GA
The entire Fox News timeline and the Special Operator interview are located below,
EXCLUSIVE: CIA operators were denied request for help during Benghazi attack, sources say
By Jennifer Griffin. Published October 26, 2012. FoxNews.com
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/...
Fox News has learned from sources who were on the ground in Benghazi that an urgent request from the CIA annex for military back-up during the attack on the U.S. consulate and subsequent attack several hours later on the annex itself was denied by the CIA chain of command -- who also told the CIA operators twice 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 SEAL Tyrone Woods was part of a small team who was at the CIA annex about a mile from the U.S. consulate where Ambassador Chris Stevens and his team came under attack. When he and others heard the shots fired, they informed their higher-ups at the annex to tell them what they were hearing and requested permission to go to the consulate and help out. They were told to "stand down," according to sources familiar with the exchange. Soon after, they were again told to "stand down."
Woods 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 rescue team 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 to 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 Spectre 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.
CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood, though, denied the claims that requests for support were turned down.
"We can say with confidence that the Agency reacted quickly to aid our colleagues during that terrible evening in Benghazi," she said. "Moreover, no one at any level in the CIA told anybody not to help those in need; claims to the contrary are simply inaccurate. In fact, it is important to remember how many lives were saved by courageous Americans who put their own safety at risk that night-and that some of those selfless Americans gave their lives in the effort to rescue their comrades."
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.
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 were never told to deploy. In fact, a Pentagon official says there were never any requests to deploy assets from outside the country. 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. Spectre gunships are commonly used by the Special Operations community to provide close air support.
According to sources on the ground during the attack, the special operator on the roof of the CIA annex had visual contact and a laser pointing at the Libyan mortar team that was targeting the CIA annex. The operators were calling in coordinates of where the Libyan forces were firing from.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday that there was not a clear enough picture of what was occurring on the ground in Benghazi to send help.
"There's a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking going on here," Panetta said Thursday. "But the basic principle here ... is that you don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on."
U.S. officials argue that there was a period of several hours when the fighting stopped before the mortars were fired at the annex, leading officials to believe the attack was over.
Fox News has learned that there were two military surveillance drones redirected to Benghazi shortly after the attack on the consulate began. They were already in the vicinity. The second surveillance craft was sent to relieve the first drone, perhaps due to fuel issues. Both were capable of sending real time visuals back to U.S. officials in Washington, D.C. Any U.S. official or agency with the proper clearance, including the White House Situation Room, State Department, CIA, Pentagon and others, could call up that video in real time on their computers.
Tyrone Woods was later joined at the scene by fellow former Navy SEAL Glen Doherty, who was sent in from Tripoli as part of a Global Response Staff or GRS that provides security to CIA case officers and provides countersurveillance and surveillance protection. They were killed by a mortar shell at 4 a.m. Libyan time, nearly seven hours after the attack on the consulate began -- a window that represented more than enough time for the U.S. military to send back-up from nearby bases in Europe, according to sources familiar with Special Operations. Four mortars were fired at the annex. The first one struck outside the annex. Three more hit the annex.
A motorcade of dozens of Libyan vehicles, some mounted with 50 caliber machine guns, belonging to the February 17th Brigades, a Libyan militia which is friendly to the U.S., finally showed up at the CIA annex at approximately 3 a.m. An American Quick Reaction Force sent from Tripoli had arrived at the Benghazi airport at 2 a.m. (four hours after the initial attack on the consulate) and was delayed for 45 minutes at the airport because they could not at first get transportation, allegedly due to confusion among Libyan militias who were supposed to escort them to the annex, according to Benghazi sources.
The American special operators, Woods, Doherty and at least two others were part of the Global Response Staff, a CIA element, based at the CIA annex and were protecting CIA operators who were part of a mission to track and repurchase arms in Benghazi that had proliferated in the wake of Muammar Qaddafi's fall. Part of their mission was to find the more than 20,000 missing MANPADS, or shoulder-held missiles capable of bringing down a commercial aircraft. According to a source on the ground at the time of the attack, the team inside the CIA annex had captured three Libyan attackers and was forced to hand them over to the Libyans. U.S. officials do not know what happened to those three attackers and whether they were released by the Libyan forces.
Fox News has also learned that Stevens was in Benghazi that day to be present at the opening of an English-language school being started by the Libyan farmer who helped save an American pilot who had been shot down by pro-Qaddafi forces during the initial war to overthrow the regime. That farmer saved the life of the American pilot and the ambassador wanted to be present to launch the Libyan rescuer's new school.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/...
Benghazi Whistleblower Tells Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/...
A military special ops member who watched as the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi unfolded last September told Fox News the U.S. had highly trained forces just a few hours away, and said he and others feel the government betrayed the four men who died in the attack.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, and appearing in a Fox News Channel interview with his face and voice disguised, the special operator contradicted claims by the Obama administration and a State Department review that said there wasn’t enough time for U.S. military forces to have intervened in the Sept. 11 attack in which U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, an embassy employee and two former Navy SEALs working as private security contractors were killed.
“I know for a fact that C-110, the EUCOM CIF, was doing a training exercise in … not in the region of North Africa, but in Europe,” the operator told Fox News' Adam Housley. “And they had the ability to act and to respond.”
“You know, it’s something that’s risky, especially in our line of profession, to say anything about, anything in the realm of politics, or that deals with policy.”
The C-110 is a 40-man Special Ops force capable of rapid response and deployment specifically trained for incidents like last year’s attack in Benghazi. During the night of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack in Libya, in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in Libya, the C-110 were training in Croatia, just 3 ½ hours away.
“We had the ability to load out, get on birds and fly there, at a minimum stage,” the operator told Fox News. “C-110 had the ability to be there, in my opinion, in a matter of about four hours…four to six hours.”
Being so close, C-110s would have been able to respond had there been a second attack, the source added.
“They would have been there at a minimum to provide a quick reaction force that can facilitate their exfil out of the, out of the problem situation. Nobody knew how it was going to develop. And you hear people and a whole bunch of advisers say, 'We wouldn’t have sent them because the security was a unknown situation.'”
The source says the government could have at least sent the C-110s there as backup.
“If it’s an unknown situation, at a minimum, you send forces there to facilitate the exfil, or, or, um medical injuries,” he said. “We could have sent a C-30 to Benghazi to provide medical evacuation for the injured.”
The source says many people connected to the Benghazi bombing feel threatened and are afraid to talk.
“The problem is, you got guys in my position, you got guys in special operations community who are still active and still involved,” the source said. “And they would be decapitated if they came forward with information that would affect high level commanders,” he said.
Despite the concern, the source who spoke to Fox News says there’s a feeling of betrayal in the community that the government left people on the ground in Benghazi to fend for themselves.
“You know, it’s something that’s risky, especially in our line of profession, to say anything about, anything in the realm of politics, or that deals with policy,” the source said.
In December, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen told lawmakers the U.S. did not have personnel close enough to have responded to the siege at the consulate, even though the State Department had been repeatedly warned by embassy staffers concerned about security in Libya.
“It is not reasonable, nor feasible, to tether U.S. forces at the ready to respond to protect every high-risk post in the world,” Mullen said.
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