First. I have to say that Jennifer Griffin deserves a Pulitzer Prize for her hard wonk on this! This article sights sources who were on the ground during the terrorist attack. Requests for military assistance from the CIA Annex were denied, first on the attack on the consulate and later when the annex was attacked, several hours later. This article reports the denials came from the CIA, however, General Petraeus, head of the CIA has categorically denied that anyone at any level of the CIA denied the requests for help.
When former Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods and others were ready to respond to the attack on the Ambassador, they were told to "stand down". According to sources, they were told to "stand down" a second time. Woods and two others responded any way and found the consulate on fire. Not being able to find the Ambassador, they returned to the annex.
When the annex came under attack, a request was made and denied for military assistance. The team was in constant radio contact with headquarters, so lack of communication was not an issue. One member of the team was manning a heavy machine gun on the roof and they had at least one laser designator to illuminate targets. A request for an AC-130 Spectre gunship was also denied. The fighting at the annex went on for four hours, there was sufficient time to scramble F/A18's from Sigonella Naval Air Station in Sicily which was about 480 miles away. It is important to remember the the team at the annex had at least one laser designator. For those not familiar with this device, it is used to guide laser guided bombs to the targets.
Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, claimed that there was not a clear enough picture of what was occurring on the ground to send additional force to rescue those at the annex. In the opinion of many military experts and in my opinion, this is unmitigated bullcrap! There were drones in the air and there were two former Navy SEALs on the ground who are well trained in assessing the combat situation on the ground. Again, remember there were no communications issues.
The American public and more importantly, the families of those killed, deserve the truth on what happened and why the was no attempt to send the military into Benghazi.
What did the civilian command authority know and when did they know it. Who gave the orders to deny military assistance and who will be held accountable!
The Situation Room needs to be renamed the SNAFU, accent on the F, room. The more bits and pieces that come out the angrier I am about this - as you and others are. What troubles me are the sheep who do not see - in particular, I have a young cousin, 20 something, who did time in Afghanisan - still in the military, and he - and his libbie father - literally suck up everythiing 'bama says and you would not believe the anti-Romney posts on both their timelines. I am wondering on the extent of mental illness on my mother's side of the family.
ReplyDeleteSome people think Obama is a god.
ReplyDeleteThe request for help from the CIA’s agents in Benghazi surely followed the line of command. Let’s follow that line of command:
ReplyDeleteThe CIA’s agents in Benghazi, who made the request, should have contacted their superiors in Tripoli.
CIA officials in Tripoli should have sent the request to the Regional CIA headquarters.
The Regional CIA head should have forwarded the request to the CIA headquarters in Washington, where tit should have been relayed to General Petraeus, CIA Director.
General Petraeus reports to the Director of National Intelligence, General Crapper.
General Crapper, who is also Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, should have notified Secretary of Defense Panetta and the White House. What person in the White House could General Crapper have contacted is not known (it is in the public dominion that President Obama has been absent from the national intelligence daily briefings since he is running his re-election campaign,) but surely he stated that the President should be notified immediately.
The president is the only person that may order American troops into a foreign country, thus order to send armed forces to rescue the CIA’s agents under attack have to come from him.
If we follow this line of command it is clear who denied the request.
I agree with your analysis!
ReplyDelete