Benghazi - the gift that keeps on giving

[Fern]

I'm wondering who in the Obama admin etc. is leaking these emails.

The CIA has been thrown 'under the bus'. The State Dept has been thrown 'under the bus'. Somebody appears to be unhappy about being 'under the bus'.

Fern

 

[Charles Kozierok]

Here you go.

http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/50476

Okay, and what's the lie, exactly?

 

[OutHouse]

Okay, and what's the lie, exactly?

you asked for info about the administration watching it live, i gave it to you and so did another poster. and you deflect by asking what is the lie? jesus i guess the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but....

 

[Charles Kozierok]

you asked for info about the administration watching it live, i gave it to you and so did another poster. and you deflect by asking what is the lie? jesus i guess the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but....

Sorry, I should have thanked you for that. But still -- them watching it happening doesn't mean they knew exactly what was going on. Again -- what is the lie?

 

[Socio]

I'm wondering who in the Obama admin etc. is leaking these emails.

The CIA has been thrown 'under the bus'. The State Dept has been thrown 'under the bus'. Somebody appears to be unhappy about being 'under the bus'.

Fern

Hillary Clinton from under the bus perhaps?

 

[Fern]

-snip-

Get this straight all the information wasn't confirmed even over a month after the attack.

There seems to have been plenty of info about the unstable situation in Benghazi prior to the attack.

We know al-Zahawri (sp?) called for an attack.

There was 'real time' info about the attack.

Of course, there was pretty strong data in the days following the attack.

But the one thing we never had was good info indicating it was initiated as a "spontaneous" protest in response to a video. Oddly enough, that was the story we heard.

My questions to you are who gets to confirm it and how much time should it reasonably take to confirm it?

The investigators (FBI etc.) left the site long ago. I am unaware of a single piece of new info our govt has learned about the attack. Now, we are learning stuff new to us (the public), but it's info the Administration had since the beginning. After the leaking of all this info that has been in the Admin's hands does anybody reasonably believe this was anything other than a straight-up terrorist attack? Does anybody reasonably believe that this was a spontaneous demonstration that got out of hand and turned violent?

If the answer is 'no' I must ask how is it that the Admin couldn't come to that same conclusion soooo much sooner?

I think most people find the answer to be obvious.

Fern

 

[Fern]

Hillary Clinton from under the bus perhaps?

Your guess is as good as mine.

And I certainly expect that Hillary hates being under the bus.

Fern

 

[Socio]

There seems to have been plenty of info about the unstable situation in Benghazi prior to the attack.

We know al-Zahawri (sp?) called for an attack.

There was 'real time' info about the attack.

Of course, there was pretty strong data in the days following the attack.

Fern

Not only did they call for it they claimed responsibility for it as it was happening;

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/sta...m-91112-ansar-al-sharia-claims-responsibility

On Sept. 11, 2012, just two hours after the State Department first began notifying government agencies back in Washington--including the White House--that the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was under attack by armed men, State sent out an email that went to at least two people in the White House that said the group Ansar al-Sharia had claimed responsibility for the attack.
The email, which was sent from a State Department address at 6:07 PM on Sept. 11, 2012

 

[zinfamous]

It just keeps on giving! I heard about Hillary, she's going to regret diving under the bus to perpetuate Obama's coverup and lies.

why do you squeal with glee when Americans are murdered by terrorists?

why do you hate our country? are you a secret muslim bent on destroying this country?



pathetic.

 

[zinfamous]

Unless I totally missed it, the implication is that obama got osama and al queda is done..feather for the admin. This attack gives a pretty clear picture that al queda isn't done so no feather and a black eye(maybe). Whoever thought it was a good idea to lie about the attack goofed, trying to protect the feather. If they had just said it was an organized terrorist attack, I imagine this would have been old news by now.

About right?

wait a tic, when did Obama--or anyone--ever claim that taking out Osama would be, and was, the end of Al Qaeda?

that's ridiculous.

If that's the argument that you say people are assuming, that's one thing....it's just a silly argument swimming with conspiracy foolishness.

Drones have been taking out Al Qaeda officials since well after Osama croaked, so the assumption that Obama believes such a thing, much less he wants people to think that terrorism is over, is hysterical.

All I see is a bunch of GOP circle jerking over American deaths, hoping this is a "win," and doing nothing but disgusting the majority of voting public over their callous indignation.

 

[DrewSG3]

The fact people are referring to this tragedy as a "gift" is fucking pathetic

 

[highland145]

why do you squeal with glee when Americans are murdered by terrorists?

why do you hate our country? are you a secret muslim bent on destroying this country?



pathetic.

Dave.....is that you?



The left and right are so blinded by YOU, YOU, YOU that many don't/won't look at the information and decide for themselves. That is what is pathetic. If a R had done the exact same thing in that situation, you would get the same reaction from the D's that you're getting from the R's now.


pathetic.


One day my dumb @#!*% will stay out of P&N.

 

[highland145]

The fact people are referring to this tragedy as a "gift" is @#!*% pathetic

The fact that this has been covered is a tragedy.

pathetic.



LURKER...no thanks.

 

[spidey07]

why do you squeal with glee when Americans are murdered by terrorists?

why do you hate our country? are you a secret muslim bent on destroying this country?



pathetic.

I squeal with glee as obama and this administration of being shown to be complete failures and a full blown cover-up and deception to the American people. It lets Americans see just how bad obama is for our nation and our interests abroad.

Everybody should be happy about that. but keep spinning and deflecting away from the real issue here - Obama's deception and coverup. He knew it was a terrorist attack and yet tried to claim it was because of some video. He knew the ambassador had urgently requested more security.

And then he went off fund raising. This isn't going away. Top senators have already written a letter to obama - "what did you know, and when did you know it, time for you to come clean to the American People" Patriots they are.

 

[Matt1970]

The Obama Administration knew full well this was a Terrorist attack but still went on for 2 weeks blaming it on a YouTube video. He was just scared shitless to have to admit that al Qaeda wasn't running shaking in their boots. Whatever it takes to get re-elected........

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

This whole story is so utterly convoluted it has no hope of being an impact on the election.

 

[spidey07]

This whole story is so utterly convoluted it has no hope of being an impact on the election.

It's not convoluted at all, the facts speak for themselves. And it WILL have an impact on the election. SURPRISE!

Remember Carter?

 

[UberNeuman]

This whole story is so utterly convoluted it has no hope of being an impact on the election.

Let the little dreamers dream on.....

 

[Theb]

I don't feel like the scandal/coverup narrative resonates with most people, but I'm glad you guys are having fun.

 

[highland145]

I don't feel like the scandal/coverup narrative resonates with most people, but I'm glad you guys are having fun.

Links/polls/quotes? Opinions are like....nvm.

 

[spidey07]

I don't feel like the scandal/coverup narrative resonates with most people, but I'm glad you guys are having fun.

Ask Carter and Nixon...

 

[Attic]

I'm upset that when this trajedy was first reported that it was front page news and everybody was talking about the video. Now that the sinister side of the deception levied against the american public for the benefit of the current administrations benefit has been revealed I'm finding the story buried on the same sites who went with front page news prior suggestion the video was to blame.

IMO something like this should cost Obama the election. And if a R was in office it should be the same outcome. Either the President failed to realize what should have been immediatly known or he willingly stood by as the american public was duped about this for what appears to be a self serving line on a reelection bid consideration... A severe lack of character and integrity even for a politician.

Biggest problem the american public has is Obama's ability to campaign and what it's going to do to distract them from his failures and the measure of his failures over the past 4 years.

Looking forward to how this plays out through the weekend.

 

[JEDIYoda]

And I certainly expect that Hillary hates being under the bus.

I heard Hilary prefers being on top......in the drivers seat so to say....

 

[PJABBER]

A number of posters here still can't wrap their heads around what actually happened in Benghazi. It must be that all of the propaganda they listen to on MSLSD, FireDogBake and Demoncrat Underground is swirling around in those open spaces between their ears.

For the record -

1. There was no demonstration in Benghazi

2. There was no reaction to some chintzy YouTube video in Libya at all

The following is a good summary of what did happen -

First, Aid the Living

By Bing West

October 21, 2012 11:39 P.M.

A U.S. ambassador is missing and his diplomatic team is desperately fighting off terrorist attacks. Our commander-in-chief and his national-security team in Washington are listening to the phone calls from the Americans under attack and watching real-time video from a drone circling overhead. Yet the U.S. military sends no aid. Why?

On September 11, at about 10 p.m. Libyan time (4 p.m. in Washington), Ambassador Chris Stevens and a small staff were inside our consulate in Benghazi when terrorists attacked. The consulate staff immediately contacted Washington and our embassy in Tripoli. The White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, and numerous military headquarters monitored the entire battle in real time via the phone calls from Benghazi and video from a drone overhead.

Our diplomats fought for seven hours without any aid from outside the country. Four Americans died while the Obama national-security team and our military passively watched and listened. The administration is being criticized for ignoring security needs before the attack and for falsely attributing the assault to a mob. But the most severe failure has gone unnoticed: namely, a failure to aid the living.

By 4:30 p.m. Washington time, the main consulate building was on fire and Ambassador Stevens was missing. In response, the embassy in Tripoli launched an aircraft carrying 22 men. Benghazi was 400 miles away.

At 5 p.m., President Obama met with Vice President Biden and Secretary of Defense Panetta in the Oval Office. The U.S. military base in Sigonella, Sicily, was 480 miles away from Benghazi. Stationed at Sigonella were Special Operations Forces, transport aircraft, and attack aircraft — a much more formidable force than 22 men from the embassy.

In the past, presidents had taken immediate actions to protect Americans. In 1984, President Reagan had ordered U.S. pilots to force an airliner carrying terrorists to land at Sigonella. Reagan had acted inside a 90-minute window while the aircraft with the terrorists was in the air. The Obama national-security team had several hours in which to move forces from Sigonella to Benghazi.

Fighter jets could have been at Benghazi in an hour; the commandos inside three hours. If the attackers were a mob, as intelligence reported, then an F18 in afterburner, roaring like a lion, would unnerve them. This procedure was applied often in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Conversely, if the attackers were terrorists, then the U.S. commandos would eliminate them. But no forces were dispatched from Sigonella.

In the meantime, while untrained and poorly led by American standards, the terrorists at Benghazi were proving to be lethal. They forced the Americans to abandon the consulate, with the ambassador still missing, and fall back to an annex a mile away. When the terrorist gang followed the Americans, looters took the opportunity to ransack the empty consulate. But when they found Ambassador Stevens unconscious on the floor, they stopped looting and rushed him to a hospital. Unfortunately, the doctors could not save his life. Not knowing who he was, they took the cell phone from his pocket and called numbers. By about two in the morning, the American embassy received word that the ambassador was dead.

At about the same time, the 22 men from the embassy in Tripoli had arrived at the Benghazi airport. They drove to the annex to assist in its defense against persistent terrorist attacks. Around 4 a.m. Libyan time — six hours into the fight — enemy mortar rounds killed two of the defenders on the roof of the annex.

The fight began at 10 p.m. and petered out at dawn when the Libyan militia came to the aid of the Americans.

It is bewildering that no U.S. aircraft ever came to the aid of the defenders. If even one F18 had been on station, it would have detected the location of hostiles firing at night and deterred and attacked the mortar sites. For our top leadership, with all the technological and military tools at their disposal, to have done nothing for seven hours was a joint civilian and military failure of initiative and nerve.

Secretary of State Clinton has said the responsibility was hers. But there has been no assertion that the State Department overruled the Pentagon out of concern about the sovereignty of Libyan air space. Instead, it appears passive groupthink prevailed, with the assumption being that a spontaneous mob would quickly run out of steam.

Firefights, however, wax and wane from dusk to dawn. You cannot predict ahead of time when they will stop. Therefore a combat commander will take immediate action, presuming reinforcements will be needed.

The administration wrongly blamed a mob for the attack. Yet ironically, Mr. Obama’s chances of reelection would have plummeted were it not for the human decency of a mob that took the ambassador to the hospital before the terrorists returned.

If the terrorists had taken his body and, with no Special Operations Forces hot on their trail, taunted America the next day — claiming the ambassador was still alive — the Benghazi tragedy would have escalated into an international disaster. The U.S. military sent no aid. Why?

— A former assistant secretary of defense, Bing West is co-author of Into the Fire: a Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle of the Afghanistan War.

I will make special note here that there has been a regular and recurrent lie that the two ex-Navy SEALs, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, that were killed along with the ambassador, were part of his security team. They were not. They were in a different part of the city for unrelated reasons and rushed to the consulate in response to the attack.

In two separate extended firefights over two hours they were able to fight back against approximately 200 al-Qaeda attackers under heavy fire from RPGs, mortars, and at least one 23mm anti-aircraft gun firing on their positions around the consulate grounds and the annex building.

They are true heroes and deserve all honors due.

This is a more accurate recounting of what happened -

(CNN) On September 11, they were ensconced in the safety of an annex location in another part of the city when they got word that the main consulate building was under fire and the diplomats there - with an armed force of only nine people - were overwhelmed by the deteriorating situation.

Doherty and Woods, along with other security personnel, left the secure annex and made their way to the chaotic scene, rounding up the consulate staff who were under attack and guiding them back to the second safe building.

Their grim task also included recovering the body of computer expert Sean Smith, who had succumbed to smoke inhalation from a fire ignited by the attackers. The sources said diesel fuel was used to set the fire and the thick, black smoke created by the accelerant added to the confusion on the ground.

U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, who had gone missing during the attack, was not among those evacuated. He was later reported dead. The State Department has not released details about how Stevens died, though numerous media reports have said the ambassador was taken from the consulate to Benghazi Medical Center by locals.

After arriving back at the annex, the incident was far from over for the security team, which included Woods and Doherty. An attack was launched on the annex - this one more intense than the initial assault on the main building.

Military officials in Benghazi told CNN that rocket-propelled grenades were among the heavy firepower used by the attackers at the annex, with one official saying mortars were also fired.

"It was during that (second attack) that two additional U.S. personnel were killed and two others were wounded," a senior administration official said last week in providing details of the attack. Those two victims were later confirmed to be Doherty and Woods.

 

[spidey07]

Obama administration was watching the attacks, there was no mob. He lied, deceived and covered up.

Then he apologized, then they ran ads appologizing for Americans being mean. Every single time, this president sides with muslim terrorists.