Saturday, October 27, 2012

Benghazi Scandal Widens With More Deception


The deception, cover up, and outright lying continues...

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 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. 

 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.

18 comments:

sidewalk super said...

Sad to say, this president we all had so much hope for, is well on his way to destroying our country.

Obama is so in love with himself, everything else recedes in importance.

He has proven incapable of protecting OUR lives.

Anonymous said...

Super Sidewalk; don't worry. Things can always get worse and they will. Then you'll be one of the 47% who is looking for your entitlements and won't be able to find them or anyone who cares whether you do or not. Only by then it will be 67% of the country. Good luck with that Super.

Granted, I don't think anyone would disagree that many expected Obama to be able to wave a magic wand and clean up George Bush's mess, which was not, IS NOT, possible for any human being to accomplish, so anyone who as reaching for the stars WOULD be disappointed.

How ridiculous, that anyone here would think Romney & crew gives s tinker's damn about them. Too bad, so sad. You don't even exist to these people.

Anonymous said...

The administration is well aware of the attacks prior to this last devastating event. Why were more safety measures not taken to protect?
Who decided not to respond and aide our people there while the event was occurring and why? They had drones in the air and knew what was happening in real time.

dawn SoCa said...

Rom.ey is a VERY caring, helpful, and giving man. It's downright slanderous what the Obama campaign has said about him. Obama is the most narcissistic person I've ever had to listen to. and that's a lot, considering that I interview thieves for a living...

Lemon said...

Imagine the operators who were ready and willing to run, not walk into hell to save those on the ground…and were told to stand down.

I am beyond disgusted.

Sus said...

I don't see this as a scandal or a deception, simply a tragedy being used for political gain.

Leaders do not simply send planes into harms way without knowing what's going on. The article states that Libyans have weapons to bring down a plane. The CIA operatives were there to track them down.

I'm sorry for the lives lost, but I don't blame anyone but the attackers. I honor those who lost their lives and those who saved lives.

Sus said...

By the way, what some call "out right lying" could be classified. This did involve the CIA and arms tracking.

nymima said...

I work in a military structured job and I know the strategy of having strong back-up when there is trouble. For whatever reason in Benghazi, back-up was ordered NOT to respond in the attacks until those in position could find more information. They had more than enough information within minutes to send help. They didn't give the benefit of doubt that their people were in danger. They thought more about the soon-to-be election and how it would look to be involved in a possible war, and they chose instead to go into cover-up mode. What does it take for people to see that this commander-in-chief does NOT have the instincts nor the right advisors in place to protect the people of this great country?? His actions or lack thereof do more than scream out that he has to be voted out of office - or impeached.

We have wonderful, brave troops who are trained to respond to these conflicts, and he didn't utilize the system to our advantage. He let us down, and the vulnerable people who were murdered that night, were left to try to defend themselves. That is a crime. Put yourself in their position for a moment. How would you feel if your commander in chief didn't take your pleas for help seriously if you were in grave danger?

Anonymous said...

Dawn SoCa said, quote:

"Romney is a VERY caring, giving, and helpful man."

You'll be qualified to make that statement three years from now when you are ALSO looking for YOUR entitlements and won't be able to find them or anyone who gives a damn whether you do or not.

Yeah, be sure to let us know.

Anonymous said...

Sus, I don't think we know everything that went on there, but just baesd on what little I (we) do know, I agree with you.

Anonymous said...

Do any of you read the financials or the stock markets? If you did, you would know that Warren Buffet and other top bilionaire investors are right now dumping their big portfolios of G.E., Proctor & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson.

Want to know why? Read the forecast and highly credible report of Wiedemier who was right on the real estate bubble burst and the Wall Street crash of 2006, that none others could seem to see coming down on our heads.

For one thing, Buffet and others are gearing up for a Romney infiltration and a huge real estate and financial crash yet to come, deeper lessening of the dollar value, and major inflationary increases that this country has never seen the likes of. It's no joke people.

You people better get your ducks in a row and start looking out for number uno, YOURSELVES, instead of kicking around the political football and looking towards Romney to save us and you from yourselves. Romney will be there to reap his OWN rewards and none for you.

Vita said...

I agree Lemon's. " Stand down" what exactly does this mean?
" means ignore and deflect"

How does a trained Navy Seal
" Stand Down" when he is fully aware that the US consulate is under attack? This then equates Woods was not privy to what was unfolding, yet the High ups were.

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."

Websters Dictionary: Stand Down
to leave the witness stand
to go off duty, to withdraw from a contest, a position of leadership, or a state of alert or readiness
transitive verb
: to remove (as a military unit) from active duty
--
Press released after the Libyan US Embassy's attack, 4 dead, that the U.S. Embassy in Cairo Egypt was subsequently targeted.

Press: The attack followed the mobbing of the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt, which was in reaction to the anti-Islamic film Innocence of Muslims.

On September 28, U.S. intelligence revised their initial assessment that "the attack began spontaneously following protests earlier that day at our embassy in Cairo" to state that "new information" indicated "that it was a deliberate and organized terrorist attack carried out by extremists

Were the U.S. Military put into place to protect the Consulate, U.S. Embassy in Cairo told to
"Stand Down" No. They were unprepared as the U.S. Embassy appointed by Obama, U.S. Ambassador of Cairo Egypt, Anne Patterson, by her own order, Marines in position, patrolling the U.S. Embassy were not to be provided " Live Ammo" - Stand there and be defenseless, as all hell broke loose. As our U.S. Flag was removed and replaced by..you can read at the link.

Reports after this was released to the press, that it was not true, that our Marines were not " Ammo less" has turned into yet another
" tactic" of false misleading information, by who? it's another saga of he said/she said, alike the article posted today on Statement Analysis.

http://www.barenakedislam.com/2012/09/13/egypt-u-s-ambassador-anne-peterson-ordered-marines-not-to-carry-live-ammunition/

Lemon said...

Word to nymima.

Vita said...

Posted : Wednesday Oct 24, 2012 14:47:26 EDT

The State Department is weighing whether it needs more Marine embassy security guards to staff U.S. diplomatic facilities across the globe.

The review follows September’s deadly attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and revelations there was no Marine Corps presence at the compound — or anywhere else in the country — when heavily armed attackers laid waste to the facility, killing U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

That fact, along with several other details that have emerged in the attack’s aftermath, have been fiercely debated in the weeks since, taking center stage during the presidential race and prompting two influential members of Congress to question the Pentagon as to why no Marines were in Libya.

Marine Corps officials say there’s been no call to boost the size of its Embassy Security Group. But when asked if the State Department is assessing whether the number of Marine security guards needs to increase, a spokesman for the agency indicated that remains to be determined.

“An independent board is conducting a thorough review of the assault on our post in Benghazi,” Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman told Marine Corps Times. “Once we have the board’s comprehensive account of what happened, findings and recommendations, we can fully address these matters.”

Marine Security Guard detachments are deployed based on requests made by the State Department. Hoping to understand where the breakdown occurred that allowed for the Benghazi attack to happen, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, wrote to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in early October, asking him to review whether the State Department had ever requested a Marine detachment to assist with security in Libya and, if so, what the planned timeline was for fielding it.

Their letter sets no deadline for the review to be completed.

Portman’s press secretary, Caitlin Dunn, said the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group must be looked at if similar attacks are to be prevented in the future.

“He wants to find out from the Department of Defense what they are currently able to provide, if there are any support requirements which they are unable to meet, and if organizational or process changes would help them to better meet State Department needs,” Dunn said.

The Embassy Security Group, which is based at Marine Corps Base Quantico in northern Virginia, is expected to add detachments over the next five to 10 years, said Capt. Greg Wolf, a Marine spokesman at the Pentagon. However, he emphasized that this growth effort has been in place since 2004 — and that it’s not a knee-jerk response to recent events.

Marine officials declined to say what the group’s projected size will be when that growth is complete.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2012/10/marine-corps-state-department-assess-embassy-guards-benghazi-libya-102412

Vita said...

October 10, 2012

Sens. Portman, McCain Send Letter to Secretary Panetta Requesting Defense Department's Review of the Support Provided to Protect U.S. Diplomatic Personnel

Letter Directs Defense Department to Investigate Which Improvements are Necessary to Best Support the Safety of U.S. Interests Overseas

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, and Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta directing the Defense Department to review the support provided to the U.S. mission in Libya and take the necessary steps to ensure improvements are made where necessary to best support American diplomatic security worldwide.

http://portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=d89c2912-2b1d-4132-bc36-50b050c7d88a

Read Letter, PDF
http://portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=4d446857-50fd-4c6f-b784-0663baa8713d

Anonymous said...

"We can say" doesn't speak for herself.
"With confidence" extra persuading words
"No one " "at any level" "told anyone " "not to help those in need"
Translation : they were told to stand down - sure help those in need - just only if they get to you and not with your weapons.

It is shameful.

Anna Asher

rob said...

Man, it really seems like the Obama supporters on here are obsessed with their entitlements. Suprise?

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