CIA operators were denied request for help during Benghazi attack, sources say

[bijou]

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 was denied by U.S. officials -- 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 quick reaction force 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.


Read More:  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/

[marv]

Saw that over at LegalInsurrection.com this morning.

My post there....

Marv | October 26, 2012 at 12:39 pm

Hmmm, was this “sacrifice” of an American ambassador a classic “quid pro quo” in the old Arabic tradition for UBL in order to “buy” some peace? I dunno, but the possibility exists.

In any event, the coverup was as amateurish as could be imagined.

[Ptarmigan]

This whole Benghazi attack could of been prevented.

[wasp69]

From the article:

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."

Panetta has been a clinton hack forever.  Upon first look, it appears he is just being a clueless DC desk jockey trying on different denial jackets for the press.  If you read it a little closer, it almost looks like he's goading Issa and the non-sycophantic element of the press to keep digging and keep this story going. 

Leon is no DUmmie, he's no fan of barry, and he's been around the DC track a time or two.  Just my thoughts, but I think he's keeping this story moving to frag little barry big ears.

[debk]

Mr Woods was just interviewed by phone by Meghan Kelly. He is very angry (as he should be) and wants answers.

He's also an attorney.



3 - THREE!! - calls for help.

All denied.

 

[md11hydmec]

And I wonder how long the media are going to keep their heads in the sand and hope it goes away?

[J P Sousa]

This just makes me sick to my stomach.

How could any decent American vote for this pile of crap.
.

[DefiantSix]

And I wonder how long the media are going to keep their heads in the sand and hope it goes away?

Until at least November 7th.

[Kimberly]

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2012/10/bigger-than-watergate-proof-that-the-president-is-lying-about-benghazi.html

Having a back and forth with a former legendary Delta operator.  Here is the gist of what he is implying:
 
The news is breaking today but there is a small bit that is being overlooked.  According to the statements from Fox News:
 
 
The security officer had a laser on the target that was firing and repeatedly requested back-up support from a Specter 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. 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.

Everyone is reporting this but they are missing a key point.  From the retired Delta operator:
 
Having spent a good bit of time nursing a GLD (ground Laser Designator) in several garden spots around the world, something from the report jumped out at me.
 
One of the former SEALs was actively painting the target.  That means that Specter WAS ON STATION!  Probably an AC130U.  A ground laser designator is not a briefing pointer laser.  You do not "paint" a target until the weapons system/designator is synched; which means that the AC130 was on station.
 
 Only two places could have called off the attack at that point; the WH situation command (based on POTUS direction) or AFRICOM commander based on information directly from the target area.
   
If the AC130 never left Sigonella (as Penetta says) that means that the Predator that was filming the whole thing was armed.

 
If that SEAL was actively "painting" a target; something was on station to engage!  And the decision to stand down goes directly to POTUS!

[Linda]

Did you guys hear the guy talking to Rush Limbaugh today? He says it wasn't just the 3 emails that were supposedly easy to over look among the thousands that come through everyday. That when an Ambassador (equivalent to a 4 star general) is under attack or worse yet missing that there is a system that contacts the White House Situation Room immediately. and can not be ignored has to be answered.  And they have set protocol to send specially trained units in for exactly these scenarios. The men are trained and ready 24/7....He told Rush he used to be involved/one of these guys and knew how it was supposed to work.

[thundley4]

"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."

Hey ****stick, there were US citizens under attack.   Since when do we abandon those in jeopardy?  We don't unless cowards that put their politics ahead of lives are in charge.

[rich_t]

Did you guys hear the guy talking to Rush Limbaugh today? He says it wasn't just the 3 emails that were supposedly easy to over look among the thousands that come through everyday. That when an Ambassador (equivalent to a 4 star general) is under attack or worse yet missing that there is a system that contacts the White House Situation Room immediately. and can not be ignored has to be answered.  And they have set protocol to send specially trained units in for exactly these scenarios. The men are trained and ready 24/7....He told Rush he used to be involved/one of these guys and knew how it was supposed to work.

I heard that part of his show.  The caller knew his stuff.

[md11hydmec]

Have any other news agencies picked this up?  I'm afraid to ask

[Linda]

Have any other news agencies picked this up?  I'm afraid to ask

***crickets*****

[J P Sousa]

Well, I'm at the point of believing the media are anti-American.

There is no reason to ignore such a major story or rather a major event in our history by those who are supposed to keep citizens informed on what the government is doing. 

The media are nothing more than the democrats propaganda arm.
.

[Delmar]

The animals in the current administration can't be gone soon enough.  If Obama had done nothing, these guys would've had a chance.  The way I understand what happened is that a rescue attempt is almost automatic in this type of situation, but the rescue attempt was willfully stopped.  Obama, all you had to do was vote present and some of these guys might still be alive.   

[txradioguy]

It's like I said in another thread on this...this Administration looked at the death of four AMericans as an 'acceptable loss" in order to continue their political narrative.

They'd rather have our Ambassador sodimized murdered and drug through the streets than admit that al-Qeda is still very much alive and kicking.

[docstew]

The animals in the current administration can't be gone soon enough.  If Obama had done nothing, these guys would've had a chance.  The way I understand what happened is that a rescue attempt is almost automatic in this type of situation, but the rescue attempt was willfully stopped.  Obama, all you had to do was vote present and some of these guys might still be alive.   

Ah, but then, they'd be alive to talk about it afterwards. Once the decision is made to abandon someone, you have to hope they die, otherwise they will talk about how you abandoned them.

[mickBelker]

It's hard to know where to begin... probably why Governor Romney didn't much pursue this mess during the last debate; just too much detail to cover in not-enough time; best left to surrogates and the willing press (as compared to the MSM, that is).

It seems that the Obama Administration, whether directly or through the State Department, denied months of numerous requests for increased security from the Benghazi consulate, and even removed Ambassador Stevens' 16-member security detail in August, in order to maintain the fictional narrative that the United States, under Obama's "leadership" (I can't but use quotes anytime the words "Obama" and "leadership" are used in the same sentence), had not only vanquished Osama Bin Luddite and saved the auto industry but also neutered Al Qaeda. With such a horrendously bad record to run on, Obama et al were desperate to maintain his supposed Presidential foreign policy "successes" <there you go again with those quotation marks!>.

The Administration's attempt to maintain this false narrative accounts for all of the "facts on the ground" including...

• months of denials of increased security for the Ambassador.
• that these prior requests weren't even public knowledge before this debacle erupted.
• removal in August of Ambassador Stevens' 16-member security detail to be replaced by Libyan security personnel, this after Stevens had specifically told the Administration that the Libyans could NOT be relied upon.
• the continued denial of support even during the consulate attack, despite repeated urgent requests for help.
• the Administration's master strategy behind Barack & Hillary's Excellent Libyan Adventure to burnish Obama's hawkishness cred vis-a-vis the upcoming election.
• that Obama (and Clinton) had to maintain the fiction of Clinton's vaunted "Smart Diplomacy" and Obama's "Leading From Behind" fatuity in order to lend credence and support to all of the Administration's other foreign policy "achievements." You know...
  
  • unilaterally canceling the Czech/Polish missile defense shield.
  • abandoning Egypt while supporting the Muslim Brotherhood's takeover amidst the continued slaughter of all non-Islamists.
  • abandoning the Iranian Green Movement at the most critical moment.
  • abandoning Iraq, allowing it to deteriorate into an American defeat and Iranian ally while simultaneously claiming victory.
  • eviscerating the Iranian sanctions laws by giving waivers to Japan and the EU.
  • the Russian "reset" (complete with "flexibility" after the election).
  • the Guantanamo closing that wasn't.
  • ending all of the hated Bush policies of renditions, military tribunals, preventive detention, intercepts and wiretaps, drone hits... NOT!
  • the Obama Administration's (literally <right, Joe?>) unbelievable explanations both in real-time and for weeks thereafter (Susan Rice on the Sunday news shows on Sept 16th; Obama at the U.N. on Sept 25th; Jay Carney, Axelrod, Plouffe, DWS, et al spewing the Administration line that the video did it; etc., etc).
  
  Even were I to be generous, give Obama et al the benefit of the doubt and absolve the Administration of direct culpability, at the very least this debacle clearly shows the depth of the Obama team's utter incompetence. I mean, is there ANYONE who doesn't think that the September 11th date is significant in this world war with Islam? That Americans, especially official outposts situated in the midst of hostile territories, would especially be targets on that date!!??
  
  There may be a better explanation but, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stated:  "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." And the truth appears to be that Obama directly, along with ALL of his top officials and functionaries within the United States Government, including the Vice President, Cabinet Secretaries, and Department Officers, and his myriad surrogates outside the Administration, have systematically promoted a false narrative (in other parts of the world, this is called LYING!) in order to cover their manifest failures with a patina of success and legitimacy which they so desperately need to win election and of which they are abominably bereft.
  
  Q.E.D.
  --
  Best,
  Mick

[Linda]

Obama Administration Replaces Top Generals Following Benghazi Disaster

Gateway Pundit

The latest rumor making the rounds is that Barack Obama replaced General Carter Ham at Africom after the general made a move to help the US security officials at the Benghazi consulate and annex. Ham was replaced by Gen. David Rodriquez on October 18.
Tiger Droppings reported:

    The information I heard today was that General [Carter] Ham as head of Africom received the same e-mails the White House received requesting help/support as the attack was taking place. General Ham immediately had a rapid response unit ready and communicated to the Pentagon that he had a unit ready.

    General Ham then received the order to stand down. His response was to screw it, he was going to help anyhow. Within 30 seconds to a minute after making the move to respond, his second in command apprehended General Ham and told him that he was now relieved of his command.

    The story continues that now General Rodiguez would take General Ham’s place as the head of Africom.

Sure enough Obama nominated Gen. David Rodriguez to replace Gen. Carter Ham as commander of U.S. Africa Command.

I read somewhere, I don't remember where. (dang oldzimers). That someone suggested that maybe this was a kidnapping gone wrong...The thought being that they kidnap our ambassador and obama exchanges him for the blind sheik. Just in time for the election, so obama would appear to be the hero getting our ambassador back.

[J P Sousa]

Generals do not like being used for political purposes.

Obama is a shameless coward and communist thug.

If Barry gets a second term, look for an increase in military retirements and active duty separations.

It's sickening how he is ruining our military.
.

[thundley4]

Generals do not like being used for political purposes.

Obama is a shameless coward and communist thug.

If Barry gets a second term, look for an increase in military retirements and active duty separations.

It's sickening how he is ruining our military.
.

I wouldn't mind seeing General Ham retire immediately and start telling his story.  For some reason I think the Obama Regime would not grant his retirement request until after November 6.

[J P Sousa]

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/10/has_general_ham_been_fired.html

As a result, Mr. Panetta said, he and two top commanders "felt very strongly that we could not put forces at risk in that situation." The commanders are Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Carter F. Ham of Africa Command, which oversees American military operations in Africa, including Libya. You probably have seen similar clips on TV. The impression being given by Mr. Panetta is that the three of them agreed upon the course of action.

Not how it works in the military. The junior person present gives his views, the next junior, his, and so on up the line until the senior person, in this case Mr. Panetta, makes the decision . It is not a vote and there is only one person with a veto, the senior person, Mr. Panetta. Of course, he could have had marching orders from higher up in the chain of command.

   

[mickBelker]

I read somewhere, I don't remember where. (dang oldzimers). That someone suggested that maybe this was a kidnapping gone wrong...The thought being that they kidnap our ambassador and obama exchanges him for the blind sheik. Just in time for the election, so obama would appear to be the hero getting our ambassador back.

Not bad, as these things go. Your hypothesis does cover all the bases. The Obama Administration is known to have been having recent talks with Egypt's new Muslim Brotherhood leadership and the subject of the Blind Sheik did come up. And capture of a living U.S. Ambassador is worth infinitely more than just dragging his limp, lifeless body through the streets in triumph (not bad though as these thuggish things go </drippingWithSarcasm>).

So, yeah, it's definitely plausible. What else ya got?

[NHSparky]

Generals do not like being used for political purposes.

Obama is a shameless coward and communist thug.

If Barry gets a second term, look for an increase in military retirements and active duty separations.

It's sickening how he is ruining our military.
.

Oh, you'd be surprised how many flag officers don't mind being used for political purposes, so long as it furthers their careers.