It is now about 46 days since the terrorist attacks on our Consulate in Benghazi, Libya that killed our Ambassador, his aide, and two Navy Seals. And, still our President refuses to tell us what happened and why. Senator Rand Paul has lost patience with President Obama.
Too many important questions remain unanswered concerning Mr. Obama’s entire mishandling of the recent siege of Benghazi.
[...]
The first and most pressing question for Mr. Obama remains: Where the hell were the Marines? (Bold added)
Senator Paul goes on to explain the two of the most dangerous embassy assignments we have are Iraq and Libya. In Iraq we have 17,000 people, including several hundred Marines, guarding our ambassador. In Libya there was not one uniformed Marine. Until six weeks prior to the Benghazi attacks, we had a sixteen man security detail guarding Ambassador Stevens, which was led by Col. Andrew Wood. They were removed in spite of requests by Col. Wood to stay and requests by the Ambassador that they stay. Senator Paul wants some answers.
Why was the security team that both Stevens and Col. Woods requested sent home? Who made this decision? (Bold added)
Note that it was plural requests by both men.
The Senator asks another question:
What happened to the plane, Mr. President? There was supposed to be a DC-3 available to help people get out of Libya or to travel around the country as needed. But that plane was taken away on May 4. On May 8, just four days later, the State Department spent $108,000 on a new electrical charging station to “green up” our embassy in Vienna.
So, the State Department can’t claim a lack of funds, can they? And, again the obvious question is who gave the order to remove the plane. We can’t know if the plane would have been useful in saving the lives of our diplomatic people in Benghazi because IT WASN’T THERE! Senator Paul is concerned that this lack of accountability is becoming a habit. He talks about how after the 2001 terrorist attacks it became known that we did have intelligence information that we didn’t act on and have prevent the deaths of 3000 people. Yet no one was held accountable then either. No one was fired. The Senator is not going to let that happen this time. He is going to open a Senate investigation.
Good for Senator Rand Paul. But, isn’t it sad that Congressional investigation are necessary to get our leaders to tell the truth? Why is it so hard to admit that someone made a serious error in judgement and that they have been removed from their duties? Why shouldn’t that be standard procedure?
It will not come as a surprise to you, dear readers, that this humble observer has more questions for President Obama. That your administration is guilty of a gross error in judgement on security for our embassy personnel in Libya is a given. That much is obnious. But, I have questions about our response to the attacks. Why was no help sent to Benghazi? We know that the President had real time visual and audio information of everything that was happening in Benghazi; very similar to the real time video that he had of the Navy Seals taking out bin Laden . So, why weren’t reinforcements sent to Benghazi? Yes, we know that a Special Forces unit was mobilized to southern Italy some 450 miles away, but they got there too late. But, Mu. president, don’t we have a naval presence in the Mediterrean Sea that could have sent jets or attack helicopters? If not, why not? Also, doesn’t America have allies in the area that we could have called on for help? You know, like Israel, Italy, France. Surely there was someone who could have helped. Did your administration even think to ask for help, Mr. President? I don’t know, considering the security SNAFU, if our people could have reacted fast enough to save the lives of our Ambassador and his aide, but it was about six hours later that our brave navy Seals were killed by a direct mortar hit. Surely, Mr. President, you could have gotten help there in time to have possibly saved those Seals. Here is another question, President Obama. We now know that you had a drone over Benghazi during the entire attack filming and sending back visuals to your Situation Room at the White House. Why was that drone not armed, Mr. President?
My friend at the Spellchek blog has even better and more disturbing questions.
Let’s find out why we had fighter jets and AC-130 gunships stationed nearby and never scrambled them. The AC-130′s would have put a quick end to the opposition. You can read about their capabilities here – http://usmilitary.about.com/od/afweapons/a/ac130.htm. We also had quick response teams that could have had boots on the ground via Blackhawk choppers within an hour. Yet the entire drama unfolded over 7 to 8 hours with the last deaths in the last couple of hours.
Let’s find out why the U.S. was gunrunning and supplied the Libyan rebels. Could it be that we supplied the arms used to kill our own people?
Let’s find out why there were in excess of 200 security incidents in Libya in the prior year with 48 at Benghazi and an apparent dry-run attack on June 6th, yet additional security requests were denied. The claim of budgetary restraints has already been debunked.
Let’s find out why the SST members as well as the Libyan February 17th Brigade were over at the CIA compound instead of protecting the consulate. Could it be they were purposely out of the area at the time of the attack?
The story that the United States has been running arms from Libya to Syria via Turkey has been growing legs for a couple of weeks now. This Fox News article is just the latest. The article asks the question: Did this have something to do with the attacks?
Dear friends, the stench coming out of Benghazi is unbearable. Our president and his administration are involved in a cover up of something that cost the lives of four brave Americans. When our government is not straight with us, we who demand answers may begin to connect dots that shouldn’t be connected. The fault is not ours. The fault lays with those hiding the truth. There is much our president could tell us without divulging national security secrets. Why isn’t he? It is up to us to demand answers!
Well, now you know what I’m thinking. What are your thoughts?
Infidel de Manahatta
October 26, 2012
And the press is right on the story. If by right on the story you mean silence from the MSM.
Wouldn’t do to embarrass the Sun King.
Conservatives on Fire
October 26, 2012
Well, Dox is on it but the rest are in protect Obama mode. No surprise there.
silverfiddle
October 26, 2012
Good summary. Why aren’t more congressmen and senators standing up and asking these questions? Where has congressional oversight been these past four years?
Conservatives on Fire
October 26, 2012
Harry Reid will make sure there are no hearings until after the elections; but that sjouldn’t stop Congressmen and Senators from speaking out. This is not going away!
lou222
October 27, 2012
SF, they are going to get to it AFTER the election. As usual, they will tell us what really happened, just like with F&F.
Pat
October 26, 2012
Answers to the question in your headline: Everything. Nobody.
The good thing is that enough of this is slipping out (despite the MSM) that people have to be asking themselves, “If Obama is lying about this, what else does he lie about?” (Again, the answer is “everything.”)
Conservatives on Fire
October 26, 2012
Ar least Fox is all over the story. We can’t let this go away. They let people die. I will not let them forgrt that!
Mustang
October 26, 2012
Pat’s response is both succinct, and correct. I bristled when Clinton and Obama declared, “I take responsibility.” They both know that no matter what we ultimately find out, they will never be charged for criminal negligence or manslaughter. And I might add, both failed the test of the 3 a.m. phone call.
Conservatives on Fire
October 26, 2012
Mustang, if you haven’t read these two articles, please do. They will make your blood boil.
http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/2012/10/26/malkin-what-about-the-camp-bastion-attack/?subscriber=1
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/
I think it is going to be up to us, the bloggers, to keep this story alive.
Conservatives on Fire
October 26, 2012
The more I learn about what happened in Benghazi, the madder I get. Bob, they let our people die. They didn’t lift a finger to give them aid. We bloggers have got to keep the heat on them.
5etester
October 26, 2012
Jim, I just checked the ABC/CBS/NBC/CNN frontpages. All are completely ignoring the story except ABC which is promoting the Panetta excuse storyline. FOX is all over it. Reid has pushed the Senate investigation past the election to no one’s surprise.
Let’s hope that an avalanche of bloggers will follow your lead and promote the dickens out of this story. FOX isn’t enough. This story is very good – http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/
The CIA was twice told to stand down and not help. That had to come from James Clapper who answers directly to the POTUS.
Watergate has just been knocked off its throne as the de facto scandal.
Conservatives on Fire
October 26, 2012
From Fox
“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.”
Leon Panrtta you lying son of a bitvh. You had real time communication with agents at the scene and you had live visuals from the drone. You didn’t lift a finger to help our people. You let them die, you bastard!
This entire administration are nothing but inept amateurs. That goes for the Seretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the CIA, and most especially for that sorry excuse of a Commander-in-Chief.
lou222
October 27, 2012
I do believe that if I sat out in my yard with a book, they could read it, yet, “just can not make out a clear picture of the attack”. Hmmm! I once read what George Washington Carver wrote that is fitting to this administration and this President….”Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses”. If this does not describe what is in our White House right now, I don’t know what does. What sorry excuses for human beings they are. Just a bunch of failures and excuse makers.
Conservatives on Fire
October 27, 2012
It makes me sick to my stomach that our leaders did nothing to try to save those men. That is not what America is about. Since when does a reelection campaign more important tham our people in harms way?
Bob
October 27, 2012
Panetta is a political hired gun. He was Clinton’s chief liar and protector. He is not known for telling the truth about anything.
Always On Watch
October 26, 2012
The stench is reeking to the high heavens! And the mainstream media are complicit in all this.
Like Mustang, my blood boils.
Lately, I’ve found that simply must take some time off from the web to protect my own physical well being. What I read in the real news here on the web is making me ill. Really.
Conservatives on Fire
October 26, 2012
I understand, AOW. It can where a person down. They want us to give up. Me? I just get mad and then I want to do something about it. They will not shut me up!
republican mother
October 26, 2012
The wheel turns, but nothing changes. Recall the USS LIberty where there were stand-downs of help and the survivors threatened if they ever told their story.
Ambassador Stevens was not wanted by elements in our government – that’s your explanation. The best cover is their jihadi rent-a-mob. These people aren’t amateurs, they know exactly how to kill whom they please in broad daylight and get away with it. They own the media, they own the military, and they own the money machine. But if you speak about it, you’re a conspiracy theorist. It’s becoming so that the term can now be called a reality theorist. The reality is that the means, motive and opportunity to knock off non-compliant personnel is really in just a few hands. Through process of elimination, those in the know should be able to narrow down what really happened.
But the laundry is piling up, I’ll need to do some super-sleuthing some other time.
Conservatives on Fire
October 26, 2012
It is not as easy to hide things in this day and age as it use to be. We bloggers have to keep up the pressure.
Steve Dennis
October 26, 2012
At first I thought Barack Obama was just covering up his incompetence and his inaction but now I feel there is something to this gun running story. We now know that the CIA requested military backup three times while the attack was ongoing but the requests were denied. There is no excuse for this and it only leads us to ask what exactly Barack Obama is trying to hide.
Conservatives on Fire
October 26, 2012
The families of the four men deserve answers, don’t they?
Cheryl Pass
October 26, 2012
Brett Baier is doing an investigative report on this over the weekend. His nightly news show tonight was more than I expected, so I’m hoping enough people will get the message…that we have lying traitors in the WH and as Head of the State Dept. and the CIA. Something is very rotten…and very bad with this. Once again….where is the rest of the press and Congress. Good for Rand Paul for sending that out yesterday.
What isn’t making sense to me right now is…if Stevens was gun running for Al Qaeda, then why would they want him dead? Was this a hit by our own government on Stevens? If so, why? And the joke of this video excuse from all of them is so terribly transparent as a ruse to shut down free speech…it would be laughable if not so pathetic.
Rotten smelly skunkifying lying S.O.B.’s. But will anyone be prosecuted? So far the word teflon applies. Orange jumpsuits should be waiting in the fitting room about now….but…..
Conservatives on Fire
October 27, 2012
I’m not buying the gun running for al Qaeda stiry either. Running Ghaddafi’s stash to Syria, well that is more plausable.
What is truly putrid is that Genaral petaerus is now saying that noone in the CIA gave orders to stand down. If he is telling the truth, that means it was President Obama that gave the order. the United States can not have a president who would give such an order. Period!
Cheryl Pass
October 27, 2012
Actually, Jim…that is what I meant, but my thinking is that Al Qaeda is getting these weapons by posing as rebels against whichever dictator we are toppling in the middle east…in this case sending the left overs from Gaddafi’s arms to Syrian rebels. From what I have been reading, Russia is none too happy that we have been doing this. And from my own point of view…I’m none too happy to be arming the Muslim Brotherhood or Al Qaeda or any of them. I’m figuring the whole thing is just like everything else Obama has done …and that the Clintons have done over the years…and that is prop up every anti-American (enemy) faction they can using our own money and soldiers. I’m betting Obama gave the order to stand down and then waltzed off to bed to dream of more Nobel Peace prizes.
We not only have a president who would give such an order….we haven’t arrested him yet.
nooneofanyimport
October 26, 2012
Did you see this yet? http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2012/10/26/Petraeus-on-Benghazi-It-Wasnt-Me
Interesting that Petraeus does not say there no request for help. His statement is that no one from the CIA gave the order not to provide help. Hmm.
Also, I changed my blog theme, please do let me know if it is better, worse or about the same difficulty to read it. Hope you are well and have a great weekend,
Linda
Conservatives on Fire
October 27, 2012
I did read that, Linda. By Petraeus saying that, he is indirectly implicating the President. How does that sit with you?
Your new blog theme looks great and this old eye can read it. Thank you!
Pat
October 27, 2012
One of the other things that sickens me is that it seems that one of the former SEALs on the roof had a laser to laser tag the position where the mortar fire was coming from. One jet, even one from 500 miles away, could have put munitions on that lased target, blowing up the mortar that eventually killed our people, and simultaneously scared the living crap out of anyone else still fighting. The terrorists would’ve run like rats. How quickly could a jet that can fly at supersonic speeds have gotten there to break that attack up? They had seven hours of fighting in which to do it. The White House simply didn’t give the order. They appear to be guilty of literally deciding that it was OK for those people to die. What does that make them?
lou222
October 27, 2012
Guess the best answer is “murderers”…but they are SO much more than that. I fear we are just touching the surface of what is going on, this may be the most corrupt administration in the history of the USA. You can add a vast majority of Congress that is either in on it OR overlooking what is going on OR turning their heads….that makes the rest of them just as guilty.
Conservatives on Fire
October 27, 2012
Pat, I wish I knew exactly how far out our fighter jets could be and still have helped. But, be that as it may, mo onr lifted a finger to try to help our guys under fire. What the hell is that? I, we, America deserves answers.