Benghazi Thoughts

The following is a brief recap of the scandal and cover-up surrounding the attacks in Benghazi in September of 2012 taken from a variety of sources (all cited below) in order to summarize the major issues and questions that remain outstanding nearly a year after the tragic attack. For me, it is interesting how little the average person on the street knows about what was going on in Benghazi and the campaign of disinformation starting with the now-infamous talking points that was seemingly spun in order to protect Obamas re-election prospects that lay only two months hence at the time, and to similarly ensure that Hilary Rodham Clintons prospects for the Presidency in 2016 were likewise kept pristine. My sense is that if only it was simply disinformation for political gain (to save his election prospects), the issue would have faded following the election. The continued resistance and effort to conceal information makes it clear that the issues are much larger and far-reaching. I dont think there is any one specific piece of information that is particularly damming but when examined in its totality, it is downright outrageous. For me, the biggest issue is the Obamas administrations efforts to thwart any independent investigation, including efforts to learn what President Obama was doing during the attack, who was providing orders during those crucial hours and the effort to control the narrative after the attack via the crafting and dissemination of the talking points or by either intimidating witnesses or blocking access to them. It is unclear what the administration is hiding but it is clear that Chris Stevens was in Benghazi with at least one specific goal in mind, to establish a permanent diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which had been a publicly stated aim of Hilary Clinton1. The first article referenced below (from Vanity Fair) is an excerpt from a new book (Under Fire: The Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi, by Fred Burton and Samuel M. Katz) that provides an overview of what happened on the ground from first-hand witnesses. The second article (from a conservative news aggregator Breitbart.com) lays out what was likely going on in Benghazi and the work Ambassador Stevens may have been involved in with the CIA. It is good background to set the stage and understand what was going on and was at stake in Benghazi. The last link that should be viewed is a timeline I found that seemed relatively complete in order to help readers follow the sequence of events. With that as a backdrop, the following is a summarized timeline recapping the significant events in the September 11, 2012 Benghazi attack (actually a series of attacks) and the days following the attack with my own opinions or questions presented in italics. At 3:42PM EDT (9:42 PM local time), the first shots were fired on the Benghazi Consulate and at 9:45 PM local time Ambassador Chris Stevens calls State Department Officer Chris Hicks in Tripoli saying: "we're under attack!" Meanwhile, at the CIA annex about a mile from the U.S. consulate where Ambassador Chris Stevens and his team came under attack, former Navy Seal/CIA officer Tyrone Woods and a group other CIA operators heard the shots fired; they informed their higher-ups and requested permission to go to the consulate and help out. At 3:59 EDT (9:59 PM local time), an unarmed surveillance drone is directed to fly over the U.S. compound in Benghazi. After being told to stand-down twice (orders which is believed to have come from CIA headquarters in Langley, VA), a six-man security team (headed by Tyrone Woods) departs from the annex at just after 4:00 PM EDT (10:00 PM local time) moving towards the consulate and encountering resistance along the way. At 4:25 p.m. EDT (10:25 PM local time), the
1

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/testimony-stevens-went-benghazi-mission-91112-so-clinton-could-announceupcoming-libyan#sthash.2fMHmhjj.dpuf

Benghazi Thoughts Page 1

team arrives from the annex with 40 to 60 members of 17th of February Brigade. The team removed Smith's body, was unable to locate Ambassador Stevens and, after finding itself unable to secure the perimeter at the consulate, moved back to the annex. In Washington, during a pre-scheduled face-toface 5PM EDT briefing from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, White House National Security Advisor Tom Donilon tells President Obama of the attack and the fire at the main villa. The President and those officials discuss possible responses to the situation. Following that meeting, Obama is reported to have retired to his living quarters for dinner. At 5:10PM EDT (11:10 PM local time), the unarmed DOD drone arrives overhead. At 5:30 EDT (11:30 PM local time), a small CIA and JSOC element in Tripoli that included Glen Doherty was attempting to find a way to Benghazi and left for the airport. At 6:30 EDT (12:30 AM local time) or nearly three hours after the attack began, a seven-member security team, including four GRS (Global Response Staff) security officers, a CIA case officer and two military personnel (members of Delta Force2) on loan to the CIA, departed from the Tripoli airport on a privately-chartered aircraft heading to Benghazi. It should be noted that additional military forces headed by Special Operations Command Africa commander Lt. Col. Steve Gibson were ordered to hold in place by Marine Colonel George Bristol of AFRICOM3 and not board the follow-on aircraft preparing to leave Tripoli airport for Benghazi (according to second-hand accounts4 of his congressional briefing, Bristol told Gibson to stay in Tripoli to defend Americans there in the event of additional attacks and to help survivors being evacuated from Benghazi.). At the same time 6:30PM EDT (12:30 AM local time) Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta verbally directs the deployment (or preparations for deployment) of: 1) 2 Marine Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST) platoons from Rota, Spain to Benghazi Mission and Embassy Tripoli; 2) a US European Command (EUCOM) Commander's in-Extremis Force (CIF) to an intermediate staging base in Southern Europe; and 3) a special operations force based in the United States to an intermediate staging base in Southern Europe. Also at 6:30PM EDT (12:30 AM local time) Obama and Vice president Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone (a call that was prescheduled) for nearly an hour. It is also reported that Valerie Jarrett (Obama's top Advisor) was with Obama during the call with Netanyahu; as the call was ending, it has been reported that Jarrett went from the living quarters to the White House Situation Room, where the attack in Benghazi was being monitored by Dempsey, Panetta and other top-ranking officials (there may even be recorded video feeds from the drone circling above). What Jarett may have said and whether the president sent her is unknown. At 7:00 PM EDT (1:00 AM local time), Local Libyans find the remains of Ambassador Stevens and transport them to Benghazi Medical Center. At 8:00 PM EDT (2:00 AM local time), the Embassy in Tripoli receives a cell phone call indicating that Ambassador Stevens body is at the Benghazi Medical Center but Tripoli rescue team cannot go there, as it is controlled by Ansar al-Sharia, which just attacked the mission. At 7:15 EDT (1:15 AM local time), following a 45-minute flight from Tripoli, the seven member security team arrives in Benghazi but is delayed in the Benghazi airport for more than three hours (until 11:30 PM EDT; 4:30 AM local time). The delay is caused by negotiations with Libyan authorities over permission to leave the airport; obtaining vehicles; and the need to frame a clear mission plan. The first idea is to go to a Benghazi hospital to recover Stevens, who they rightly suspect is already dead. (Also killed was a State Department communication specialist.) But the hospital is surrounded by the alQaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia militia that mounted the consulate attack.
2 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Force http://mediamatters.org/tags/james-rosen 4 http://azstarnet.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/officer-no-libya-stand-down-order/article_3ebd5c5841ab-577c-98ac-331d752cc9c4.html

Benghazi Thoughts Page 2

According to WH press Secretary James Carney, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to President Obama at 10:00 PM EDT (4:00 AM local time) that night; what was discussed during that call is unknown though just a few minutes after the call ended, the State Department issued a statement making reference to the inflammatory Internet video (Innocence of Muslims) which was ultimately blamed for the "spontaneous protest" in Benghazi. After the call with Clinton, President Obama is reported to have retired for the night without giving any specific rescue mission orders or discussing the events on the ground in Benghazi with any other senior official until the approximately 4:00 AM EDT (10:00 AM local time) when he is told of Stevens' death. At some point after 11:30 PM EDT (4:30 AM local time), the security team from Tripoli finds transportation from the airport under the escort of the Libya n Shield, another local militia, and heads to the annex arriving at 12:04 PM EDT (5:04 AM local time). Just after their arrival, the annex takes mortar fire, sustaining three direct hits. The precision of the attacks indicates a level of sophistication and coordination. Former U.S. Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty are killed in the mortar assault, which lasts just 11 minutes before dissipating at 12:26 PM EDT (5:26 AM local time); a DS agent and annex security member are severely wounded. After the mortar attack, about 30 Americans evacuate the annex and head to the airport, with the assistance of the Libyan security convoy. So it seems that from all outward appearances, the 10 PM EDT call between Clinton and Obama set in motion the follow-on White House/State Department disinformation campaign (including the talking points) that appeared to try to cover-up the fact that a pre-planned attack by Islamic extremists had occurred. With the November elections looming, this sort of terrorism didn't f it with the "al Qaedas on the run campaign narrative. So who was responsible for this disinformation? Did it come from the State Department or the White House? Is there recorded video available from the live feeds from that night? Was the video available in the Situation Room? Who was watching it? Where was President Obama? What the Obama administration actually believed about the attack (as it occurred and in the days afterward), is an issue that could be debated at length. It is interesting that even as the actual facts were becoming increasingly clear and increasingly public, certain members of the administration were clinging fiercely to the spontaneous attack caused by the video meme which was a better fit for campaign purposes. In fact, according to Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Congressional representative, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton actually screamed 5 6 at one of his congressional colleagues during a closed-door session to discuss the attacks in Benghazi just days after when it was suggested that this was a terrorist attack. Surely if Clinton really thought it was spontaneous mob attack in the hours that followed, that conclusion must have been shaken in the days following. Such rigid adherence to this portrayal of the facts, when it is known that White House and cabinet level officials were well-aware the attack was rooted in terrorism, certainly leads one to believe that there is something there beyond political spin. On top of that, during the follow-on investigation, when congressmen came to investigate the Benghazi incident, former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Gregory Hicks, testified that his State Department bosses ordered him specifically not to speak to Rep. Jason Chaffetz and that an unnamed State Department lawyer tried to keep him from meeting with the representatives. When that didnt work, the lawyer tried and failed because of inadequate security

5 6

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/16/illinois-lawmaker-hillary-clinton-screamed-closed-/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xwoAaW5DJk

Benghazi Thoughts Page 3

clearance to insert himself into the interview7. Afterward, Cheryl Mills, Secretary of State Hillary Clintons chief of staff, angrily called Hicks for explanation, according to Hicks, and asked for a full report on what was discussed. If Clinton or the State Department didnt have anything to hide, why would they try to stifle the ability of its people to speak to members of Congress? While no rescue mission was launched that night from outside Libya, it has been reported in the media shortly after the Benghazi attack that General Carter Ham and Admiral Charles M. Gaouette, both of whom were commanding forces in the vicinity of the Benghazi consulate and were in a position to respond militarily to the attack, were mysteriously relieved of their commands. It has been speculated that these firings occurred due to their attempts to provide assistance to the Consulate despite a standdown order (or lack of a valid cross border authority to move into Libya8). It has also been speculated that then-CIA Director David Petraeus may have conflicted with the White House or the State Department surrounding the aftermath of the attack and the cover-up attempt, which would be consistent with his non-supportive position as to the final form and usage of the talking points: as shown in the text of an email he circulated about the talking points prior to their final release internally, he wrote: Frankly, Id just as soon not use this, then. Was it only a coincidence then that Petraeus resigned two months later (in November), citing an extra-marital affair? Maybe, but the timing of Petraeus resignation just seems pretty odd to me when aggregated with the two firings the month before. While there are conflicting accounts as to whether a stand down order to offshore forces was ever given in the context of any other potential rescue efforts, it is quite possible that, from a technical standpoint, a stand-down order would not have been necessary. Technically speaking, a Cross Border Authority (CBA) to initiate offensive military operations in a foreign country requires Presidential approval. While the Obama administration claims it never ordered help not to be provided, Obama also didn't provide the crucial CBA authority (unclear whether he was asked to provide it) and he decided to go to bed early instead. Was there a specific operational commander assigned to North Africa who requested (or should have requested) the CBA? If so, which commander was it? If a CBA was requested, what was the response? If it was denied, who denied it? A related question would who made the final decision against deploying the government's interagency Foreign Emergency Support Team known as "FEST." While it wouldnt have reached Benghazi in team to save any lives that were lost that day, it would have supported and speeded the FBIs access to the attack site s (due to security concerns, the FBI did not reach the sites until weeks later). If Obama was really that detached from the activities in the White House situation room as the public has been led to believe, why did he think it was OK to delegate everything to subordinates and simply go to bed when American Diplomats were under attack? Was it because he left everything in the hands of his Senior Advisor, Valerie Jarrett, who, according to some press accounts, was giving orders on his behalf? Therein must lie the real scandal, otherwise White House spokesman Dan Pfeiffer would have been able to address the direct questions regarding President Obama's whereabouts on the night of the attack (see the YouTube video9 of his interview with Chris Wallace). Conspiracy theorists may
7 8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejz1h_rcIr0 According to Journalist Samuel Katz and former diplomatic security agent Fred Burton, as explained in their recent Benghazi book, Under Fire, the Pentagon ordered an anti-terrorism team (FAST Company Europe, based in Rota Spain) to deploy to Libya from Spain "as fast as you can," but due to numerous "logistical challenges," (such airspace and overflight clearances are not easily sorted out, especially involving a nation like Libya) those forces did not arrive in Libya until the next evening. 9 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX_Dmnt_CS0

Benghazi Thoughts Page 4

suggest that, with the November elections looming two months hence, Jarrett (and thus Obama) was worried about a repeat of the 1993 Blackhawk Down incident in which 18 US soldiers were killed, including one whose body was dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by an unruly crowd of thugs. Either way, the American people deserve the truth, whatever that may be. The last big question in my mind is why House Speaker John Boehner (a Republican) hasn't supported HRES36, which would appoint a special House committee to investigate the attack in Benghazi. I do know that hes had access to classified information that hasnt been ava ilable to the rank-and-file congressman so it could be that, after seeing the more sensitive facts and details, hes in agreement that it is best to tread softly on Benghazi for national security reasons. My guess is that if this is the reason, his view likely revolves around sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons (a/k/a MANPADS) that were: 1) shipped to Syria - via Turkey10 - in violation of international law to be used by rebels with links to Al-Qaeda and 2) stolen by Islamic extremists in Benghazi and have now made their way throughout Africa and the Middle East. I think it is likely that Obama consulted with Boehner and other key members of Congress (i.e., the so-called Gang of Eight 11 required to be consulted with prior to any covert operation) before beginning such an arms-transfer program12 and that Boehner is now seeking to avoid the embarrassment and fallout that would inevitably occur if this program were brought to light. This illegal transfer of weapons was most likely intended to make Libya more stable by denuding it of its weapon stockpile while helping the Syrian rebels overturn the Assad regime, but we now see that weve armed radical Islamists and other Al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Syria and that these sophisticated weapons could someday be turned on the United States and/or Israel in a future conflict13. Aside from the initial investigative report, which was commissioned by HRC and completed in December 2012 by the Accountability Review Board (ARB) for Benghazi (headed by Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering and Admiral Michael Mullen), the pace of the investigation has been slow. Over a year after the attack, Congressional investigators still havent been able to interview a significant number of witnesses (there were more than 30 Americans that evacuated Benghazi to Tripoli on the morning of the September 12th), the bulk of whom are CIA officers and are still as of yet unidentified to Congress or the press by the State Department (Gregory Hicks and certain press accounts have previously mentioned the following names14: Scotty Strickland, Ronald Young, Scott Wickland, Alec Henderson, John Martinec, Mark Si, Jackie Levesque and David Ubben, whose leg was shredded by the mortar attack and still was recovering in Walter Reed Medical Center as recently as this August). In addition, according to a new investigative report15 compiled by the House Oversight Committee and released on Monday, September 16, 2013, the ARB report was found to have unfairly placed the blame for the terrorist attack on four
10

http://thejewishreporter.com/2012/12/10/delivering-weapons-to-terrorists-in-the-name-of-a-good-cause-is-abad-idea/ 11 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_of_Eight_(intelligence) 12 http://counterjihadreport.com/2013/01/25/what-does-the-gang-of-eight-know-about-the-gun-running-fromlibya-to-syrian-jihadis/ 13 http://thejewishreporter.com/2012/12/10/delivering-weapons-to-terrorists-in-the-name-of-a-good-cause-is-abad-idea/ 14 Other names include: Regional Security Officer (Benghazi) Alec Henderson, Regional Security Officer (Tripoli) John Martinec, Ambassador Stevens Agent in Charge Scott Wickland, Political Section Chief David McFarland, Embassy Tripoli Nurse Jackie Levesque, Management Officer Allen Greenfield, Lieutenant Colonel Phillips, Lieutenant Colonel Arnt, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Gibson, Mark Si (Team Tripoli), Navy Rear Adm. Brian L. Losey, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Africa. 15 http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Benghazi-ARB-Majority-Staff-Report2.pdf

Benghazi Thoughts Page 5

mid-level officials while ignoring the role of very senior officials in Clintons State Department for decisions about security in Benghazi. Also, the structure of the ARB and the culture in Clintons State Department raised questions about the independence and integrity of the review. According to recent press reports, despite the State Department resistance to providing the identities due to the existence of a parallel criminal investigation, Secretary of State John Kerry has confirmed that the unidentified CIA witnesses will be made available via classified channels with the latest Congressional closed-door interviews/testimony of at least two Benghazi survivors to begin in early November. In addition, Former Admiral Mike Mullen and Ambassador Thomas Pickering testified under subpoena on Sept. 19 as part of a House Oversight Committee hearing meant to examine the findings of the ARB. The additional key critical takeaways from the hearing from a Republican standpoint were: 1) that some republicans felt the report was a whitewash, 2) that the report wasnt independent, 3) Republican committee members were highly critical of Pickering and Mullens failure to interview Secretary Clinton and Tom Donilon, then Obamas national security adviser and 4) they found fault with the ARBs failure to record or transcribe the key interviews or to put the witnesses under oath. Final Thoughts and Questions It has been reported that Valerie Jarrett flew to Qatar shortly after the Benghazi attacks in 2012 for secret discussions with government officials there. Did these discussions have anything to do with the arms transfers to Syrian rebels or was she negotiating with senior Iranian officials16 a deal pertaining to Irans nuclear weapon ambitions as was reported by the Asia Times17? Also, what was the end goal of the Islamic extremist group (Ansar al-Sharia) that attacked the US Consulate? With recent rumors of their funding having come from Egypt, some press reports have speculated that the attack was a failed attempt to kidnap Ambassador Stevens, who could then be traded for the Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman (a/k/a the Blind Sheik) who is currently serving a life sentence in the US for his role in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Other press reports have speculating that the Consulate had contained CIA prisoners and that the attack was a jail-break attempt. This and Obamas relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood Egyptian government headed by Mohammed Morsi and Jarretts role in any stand-down order will be important aspects of the investigation and could be another source of embarrassment for the Obama administration given their financial support of the Morsi regime. By supporting Morsis regime, is it possible that President Obama may have indirectly funded the attack on the Benghazi Consulate? Time will tell.

Other Questions: http://www.scribd.com/doc/182155973/Rep-Nunes-letter-to-Speaker-Boehner-pdf Sources: The Attack Background Information: http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2013/08/Benghazi-book-fred-burton-samuel-m-katz http://predicthistunpredictpast.blogspot.com/2013/05/benghazi-definitive-timeline.html http://www.breitbart.com/Blog/2013/09/11/One-Year-Later-Why-We-Were-in-Benghazi

16

http://www.wnd.com/2012/10/obama-cuts-deal-with-iran-overnukes/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter 17 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/NJ23Aa02.html

Benghazi Thoughts Page 6

The Lies Unravel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBypQTIJaAU http://washingtonexaminer.com/questions-about-benghazi-linger/article/2535632 http://www.nationalreview.com/article/348162/when-libya-lies-fell-apart

The Investigation Continues: http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2013-09-10-DEI-to-Kerry-re-Benghazisurvivors.pdf http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/cia-director-pledges-make-benghazi-survivors-availabletalk_753776.html

House Oversight Committee Report on the Accountability Review Board for Benghazi: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/15/congress-hillary-s-benghazi-investigation-let-topofficials-escape-blame.html http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Benghazi-ARB-Majority-Staff-Report2.pdf

Benghazi Thoughts Page 7