CIA BENGHAZI TEAM CLASH LED TO 'STAND DOWN' REPORT

[Indi Guy]

Source: AP


CIA officers revealed a clash over how quickly they should go help the besieged U.S. ambassador during the 2012 attack on an outpost in Libya, and a standing order for them to avoid violent encounters, according to a congressman and others who heard their private congressional testimony or were briefed on it...

One allegation was that U.S. officials told the CIA to "stand down" and not go to the aid of the Americans. Top CIA and Defense and State Department officials have denied that. The testimony from the CIA officers and contractors who were in Libya on the night of Sept. 11, 2012, bolster those denials, but also shed light on what may have led to the delay of up to 30 minutes to respond, according to the varying accounts.

None of those who testified said a quicker response would have saved the lives of Stevens and communications specialist Sean Smith at the temporary diplomatic facility. The senior CIA officers in charge in Libya that day told Congress of a chaotic scramble to aid Stevens and others who were in the outpost when it was attacked by militants on the 11th anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Those CIA leaders decided they and their security contractor team should wait before rushing from their annex into the violence roughly a mile away. They said they were trying to first gather intelligence and round up Libyan militia allies armed with heavy weapons, according to the testimony by the CIA officers in charge. Some CIA security contractors disagreed with their bosses and wanted to move more quickly.

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, who heads a House intelligence subcommittee that interviewed the employees, said he believes this disagreement was the source of allegations that the CIA ordered security personnel to "stand down" and not help the people inside the diplomatic mission, and perhaps was the source of accusations the administration failed to answer a call from the CIA security team for combat aircraft...



Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/cia-benghazi-team-clash-led-stand-down-report

[DURHAM D]

1. Someone send this to Senator Graham

so he will shut the f*ck up.

otoh - I doubt he can comprehend this well written article. He is just too damn stupid.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

2. Yeah...

... what Durham D said!

[Chakab]

3. You're operating on the assumption that Graham actually believes the bullshit that he's spouting

about Benghazi. He doesn't. It's totally cynical on his part. He's throwing red meat to his base by attacking the Administration at every turn so that he can fend off his Tea Party primary challenger.

[Indi Guy]

14. Graham is one of the best pols...

...that money can buy.

[chuckstevens]

4. It's STILL Obama's Fault!

And its bigger than 9/11, Iran Contra, and Watergate combined! At least that's what Sean Hannity will say and so many of his dumb fuck Faux News people will believe it. Therefore, Wolf Blitzer on CNN will have to give it much attention and credibility. Soon the sound bites will convince more uninformed, confused Americans that it must be true.

Don't you just love the American "media"?

[Indi Guy]

5. They sure pilloried Hillary over this...

...as well as Obama.

[Thinkingabout]

9. Hiiary still had one of the best comments,"it doesn't matter now", if the Benghazi hearings desired

Outcome was to take action so this type of tragedy from happening the witch hunt to pin it on Hillary or Obama was sidetracked by stupid questions being ask.

[JDPriestly]

7. I think this story makes Petraeus and the CIA look bad, not anyone else.

The CIA refused to respond until it was too late. And we still don't know for sure who was behind the raid. I dare not say who might have instigated the whole thing.

Petraeus had presidential aspirations at the time of this raid. Remember?

[cheapdate]

10. And we'll proibably never know exactly who the individuals were who were responsible.

Obviously, this isn't New York City. This is a volatile city in a north African country that just fought an all-out civil war less than a year earlier. Muammar Qaddafi's army was annihilated on the roads outside of Benghazi by US air power less than one year earlier -- just as it was poised for an all-our assault on the rebel city. This is still a very dangerous place, as Chris Stevens and everyone involved were keenly aware.

[NYtoBush-Drop Dead]

11. so this is before we learned that Petraus

was banging that girl who wasn't his wife?

[Festivito]

6. Shortly after, didn't CIA head resign because of a fa(ahem)ke sex scandal?

Had to keep from being asked too many questions, telling the least untruthful answer he could muster -- only for so long.

I still wonder if that movie thing was not a setup all along.

[DCBob]

8. This wont stop RW Benghazeeitis.. facts dont matter anymore..

the brainless conservatives are convinced Obama told them to stand down.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

13. Of course. Just another in his many moves to destroy America.

[yurbud]

12. the only question about Libya that matters is why our government and NATO thought it was necessary

to violently overthrow Gaddafi and whether the chaos, death, and suffering of Libyans that resulted were worth it for whatever oil deals or lessons bankers were trying to teach other disobedient countries.

[Ash_F]

15. Yep, that is where the focus of the discussion should be. /nt