Witness: US response to Benghazi attack too weak

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-EXCITE

By DEB RIECHMANN and DONNA CASSATA

WASHINGTON (AP) — A retired general who was in the U.S. military's operation center during the 2012 attack on the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, said Thursday that Washington should have done more to respond during the battle.

Retired Brig. Gen. Robert Lovell told the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform that U.S. forces "should have tried" to get to the embassy in time to help save the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans who were killed by militants in twin attacks the night of Sept. 11, 2012. He says the State Department should have made stronger requests for action. The State Department didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Lovell was monitoring the attack from U.S. Africa Command's headquarters in Germany. He says it was clear that the attack was hostile action.

"Four individuals died. We obviously did not respond in time to get there," he said.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140501/us-benghazi-attack-738b7d937a.html

[Blue Owl]

1. Was anyone reading "My Pet Goat" during the attack?

n/t

[karynnj]

2. Well - first of all - they were NOT in the embassy

The embassy, which was more protected was in Tripoli. They were in a weaker consulate in Benghazi. They have gone through the time line - and there were no forces sufficiently close to have made a difference.

[blm]

8. Plus the FACT that it was a covert CIA operation under the direction of Gen. Petraeus and there were

dozens of CIA operatives on the ground there AT THE TIME.

[giftedgirl77]

3. Are we still doing this????

I swear these people are unbelievable, they would make a scandal out of how long Obama brushes his teeth for if they could get ahold of the information.

[quadrature]

24. four people died, including a US diplomat...nt

[The Straight Story]

26. And?

Really, and what? I am not seeing the connection here between 4 dead people and why this is still going on.

Please, enlighten me.

[giftedgirl77]

27. And several different investigations have been conducted...

These investigations have all found the same thing, NO WRONG DOING by the WH Administration or HRC. This is nothing more than a dog & pony show & good old fashioned witch hunt. ACA didn't pan out so they have resorted back to this trusty dead horse.

[rtracey]

4. One more time

Ok lets go over this one more time.... We are confirming that Oswald was the lone gunman.......(sarcasm), (humor)......that what this will Benghazi investigation will be in 50 years...

[louis-t]

5. This guy was in Germany 2,000 miles away and

he knows what "shoulda" been done? Why didn't HE do something? He was "monitoring" the situation.

[DURHAM D]

6. My only question -

Why was the U.S. Africa Command based in Germany?

[jakeXT]

17. Because the folks in Africa aren't buying what AFRICOM is selling /nt

[AnalystInParadise]

22. Yet

We are currently negotiating with six African countries to have them host AFRICOM HQ.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

25. Because the buildings were vacant and available ...

... after the Army VII Corps was deactivated?

Or maybe because no country in Africa wanted to host the U.S. military. Of the countries that the U.S. military would deem safe enough for generals and family.

[blm]

7. Did he bring up the FACT that it was a COVERT CIA OPERATION and dozens of CIA operatives were there

on the ground at the time? Or did he just try to keep up the Republican pretense that the WH and State Dept didn't care that this consulate was attacked?

[groundloop]

9. This guy's either running for office (as a GOPer of course) or angling for a show on Faux

[Iliyah]

10. GOPers don't give a shit about the people who died - Americans as well as Libyans

whom it seems like the GOPers seriously don't give a fuck about the Libyans who tried to protect the Americans and many of them died huh. This shit is sickening.

[DhhD]

11. The email is snipped out. Go to the CNN link to see the email.

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/05/politics/white-house-benghazi-email/index.html

CNN exclusive: White House email contradicts Benghazi leaksUpdated 12:15 PM EDT, Tue May 14, 2013
CNN has obtained an email sent by a top aide to President Barack Obama, in which the aide discusses the Obama administration reaction to the attack on the U.S. posts in Benghazi, Libya. The actual email differs from how sources inaccurately quoted and paraphrased it in previous accounts to different media organizations.

The significance of the email seems to be that whomever leaked the inaccurate information earlier this month did so in a way that made it appear that the White House - specifically deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes - was more interested in the State Department's desire to remove mentions to specific terrorist groups and warnings about these groups so as to not bring criticism to the Department than Rhodes' email actually stated.

CNN exclusive: White House email contradicts Benghazi leaks
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CNN has obtained an email sent by a top aide to President Barack Obama, in which the aide discusses talking points for Congress about the attack on the U.S. posts in Benghazi, Libya. The actual email differs from how sources inaccurately quoted and paraphrased it in previous accounts to different media organizations.
Contents
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Contributed by: Sean O'Key, CNN
To print the document, click the "Original Document" link to open the original PDF. At this time it is not possible to print the document with annotations.

[jeff47]

12. K. How 'bout we spend some time investigating the 44 who died during W's administration?

11 times more people....not a peep from morons like this.

[KeepItReal]

13. GOP Report Concludes Military Could Not Have Changed Outcome in Benghazi

http://www.mediaite.com/online/gop-report-concludes-military-could-not-have-changed-outcome-in-benghazi/

"The attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, continues to be a line of political attack against the Obama administration, but a new report from the Republican-led House Armed Services Committee belies at least one aspect of the popular conservative criticism, that U.S. forces were ordered to “stand down” when they could have saved lives in Benghazi.

...

However, as ThinkProgress notes, the report does undermine a key spoke in conservative talking points about Benghazi:

As Media Matters reports, Fox News cited reports of a stand-down order no fewer than 85 times during prime-time segments as of June 2013. As the new report — which the Republican majority of the committee authored –makes very clear in its findings, however, no such order ever existed. “There was no ‘stand down’ order issued to U.S. military personnel in Tripoli who sought to join the fight in Benghazi,” the report says, noting that the military was not positioned to respond to the attack.
“Given the military’s preparations on September 11, 2012, majority members have not yet discerned any response alternatives that could have likely changed the outcome of the Benghazi attack,” the report concludes."

[quadrature]

18. not an excuse to do nothing...

the problems went on for the better
part of a day. During that time,
they did not know how long the
troubles would go on.

I am still trying to find out who ordered
that F16s in north Italy should not
be moved south.

[giftedgirl77]

28. You may want to stop with your repeatedly debunked

talking points. There is a few issues with your theory of having jets fly in to save the day. The biggest issue is that we didn't have a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with them allowing us to utilize airspace all willnillie. Next, as it was an "embassy" it was the host nations responsibility to maintain security outside the walls, the US doesn't have the authority to take action past that wall. Finally, Italy isn't next to Libya & didn't have a rapid response team nor do they have the abilities to teleport.

[rtracey]

14. right wing dribble

remember this.... "Congressional Republicans and Democrats have said repeatedly that the military did what it could to respond on that chaotic night."

"Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said earlier this month that he was satisfied with how the military responded, considering where troops were based and how the two separate attacks unfolded."

I'm actually shocked this wasn't a story by Lara Logan......

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

15. and we are still talking about Benghazi why?

[Kablooie]

23. Because Republicans are still having hearings on it.

They have to earn the huge salaries that they make us pay them.
This is how they do it.

[Grassy Knoll]

16. The GOP, Get Obama Party, Killing Horses!

[jakeXT]

19. Ham didn't want to, Sigonella was 30min away with F16's at max speed

But other military forces were too far away or could not be mobilized in time. The closest AC-130 gunship, a devastating and accurate weapon against insurgents in urban areas, was in Afghanistan, a senior official said.

There are no armed drones within range of Libya. The closest fly out of Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, and were not in range of Benghazi. There was no Marine expeditionary unit — a large seaborne force with its own helicopters — in the Mediterranean Sea. American F-16 fighters in Europe were not on alert, and General Ham concluded they would not have been useful in a confused fight in a major Arab city.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/world/africa/benghazi-attack-raises-doubts-about-us-abilities-in-region.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[SunSeeker]

20. 15,000 Americans died that same year for lack of healthcare. No GOP outrage over THAT.

[Rocknrule]

21. Benghazi is the dead mother in the attic

and the GOP is Norman Bates

[tavernier]

29. I was obligated to listen to Faux news

yesterday at a patients home. I never have it on at home, so I only know about their Benghazi obsession from conversations on DU.

So I had to chuckle when, sure enough...

Breaking News: BENGHAZI!!!

When I got home I checked all other channels and hmmm... Guess what? No Benghazi anywhere else!