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Posted on 05/17/2013 2:59:40 PM PDT by Hulka
Betrayal in Benghazi
The combat code of the US Military is that we don’t abandon our dead or wounded on the battlefield. In US Air Force lingo, fighter pilots don’t run off and leave their wingmen. If one of our own is shot down, still alive and not yet in enemy captivity, we will either come to get him or die trying. Among America’s fighting forces, the calm, sure knowledge that such an irrevocable bond exists is priceless. Along with individual faith and personal grit, it is a sacred trust that has often sustained hope in the face of terribly long odds.
The disgraceful abandonment of our Ambassador and those brave ex-SEALs who fought to their deaths to save others in that compound is nothing short of dereliction-of-duty. Additionally, the patently absurd cover-up scenario that was fabricated in the aftermath was an outright lie in attempt to shield the President and the Secretary of State from responsibility.
It has been over eight months since the attack on our compound in Benghazi. The White House strategy, with the aid of a “lap dog press” has been to run out the clock before the truth is forthcoming. The recent testimonies of the three “whistle blowers” have reopened the subject and hopefully will lead to exposure and disgrace of those responsible for this embarrassing debacle.
It would appear that the most recent firewall which the Administration is counting on is the contention that there were simply no military assets that could be brought to bear in time to make a difference… mainly due to the unavailability of tanker support for fighter aircraft. This is simply BS, regardless how many supposed “experts” the Administration trot out to make such an assertion. The bottom line is that even if the closest asset capable of response was half-way around the world, you don’t just sit on your penguin ass and do nothing. The fact is that the closest asset was not half-way around the world, but as near as Aviano Air Base, Italy where two squadrons of F-16Cs are based. Consider the following scenario (all times Benghazi local):
When Hicks in Tripoli receives a call at 9:40 PM from Ambassador Stevens informing him “Greg, we are under attack!” (his last words), he immediately notifies all agencies and prepares for the immediate initiation of an existing “Emergency Response Plan.” At AFRICON, General Carter Ham attempts to mount a rescue effort, but is told to “stand down.” By 10:30 PM an unarmed drone is overhead the compound and streaming live feed to various Command and Control Agencies… and everyone watching that feed knew damn well what was going on. At 11:30 PM Woods, Doherty and five others leave Tripoli, arriving in Benghazi at 1:30 AM on Wednesday morning, where they hold off the attacking mob from the roof of the compound until they are killed by a mortar direct hit at 4:00 AM.
So nothing could have been done, eh? Nonsense. If one assumes that tanker support really was not available… what about this:
• When at 10:00 PM AFRICON alerts the 31st TFW Command Post in Aviano Air Base, Italy of the attack, the Wing Commander orders preparation for the launch of two F-16s and advises the Command Post at NAS Sigonella to prepare for hot pit refueling and quick turn of the jets.
• By 11:30 PM, two F-16Cs with drop tanks and each armed with five hundred 20 MM rounds are airborne. Flying at 0.92 mach they will cover the 522 nautical miles directly to NAS Sigonella in 1.08 hours.
• While in-route, the flight lead is informed of the tactical situation, rules of engagement, and radio frequencies to use.
• The jets depart Sigonella at 1:10 AM with full fuel load and cover the 377 nautical miles directly to Benghazi in 0.8 hours, arriving at 1:50 AM… which would be 20 minutes after the arrival of Woods, Doherty and their team.
• Providing that the two F-16s initial pass over the mob, in full afterburner at 200 feet and 550 knots did not stop the attack in its tracks, only a few well placed strafing runs on targets of opportunity would assuredly do the trick.
• Were the F-16s fuel state insufficient to recover at Sigonelli after jettisoning their external drop tanks, they could easily do so at Tripoli International Airport, only one-half hour away.
• As for those hand-wringing naysayers who would worry about IFR clearances, border crossing authority, collateral damage, landing rights, political correctness and dozens of other reasons not to act… screw them. It is high time that our “leadership” get their priorities straight and put America’s interests first.
The end result would be that Woods and Doherty would be alive. Dozens in the attacking rabble would be rendezvousing with “72 virgins”… and a clear message would have been sent to the next worthless POS terrorist contemplating an attack on Americans that it is not really a good idea to “tug on Superman’s cape.”
Of course all this would depend upon a Commander In Chief that was more concerned with saving the lives of those he put in harm’s way than getting his crew rest for a campaign fund raising event in Las Vegas the next day. As well as a Secretary of State that actually understood “What difference did it make?”, or a Secretary of Defense whose immediate response was not to the effect that “One of the military tenants is that you don’t commit assets until you fully understand the tactical situation.” Was he not watching a live feed from the unarmed drone… and he didn’t understand the tactical situation? YGBSM!
Ultimately it comes down to the question of who give that order to “stand down?” Whoever that coward turns out to be should be exposed, removed from office, and face criminal charges for dereliction of duty. The combat forces of the United States of America deserve leadership that really does “have their back” when the chips are down.
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Thank you for posting this. It is extremely informative,
Excellent read from a Fighter Pilot that knows what he is talking about.
In addition, no one knew how long this firefight was going to last.
So, send the damn planes. We all hope the person(s) involved in giving
the order to stand down is exposed and shamed with tar and feathers.
Very clear. It put the lie to Obama, if that was necessary. I think any of us where once in the service, even in the Stone Age, pretty much thought like this was likely.
Gotta go now, it sounds like the IRS Swat team is here.
EXACTLY!!! Very well said.
Clear and concise. Now, who in the immediate military chain of command is so cowardly thgat they are lending cover to the treachery? Because that one or those two or three are useless dishonorable vermin playing at politics and have abandoned their fellow warriors still in the fray. We know Petraeus is scum, but who are the others that are covering for the treachery of the obamanation laying desolate the honor of our Military?
Uou could start with panetta and dempsey, the joint chiefs, then just work your way across the spectrum.
That is a thread I started to try to consolidate and catalog Benghazi related information. Thanks for sharing this
Very well said!
Have you seen this?:
http://freebeacon.com/calls-for-benghazi-select-committee-mount/
26,000 Federal Law Enforcement Ass. members calling for select committee too!
One of the worst charges brought against Col. Custer, long before Little Big Horn, was that he left the Seventh Cavalry dead to the mercies of the Indians. Cavalry respected that the Native American warriors always carried away their dead. To have left the ambassador to the mercies of the Islamic dogs, is unconscionable.
Bookmarked.
My pleasure. He is a true hero.
Hear, hear!
I expected no honor out of Panetta. He is a clinton hack from the get go and a Soros servant. I’m thinnking more about membership in the officer ranks, very high up ...
But.
At the heart of all these emerging ‘scandals’ – IRS targeting specific groups, secret AP phone records, Benghazi cover-up, and who knows what else might come to light – is this:
Obama’s ambition, to win a second term presidency, so he can start his fundamentally transforming America in earnest, to creat his own historical 'LEGACY'. It is not enough for him to be the 'first' "black" president in history books.
But he can not win the election ON HIS OWN MERIT. Just like his first term, he did not win because of what he has done or accomplished. So he and his band of thugs pulled out all the stops, every means to justify the end. Just so Obama can focus on 'governing' (i.e. de facto dictate) in his second term.
ALL of the scandals (so far) can be traced back directly to Obama himself. All the scandals (so far) are tied together. ===> Obama.
/Sorry for this Off Topic post here.
I don’t even recognize my military anymore. I don’t want to paint all COs with a broad brush, but it seems like the only way they can get promoted is to fall in line. It’s frightening.
did any F-16s get airborne from Aviano?
it seems to me that the prudent thing to do
would be to move some F-16s to NAS Sigonella,
even if they were held there.
It’s not really off topic, naps, but for my money, everything that we are seeing is the culmination of what the clinton administration set into place, gwb carried through, and obama actually accomplished because all he had to do was nothing but give speeches...and that just doesn’t work any more than his fake blackness does anymore.
pelosi and reid did the heavy lifting and they got their marching orders from bubba. That’s a fact.
For your information Cheney said, on one of the radio or TV shows, that a special OPS terror team was always based at Sigonella during the Bush years.He did not confirm one was there on Sept 11 but a good question to ask the Sec Def. If you listen carefully to all the people who have testified they always say US assets never including NATO assets. We now know they parse their words.
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