Posted on 10/28/2012 12:01:13 PM PDT by TigerClaws
Is an American General losing his job for trying to save the Americans besieged in Benghazi? This is the latest potential wrinkle in the growing scandal surrounding the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack that left four men dead and President Obama scrambling for a coherent explanation. On October 18, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta appeared unexpectedly at an otherwise unrelated briefing on “Efforts to Enhance the Financial Health of the Force." News organizations and CSPAN were told beforehand there was no news value to the event and gave it scant coverage. In his brief remarks Mr. Panetta said, "Today I am very pleased to announce that President Obama will nominate General David Rodriguez to succeed General Carter Ham as commander of U.S. Africa Command.” This came as a surprise to many, since General Ham had only been in the position for a year and a half. The General is a very well regarded officer who made AFRICOM into a true Combatant Command after the ineffective leadership of his predecessor, General William E. "Kip" Ward. Later, word circulated informally that General Ham was scheduled to rotate out in March 2013 anyway, but according to Joint doctrine, "the tour length for combatant commanders and Defense agency directors is three years." Some assumed that he was leaving for unspecified personal reasons.
Read more: TRR: Is a General losing his job over Benghazi? - Washington Times http://p.washingtontimes.com/blog/robbins-report/2012/oct/28/general-losing-his-job-over-benghazi/#ixzz2AcbbB7Er Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
(Excerpt) Read more at p.washingtontimes.com ...
Seems to me General Ham was playing for the wrong team (ours) in 0’s estimation.
Understand. I’ve been in harms way and have many close friends who are legends among those who know them and their accomplishments.
I have zero respect for those who ignore those who fight and die for a concept and dream of which politicians are apparently completely ignorant.
yes, but plots do occur. We should have pulled our Ambassador out a long time ago. Obama could have ridden high through the election, the Ambassador had been captured, then rescued by one of our special forces groups. Why didn't they come in when the SEALs entered and complicated things? It looks like that just wasn't accounted for.
I think after the first debate, Obama's team felt like they needed a great surprise. A rescue would have fit the bill. I understand trying to avoid the conspiracy theory thing, but desperate people do desperate things and Obama's allies were desperate. A LOT of money and power is at stake.
General Ham is a good man.
Wouldn’t be surprised if this is true.
Panetta’s excuse wreaked of FEAR and COWARDICE.
This piece of dogsh!+, this African communist Ubama, must GO.
If General Ham had the stones to defy a “stand down” order and spin up a rescue mission, then he probably has enough nerve to name names and tell the truth.
Come on, General. Your fellow citizens need to hear some honesty for a change. Let’s hear your story.
“..I have an strong aversion to conspiracy theories - the only thing that makes me wonder what more is going is the reduced security for Stevens’ trip, and that really is a red flag.
But human stupidity, cupidity and wickedness accounts for so much without deep and complicated plots....”
I hear ya on the conspiracy theories. We know they’re desperate, stupid and wicked, but there has to be a reason. If the motive wasn’t power, than perhaps it was the money.
FWIW:
“Ghadaffi amassed $260billion in his sovereign wealth fund in just 5 years after sanctions were lifted with 40% of that under management in the US which was frozen during the ouster of Ghadaffi. Follow the money! You don’t drop bombs in Libya or deploy AC130s to save Americans fighting for their lives, if you’re goal is to install a govt to control unimaginable sums...and if Gens Ward, Ham and others get in your way, you set them up and replace them...”
The question you need to ask yourself is, “They are covering up something worse than the deaths of four Americans. What could be more damaging to the President?”
Jennifer Griffen, Nat’l Security correspondent for Fox News tweeted :
“Rumors Gen Carter Ham relieved of command over Benghazi NOT true, according to multiple well placed sources. Long planned change of command.”
My computer won’t let me see video. What did Bolton say?
I thought the same thing. But the first presidential debate wasn’t until October 3rd - well after Obama had been spinning the 9-11 attack as being a demonstration that turned violent. Whatever was motivating Obama was before the first debate debacle.
That doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t plan a daring rescue though. The pollsters were making it appear like Obama was way ahead (using over-weighted dem samples), but Obama’s own internal polls had to be looking pretty bad for him even then.
If it was planned for a long time there should be some kind of paper trail. I wonder how a person would get access to that paper trail.
Oh, come on. A "long planned change of command" that just happened to take place reportedly within minutes of General Ham preparing to act in Ben Ghazi ... ????
A rescue, with the sheik to be released later, after the election? Maybe....
It would have to be a staged rescue of the ambassador, not a release, because with the release you’re looking for the trade.
If I were MB or AQ I wouldn’t trust O on a trade later.
And letting your ambassador be kidnapped in the first place looks stupid and weak, even if you do get him back with a rah rah show of force two weeks later.
The story continues that now General Rodiguez would take General Ham's place as the head of Africom.
If this is really true, and I have seen at least 2-3 other threads with the same story....then I fault General Ham for NOT disobeying some statement from his 2nd in command that he was now relieved of his command. Gen Ham should have said "Nuts" and given the order to proceed, if anything for the sake of the 4 Americans, fighting for their lives. I would bet that Gen Ham's entire command would still have recognized him as the legitimate commander. Personally I am not real convinced that this is what actually happened.
The question you need to ask yourself is, “They are covering up something worse than the deaths of four Americans. What could be more damaging to the President?”
Gun running, another fast and furious gone bad.
but don’t you want to know who the POS is, that let the administration know that he was getting ready to launch a QRF, anyway?
That person is just as much an a**hole as the current a**hole in the white house.
Sounds like a Hitler/Stalin-type promotion - to the Eastern Front.
Having two CIA agents murdered and denying any help to them while watching their deaths makes the comments Obama and Biden made in the debates about the intelligence community even more galling.
It is no doubt they must hate this administration with white hot fire.
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