We didn't know that the CIA played the lead role in securing our personnel and that it appears that most of the decision-making was done locally. Where was the direction from the WH and the failure to call the inter-agency counter-terrorism task force to coordinate assistance to the beleaguered mission with 30 American lives at risk? Based on the timeline the CIA station chief requested assistance from the "the February 17 Brigade, other militias and the Libyan intelligence service seeking vehicles with .50-caliber machine guns. Nobody responds." Washington knew this at 10.04 local time. Shouldn't this set off alarm bells in the WH?
An unarmed drone is overhead by 11:11 PM diverted from another mission. Why wasn't an armed drone and other assets dispatched once it was learned that the host government couldn't provide assistance?
● 11:56 p.m.: CIA officers at the annex are attacked by a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms. Sporadic attacks continue for about another hour. The attacks stop at 1:01 a.m., and some assume the fight is over.
Where was Obama and Hillary? They should have been on the phone with the Libyan President and Foreign Minister demanding immediate protection for the annex. There were already seriously injured people at the annex and one dead American, Sean Smith, whose body was transported from the compound. Again, what assets were being assembled to assist the post?
There is the claim that the "seven-person rescue squad from the agency’s Global Response Staff (GRS) leaves in two vehicles. The team leader is a career CIA officer; the team includes a contractor named Tyrone Woods, who later died. During the previous 24-minute interval, the CIA base chief calls the February 17 Brigade, other militias and the Libyan intelligence service seeking vehicles with .50-caliber machine guns. Nobody responds. The team leader and the base chief agree at 10:04 that they can’t wait any longer, and the squad heads for the consulate.
Yes we knew that there was a relief team from the annex that headed to compound to assist those there, but the story has been that they disobeyed orders and went despite being told to stand down. If they were sent, then it goes against the Panetta doctrine of not sending people into harm's way without complete intel.
● 1:15 a.m.: CIA reinforcements arrive on a 45-minute flight from Tripoli in a plane they’ve hastily chartered. The Tripoli team includes four GRS security officers, a CIA case officer and two U.S. military personnel on loan to the agency. They don’t leave the Benghazi airport until 4:30 a.m. 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 al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia militia that mounted the consulate attack.
Seven people from Tripoli to assist Benghazi on a chartered aircraft? Again, it appears to be a local decision--too little, too late. One of the members of the Tripoli team, Doherty, is killed in Benghazi. How much of a difference can this assistance have provided given the size and weaponry of the terrorist attackers?
Over three hours at the airport negotiating with Libyan officials? Again, where was Obama and Hillary to facilitate such assistance to our people? They should have been in direct contact with the Libyan Government at the highest levels. If the Libyans were as cooperative as Obama said they were, why were any negotiations required? And what was the Libyan government in Benghazi doing to protect the annex since it was hit originally at 11:56?
And the hospital was surrounded by "the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia militia that mounted the consulate attack." So how could Obama say the next day in the Rose Garden and for several weeks that this was not a terrorist attack? It was already know from our people on the ground that it was and that AQ was involved.
●5:04 a.m.: The team from Tripoli arrives at the CIA base. Glen Doherty, one of the GRS men from Tripoli, goes to the roof and joins Woods in firing positions.
●5:15 a.m.: A new Libyan assault begins, this time with mortars. Two rounds miss and the next three hit the roof. The rooftop defenders never “laser the mortars,” as has been reported. They don’t know the weapons are in place until the indirect fire begins, nor are the mortars observed by the drone overhead. The defenders have focused their laser sights earlier on several Libyan attackers, as warnings not to fire. At 5:26 the attack is over. Woods and Doherty are dead and two others are wounded.
So the relief team arrives at the annex and within 11 minutes they are under attack. A coincidence? So the lasers are focused on the attackers as warnings not to fire? Of course by doing that, the defenders compromise their positions. Dubious at best. We need the video and audio that might be available. Almost 8 hours have elapsed since our compound was hit and still no assets from abroad.
The elephant in the room for this whole timeline is the absence of leadership and participation by the WH, SECSTATE, and the counter-terrorism task force. The CIA is running the show and decisions are being made locally on what to do? Bringing in assets from Tripoli is very strange indeed.
As someone who has served in an Embassy that was overrun by an armed mob, I find this story to be almost unbelievable if this timeline is true. It reeks of incompetence and dereliction of duty. With 30 American lives at risk, is the best we can expect from our government?
Tomorrow this entire timeline will be scrutinized and discussed. It will raise the profile of the Benghazi attack and you can bet that Obama will become ground zero because of the questions raised by this description of events. Stay tuned.
Bless you and thanks for your service. I refer you to my post on another thread. Recall that TOTUS has bragged that he’s better at policy, speech writing, EVERYTHING than any of his staff and advisors. Now he deludes himself by thinking that he’s Jack Bauer.
This is worse than the USS Pueblo.
The elephant in the room for this whole timeline is the absence of leadership and participation by the WH, SECSTATE, and the counter-terrorism task force.
Yes, but the article is all about the CIA efforts. The absence of leadership is there with or without this article.
It adds some things - more things the WH hasn't commented on. Yes the WH should have/likely did know. Yes, they did nothing as far as we know.
But the article doesn't add much to this, a few more details. We still know they didn't respond, we still don't know what they were doing, who made the decision, how it was communicated, etc. etc.
The elephant was in the room before this article and remains in the room after it. The CIA just gets more CYA.
IMHO, this CBS report is more damaging to the regime: