Posted on 09/13/2012 9:38:46 AM PDT by Cliff Dweller
If I was a marine, stationed at a hostile post, not allowed to carry ammunition, I would be putting in transfer papers every other day until they got rid of me....
If this was to start happening, maybe.......
I noticed the same thing the other day and posted it as well as post #40 and #50 in this very thread.
Sources USMC Blog posts - True hard to validate (read near impossible)
I hada Marine tell me they keep marbles in their pocket and chuck them at people who mess with them. Honestly!!!
They were not allowed to have loaded weapons or carry live ammo because no one trusts a grunt upstairs with something that could have world changing ramifications. However it was right there in case they needed it, and would have been issued at the command of the CO if certain events happened whether or not word came down from On High is what I was told.
I was speaking to an old friend yesterday who was a former marine about this, he told me that one time a petition was circulated asking if they could be issued baseball bats instead of their weapons in these cases, also if they could fix bayonets as a deterrent.
Nope.
Marines with no ammunition? What did she think they were there for, collecting Toys for Tots?
Even Barney was allowed one bullet.
This is my synopsis of the Libyan Consulate fiasco gathered from on-line reports.
Would y’all look it over and tell me what I have wrong (or add to it)? Trying to get a handle on what is actually true, or known.
The Benghazi, Libya Consulate (with no Marine contingent or reinforced building protection) is warned on Sept. 4th that a mob protest will be held on Sept. 11th at its location. No additional Marine personnel are moved to the location from Tripoli. However, for reasons unknown, the Ambassador is on-site with 1 USAF Communications Specialist, 2 lightly armed Marines, and an undetermined number of Libyan security personnel.
The mob protest was actually a cover for a well-planned and organized assassination attempt by a team of 15-20 AQL (Al Qaeda Libya) fighters who were there to kill the Amb. in revenge for our killing an Al Qaeda leader in June.
At 10PM, AQL opened fire and attacked in two waves. A running gunfight ensues and it lasts until 2:30AM. For reasons not explained, no attempt is made to reinforce the Marines during this 4.5 hour battle. For me, that seems like mis-reporting because it does not make any sense.
The fight began when a volley of RPG is fired at the Consulate from the crowd and either those rounds set fire to the building, or the building is set on fire. After the volley, one team of AQL moves to breach the Consulate, but comes into contact with Libyan security and is supposedly repelled. During the fight, the Amb. becomes separated in the dense smoke and dies of smoke inhalation, however, for some reason the post-mortem report confirms that the Amb. was sodomized shortly before his death.
The USAF Coms. spec., and 2 Marines move to a Consulate car to link up for extraction at the safe house, but come under close small arms fire. The 2 Marines are killed on site after volunteering to form a rear guard to protect the car in its escape. The remaining USAF Coms. Spec. attempts to drive away, but is ambushed by a blocking AQL force that was waiting for him and was assuming that the Amb. was in the car.
No mention of what happened to the on-site Libyan Sec. Force, but it’s suspected that at least one of them handed the address of the safe house over to AQL.
As this is happening a 6-man ex-fil team from Tripoli is helicoptered to the safe house. Upon landing they take heavy weapons fire from a neighboring farm house.
A Marine(?) sniper moves to the roof, but is hit by an RPG round and falls to the street. One soldier is killed on the ground after landing. (That makes 6 casualties. The media refers to only 4.)
As this fight is on-going at the safe house, Libyan security forces are arranging several unarmed pick-up trucks to get the Consulate staff from the safe house to the airport, but the on-site commanding Libyan officer was told that there would be only 10 people. There were close to 37. At some point the safe house catches fire.
In the confusion, more trucks are gathered up from what has been referred to as “friendly Libyan forces” and all of the remaining staff, Marines, and the casualties are moved to the airport. One report noted 15-17 casualties at the safe house (+2 KIA), but I do not know where that came from.
Somewhere in all of this some friendly Libyans take the dead Ambassador to the hospital, but first parade his dead body around.
There has been no mention of the names (or where the bodies are) of the 2 Marines and the USAF Coms. Spec. killed at the Consulate.
It has been reported, but not confirmed, that Obama was informed that the Consulate was being attacked and he then went to sleep. He does not appear to ask about the outcome until the next morning which left him unprepared to make a statement. Romney beat him to that statement and condemned Obama. The Media at Romney’s press conference realized how badly Obama had messed up and co-ordinated their questions to put Romney in a bad light and put their story on him and not on the actual story. Obama makes a statement in the afternoon and then flies to Las Vegas for a fund raiser.
Also, on Sept. 11th, the Egyptian Embassy was breached by a mob and no effort was made by the Marines on duty to stop or remove them from the Embassy walls. As it turns out, the Marines at the Egyptian Embassy are not permitted to carry live ammo. Oops.
“U.S. Marines defending the American embassy in Egypt were not permitted by the State Department to carry live ammunition, limiting their ability to respond to attacks like those this week on the U.S. consulate in Cairo. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson “did not permit U.S. Marine guards to carry live ammunition,” according to multiple reports on U.S. Marine Corps blogs. “She neutralized any U.S. military capability that was dedicated to preserve her life and protect the US Embassy.” If true, the reports indicate that Patterson shirked her obligation to protect U.S. interests.”
Great minds my FRiend, great minds. ;)
"I'm crushing your head....I'm crushing your head...Crush...Crush...Crush...."
Oh, how times have changed. When I was a Marine Security Gaurd in Jordan and Austria, I had a 9MM as my side arm. At the ready was an 870P Riot Shotgun, Mini 14, Uzi, several different caliber pistols all within arms reach for any given moment with enough Ammo to take care of business on multiple fronts. And that was just inside the secure booth within the embassy doors. My fellow Marines always at the ready with as much at their disposal.
Someone better Court Martial me if I am told to stand down under the threat of violance or incursion.
I have no doubt that what happened in Liberia happened for the same reason. No ammo and they couldn't defend anyone.
Marines who were sent in [at the last minute] were *set-up*.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/12/libya-ambassador-battle-idAFL5E8KCMYB20120912?sp=true
Amen. Romney and/or his PAC’s better run ads with this.
Washington DC = Mordor = FUBAR
If that no ammo decision was hers shes responsible and should be removed at the least..,.
I wondered how the Islamic terrorists could get anywhere near the wall and even on top and over into the compund without one of them getting a bullet or 10...
Its US soil...
Its like someone breaking into the White House grounds...
Un-freakin-believable...
No..wait!
But I know you "Conservatives to Reelect President 0bama" (CREEP0) members don't like the inconvenient truths about your god 0bama being made public.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.