“They did not count on someone rushing to the aid of the ambassador. “
Bingo. After giving the stand-down order, they (zero/hillbilly) expected no survivors/witnesses.
They didn’t expect that the two Seals would intervene and save the survivors.
There is SOME reason why zero/hillbilly didn’t want survivors from the attack. Orders from Russia/Saudi Arabia/another Muslim country?? Botched kidnapping to force exchange of the Blind Sheik?
I pray we find out the truth.
When the Koran was burned in Afghanistan by the US military due to prisoners writing in them and using them to communicate with one another, there was a lot of protesting and killing that followed. Two American officers were killed in an Afghan ministry building. One was a Lt Colonel who was described as “Afghanistan’s best friend.” There are a lot of articles on him and his work. His attitude and work remind me of Ambassador Stevens who was recognized as a friend to Libya among other Middle Eastern cultures. Anywho, here is an article on Lt Colonel Loftis.
http://www.afsoc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123293009
We might be rushing to judgment here.
Note that the mob later found the Ambassador, then took him to the hospital,..doctors worked to revive him for reportedly 90 minutes around 1am local time, but nobody recognized him as the Ambassador until reported to US folks about dawn local time.
If there objective had been to kill the Ambassador and leave no survivors, far more violent behavior would have been observed and he wouldn't have been taken to the hospital. Guards who had shot on the initial attackers were wounded but not slaughtered.
In regards to the ex-SEALs, the watch officer normally when speaking to elite individuals wouldn't remove them from the scene, even if he had parallel friendlies en route. Instead, they would typically be told to observe or lend a helping hand as a sniper to reinforce the other friendlies. IOW, they are known to be capable of operating independently and are valuable resources, especially for eyes on target, to verify other reports.
IMHO, the limited number of fires in the morning ceasing after they had been eliminated, and their being told to stand down, vice render supporting verification, indicates they might have been targeted as witnesses by friendlies, rather than as collateral damage.