Apparently Gates subscribes to the Panetta Doctrine.
The Panetta DoctrineOn Benghazi, Panetta Says Needed 'Advance Notice' of Surprise Attack for Timely Response
They had real-time onsite video, secured e-mail and were speaking with personnel at both compounds over at least two lines of radio transmission and cell phones. There were two drones overhead. All of that was live-streaming to the entire DoD-DC network of sit-rooms around the world including the White House.
Did Panetta expect al Qaeda to call in with GPS-camera phones and relay their plans and positions to him? Maybe we can air drop laser sighting tags throughout the Muslim world and ask them to all kindly affix one to the tops of their heads? With barcodes so we can target specific jihadis. Oh, and let's require that terrorists submit detailed plans of attacks to a committee for review at least six months in advance.
Here is a video of Rep. Chaffetz saying that Gen. Ham, commander of AFRICOM at that time, told him that assets were near enough to help and ready to go.There are teams around the world that train year around exclusively for rescues of Americans in hostage situations. Ambassadors and the personnel of diplomatic facilities are their highest priority.AFRICOM leader General Carter Ham was never given the order to secure the consulate in Benghazi. Youtube 1:43
Adm. James Lyons (Ret.) on Growing Benghazi Scandal
ADMIRAL LYONS: …All those comforting words that “We don’t want to put our forces at risk.” We had people at risk—they were crying for help! In a situation, you go with the resources you have available—and, in this particular case, we did have that 130-man Marine force recon team sitting there at Sigonella. Even if I only got 50 of them over there, that would have been significant in turning the situation around. We may not have been able to save the ambassador, but we certainly could have saved those other two SEALs that were over on the annex.
ADMIRAL LYONS: In perpetuating this lie, we also had administration officials lying to Congressional committees. That’s a felony. So, “What difference does it make?” It makes all the difference in the world. You cannot flaunt the truth here, just walk away from it and, basically, tell the American public to stuff it. That’s not acceptable.
The point on the organizing the two Marine anti-terrorist teams in Rota, that was good to go ahead and stand ’em up. What I find incomprehensible: The first team, it took them 23 hours to go a few hundred miles from Rota to Tripoli. I could go around the world in 23 hours, so that makes absolutely no sense to me.
Exactly. And they also had no idea how long the attack would last so the “We couldn’t have made it in time” meme only works in hindsight.