Today we have some stunning new information about the Benghazi attack. We already knew that Ambassador Stevens had asked for more security several times. His superiors ignored that request and removed most of the security he had. Now we know that on the night of the attack there were at least three urgent requests for help.
The story is best told if we follow the actions of former Navy Seal, Tyrone Woods. Woods was working for the CIA and was not a guard for Stevens. Woods was at the annex, about a mile from the consulate, when he heard the first shots of the attack on the consulate. He reported the attack and requested permission to help. Permission was denied. About an hour later, he again requested permission to help rescue those at the consulate. Permission was again denied.
Woods disobeyed orders and went to the consulate to help his fellow Americans under fire from the terrorists. This is what heroes do, and Woods was a real hero. Woods group rescued those who were still alive at the consulate, and took them back, under fire, to the annex. They also retrieved the body of Sean Smith, who had been killed in the initial attack. They could not find Ambassador Stevens.
They called for help a third time as they took their positions in the annex. Woods, and ex-seal buddy Glen Doherty manned machine guns on the tops of the annex buildings. They radioed for help again. They told their superiors that they had a laser pointed on the area that the incoming mortars were being launched from. Air support could have used this laser to pinpoint the target. But no significant help ever arrived, even though we had serious military assets about an hour and a half away.
Six hours and 20 minutes into this fight, heroes Woods and Doherty were killed by an incoming mortar. As Navy Seals, they must have been bewildered by the lack of help. Seals would never leave their buddies behind in a situation like that. Never. You stand strong for your buddies and your country at all cost.
It is clear that those in positions to do something were well aware of the dire situation in Benghazi. They knew the details as they happened, including a live video stream from the drone above. They knew that a local al Qaeda group was bragging about the attack as it happened. Someone chose not to act. Someone chose to sell a story about a video and “a demonstration that got out of hand”.
The President went to bed before Woods and Doherty were dead; before anyone knew where Ambassador Stevens was. He had to rest up for a campaign event in Las Vegas the next day. This whole Benghazi thing was “just a bump in the road”, he later said. No biggie. It’s just about a video, you know.
Fast forward to an interview given by the father of Tyrone Woods. Charles Woods said that he and his wife had intended to remain silent, but that the proliferation of lies has forced him to speak out. When his son’s body was returned to Andrews Air Force Base, Obama, Clinton and Biden each had a brief encounter with Charles and his wife. Each inappropriate encounter tells you something about the quality of the people involved.
Hillary said, ‘We will make sure the person who made that film is arrested and prosecuted.’
Biden said, in an extremely loud voice, ‘Did your son always have balls the size of cue balls?’
George described his interaction with the President this way: “Shaking hands with him quite frankly was like shaking hands with a dead fish. His face was pointed towards me but he would not look me in the eye. His eyes were over my shoulder and not in a forceful voice said ‘I’m really sorry Mr. Woods.’”
“And I could tell he was not sorry. He had no remorse.”
Leon Panetta responded today to the new revelations about the three desperate, unanswered pleas for help by saying, essentially, “It woulda been kinda hard to help, and we don’t want to just jump into things that are kinda hard.” Semper Fi
How embarrassing.
Update 10-27 – A CIA spokesman released this statement last night:
“No one at any level in the CIA told anybody not to help those in need; claims to the contrary are simply inaccurate.”
Yesterday, Denver TV reporter, Kyle Clarke, asked President Obama if requests for help in Benghazi were denied. His response:
“The election has nothing to do with four brave Americans getting killed and us wanting to find out exactly what happened. These are folks who served under me who I had sent to some very dangerous places. Nobody wants to find out more what happened than I do.”
So there you have it. The Benghazi debacle has nothing at all to do with this election. And nobody wants to find out what Obama did that night more than he does. What did he know, what orders did he give? He is working very hard to find the answers to those difficult questions.
Update 10-28 The CIA was first to issue a CYA (cover your a__) statement. They said no one in the CIA told anyone not to help our people in Benghazi. In response, the White House released this:
“Neither the president nor anyone in the White House denied any requests for assistance in Benghazi,”
So we know there were several desperate pleas for help that reached the highest levels. And we know that those in charge, who did not respond in any meaningful way are pointing fingers at each other and denying responsibility. It is a digusting spectacle.
