The Truth Behind The #Benghazigate Cover-up
The Truth Behind The
#Benghazigate Cover-up
President Obama & Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were
aware of the terrorist attack real-time, as it happened. They made an immediate decision to hide and
cover up the attack. I am no Woodward & Bernstein but, in this chronicle, I
will expose the biggest scandal in US political history. Below is a timeline of
how it all happened:
Timeline
leading up to the Terrorist Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya
March 30, 2011 – President Barack Obama signs a secret order
authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Obama signed the order, known as a presidential
"finding", within the last two or three weeks, according to
government sources familiar with the matter. Such findings are a principal form
of presidential directive used to authorize secret operations by the Central
Intelligence Agency. This order is speculated as a means to provide rebel
forces with arms and support to overthrow Gaddafi. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/us-libya-usa-order-idUSTRE72T6H220110330?irpc=932 … (See also September 14, 2012 below)
April 5, 2011 – The State Department sends Ambassador Chris
Stevens and a 12 man team to Benghazi which is now under rebel control. Stevens wrangled a ride on a Greek
cargo ship and sailed into the rebels' stronghold city of Benghazi. He arrived
at a time when the crackle of gunfire could be heard each night. Stevens is special representative
to the rebels. He sets up his team at the Tibesti Hotel. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/diplomat-chris-stevens-slipped-libya-cargo-ship-revolution/story?id=17218702
April 11, 2011 Chris
Stevens, the United States ambassador to Libya, attends meetings, at the Tibesti
Hotel where an African Union delegation was meeting with opposition leaders in
Benghazi, Libya. http://www.davisenterprise.com/media-post/chris-stevens-many-photos/attachment/chris-stevens-2/
June 1, 2011 – A car bomb explodes in front of the Tibesti
Hotel where Chris Stevens is staying. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/world/africa/02libya.html?_r=0
August 2011 – Ambassador Stevens and team decide it’s
too dangerous to stay at the hotel, so they move to a villa, rented from a
private owner (referred to as the “compound” going forward) on the west
side of the city. The compound has four buildings:
- A large building which is a main residence (Building
A)
- A smaller building which is also a residence
and contains a cantina (Building B)
- A building that is used as a Tactical Operations Center (referred to as the “TOC” going forward), with offices for security staff, containing phones, monitors, etc.
- A barracks building housing a Libyan security force known as “The 17th February Brigade”
- The Annex or “Safe House” is located 1 mile away from the Benghazi Compound. It’s reported that the annex holds a covert CIA installation.
October 20, 2011 – Muammar Gaddafi is killed by rebels. After the assassination of Gaddafi, Stevens spends much of his official time
at the US Embassy in Tripoli, but he continues to return often to the compound
in Benghazi.
Over the next few months, physical security at the compound
is strengthened. The outer wall is upgraded and its height is increased to nine
feet. It is topped by three feet of barbed wire and concertina wire all around
the huge property. External lighting is increased. Jersey barriers, which are
big concrete blocks, are installed outside and inside the gate. Steel drop bars
are added at the gates to control vehicle access and to provide some anti-ram
protection. They also fortify the
building by erecting a “safe haven” within it. One must get thru a heavy metal
grill with several locks to get into the safe haven. The buildings on
the compound itself were strengthened."
February 12,
2012 – Lt. Colonel Andrew
Wood arrives for his assignment in Libya as the Commander of the Site Security Team (SST). The SST contains 16 special
operations soldiers. According to Wood, this team is high caliber; the best in
US inventory and can make a difference in any fight. The SST tour is scheduled
to end in the summer of 2012. http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Statement-for-Committee-Lt.-Col.-Wood-.pdf
Other security:
Other security:
- At the Benghazi compound, there are 5
diplomatic security agents, and 4 members of the Libyan government
security force, known as “The 17th February Brigade”
- About a mile away from the compound is the
Annex, where there are more security personnel and is later uncovered to
hold a covert CIA installation.
- Based in Tripoli, there is the “Site Security
Team” (referred to as the “SST” going forward), placed by the US
Department of Defense
- The “Mobile Security Detachment” (referred
to as the “MSD” going forward), a State Dept. team, consisting of
Green Berets and Navy Seal types
June 2011 and July
2012 – there are more
than 230 security incidents in Libya. Of those attacks, 48 took place in
Benghazi, two at the U.S. diplomatic compound. http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/10.19.12-Issa-and-Chaffetz-to-President.pdf
March 2012 – Lt. Col. Wood and Mr. Nordstrom survey the Benghazi compound’s physical security and
reported the security provisions were “inappropriately low,” with just one DSS
agent available to supervise the 24-hour security. In addition to the DSS
agent, the compound was protected by four armed members of the 17th of February
Martyrs Brigade and unarmed Libyan contractors employed by the British-based
Blue Mountain Group.
April 6, 2012 – Two Libyans throw a crude
improvised explosive device over the consulate compound wall. Two months later,
another IED exploded at the compound, wounding one person and leaving a hole in
the perimeter wall large enough for 40 people to run through. According to Lt. Colonel Wood’s testimony, there was only one US diplomatic
security agent stationed there at the time. http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Statement-for-Committee-Lt.-Col.-Wood-.pdf
April 10, 2012 – A crude IED or “fish bomb” is thrown at
a convoy carrying a UN special envoy in Benghazi. No one is hurt. http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/10.19.12-Issa-and-Chaffetz-to-President.pdf
May 3, 2012 – In an email, the State Department
denied a request by a group of Special Forces assigned to protect the U.S.
embassy in Libya to continue their use of a DC- 3 airplane for security
operations throughout the country. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/10/email-shows-state-department-rejecting-request-of-security-team-at-us-embassy-in-libya/
May 7, 2012 – The State Department authorizes the U.S.
embassy in Vienna to purchase a $108,000 electric vehicle charging station for
the embassy motor pool’s new Chevrolet Volts. The purchase was a part of the
State Department’s “Energy Efficiency Sweep of Europe” initiative, which
included hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on green program expenditures
at various U.S. Embassies. In fact, at a May 10 gala held at the U.S. embassy
in Vienna, the ambassador showcased his new Volts and other green investments
as part of the U.S. government’s commitment to “climate change solutions.” The
event posting on the embassy website read: “Celebrating the Greening of the
Embassy.”
May 22, 2012 – an Al Qaeda linked group Sheik Omar Abdul-Rahman
Brigades launches an RPG attack against the Red Cross in Benghazi. http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/10.19.12-Issa-and-Chaffetz-to-President.pdf
June 6, 2012 – An Al Qaeda linked group Sheik Omar Abdul-Rahman
Brigades launches another attack. An IED
explodes at the Benghazi consulate compound gate. The IED explodes creating a
10ft hole in the compound wall; no injuries are reported. http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/10.19.12-Issa-and-Chaffetz-to-President.pdf
June 11, 2012 – A convoy carrying British ambassador is
ambushed in Benghazi. RPG’s and AK-47s fire on the vehicles. The Ambassador is
not injured, but two of his security team are. . http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/10.19.12-Issa-and-Chaffetz-to-President.pdf
June 11, 2012 – Ambassador Stevens sends a cable titled:
“Libya’s Fragile Security Deteriorates as Tribal Rivalries, Power Plays and Extremism Intensify”
Stevens notes that Sheik Omar Abdul-Rahman Brigades is
going to target Christians supervising the consulate. He said:
"Islamist extremists are able to attack the Red Cross with relative impunity," Stevens cabled. "What we have seen are not random crimes of opportunity, but rather targeted and discriminate attacks."
His final comment on the two-page document was:
"Attackers are unlikely to be deterred until authorities are at least as capable."
July 9, 2012 – Ambassador Stevens sends a "request for
extension of tour of duty (TDY) personnel." That refers to a 16-man
military temporary security team with expertise in counter terrorism. They were
set to leave in August, but Stevens asked to keep them "thru
mid-September." This request was denied!
July 2012 – Lt. Colonel Wood and Eric Nordstrom, a regional
security agent, communicate with State Department asking that SST remain in
Libya beyond the end of summer deadline. They requested 12 security agents be
stationed at the Benghazi mission, with a backup of six others trained from the
Libyan governmental forces.
August 2, 2012 – Ambassador Stevens sends another
request for: "protective detail bodyguard positions," saying:
"the added guards will fill the vacuum of security personnel currently at post who will be leaving with the next month and will not be replaced." He called "the security condition in Libya ... unpredictable, volatile and violent."
August – An unclassified report published by the
federal research division of the Library of Congress under an agreement with
the Defense Department highlights the growing threat of Al Qaeda in Libya. The
report (“Al Qaeda in Libya: A Profile”) says that al Qaeda’s senior leadership
in Pakistan has dispatched operatives to Libya. Al Qaeda is on the verge of a
fully “operational network,” according to the report, and al Qaeda-affiliated
militias have acquired extensive weaponry and established training camps. The
report notes that al Qaeda operatives inside Libya are also working with Al
Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
August 2012 – The State Dept. denies requests to keep
SST deployed. The requests were denied by Charlene Lamb, a State Department official.
The State Department's decision not to extend SST's security work
beyond August 5th terminates their security work in this capacity. Lamb said
the decision was to phase out the U.S. military team and rely more on the
Libyan militiamen who were protecting the compound along with a small number of
U.S. security officers. In
addition, the MSD “Mobile Security Detachment” personnel is reduced leaving
just 5 US security agents.
August 14th
2012 – Lt. Colonel Wood
and the SST are ordered to leave Libya.
August 15th2012 – an emergency meeting is held by the Emergency Action Committee & U.S. Mission in Benghazi.
August 16th2012 – a "SECRET" classified cable is sent to the Office of the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Emergency Action Committee. In the cable,
“RSO (Regional Security Officer) expressed concerns with the ability to defend Post in the event of a coordinated attack due to limited manpower, security measures, weapons capabilities, host nation support, and the overall size of the compound,” the cable said.
According to a review of the cable addressed to the Office of the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Emergency Action Committee was also briefed “on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ training camps within Benghazi … these groups ran the spectrum from Islamist militias, such as the QRF Brigade and Ansar al-Sharia, to ‘Takfirist thugs.’” Each U.S. mission has a so-called Emergency Action Committee that is responsible for security measures and emergency planning.
In addition to describing the security situation in Benghazi as “trending negatively,” the cable said explicitly that the mission would ask for more help. “In light of the uncertain security environment, US Mission Benghazi will submit specific requests to US Embassy Tripoli for additional physical security upgrades and staffing needs by separate cover.”
As for specific threats against the U.S., the cable warned the intelligence was not clear on the issue, cautioning that the militias in Benghazi were not concerned with any significant retaliation from the Libyan government, which had apparently lost control in Benghazi. A briefer explained that they “did not have information suggesting that these entities were targeting Americans but did caveat that (there was not) a complete picture of their intentions yet. RSO (Regional Security Officer) noted that the Benghazi militias have become more brazen in their actions and have little fear of reprisal from the (government of Libya.)”
While the administration’s public statements have suggested that the attack came without warning, the Aug. 16 cable seems to undercut those claims. It was a direct warning to the State Department that the Benghazi consulate was vulnerable to attack, that it could not be defended and that the presence of anti-U.S. militias and Al Qaeda was well-known to the U.S. intelligence community.
In a three-page cable on Sept 11, the day Stevens and the three other Americans were killed, Stevens wrote about “growing problems with security” in Benghazi and “growing frustration” with the security forces and Libyan police. The ambassador saw both as “too weak to keep the country secure.”
http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/2012/10/31/breaking-news-fncs-catherine-herridge-reports-about-benghazi-a-august-16-classified-cable-about-an-emergency-meeting-about-one-month-before-attack/
August 15th2012 – an emergency meeting is held by the Emergency Action Committee & U.S. Mission in Benghazi.
August 16th2012 – a "SECRET" classified cable is sent to the Office of the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Emergency Action Committee. In the cable,
“RSO (Regional Security Officer) expressed concerns with the ability to defend Post in the event of a coordinated attack due to limited manpower, security measures, weapons capabilities, host nation support, and the overall size of the compound,” the cable said.
According to a review of the cable addressed to the Office of the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Emergency Action Committee was also briefed “on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ training camps within Benghazi … these groups ran the spectrum from Islamist militias, such as the QRF Brigade and Ansar al-Sharia, to ‘Takfirist thugs.’” Each U.S. mission has a so-called Emergency Action Committee that is responsible for security measures and emergency planning.
In addition to describing the security situation in Benghazi as “trending negatively,” the cable said explicitly that the mission would ask for more help. “In light of the uncertain security environment, US Mission Benghazi will submit specific requests to US Embassy Tripoli for additional physical security upgrades and staffing needs by separate cover.”
As for specific threats against the U.S., the cable warned the intelligence was not clear on the issue, cautioning that the militias in Benghazi were not concerned with any significant retaliation from the Libyan government, which had apparently lost control in Benghazi. A briefer explained that they “did not have information suggesting that these entities were targeting Americans but did caveat that (there was not) a complete picture of their intentions yet. RSO (Regional Security Officer) noted that the Benghazi militias have become more brazen in their actions and have little fear of reprisal from the (government of Libya.)”
While the administration’s public statements have suggested that the attack came without warning, the Aug. 16 cable seems to undercut those claims. It was a direct warning to the State Department that the Benghazi consulate was vulnerable to attack, that it could not be defended and that the presence of anti-U.S. militias and Al Qaeda was well-known to the U.S. intelligence community.
In a three-page cable on Sept 11, the day Stevens and the three other Americans were killed, Stevens wrote about “growing problems with security” in Benghazi and “growing frustration” with the security forces and Libyan police. The ambassador saw both as “too weak to keep the country secure.”
http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/2012/10/31/breaking-news-fncs-catherine-herridge-reports-about-benghazi-a-august-16-classified-cable-about-an-emergency-meeting-about-one-month-before-attack/
September 8th
2012 – Three days before
the deadly assault on the United States consulate in Libya, a local security
official says he met with American diplomats in the city and warned them about
deteriorating security. Jamal Mabrouk, a member of the February 17th Brigade,
told CNN that he and a battalion commander had a meeting about the economy and
security. He said they told the diplomats that the security situation wasn't
good for international business. "The situation is frightening, it scares
us," Mabrouk said they told the U.S. officials. He did not say how they
responded. Mabrouk said it was not the first time he has warned foreigners
about the worsening security situation in the face of the growing presence of
armed jihadist groups in the Benghazi area.
September 9, 2012 – Clips of The Innocence
of Muslims are shown on Egyptian television.
September 10 2012–
Al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri releases through jihadist websites a video
eulogy for slain al Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al Libi and says that his
organization and its ideology are alive. Zawahiri says that Libi’s “blood is
calling, urging and inciting you to fight and kill the crusaders.” Ayman al
Zawahiri uses the video to boast that al Qaeda has not been defeated, but its
“message has spread amongst our Muslim Ummah, which received it with acceptance
and responded to it.” A clip of Mohammed al Zawahiri, Ayman’s brother (who told
CNN earlier this year that al Qaeda’s strength is “not in its leaders but in
its ideology”) is included in the video.
9/11/2012 The Terrorist Attack on U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya
Much of the timeline below is taken from the House Oversight Committee Hearing testimony of DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE CHARLENE LAMB. Lamb testified
she was aware of the attack in real time: "I was in our Diplomatic
Security Command Center monitoring multiple open lines with our agents for much
of the attack." Below is a near exact timeline of events taken from
congressional testimony. http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/2012-10-09-Lamb-Testimony-FINAL1.pdf
9/11/12 (Keep in mind that Cairo & Benghazi
time is 6 hours ahead of Washington D.C. EDT)
12:17 PM Cairo Time
& 6:17 AM Washington D.C. Time – The U.S. Embassy in Cairo issues a statement
that obliquely referenced the controversy over an anti-Islam film made by a
U.S.-based real estate developer. The statement said the embassy condemned
efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims —
as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Around the same
time, pieces of that statement were sent out as tweets from the official
embassy twitter account.
“We firmly reject the actions of those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.”
Around the same time, a pair of now-deleted tweet reportedly says:
“We condemn the ongoing attempts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims.”http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/cairo-libya-attacks-timeline/
9:00 AM- 9:00 PM Benghazi Time – Ambassador Stevens is in Benghazi for a
full day of meetings starting early morning. He specifically has the meetings
here, away from the embassy, because he realizes the dangers that can arise on
the anniversary of 9/11.
4:15 PM Cairo Time
& 10:15 AM Washington D.C. Time – A small crowd begins gathering outside the US
Embassy in Cairo. Over the next several hours, the crowd grows larger and more
aggressive. A group of protesters scales the wall of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo
and enters its outer grounds. The group pulls down an American flag, then tries
to burn it outside the embassy walls, according to witnesses. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/cairo-libya-attacks-timeline/
7:05 PM Cairo Time
& 1:05 PM Washington D.C. Time – The only statement issued by The US State
Department comes from State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said she
learned about the Cairo protests just before her daily press briefing. Nuland
says:
“We are obviously working with Egyptian security to try to restore order at the Embassy and to work with them to try to get the situation under control.”
7:30 PM Benghazi Time & 1:30 PM Washington D.C. Time –
Stevens has his last meeting with a Turkish diplomat in the main building that
was previously fortified with the addition of the safe haven.
8:30 PM Benghazi Time & 2:30 PM Washington D.C. Time – Stevens escorts the diplomat to the gate of the
main building and he talks briefly with the guards. No protests or noise is
reported.
9:00 PM Benghazi Time & 3:00 PM
Washington D.C. Time – Ambassador Stevens decides to turn in. In the
main building with Stevens are Info Management Officer Sean Smith and four
“diplomatic security” special agents. Another agent is in the TOC. All agents
armed with pistols.
9:40 PM Benghazi
Time & 3:40 PM Washington D.C.
Time – Attackers Diplomatic Security agents inside
the compound heard loud voices outside the walls, followed by gunfire and an
explosion. Dozens of attackers then launched a full-scale assault that was
unprecedented in its size and intensity. They forced their way through the
pedestrian gate, and used diesel fuel to set fire to the Libyan 17th February
Brigade members’ barracks, and then proceeded towards the main building. They
are well armed, organized, and carrying Islamic flag.
When the
attack began, a Diplomatic Security agent working in the Tactical Operations
Center immediately activated the Imminent Danger Notification System and made
an emergency announcement over the PA. Based on our security protocols, he also
alerted the annex U.S. quick reaction security team stationed nearby, the
Libyan 17th February Brigade, Embassy Tripoli,
and the Diplomatic Security Command Center in Washington. At this time, Charlene Lamb and her team are
watching the attack unfold real time. Meanwhile, Special Agent David Ubin gets Stevens from his bedroom in the
main residence building, and the two, along with Sean Smith, enter a windowless
room in the “safe haven” that was previously built. Right outside the wall of
this room is the gate that was built as part of the fortification. Agent Ubin
radios others in the compound to say they are OK.
Meanwhile, the
other three special agents who were in the main building, amidst the explosions
and gunfire all around them, are scrambling to get arms and armor from the
other buildings. Two of them head back to the main residence but are thwarted by
large group of armed men. They turn back to barracks and barricade themselves
in
At this point
there are 7 Americans at three locations: Stevens, Smith, and Ubin in the main
building C, 2 special agents in cantina building B, and 2 in TOC building.
Attackers
penetrate the cantina but don’t get to the agents, and they leave.
Attackers are now
at main residence. Stevens is here with Ubin and Smith. Attackers try to open
the main gate to the safe haven. Ubin has his weapon ready to fire. They can’t get in so the attackers
use diesel fuel to set the main building ablaze. Thick smoke fills the entire
structure. The Diplomatic Security agent begins leading the Ambassador and Sean
Smith through the debilitating smoke toward the emergency escape window.
Approx. 9:42 PM Benghazi Time & 3:42 PM Washington D.C. Time – the military's Africa Command, based in Europe, orders an unmanned, unarmed surveillance drone diverted to the city in eastern Libya. It took the drone more than an hour to arrive at the scene.
Approx. 9:45 PM Benghazi Time & 3:45 PM Washington D.C. Time – Former Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, who is part of a small team who is at the CIA annex about a mile from the U.S. consulate, hear shots fired. They inform their higher-ups at the annex to tell them what they are hearing and request permission to go to the consulate and help out. They are ordered to "stand down" http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/
Approx. 9:50 PM Benghazi Time & 3:50 PM Washington D.C. Time – Woods and other operatives continue to monitor the battle at the "compound". They again request permission to go to the consulate and help out. They are again ordered to "stand down"
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/
Approx. 10:00 PM Benghazi Time & 4:00 PM Washington D.C. Time – The safe haven at the compound is now thick with smoke. Stevens, Ubin, and Smith move to a back room, within the safe haven, that has a window they try to open but cannot. Overcome with smoke, they try to crawl on the floor for air, but still cannot breath. They decide to leave safe haven and take their chances with attackers. As they are moving, they find another window and jimmy it open. Ubin climbs out, but the two others do not follow him. He goes back in to look for them but cannot find them. There is smoke, so he climbs back out for air, and then back in; he does this several times but cannot find Stevens and Smith. Finally he is depleted from the smoke and climbs up a ladder to the roof of the building where he collapses and radios the other agents at TOC.
Approx. 9:42 PM Benghazi Time & 3:42 PM Washington D.C. Time – the military's Africa Command, based in Europe, orders an unmanned, unarmed surveillance drone diverted to the city in eastern Libya. It took the drone more than an hour to arrive at the scene.
Approx. 9:45 PM Benghazi Time & 3:45 PM Washington D.C. Time – Former Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, who is part of a small team who is at the CIA annex about a mile from the U.S. consulate, hear shots fired. They inform their higher-ups at the annex to tell them what they are hearing and request permission to go to the consulate and help out. They are ordered to "stand down" http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/
Approx. 9:50 PM Benghazi Time & 3:50 PM Washington D.C. Time – Woods and other operatives continue to monitor the battle at the "compound". They again request permission to go to the consulate and help out. They are again ordered to "stand down"
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/
Approx. 10:00 PM Benghazi Time & 4:00 PM Washington D.C. Time – The safe haven at the compound is now thick with smoke. Stevens, Ubin, and Smith move to a back room, within the safe haven, that has a window they try to open but cannot. Overcome with smoke, they try to crawl on the floor for air, but still cannot breath. They decide to leave safe haven and take their chances with attackers. As they are moving, they find another window and jimmy it open. Ubin climbs out, but the two others do not follow him. He goes back in to look for them but cannot find them. There is smoke, so he climbs back out for air, and then back in; he does this several times but cannot find Stevens and Smith. Finally he is depleted from the smoke and climbs up a ladder to the roof of the building where he collapses and radios the other agents at TOC.
At the same time,
attackers swept across the compound towards the Tactical Operations Center and
Building B. They broke into Building B, ravaging it, but did not reach the two
agents inside. They attempted to break into the Tactical Operations Center
again and again but were not able to breach the facility.
A US agent in
full regalia leaves the TOC throwing a smoke grenade to hide his movement. He
goes to the cantina and locates the two agents there. The three get in an
armored vehicle and drive to the larger main building (where Stevens and Smith
still are) and take turns climbing in thru the window to find their colleagues.
They find Smith, and pull him out. He is dead.
10:04 PM Benghazi Time & 4:04 PM Washington DC Time – A six-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. 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. They decide to make their way to the consulate on foot! The consulate at this point is on fire. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-cias-benghazi-timeline-reveals-errors-but-no-evidence-of-conspiracy/2012/11/01/a84c4024-2471-11e2-9313-3c7f59038d93_story_1.html
10:05 PM Benghazi Time & 4:05 PM Washington DC Time – The State Department's Operations Center in Libya sends an email to multiple government offices, including addresses at the White House Situation Room, The Pentagon, The CIA and FBI. The email’s subject line:
10:04 PM Benghazi Time & 4:04 PM Washington DC Time – A six-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. 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. They decide to make their way to the consulate on foot! The consulate at this point is on fire. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-cias-benghazi-timeline-reveals-errors-but-no-evidence-of-conspiracy/2012/11/01/a84c4024-2471-11e2-9313-3c7f59038d93_story_1.html
10:05 PM Benghazi Time & 4:05 PM Washington DC Time – The State Department's Operations Center in Libya sends an email to multiple government offices, including addresses at the White House Situation Room, The Pentagon, The CIA and FBI. The email’s subject line:
"U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi Under Attack" and the notation "SBU", meaning "Sensitive But Unclassified."
The text said the State Department's regional security office had reported that the diplomatic mission in Benghazi was:
"under attack. Embassy in Tripoli reports approximately 20 armed people fired shots; explosions have been heard as well."The email further states:
"Ambassador Stevens, who is currently in Benghazi, and four ... personnel are in the compound safe haven. The 17th of February militia is providing security support."Approx. 10:10 PM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 4:10 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 - The rescue team reached a chaotic intersection a few blocks from the consulate. Militias gathered there have several .50-caliber machine guns, which the CIA team tries unsuccessfully to commandeer; three militiamen offer to help. The rescue party now includes 10 people: six GRS officers, a CIA translator and the three Libyan volunteers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/24/us-usa-benghazi-emails-idUSBRE89N02C20121024
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-cias-benghazi-timeline-reveals-errors-but-no-evidence-of-conspiracy/2012/11/01/a84c4024-2471-11e2-9313-3c7f59038d93_story_1.html
Approx. 10:20 PM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 4:20 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 - A reconnaissance party of two GRS officers heads to the consulate; at 10:25, three more GRS officers enter the main gate and begin engaging the attackers. The firefight lasts about 15 minutes.
Approx. 10:32 PM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 4:32 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 - The Office of the Secretary Defense and the Joint Staff are notified of the attack by the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon. "The information is quickly passed to Secretary Panetta and General Dempsey."
Approx. 10:40 PM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 4:40 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 - Members of the CIA team enter the burning inferno of “Villa C,” where Ambassador Christopher Stevens is believed to be hiding. CIA officers try numerous times to reach the “safe room” but are driven back by the intense smoke and fire. Small-arms fire continues from the Libyan attackers.
Approx. 10:45 PM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 4:45 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 - The annex U reaction security team also arrives with approximately 20 members of the Libyan 17th February Brigade. They encounter heavy resistance as they approach the compound. Together with the Diplomatic Security agents, they help secure the area around the main building and continue the search for the Ambassador—again making several trips into the building at their own peril. Shots are exchanged. Woods and his team rescue those who remained at the consulate and Sean Smith, who has been killed in the initial attack.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-cias-benghazi-timeline-reveals-errors-but-no-evidence-of-conspiracy/2012/11/01/a84c4024-2471-11e2-9313-3c7f59038d93_story_1.html
10:54 PM Benghazi Time & 4:54 PM Washington DC
Time – A second email is
sent from The State Department's Operations Center, headed:
"Update 1: U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi"
The
email states that the Embassy in Tripoli had reported "the firing at the
U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi had stopped and the compound had been
cleared." It said a "response team" was at the site attempting to
locate missing personnel. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/24/us-usa-benghazi-emails-idUSBRE89N02C20121024
11:00 PM Benghazi Time & 5:00 PM Washington D.C. Time – President Obama, Vice President Biden and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta are meeting at the White House in the Situation Room. Obama, Panetta and Army General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed potential responses to the unfolding events in Benghazi during their meeting, which began 78 minutes after the start of the Libya attack, according to the timeline.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/complete/2012-09-11
Approx. 11:11 PM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 5:11 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 - Military drones arrive to survey the attack on the U.S. consulate. By this time, people in The White House Situation Room, The Pentagon and the State Department are watching the events unfold in front of their eyes, real time. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/us_watched_as_terror_raged_AypAEEA9OK23rPf7Z5BHWO
11:56 PM Benghazi Time & 5:56 PM Washington D.C. Time – 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.
12:07 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 6:07
PM DC Time 9/11/2012 - A
third email, also marked SBU is sent and carries the subject line: 11:00 PM Benghazi Time & 5:00 PM Washington D.C. Time – President Obama, Vice President Biden and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta are meeting at the White House in the Situation Room. Obama, Panetta and Army General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed potential responses to the unfolding events in Benghazi during their meeting, which began 78 minutes after the start of the Libya attack, according to the timeline.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/complete/2012-09-11
Approx. 11:11 PM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 5:11 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 - Military drones arrive to survey the attack on the U.S. consulate. By this time, people in The White House Situation Room, The Pentagon and the State Department are watching the events unfold in front of their eyes, real time. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/us_watched_as_terror_raged_AypAEEA9OK23rPf7Z5BHWO
Approx. 11:25 PM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 5:25 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 - Panetta and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, left the Oval Office and went into a series of meetings in the Pentagon with senior leaders to discuss how to respond to the Benghazi attack and assess the potential for other outbreaks of violence in the region.
11:28 PM Cairo Time & 5:28 PM Washington D.C. Time – The Cairo embassy’s Twitter account posts a series of messages, apparently responding to criticism that its earlier statement had been too sympathetic with the protesters. Their tweets read:
11:28 PM Cairo Time & 5:28 PM Washington D.C. Time – The Cairo embassy’s Twitter account posts a series of messages, apparently responding to criticism that its earlier statement had been too sympathetic with the protesters. Their tweets read:
“Of course we condemn breaches of our compound, we’re the ones actually living through this.” “Sorry, but neither breaches of our compound or angry messages will dissuade us from defending freedom of speech AND criticizing bigotry.”
There are no official statements from Hillary& amp; State Department.
11:30 PM Benghazi Time & 5:30 PM Washington D.C. Time – Members of the Libyan 17th February Brigade advise Wood's U reaction security team they can no longer hold the area around the main building and insist on evacuating the site. They decide to head back to the Libyan 17th February Brigade Annex which is nearly 2 miles away. Woods and his agents make one more final search for the Ambassador before leaving in an armored vehicle. They take heavy fire as they pull away from the main building and on the street outside the compound. Two tires were blown out and the bullet-resistant glass shattered but remains intact. Upon arriving at the annex around midnight, they take up defensive positions, including on the roof. Shortly after their arrival, the annex itself began taking intermittent fire for a period of time. At this point no reports tell what happened to Stevens while the agents were unable to locate him. 11:56 PM Benghazi Time & 5:56 PM Washington D.C. Time – 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.
"Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack." The message reports: "Embassy Tripoli reports the group claims responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli."
Approx. 12:15 AM to 5:00AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012& amp; 6:15 PM to 11:00PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – A 4+ hour fierce fire fight breaks out at the Libyan Annex. During this time, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta began to issue verbal orders, telling two Marine anti-terrorism teams based in Rota, Spain, to prepare to deploy to Libya, and he ordered a team of special operations forces in Central Europe and another team of special operations forces in the U.S. to prepare to deploy to a staging base in Europe. The fighting at the CIA annex went on for more than four hours -- enough time for any planes based in Sigonella Air base, just 480 miles away, to arrive. Also, two separate Tier One Special operations forces are ordered to wait, among them Delta Force operators.
Approx. 12:15 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 6:15 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – CIA Operatives call again for military support and help because they are taking fire at the CIA safe house, or annex. The request is for a third time is denied! There are no communications problems at the annex. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/
Approx. 12:30 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 6:30
PM DC Time 9/11/2012 –
Libyan looters enter the compound and find Stevens’ body slumped on the floor.
They drag him out of the building thinking he is likely dead. But he was not. The
compound’s landlord, Jamal al-Bishari, said that while watching from nearby he
saw some people climb through the broken window and emerge soon after, carrying
Mr. Stevens. Very shortly after Mr. Stevens was seen carried out of the window,
he arrived at Benghazi’s main hospital, brought by a group of Libyan civilians,
according to Ziad Abu Zeid, a doctor there. http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/raw-video-appears-to-show-ambassador.html
Approx. 1:00AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 7:00PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – Stevens is brought to the Benghazi Medical Center where doctors work to resuscitate him for 45 minutes.
Approx. 1:00AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 7:00PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – Stevens is brought to the Benghazi Medical Center where doctors work to resuscitate him for 45 minutes.
1:30AM Cairo Time 9/12/2012 & 7:30PM DC Time
9/11/2012 – The Cairo
embassy’s Twitter account posts another message, since deleted. News sites like
Buzzfeed have said it read:
“This morning's condemnation (issued before protest began) still stands. As does our condemnation of unjustified breach of the Embassy.”
There are still no official
statements from Hillary & State Department.
Approx. 1:15 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 7:30PM DC Time 9/11/2012 –
A team of 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.
Approx. 1:15 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 7:30PM DC Time 9/11/2012 –
A team of 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.
Approx. 1:45AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 7:45PM
DC Time 9/11/2012 – Ambassador
Stevens is pronounced dead at Benghazi Medical Center of severe asphyxiation.
Approx. 2:39 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 8:39 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – The National Military Command Center gives formal authorization for the deployment of the two special operations force teams from Croatia and the United States.
Approx. 5:00 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 11:00PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – PresidentObama goes to bed early knowing he has a scheduled trip and campaign event in Las Vegas. Not one statement is issued from the White house concerning the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on the 11-year anniversary of the September 11th Terrorist attacks of 2001. http://commoncts.blogspot.com/2012/09/video-mitt-romney-press-conference.html
Approx. 5:04 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 11:04 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 –The CIA reinforcement team make their way to the Annex, where, according to reports, they were going into an ambush. Shortly after they arrived, the annex started taking mortar fire, with as many as three direct hits on the compound.
Approx. 5:15 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 11:15 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – A new Libyan assault begins, this time with mortars. The Annex is hit with another wave of attacks which is planned and precise. Fighters hit the Annex with AK47 fire and rocket propelled grenades. Those inside the Annex retreat to a back building in the Annex compound. The CIA team at the Annex is in constant radio contact with their headquarters. Members of the team (Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods) are on the roof of the annex manning heavy machine guns while mortars are being fired at the CIA compound. Doherty and Woods have visual contact and a laser pointing at the Libyan mortar team that is targeting the CIA annex. The operators are calling in coordinates of where the Libyan forces are firing from. They repeatedly request back-up support from a Spectre gunship, which is commonly used by U.S. Special Operations forces to provide support to Special Operations teams on the ground involved in intense firefights. The defenders have focused their laser sights earlier on several Libyan attackers, as warnings not to fire. Two mortar rounds miss but the next three hit the roof and Woods and Doherty are killed.
Approx. 2:39 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 8:39 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – The National Military Command Center gives formal authorization for the deployment of the two special operations force teams from Croatia and the United States.
4:00 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 10:00 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – At this time, there are no official statements by President Obama nor Hillary Clinton as to the Embassy in Cairo or the Consulate in Benghazi. Unaware that Ambassador Stevens or other Americans had been killed; Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul emails the press a statement by Mitt Romney responding to the attacks on U.S. embassies in Egypt and Libya. The statement was initially embargoed until midnight but the campaign lifted the embargo at 10:25 p.m. The statement referred to the tweet from the Cairo embassy, which was issued before the extent of the damage in Benghazi was known. Romney’s statement is response to the State Department Embassy in Cairo twitter account which tweeted:
“We firmly reject the actions of those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.” and “We condemn the ongoing attempts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims.”Romney’s statement read:
“I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.”
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/romney-balances-911-civility-and-outraged-cairo-r4:08 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 10:08 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finally releases a statement from our Embassy in Kabul. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton confirms that a State Department officer was killed in Benghazi. She condemns the attack, stating:
“Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet. The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind.” http://kabul.usembassy.gov/st-benghzai.html
This is also the approximate time Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods are being killed by a mortar attack at the Libyan Annex building.
4:10 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 10:10 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – The Obama Administration & State Department finally comment on offensive tweets from the Embassy in Cairo Twitter account only after mitt Romney condemned them. POLITICO reports that the Obama administration distanced itself from the Cairo embassy’s original statement. An administration official told POLITICO:
“The statement by Embassy Cairo was not cleared by Washington and does not reflect the views of the United States government.”
Meanwhile, US Security forces are about to be attacked by a second wave at the Libyan Annex building where Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods be killed by a mortar attack.
Approx. 4:30 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 10:30 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – The CIA reinforcement team which includes Glen Doherty finally leave the Benghazi airport.Approx. 5:00 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 11:00PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – PresidentObama goes to bed early knowing he has a scheduled trip and campaign event in Las Vegas. Not one statement is issued from the White house concerning the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on the 11-year anniversary of the September 11th Terrorist attacks of 2001. http://commoncts.blogspot.com/2012/09/video-mitt-romney-press-conference.html
Approx. 5:04 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 11:04 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 –The CIA reinforcement team make their way to the Annex, where, according to reports, they were going into an ambush. Shortly after they arrived, the annex started taking mortar fire, with as many as three direct hits on the compound.
Approx. 5:15 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 11:15 PM DC Time 9/11/2012 – A new Libyan assault begins, this time with mortars. The Annex is hit with another wave of attacks which is planned and precise. Fighters hit the Annex with AK47 fire and rocket propelled grenades. Those inside the Annex retreat to a back building in the Annex compound. The CIA team at the Annex is in constant radio contact with their headquarters. Members of the team (Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods) are on the roof of the annex manning heavy machine guns while mortars are being fired at the CIA compound. Doherty and Woods have visual contact and a laser pointing at the Libyan mortar team that is targeting the CIA annex. The operators are calling in coordinates of where the Libyan forces are firing from. They repeatedly request back-up support from a Spectre gunship, which is commonly used by U.S. Special Operations forces to provide support to Special Operations teams on the ground involved in intense firefights. The defenders have focused their laser sights earlier on several Libyan attackers, as warnings not to fire. Two mortar rounds miss but the next three hit the roof and Woods and Doherty are killed.
Approx. 5:26 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 11:00PM
DC Time 9/11/2012 – the attack is over. The back-up requests never come and Woods and Doherty are eventually killed by mortar rounds. Special Agent David Ubin, who survived the initial attack at the compound 6 hours earlier, gets badly injured in this second wave of attacks at the Annex. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/
5:55 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 11:55PM
DC Time 9/11/2012 – 4
hours after Ambassador Stevens is pronounced dead and just 40 minutes after Woods and Doherty are killed at CIA Annex, Hillary Clinton on the State
Dept Twitter Account tweets:
”Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation”https://twitter.com/statedept/status/245717209433919488
6:00 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 12:00 AM DC Time 9/12/2012 – Eventually, the fighters are repelled and the Annex is secured. The fighters make the decision to abandon the operation.
6:05 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 12:05 AM DC Time 9/12/2012 – A C-17 aircraft in Germany is told to prepare to deploy to Libya to evacuate the consulate personnel.
7:40 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 1:40 AM DC Time 9/12/2012 – A large number of Libyan government security officers finally arrive in more than 50 vehicles and escort the remaining Americans to the airport. The first wave of Americans are evacuated to Tripoli via airplane. While still at the airport, the State Department was able to confirm reports that the Ambassador’s body was at the Benghazi General Hospital. The Department coordinated the transfer of his remains to the airport. All US government personnel, including those injured and killed in action, were then flown from Benghazi to Tripoli.
7:40 AM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 1:40 AM DC Time 9/12/2012 – A second group, including those killed in the attack, are flown to Tripoli.
2:15 PM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 8:40 AM DC Time 9/12/2012 –
The C-17 departs from Germany for the flight to Tripoli.
7:17 PM Benghazi Time 9/12/2012 & 1:17 PM DC Time 9/12/2012 –
The C-17 leaves Tripoli with the American consulate personnel and the bodies of
Stevens, Smith, Woods and Doherty.
The Diversion and Cover-up following the
Terrorist Attack on the U.S. Consulate in
Benghazi, Libya
September 12, 2012 12:30 AM DC Time – The Obama Administration can’t wait to
express their outrage over the attack. Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt says:
“We are shocked that, at a time when the United States of America is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in Libya, Governor Romney would choose to launch a political attack.”
September 12, 2012 7:21 AM DC Time – President Obama confirms the death of U.S.
ambassador Stevens.
September 12, 2012 8:30 AM – a
plane leaves Libya carrying the surviving Americans and the bodies of Stevens,
Smith, Doherty, and Woods. It is less than a month since the SST was removed
from the area, and Lt. Colonel Wood, Commander of the SST, believes if they
were allowed to remain as they had requested, the story here would be a lot
different.
September 12, 2012 9:00 AM - The Obama Administration and
State Department have already coordinated with the mainstream media to make
Mitt Romney’s tweet concerning the US Embassy in Cairo the main focus and
diversion. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/mitt-romney-libya-egypt-media-reactions_n_1877266.html
9/12/2012 10:15 A.M. EDT – Mitt Romney holds a press
conference defending his criticism of State Department apology on the Cairo
Twitter Account. Romney defends his statement from night before saying:
“I also believe the Administration was wrong to stand by a statement sympathizing with those who had breached our embassy in Egypt instead of condemning their actions. It's never too early for the United States Government to condemn attacks on Americans, and to defend our values. The White House distanced itself last night from the statement, saying it wasn't ‘cleared by Washington.’ That reflects the mixed signals they’re sending to the world.”http://www.mittromney.com/blogs/mitts-view/2012/09/american-leadership-still-sorely-needed-0
9/12/2012 10:43 A.M. EDT – President
Obama gives a speech in The Rose Garden with Hillary by his side. This
is the first time he lays out his strategy to blame an Anti-Muslim video for
the attack:
“We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. But there is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence.http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/12/remarks-president-deaths-us-embassy-staff-libya
9/12/2012 10:50 A.M. EDT –
President Obama meets with Hillary and the State Department http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/complete/2012-09-12
(9/12/2012 2:20 P.M. EDT) –
The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route Las Vegas, Nevada http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/complete/2012-09-12
(9/12/2012 6:10 P.M. PDT) – The
President delivers remarks at a campaign event. Obama said:
“Thank you. So I wanted to begin tonight by just saying a few words about a tough day that we had today. We lost four Americans last night, who were killed when they were attacked at a diplomatic post in Libya.” http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/12/remarks-president-campaign-event-las-vegas-nv
(9/12/2012) – The President does an interview with Steve Kroft of CBS 60 Minutes. In the interview Obama told Kroft that the attack in Benghazi was different from the violent protest at the U.S. embassy in Cairo:
“You’re right that this is not a situation that was exactly the same as what happened in Egypt, and my suspicion is, is that there are folks involved in this who were looking to target Americans from the start.”NOTE: This segment did not air when CBS 60 Minutes was broadcast on Sunday September 16, 2012 http://www.wnd.com/2012/10/cbs-covered-up-obamas-sept-12-benghazi-admission/
(9/12/2012) – Within 24 hours of September 11 attack at Benghazi, the CIA station chief on the ground in Benghazi, per the AP, reports to the CIA that it is terrorist group.
(9/13/2012) – Thursday, Capitol Hill is briefed by FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC.) They said in the briefing that it was terrorism.
(9/14/2012) –: Friday, General Petraeus briefs Capitol Hill and blames the anti-Muslim video for the attack. On Capitol Hill, Petraeus characterized the attack as more consistent with a flash mob, where the militants showed up spontaneously with RPGs. Petraeus downplayed to lawmakers the skill needed to fire mortars, which also were used in the attack and to some were seen as evidence of significant pre-planning. As Fox News previously reported, four mortars were fired -- two missed the annex, but the mortar team re-calibrated and the next two mortars were direct hits.
Fox News is told that Petraeus seemed wedded to the narrative that the attack was linked to a demonstration and was spontaneous as opposed to pre-meditated.
Fox News is told that Petraeus was "absolute" in his description with few, if any, caveats. As lawmakers learned more about the attack, including through raw intelligence reports, they were "angry, disappointed and frustrated" that the CIA director had not provided a more complete picture of the available intelligence. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/29/early-briefing-on-libya-strike-focused-on-al-qaeda-before-story-changed/#ixzz2Aht2CkDR
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/29/early-briefing-on-libya-strike-focused-on-al-qaeda-before-story-changed/#ixzz2BsB5UugL
9/14/2012 – Three days after
the attack that killed the US Ambassador to Libya, The Times (UK) carried a
story that a Libyan freighter loaded with stolen SA-7 antiaircraft missiles had
offloaded at a Turkish port. The report states that a Libyan ship, 'The
Intisaar', docked at the Turkish port of Iskenderun after "papers stamped
by the port authority” were issued to “the ship's captain, Omar Mousaeeb."
Mousaeeb is identified as "a Libyan from Benghazi and the head of an
organization called the Libyan National Council for Relief and Support,"
reportedly delivering supplies to armed opposition groups in Syria. If
accurate, that account provides some of the most solid, detailed evidence yet
of how the Eastern Libyan city of Benghazi has become the North African transit
hub for weapons and foreign fighters arriving for regime change operations in
Syria. This has been happening right under the nose of U.S. diplomatic and
intelligence officers posted in Benghazi. The late Ambassador, Chris Stevens,
arrived in Benghazi aboard a freighter in April 2011, and promptly set up shop
coordinating Islamic militia groups in the overthrow of Muammar Gadhaffi’s
regime. According to the article, there were 400 tons of weapons, including an
unspecified number of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, aboard the ship.
This is merely the largest in a number of weapons shipments that have arrived
in Turkey with the seeming coordination and complicity by Turkish authorities. After
the overthrow of the Libyan government, huge weapons stockpiles were looted and
went unaccounted for, most of them falling into the hands of militant groups. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article3537770.ece
9/14/2012 11:15 AM – WH
Press Briefing Jay Carney says:
“MR. CARNEY: Let me say a couple of things. First of all, we are obviously closely monitoring developments in the region today. You saw that following the incidents in response to this video, the President directed the administration to take a number of steps to prepare for continued unrest. We also need to understand that this is a fairly volatile situation and it is in response not to United States policy, not to obviously the administration, not to the American people. It is in response to a video, a film that we have judged to be reprehensible and disgusting. That in no way justifies any violent reaction to it, but this is not a case of protests directed at the United States writ large or at U.S. policy. This is in response to a video that is offensive to Muslims.” We certainly don't know. We don't know otherwise. We have no information to suggest that it was a preplanned attack. The unrest we’ve seen around the region has been in reaction to a video that Muslims, many Muslims find offensive. And while the violence is reprehensible and unjustified, it is not a reaction to the 9/11 anniversary that we know of, or to U.S. policy.” http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/14/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-9142012
9/14/2012 2:30 PM – Hillary
Clinton gives a speech at Transfer of Remains Ceremony saying:
“This has been a difficult week for the State Department and for our country. We’ve seen the heavy assault on our post in Benghazi that took the lives of those brave men. We’ve seen rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful internet video that we had nothing to do with. It is hard for the American people to make sense of that because it is senseless, and it is totally unacceptable.”
9/15/2012 – The State Dept. scrubs a Sept. 6 memo from the
State Department OSAC website claiming there are no credible terror threats for
911 https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReports.aspx?cid=3 … pic.twitter.com/0MLBUgAx
9/16/2012 – U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice goes on 5 Sunday talk shows to
discuss the Benghazi attack.
On ABC This Week with Jake Tapper, Susan Rice said:
"Based on the information that we have at present, is that, in fact, what this began as, it was a spontaneous -- not a premeditated -- response to what had transpired in Cairo. We believe that folks in Benghazi, a small number of people came to the embassy to -- or to the consulate, rather, to replicate the sort of challenge that was posed in Cairo. first of all, we had a substantial security presence with our personnel...”http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-us-ambassador-united-nations-susan-rice/story?id=17240933
On CBS “Face The Nation” President,
Libya's General National Congress MOHAMED YOUSEF EL-MAGARIAF was asked if Benghazi attackers were
connected to Al Qaeda. MAGARIAF said:
Yes, few of them are connected to Al Qaeda and this leaves us with no
doubt that this has preplanned, determined-- predetermined.
On CBS “Face The Nation” a few
minutes after Magariaf labeled the attack as a pre-planned Al Qaeda terrorist
attack, Susan Rice said:
“What began spontaneously in Benghazi as a reaction to what had transpired some hours earlier in Cairo where, of course, as you know, there was a violent protest outside of our embassy --sparked by this hateful video. But soon after that spontaneous protest began outside of our consulate in Benghazi, we believe that it looks like extremist elements, individuals, joined in that.”http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3460_162-57513819/face-the-nation-transcripts-september-16-2012-libyan-pres-magariaf-amb-rice-and-sen-mccain/
On FOX News with Chris Wallace,
Susan Rice said:
“what sparked the recent violence was the airing on the Internet of a very hateful very offensive video that has offended many people around the world.”http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-news-sunday/2012/09/16/amb-susan-rice-rep-mike-rogers-discuss-violence-against-americans-middle-east#p//v/1843960658001
On NBC Meet the Press, Susan Rice
said:
“Well, David, we can’t predict with any certainty. But let’s remember what has transpired over the last several days. This is a response to a hateful and offensive video that was widely disseminated throughout the Arab and Muslim world. The best information that we have available to us today our current assessment is that what happened in Benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo, almost a copycat of-- of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo, which were prompted, of course, by the video. What we think then transpired in Benghazi is that opportunistic extremist elements came to the consulate as this was unfolding.” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49051097/ns/meet_the_press-transcripts/t/september-benjamin-netanyahu-susan-rice-keith-ellison-peter-king-bob-woodward-jeffrey-goldberg-andrea-mitchell/
9/18/2012 – President
Obama went on Late Night with Dave Letterman and said:
“We had a video that was released by somebody who lives here, sort of a shadowy character. This caused great offense in much of the Muslim world, but what also happened was extremists and terrorists used this as an excuse to attack a variety of our embassies including the consulate in Libya”http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7422156n
9/19/2012 – At White House Press Briefing Jay Carney said:
“What I can tell you is that, as I said last week, as our Ambassador to the United Nations said on Sunday and as I said the other day, based on what we know now and knew at the time, we have no evidence of a preplanned or premeditated attack. This, however, remains under investigation, and I made that clear last week, and Ambassador Rice made that clear on Sunday."
9/19/12 – National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen testifies before
the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and said:
"The U.S. ambassador and three other Americans killed last week in Libya died “in the course of a terrorist attack,”
9/20/12 – President Barack
Obama, Remarks At The Univision Town Hall, Miami,
FL says:
“Well, we’re still doing an investigation, and there are going to be different circumstances in different countries. And so I don’t want to speak to something until we have all the information. What we do know is that the natural protests that arose because of the outrage over the video were used as an excuse by extremists to see if they can also directly harm U.S. interests –” QUESTION: “Al Qaeda?” OBAMA: “Well, we don’t know yet.” http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/20/remarks-president-univision-town-hall-jorge-ramos-and-maria-elena-salina
9/20/2012 – President Obama & Hillary Clinton spend $70,000 on Pakistan ads denouncing the
anti-Islam video. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/20/state-department-spending-70g-on-pakistan-ads-denouncing-anti-islam-film/
9/25/2012 – President Obama Appeared On The View And Again Refused To Call The Attack Terrorism, Only Saying That The Attack “Wasn’t Just A Mob Action.” “President Barack Obama said Monday that the Sept. 11 attack that claimed the life of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans ‘wasn’t just a mob action,’ but he stopped short of explicitly labeling the assault as an act of terrorism. Obama’s comments came as he taped an interview with ‘The View’ during a brief trip to New York to address the annual United National General Assembly. He had been asked whether the attack on the U.S. Consulate compound in the city of Benghazi was a terrorist act.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPGmN7Zw9Fk
9/25/2012 – President Obama Appeared On The View And Again Refused To Call The Attack Terrorism, Only Saying That The Attack “Wasn’t Just A Mob Action.” “President Barack Obama said Monday that the Sept. 11 attack that claimed the life of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans ‘wasn’t just a mob action,’ but he stopped short of explicitly labeling the assault as an act of terrorism. Obama’s comments came as he taped an interview with ‘The View’ during a brief trip to New York to address the annual United National General Assembly. He had been asked whether the attack on the U.S. Consulate compound in the city of Benghazi was a terrorist act.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPGmN7Zw9Fk
9/25/2012– President Obama
addresses the U.N. General Assembly and mentions the video six times in his address saying:
“And that is what we saw play out in the last two weeks, where a crude and disgusting video sparked outrage throughout the Muslim world. Now, I have made it clear that the United States government had nothing to do with this video, and I believe its message must be rejected by all who respect our common humanity. It is an insult not only to Muslims, but to America as well.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/25/transcript-obama-address-to-un-general-assembly/
9/26/2012– Obama still
delays FBI investigation http://articles.cnn.com/2012-09-26/africa/world_africa_libya-investigation_1_benghazi-attack-fbi-agents-fbi-team
…
10/10/2012– Charlene R. Lamb (Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs,
Bureau of Diplomatic Security), Eric Nordstrom (Regional Security Officer U.S. Department of State), Lt. Col. Andrew
Wood and Ambassador Patrick Kennedy (Under
Secretary for Management U.S. Department of State) all testified under oath at
the House Oversight Committee Hearing on The Security Failures of Benghazi.
Eric Nordstrom, the one-time regional security officer in Benghazi, told
the House Oversight Committee:
"You know what makes it most frustrating about this assignment? It's not the hardships. It's not the gunfire. It's not the threats. It's dealing and fighting against the people, programs, and personnel who are supposed to be supporting me. For me, the Taliban is on the inside of the building."
"For me and my staff, it was abundantly clear that we were not going to get resources until the aftermath of an incident. And the question that we were to ask again is, 'How thin does the ice have to get before someone falls through?'" http://oversight.house.gov/hearing/the-security-failures-of-benghazi/
Lt. Col. Andrew Wood, a Utah
National Guardsman who was a site security commander in Libya from February
through August said:
"The security in Benghazi was a struggle and remained a struggle throughout my time there," Wood said. "Diplomatic security remained weak. In April, there was only one U.S. diplomatic security agent there." http://oversight.house.gov/hearing/the-security-failures-of-benghazi/
10/11/2012– Vice President Joe Biden said:
“We weren’t told they wanted more security. We did not know they wanted more security there,”
In fact, two security officials who worked
for the State Department in Libya at the time testified Thursday that they
repeatedly requested more security and two State Department officials admitted
they had denied those requests.
Biden also said the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice,
was repeating what intelligence sources had told her when she blamed the video
as a “proximate cause” of the violence in an interview five days after the
attack.
“The intelligence community told us that,” Biden said. “As they learned more facts about exactly what happened, they changed their assessment.”http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=october-11-2012-the-biden-romney-vice-presidential-debate
October 16,
2012 during the Town meeting debate CNN Debate Moderator setup the most
colluded debate question in US History:
CROWLEY: Because we're -- we're closing in, I want to still get a lot of
people in. I want to ask you something, Mr. President, and then have the
governor just quickly.
Your secretary of state, as I'm sure you know, has said that she takes
full responsibility for the attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi. Does
the buck stop with your secretary of state as far as what went on here?
OBAMA: Secretary Clinton has done an extraordinary job. But she works for
me. I'm the president and I'm always responsible, and that's why nobody's more
interested in finding out exactly what happened than I do.
The day after the attack, governor, I stood in the Rose Garden and I told
the American people in the world that we are going to find out exactly what
happened. That this was an act of terror and I also said that we're going to
hunt down those who committed this crime.
And then a few days later, I was there greeting the caskets coming into
Andrews Air Force Base and grieving with the families.
And the suggestion that anybody in my team, whether the Secretary of
State, our U.N. Ambassador, anybody on my team would play politics or mislead
when we've lost four of our own, governor, is offensive. That's not what we do.
That's not what I do as president, that's not what I do as Commander in Chief.
CROWLEY: Governor, if you want to...
ROMNEY: Yes, I -- I...
CROWLEY: ... quickly to this please.
ROMNEY: I -- I think interesting the president just said something which
-- which is that on the day after the attack he went into the Rose Garden and
said that this was an act of terror.
OBAMA: That's what I said.
ROMNEY: You said in the Rose Garden the day after the attack, it was an
act of terror.
It was not a spontaneous demonstration, is that what you're saying?
OBAMA: Please proceed governor.
ROMNEY: I want to make sure we get that for the record because it took
the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror.
OBAMA: Get the transcript.
CROWLEY: It -- it -- it -- he did in fact, sir. So let me -- let me call it
an act of terror...
OBAMA: Can you say that a little louder, Candy?
CROWLEY: He -- he did call it an act of terror. It did as well take -- it
did as well take two weeks or so for the whole idea there being a riot out
there about this tape to come out. You are correct about that.
ROMNEY: This -- the administration -- the administration indicated this
was a reaction to a video and was a spontaneous reaction.
CROWLEY: It did.
ROMNEY: It took them a long time to say this was a terrorist act by a
terrorist group. And to suggest -- am I incorrect in that regard, on Sunday,
the -- your secretary --
OBAMA: Candy?
ROMNEY: Excuse me. The ambassador of the United Nations went on the
Sunday television shows and spoke about how --
OBAMA: Candy, I'm --
ROMNEY: -- this was a spontaneous --
CROWLEY: Mr. President, let me --
OBAMA: I'm happy to have a longer conversation --
CROWLEY: I know you --
OBAMA: -- about foreign policy.
CROWLEY: Absolutely. But I want to -- I want to move you on and also --
OBAMA: OK. I'm happy to do that, too.
CROWLEY: -- the transcripts and --
OBAMA: I just want to make sure that --
CROWLEY: -- figure out what we --
11/3/2012– Congress decides not to investigate Benghazi again before the election but schedules House and Senate Intelligence closed door hearings for November 15th. The mainstream media refuses to thoroughly cover the Benghazi attacks.
11/6/2012– Barack Obama is re-elected President of the United States.
11/9/2012– General David Patraeus, the Director of the CIA, resigns his position citing an extra-marital affair. News agencies report that Paula Broadwell, his biographer, is the woman involved, and that she has been under investigation by the FBI for suspicion of having access to Petraeus' email. An FBI official said that the investigation began with a complaint from another woman that Mrs. Broadwell was harassing her.
Summary and Key Questions to the
Terrorist Attack on the U.S. Consulate in
Benghazi, Libya
- Did President Obama’s secret “findings” order on March 30, 2011 provide Libyan rebels with weapons or arms such as RPGs or AK 47s that could have ended up in terrorists hands and used to kill 4 Americans on the 9/11 consulate attack?
- If the weapons used in consulate attack were not provided by the 2011 US covert operation, were the weapons left over from the Gaddafi regime that were not secured by United States or United Nation forces and ended up in terrorist’s hands?
- Was Ambassador Steven’s main role in 2012 to make sure weapons caches were sent to Syrian rebels to expel Assad?
- What specific reason were additional security requests denied in Benghazi and who ultimately made those decisions?
- Who received or was copied on the cables from Ambassador Stevens warning of increased terrorist activity and his requests for additional security? President Obama? Hillary?
- Who authorized the tweets coming from the US Embassy in Cairo Twitter Account? At what time was Hillary made aware of them?
- Why was there not one statement, comment or condemnation of the Cairo tweets until 14 hours later and after Mitt Romney made his statement condemning?
- Did President Obama or Hillary see real time, the drone images being transmitted as the attack was happening on 911?
- Did President Obama order Agent Woods and the U reaction security team to stand down twice while the consulate was under attack?
- Did President Obama or Sect. of State Clinton see or read real time, the three emails sent as the attack was happening on 911?
- If the President was aware of the attacks and the assault lasted 7 hours, why did he not immediately authorize and send additional military forces over to Benghazi?
- Did agents Woods and Doherty have mortar positions painted with lasers?
- Were AC-130H Spectre gunships available to locate Woods and Doherty’s lasers?
- Did President Obama order AC-130H Spectre gunships to stand down?
- Who made the decision to have Hillary make a statement at 10:08 PM and blame the Internet Video for the Benghazi attack even while it was still happening? What specific intelligence did she have to make that statement?
- Why didn’t the President make a statement the evening of September 11, if he knew Americans were attacked and killed on the anniversary of 911?
- Who authorized spokesman Ben LaBolt to condemn Mitt Romney at midnight following the attacks?
- Why were the entire 9/12 morning press conferences and mainstream media focused on Mitt Romney’s statement the night before and not the possibility of another terrorist attack on 911 that killed 4 Americans?
- What specific intelligence did Obama & Hillary have that led them to blame the internet video was the blame for the Benghazi attack?
- If President Obama now says he was claiming an “Act of Terror” all along, then why did he not call the Benghazi assault a terrorist attack for 14 days?
- Can an “Act of Terror” with RPGs and AK 47s be a part of a spontaneous video protest?
- Since they had drone images & emails’ stating it was an Al Qaeda related terrorist attack, what specific intelligence made the Obama Admin & State Dept. claim it was a spontaneous protest and not pre-planned?
- If on September 16th, President of Libya's General National Congress MOHAMED YOUSEF EL-MAGARIAF stated the attacks were a pre-planned Al Qaeda coordinated terrorist attack, Why did Obama, Hillary, Rice and Carney still claim it was a spontaneous protest and not pre-planned?
- Why did the State Department delete/scrub a Sept. 6 memo from the State Department OSAC website claiming there are no credible terror threats for 911?
- Who scheduled Susan Rice to do 5 Sunday talk shows on 9/16 and was she provided talking points on what to say?
- Who authorized Jay Carney & Susan Rice to vehemently claim the attacks were a spontaneous protest over an internet video?
- Why would Obama send in the FBI to investigate if a majority of the attack happened at The Annex which also happened to be a CIA installation?
- If President Obama claims this was an “Act of Terror” all along, then why was the FBI called to investigate and it’s not a criminal matter?
- Then why was the FBI denied access to investigate for over 2 weeks allowing for looters to compromise the crime scene?
- Why did President Obama deny for 15 days it was a terrorist attack? He denied it on Letterman, The View, Univision and to the entire world during his United Nations speech. Why?
- Why did President Obama reference an offensive video to the United Nations 6 times and not reference Al Qaeda or terrorism once during his speech?
- Why did President Obama, for the first time in 33 days, mention an “Act of Terror” from his September 12th Rose Garden speech when asked about the attack in Benghazi during the 2nd televised debate by moderator Candy Crowley?
- Why when challenged by Mitt Romney during the same debate did President Obama respond: “read the transcript”?
- How did he know Candy Crowley had a copy of his Rose Garden speech transcript?
- Out of 100+ speeches President Obama gave following the attack in Benghazi, why would Candy Crowley have a transcript of that particular speech?
- Did the Obama Administration provide Candy Crowley a copy of that speech transcript prior to the debate?
- Did Candy Crowley plan to defend President Obama’s use of “Act of Terror” prior to the debate?
- Why did Petraeus brief congress on 9/14 and say the attacks arose from a mob that protested an internet video when the CIA station chief in Benghazi, the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center all claimed the attack was terrorism?
posted by The Right Winged Male @ 10/25/2012 01:31:00 AM
6 comments
