Benghazi Attack September 2012

Benghazi Attack September 2012

On the night of September 11, 2012 the United States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya was attacked and 4 people were killed. United States Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. All of which could have been prevented and any dispute of the cause of said attack could have been prevented if the truth was told no matter the consequences. There are facts in dispute in some instances, but the truth about the cause isn't and why it was a source of contention all sprang from a need to provide political cover for poor decisions leading up to the attack.

Ambassador Stevens was in Benghazi to work with rebel groups and coordinate arms shipments, that was his job. The United States had made a decision to fund and support the groups responsible for the rebellions in Libya and Syria. Libya was and Syria still is run by secular dictators who used the United States as a evil straw man to pit themselves against and blame for all the ills of their populations. But they had learned their lessons at great cost about directly getting involved in plots against the United States and had cooled their support for such operations. In fact, an Islamic militia group was hired to protect the embassy.

The groups which were opposing these regimes were a mixture of Islamic fundamentalists and secularists, with the greater portion of each group being of the religious fundamentalist nature. The fundamentalist rebel groups were linked with organizations which called for the destruction of Israel and hatred for the United States. They were part of what is left of Al-Queda, a group which we have been fighting since at least 2001 and has grown into what is now known as ISIL/ISIS.

When the attack started the meager forces which were in the consulate called for help and those personnel which could headed for a safe room. In Benghazi was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) facility with some armed personnel, and some of those individuals came to assist the consulate. The embassy in Tripoli, Libya also sent some assistance.

The attack went on throughout the night, with the clear understanding on the ground this was a preplanned attack, not a demonstration against the film “Innocence of Muslims” which grew into the attack. The information was further bolstered when, as the attack is occurring, a group called Ansar al-Sharia claimed responsibility through Twitter. There were also claims by this group the attack was planned with the consent of Dr. Morsi who at the time was the leader of Egypt and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood; a group the administration was trying to work with diplomatically.

Important to remember are the requests for additional security personnel and facility security upgrades that were requested by Regional Security Officer Eric Nordstrom in July and October of 2012. These requests were not approved though funds were available in the State Department budget. General Carter F. Ham, Commanding General of Africa Command, twice asked Ambassador Stevens if extra military personnel were needed to bolster security before the attacks due to an increase of violence against western organizations in Libya and the Ambassador declined the offer. September 5, 2012 Africa command also issued a security warning for all Americans in Northeast Libya. The British and Red Cross had left Libya because of the rising violence and direct attacks on their assets. There had been no direct threat against American assets, but with the “Arab Spring” movements in Egypt and Tunisia and the rise of violence against western organizations, the atmosphere was tense.

During the attacks there were American assets located outside of Libyan territory, which would require Presidential approval for their use, available to intervene in the situation if needed. They were not used. In fact, LtCol. Gibson, head of military special forces in Libya, was prepared to board a plane in Tripoli to head to Benghazi during the attack, and he was ordered to “stand down”. Who issued the order has never been released, but the LtCol. Gibson followed the order though livid about his inability to intercede on behalf of those left in Benghazi. There is dispute about why these forces were not used and those who say a “stand down” order was never issued; someone issued LtCol. Gibson such an order. Also, members of a a CIA response team (Kris “Tanto” Paronto, Mark “Oz” Geist, and John “Tig” Tiegen) say the top CIA official at the Annex in Benghazi told them to not respond to the attack on the consulate. The finally went without orders, and when air support was requested, none was received.

The administration then, at the behest of the State Department, went with the story which blames the film for the demonstration which then led to the attack, though throughout the attack and according to CIA and Gen. Ham, they knew from the beginning this was not the case. It was not the until September 19, 2012 that the administration started to identify this as a terrorist attack.

An independent review of the State Department performance released December 18, 2012 during this crisis stated "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies".

This is an ongoing situation in which only one person has been arrested.

Library, C.

Benghazi Mission Attack Fast Facts

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Islamic Militias Behind Benghazi Attack Seize US Embassy in Tripoli | FrontPage Magazine

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Griffin

EXCLUSIVE: CIA operators were denied request for help during Benghazi attack, sources say

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Discoverthenetworks.org

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FactCheck.org

Benghazi Timeline

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