New Details From Libya Consulate Attack: State Department Abandons Claim Of Protest O

[Ernie]

So much for the Obama claims that this was all because of an obscure Youtube video. Yet another rush to judgement by a President in over his head.

New Details From Libya Consulate Attack: State Department Abandons Claim Of Protest Outside Gateswww.huffingtonpost.com | By AP/The Huffington Post
Posted: 10/09/2012 9:40 pm EDT Updated: 10/10/2012 8:17 am EDT

The deadly September attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya was not precipitated by an anti-American protest, as had originally been reported, the State Department disclosed Tuesday night. According to reports from ABC and the Associated Press, the State Department now acknowledges that "gunfire and explosions near the front gate" were the first signs of danger precipitating the attacks that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

This revelation stands in contrast to the story originally reported by the Obama administration and others, who claimed that a protest against the anti-Islam film "The Innocence of Muslims" outside the American consulate was co-opted by violent extremists.

The administration has come under harsh criticism from conservative critics in recent weeks over its actions before and after the attack. The first congressional hearing on the subject is scheduled for Wednesday.

Below is a detailed chronology of the attack, as the State Department now claims it played out (via the AP):

Sept. 10-11, 2012:

Stevens arrives in Benghazi and holds meetings on and off the consulate grounds on Sept. 10. He spends the night, and for the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. holds meetings only inside the compound. It is an enclosed area about 300 yards long by 100 yards wide, with a 9-foot outer wall topped by barbed wire and augmented by barriers, steel drop bars and other security upgrades. There are four buildings in the compound. Five diplomatic security officers are present, along with four members of a local militia deployed by Libya's government to provide added security.

Around 8:30 p.m.:

Stevens finishes his final meeting of the day and escorts a Turkish diplomat outside the main entrance of the consulate. The situation is calm. There are no protests.

Around 9:40 p.m.:

Agents hear loud noises, gunfire and explosions near the front gate. A barracks at the entrance housing the local militiamen is burnt down. Agents viewing cameras see large group of armed men flowing into the compound. Alarm is sounded. Telephone calls are made to the embassy in Tripoli, officials in Washington, the Libyan authorities and a U.S. quick reaction force located at a second compound a little over a mile away.


Grabbing weapons:

One agent, armed with a sidearm and an M4 submachine gun, takes Stevens and computer specialist Sean Smith to a safe room inside one of the compound's two main residences. It has a heavy metal grill and several locks, medical supplies and water, and windows that can be opened only from the inside. The other agents equip themselves with long guns, body armor, helmets and ammunition at other buildings. Two try to make it to the building with Stevens. They are met by armed men and are forced to retreat.

Attackers breach the compound:

Attackers penetrate Stevens' building and try to break the grill locks for the safe room, but cannot gain access. They dump jerry cans of diesel fuel in the building, light furniture on fire and set aflame part of the exterior of the building. Two of the remaining four agents are in the compound's other residence. Attackers penetrate that building, but the agents barricade themselves in and the attackers can't reach them. Attackers try to enter the tactical operations center, where the last two agents are located. They smash up the door but cannot enter the building.

Americans trapped:

Meanwhile, Stevens' building rapidly fills up with thick diesel smoke and burning fumes from the furniture. Inside, visibility is less than 3 feet. Unable to breathe, the Americans go to a bathroom and open a window, but still can't get enough air. They decide to leave the building. The agent goes first, flopping out onto a patio enclosed by sandbags. He takes immediate fire, including probably rocket-propelled grenades. Stevens and Smith don't come out of the building. The agent, suffering severely from smoke inhalation, goes in and out of the building several times to look for them. He then climbs a ladder to the roof of the building and collapses. He radios the other agents to alert them to the situation there.

The other four agents are able to reunite and take an armored vehicle to Stevens' building. They reach the collapsed agent and try to set up a perimeter. They take turns going into the building, searching on hands and knees for the missing Americans. Smith is pulled out, dead. Stevens cannot be found.

Reinforcements:

A six-person quick reaction security team arrives from their compound across town. About 60 Libyan militiamen accompany them. They attempt to secure a perimeter around Stevens' building, and take turns going inside. Taking fire, Libyan forces determine they can't hold the perimeter. A decision is made to evacuate the compound and return with everyone to the reaction force's compound.

Evacuation:

Agents pile into an armored vehicle, with Smith's body, and leave through the main gate. They face immediate fire. Crowds and groups of men block two different routes to the security compound. Heavy traffic means they are traveling only about 15 mph, and trying not to attract attention. On a narrow street they reach a group of men who signal for them to enter a compound. They sense an attack and speed away, taking heavy fire from AK-47 machine guns at a distance of only 2 feet, and hand grenades thrown against and under the car. Two tires are blown out.

They speed past another crowd of men and onto a main street and across a grassy median into opposing traffic. The agents drive against traffic, eventually reaching their compound. Security gets into firing positions around the compound and on the roof. They take more gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades intermittently for several hours.

More reinforcements:

In the night, a team of reinforcements from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli arrives on a chartered aircraft at the Benghazi airport and reaches the security compound.

Around 4 a.m.:

The compound's building is hit by mortar fire. The roof is hit and two security personnel are killed. One agent involved in the attack from the beginning is severely wounded. The men decide to evacuate the city entirely. They spend the next hours securing the annex and moving a large convoy of vehicles to the airport. They evacuate on two flights.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1...6pLid%3D217865

[Warfish]

IMO, if almost any other election, the combination of the assassination of a U.S. Ambassador and his team, followed by a non-action by the President, followed by an obvious cover-up for political purposes, followed by a comment like "bump in the road", would combine to be an absolute killer, and election loser, for the sitting President.

Add in the state of the economy.

It continues to beg the question as to why Romney is not up 10 points at this point.

[Trades]

Originally Posted by Warfish

IMO, if almost any other election, the combination of the assassination of a U.S. Ambassador and his team, followed by a non-action by the President, followed by an obvious cover-up for political purposes, followed by a comment like "bump in the road", would combine to be an absolute killer, and election loser, for the sitting President.

Add in the state of the economy.

It continues to beg the question as to why Romney is not up 10 points at this point.

Because most people aren't even aware of what is going on in the world. In the past an American ambassador being assassinated would have been front page for a while. Today he was "killed", it was because of a video, and in other news did you see what Snookie did yesterday....

[Frequent Flyer]

Originally Posted by Trades

Because most people aren't even aware of what is going on in the world.

Gee, I wonder why that is?



Can't quite put my finger on it.

[quantum]

Originally Posted by Warfish

IMO, if almost any other election, the combination of the assassination of a U.S. Ambassador and his team, followed by a non-action by the President, followed by an obvious cover-up for political purposes, followed by a comment like "bump in the road", would combine to be an absolute killer, and election loser, for the sitting President.

Add in the state of the economy.

It continues to beg the question as to why Romney is not up 10 points at this point.

THE MEDIA.

I know you know this.

[DeanPatsFan]

Originally Posted by quantum

THE MEDIA.

I know you know this.

[DDNYjets]

Originally Posted by Warfish

IMO, if almost any other election, the combination of the assassination of a U.S. Ambassador and his team, followed by a non-action by the President, followed by an obvious cover-up for political purposes, followed by a comment like "bump in the road", would combine to be an absolute killer, and election loser, for the sitting President.

Add in the state of the economy.

It continues to beg the question as to why Romney is not up 10 points at this point.

Because the media is in bed with this administration.

[sackdance]

Originally Posted by Frequent Flyer

Gee, I wonder why that is?



Can't quite put my finger on it.

LOL.

That moderator for tomorrow's VP debate - Obama was a guest at her wedding. ABC tries to hush it, then tries to say practically all of Harvard's Law Review attended ... it's looking more like two did.

So - does anyone think Biden hasn't been fed the questions and has been in total preparation for them?

The media over the past 40 years is about the most malignant force in society today. They stop at nothing, this is par for the course.

Don't forget the murdered ambassador. They spun it hard as a Romney "gaffe". The actual facts that have since been uncovered (by non-MSM media, of course) paint a quite a different picture.

That said - Obama is toast.

[Bonhomme Richard]

Originally Posted by Warfish

IMO, if almost any other election, the combination of the assassination of a U.S. Ambassador and his team, followed by a non-action by the President, followed by an obvious cover-up for political purposes, followed by a comment like "bump in the road", would combine to be an absolute killer, and election loser, for the sitting President.

Add in the state of the economy.

It continues to beg the question as to why Romney is not up 10 points at this point.

The only people more delusional than Obama and his advisers are his supporters. It's frightening, really. Today they are rallying around Big Bird as a symbol of victory. Incredible.

And the media does a piss poor job of holding these clowns accountable.

[Ernie]

Interesting that none of the Obama supporters in this forum want to touch this thread with a ten foot pole. As if ignoring the issue will just make it disappear.

[Bonhomme Richard]

Originally Posted by Ernie

Interesting that none of the Obama supporters in this forum want to touch this thread with a ten foot pole. As if ignoring the issue will just make it disappear.

I certainly don't expect Yellow Submarine to post here -- unless he does it to somehow blame Bush or fault Romney.

[32green]

Originally Posted by Warfish

IMO, if almost any other election, the combination of the assassination of a U.S. Ambassador and his team, followed by a non-action by the President, followed by an obvious cover-up for political purposes, followed by a comment like "bump in the road", would combine to be an absolute killer, and election loser, for the sitting President.

Add in the state of the economy.

It continues to beg the question as to why Romney is not up 10 points at this point.

Lack of Media outrage and handwringing like the other posters here have alluded to.

These people were sentenced to death by....wait for it....Obama and his cronies.

-

[Frequent Flyer]

Originally Posted by sackdance

LOL.

That moderator for tomorrow's VP debate - Obama was a guest at her wedding. ABC tries to hush it, then tries to say practically all of Harvard's Law Review attended ... it's looking more like two did.

So - does anyone think Biden hasn't been fed the questions and has been in total preparation for them?

The media over the past 40 years is about the most malignant force in society today. They stop at nothing, this is par for the course.

Don't forget the murdered ambassador. They spun it hard as a Romney "gaffe". The actual facts that have since been uncovered (by non-MSM media, of course) paint a quite a different picture.

That said - Obama is toast.

Sad but true.

[frostlich]

A team of reinforcements arrived via chartered plane? WTF?

Call me crazy or just uninformed but is this getting lost on anyone else? Our cavalry has to arrive via chartered plane? In a country just tore up via revolution and this is the best we could do? Brings back memories of Mogadishu.

Yes, the media crickets are remarkably quiet. Where's the outrage?

[frostlich]

Lots of buzz going on about AC-130 Gunships nearby and and help requested from the ground but denied multiple times:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012...k-sources-say/

Fox News has learned from sources who were on the ground in Benghazi that an urgent request from the CIA annex for military back-up during the attack on the U.S. consulate and subsequent attack several hours later on the annex itself was denied by the CIA chain of command -- who also told the CIA operators twice to "stand down" rather than help the ambassador's team when shots were heard at approximately 9:40 p.m. in Benghazi on Sept. 11.
Former Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods was part of a small team who was at the CIA annex about a mile from the U.S. consulate where Ambassador Chris Stevens and his team came under attack. When he and others heard the shots fired, they informed their higher-ups at the annex to tell them what they were hearing and requested permission to go to the consulate and help out. They were told to "stand down," according to sources familiar with the exchange. Soon after, they were again told to "stand down."
Woods and at least two others ignored those orders and made their way to the consulate which at that point was on fire. Shots were exchanged. The rescue team from the CIA annex evacuated those who remained at the consulate and Sean Smith, who had been killed in the initial attack. They could not find the ambassador and returned to the CIA annex at about midnight.
At that point, they called again for military support and help because they were taking fire at the CIA safe house, or annex. The request was denied. There were no communications problems at the annex, according those present at the compound. The team was in constant radio contact with their headquarters. In fact, at least one member of the team was on the roof of the annex manning a heavy machine gun when mortars were fired at the CIA compound. The security officer had a laser on the target that was firing and repeatedly requested 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.
CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood, though, denied the claims that requests for support were turned down.
"We can say with confidence that the Agency reacted quickly to aid our colleagues during that terrible evening in Benghazi," she said. "Moreover, no one at any level in the CIA told anybody not to help those in need; claims to the contrary are simply inaccurate. In fact, it is important to remember how many lives were saved by courageous Americans who put their own safety at risk that night-and that some of those selfless Americans gave their lives in the effort to rescue their comrades."
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. Fox News has also learned that two separate Tier One Special operations forces were told to wait, among them Delta Force operators.
Watch "Special Report Investigates: Benghazi -- New Revelations" on Fox News at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, 3 p.m. on Sunday and 10 p.m. on Sunday.
A Special Operations team, or CIF which stands for Commanders in Extremis Force, operating in Central Europe had been moved to Sigonella, Italy, but they were never told to deploy. In fact, a Pentagon official says there were never any requests to deploy assets from outside the country. A second force that specializes in counterterrorism rescues was on hand at Sigonella, according to senior military and intelligence sources. According to those sources, they could have flown to Benghazi in less than two hours. They were the same distance to Benghazi as those that were sent from Tripoli. Spectre gunships are commonly used by the Special Operations community to provide close air support.
According to sources on the ground during the attack, the special operator on the roof of the CIA annex had visual contact and a laser pointing at the Libyan mortar team that was targeting the CIA annex. The operators were calling in coordinates of where the Libyan forces were firing from.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday that there was not a clear enough picture of what was occurring on the ground in Benghazi to send help.
"There's a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking going on here," Panetta said Thursday. "But the basic principle here ... is that you don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on."
U.S. officials argue that there was a period of several hours when the fighting stopped before the mortars were fired at the annex, leading officials to believe the attack was over.
Fox News has learned that there were two military surveillance drones redirected to Benghazi shortly after the attack on the consulate began. They were already in the vicinity. The second surveillance craft was sent to relieve the first drone, perhaps due to fuel issues. Both were capable of sending real time visuals back to U.S. officials in Washington, D.C. Any U.S. official or agency with the proper clearance, including the White House Situation Room, State Department, CIA, Pentagon and others, could call up that video in real time on their computers.
Tyrone Woods was later joined at the scene by fellow former Navy SEAL Glen Doherty, who was sent in from Tripoli as part of a Global Response Staff or GRS that provides security to CIA case officers and provides countersurveillance and surveillance protection. They were killed by a mortar shell at 4 a.m. Libyan time, nearly seven hours after the attack on the consulate began -- a window that represented more than enough time for the U.S. military to send back-up from nearby bases in Europe, according to sources familiar with Special Operations. Four mortars were fired at the annex. The first one struck outside the annex. Three more hit the annex.
A motorcade of dozens of Libyan vehicles, some mounted with 50 caliber machine guns, belonging to the February 17th Brigades, a Libyan militia which is friendly to the U.S., finally showed up at the CIA annex at approximately 3 a.m. An American Quick Reaction Force sent from Tripoli had arrived at the Benghazi airport at 2 a.m. (four hours after the initial attack on the consulate) and was delayed for 45 minutes at the airport because they could not at first get transportation, allegedly due to confusion among Libyan militias who were supposed to escort them to the annex, according to Benghazi sources.
The American special operators, Woods, Doherty and at least two others were part of the Global Response Staff, a CIA element, based at the CIA annex and were protecting CIA operators who were part of a mission to track and repurchase arms in Benghazi that had proliferated in the wake of Muammar Qaddafi's fall. Part of their mission was to find the more than 20,000 missing MANPADS, or shoulder-held missiles capable of bringing down a commercial aircraft. According to a source on the ground at the time of the attack, the team inside the CIA annex had captured three Libyan attackers and was forced to hand them over to the Libyans. U.S. officials do not know what happened to those three attackers and whether they were released by the Libyan forces.
Fox News has also learned that Stevens was in Benghazi that day to be present at the opening of an English-language school being started by the Libyan farmer who helped save an American pilot who had been shot down by pro-Qaddafi forces during the initial war to overthrow the regime. That farmer saved the life of the American pilot and the ambassador wanted to be present to launch the Libyan rescuer's new school.

[32green]

Originally Posted by frostlich

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday that there was not a clear enough picture of what was occurring on the ground in Benghazi to send help.
"There's a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking going on here," Panetta said Thursday. "But the basic principle here ... is that you don't deploy forces into harm's way without knowing what's going on."

An attack was going on. Our highest ranking people were being killed...and raped.

What more do these libtard hand wringing p*ssies want to know?

You put people...human farging beings... in harms way in enemy territory, with the proviso that if they are attacked...you wait until you have all the facts....to respond?

Jeebus.

[GandWFan]

Very sad. On another site I frequent, I learned that any time an embassy is attacked that secure flash traffic is sent to the White House Situation Room. The protocol DICTATES that the info be hand carried immediately to the POTUS, no matter where he is and no matter what he is doing at the time. This flash message was sent and we know that the President,the SOD, and General Hamm meet in the WH Sit Room at around 5pm est. the only person that can order US troops into harms way in this situation is the CiC.

So we know that he knew that our embassy and annex was under fire and HE choose to do nothing and let them die.

We also know that Biden unequivocally tells us that they did not know. Then for 2weeks the administrations surrogates are telling us it is an attack originating from a protest over a video.

And yet the media still carries water for these cowards. No coverage on the alphabet networks. Amazing

But Snookie is newsworthy.

[HessStation]

Sadest thing in the world is it's only Fox that seems to be reporting this as I flip through the channels the past few days...

[DDNYjets]

Originally Posted by HessStation

Sadest thing in the world is it's only Fox that seems to be reporting this as I flip through the channels the past few days...

Say what you want about FOX but they have done some Pulitzer worthy reporting on this along with their affiliates. MSM should be ashamed with themselves and the only reason why they have covered it the little they have is bc FOX has basically shamed them into it.

Those 4 men died heroes. Woods and Doherty along with whoever helped them deserve the Medal of Honor.

[GandWFan]

It amazes me that the President can outright LIE to the American People, blatantly LIE, and no one in the MSM calls him on it. I know that the media in general are liberals, but do none of them have a conscience?