Could The U.S. Military Have Saved The U.S. Consulate In Benghazi?

Reuters

Could American Airpower Have Saved Benghazi? -- Popular Mechanics

American airpower could have helped the beleaguered consulate, but not as much as many people think.

It's always tempting to play armchair general after a military crisis, especially with an election coming up. But there is something unsettling about the Pentagon's reaction to the fatal attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The fight dragged on for hours, seemingly long enough for some sort of intervention. In the end the consulate was burned, and later a CIA safe house was attacked and two defenders died. The failure to act during the Libyan attack clashes with the U.S. military's ingrained culture of "no man left behind."

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My Comment: Coulda .... shouda .... would have .... we will never know what would have happened if US airpower had buzzed the consulate during the attack. But I do know one thing .... they should have at least tried.

Who Made The Decision Not To Save My Son?

U.S. Marines salute during the dignified transfer ceremony for the U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens, Foreign Service officer Sean Smith, and security officers Tyrone S. Woods and Glen A. Doherty on Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sept. 14, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Father Of Slain SEAL: Who Made The Decision Not To Save My Son? -- Weekly Standard

On meeting Obama: “Could not look me in the eye … like shaking hands with a dead fish.”

Charles Woods, the father of Tyrone Woods, who was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack at the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, reveals details of meeting Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton at the publically broadcast memorial service for the slain Americans at Andrews Air Force Base only days after the attack. And, in a recent radio appearance, Woods publicly questions who made the call not to send in back-up forces to possibly save his son’s life, as well as the three other Americans killed in Benghazi (which includes the American ambassador to Libya).

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My Comment: This father is looking at his situation with a non-political point of view .... this is why he is going public, he does not understand why he is being treated this way. All that I can say is that I hope that he gets the answers to the questions that he is asking .... and if people are responsible for errors made .... be held accountable for their actions.

Update: If true, this is outrageous.

The U.S. Consulate Attack In Libya -- News Updates October 24-25, 2012

Blizzard Of Leaks And Charges Leaves Libya Questions Unanswered -- Bloomberg Businessweek

While six weeks of leaks and testimony have made it clear that the Obama administration had reports from the start that the assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, was a terrorist attack, the partisan dueling still leaves at least three questions unanswered.

The first is why the administration persisted for days in saying the attack was a spontaneous demonstration that “seems to have been hijacked” by militants. A second is whether U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, who died in the assault, had requested more bodyguards or other security. A third is how Stevens was lost if, as a State Department e-mail during the melee reported, “the compound had been cleared.”

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Previous Post: White House Emails Contradict Their Position On The U.S. Consulate Terror Attack

More News On Recent Revelations And Questions On The Benghazi Consulate Attack

US military's response questioned in wake of deadly Libya consulate attack -- FOX News
U.S. military poised for rescue in Benghazi -- CBS
Military Prepared for Benghazi Rescue, But Arrived Too Late -- Reason.com
Pentagon mum on Libya response -- Washington Times
E-Mails Offer Glimpse at What U.S. Knew in First Hours After Attack in Libya -- New York Times
E-mails: White House knew of extremist claims in Benghazi attack -- CNN
Emails show militant group took credit for Benghazi attack -- NBC
Libya militia tensions hampered post-attack U.S. rescue effort -- L.A. Times
Republicans Press White House for Explanation on Benghazi Emails -- ABC News
Clinton: Internet Claim of Responsibility for Attack Proves Nothing -- Voice of America
US downplays Facebook claim on Benghazi attack -- AFP
The Real Libya Story: There Is No Story -- Michael Hirsh, The Atlantic
Obama Knew Benghazi Was Terrorism And Did Nothing -- IBD Editorial
White House on Benghazi email -- Jamie Dupree, AJC
Benghazi e-mails: What did Obama administration know when? -- Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor
Why didn't President Obama tell the truth about what happened in Benghazi? -- CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Update: Political interference? This is very disturbing if true.

White House Emails Contradict Their Position On The U.S. Consulate Terror Attack

White House Told Of Militant Claim Two Hours After Libya Attack: Emails -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Officials at the White House and State Department were advised two hours after attackers assaulted the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11 that an Islamic militant group had claimed credit for the attack, official emails show.

The emails, obtained by Reuters from government sources not connected with U.S. spy agencies or the State Department and who requested anonymity, specifically mention that the Libyan group called Ansar al-Sharia had asserted responsibility for the attacks.

The brief emails also show how U.S. diplomats described the attack, even as it was still under way, to Washington.

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More News On White House Emails Revealing The White House Knew Of Militant Claim To US Consulate Attack Within Two Hours

White House Responds to Release of Real-Time Emails About Benghazi Attack -- ABC News
E-mails: White House knew of extremist claims in Benghazi attack -- CNN
State Department emails from day of Libya attack show Al Qaeda-tied group on radar -- FOX News
Report: U.S. knew quickly of terror claims in embassy hit -- USA Today
Emails offer insight on Benghazi attack -- UPI
Emails detail unfolding Benghazi attack on Sept. 11 -- CBS
Emails show U.S. officials told of militants within hours of Benghazi attack -- Washington Times
Emails: White House informed Al Qaeda group behind Benghazi attack within two hours -- Washington Times
State Dept. Email to White House at 6:07 PM on 9/11/12: 'Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack' -- CNS News
Rogers: Emails make it 'difficult' to conclude Benghazi attack 'spontaneous' -- The Hill
White House, State Dept knew within hours that Benghazi was a terrorist attack -- Human Events
The Shocking, World-Changing New Libya E-Mails -- David Weigel, Slate
Emails show White House knew of terrorists’ Benghazi claim within two hours. So why blame a video for two weeks? -- Kyle Wingfield, AJC
White House e-mails blow up its Libya cover story -- Jennifer Rubin

My Comment: These emails blow the White House cover story on Libya. And while the White House is downplaying these emails .... more questions are now being raised. For example .... why did they push the "spontaneous demonstration over a video that got out of hand story" when emails from Benghazi tot he White House were clearly stating a different story .... and why did this spin continue for two weeks.

From my vantage point, it is clear that someone in the White House, State Department, or within the intelligence community is leaking intel on this story. We now know that these emails exist .... a fact that the White House choose not to reveal for the past 6 weeks .... and that for some reason a decision was made to cover-up reports that the U.S. consulate attack was a planned terrorist strike. Someone is not telling the truth here, and the longer the White House delays in clearing up these contradictions, the more that it will eat into it's credibility and trust with the American public.

Update: Little if no coverage on this story from NBC, New York Times, Washington Post, etc....instead .... this is their big story. And where is Hillary Clinton?

Update #2: The more I read and study this .... the more that I realize that there are only two explanations for this scandal. (1) Unbelievable gross incompetence, or (2) a deliberate policy from the White House to lie to the American public.

Is A Key Suspect In The Benghazi U.S. Consulate Attack Being Held In Tunisia?

Benghazi Suspect Held In Tunisia -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast

He posted to social media just after the assault began. Now he’s in a Tunisian jail. Is Ali Ani al-Harzi the first big break in the Sept. 11 consulate attack? Eli Lake reports.

One of the first clues the intelligence community had about the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was when a Tunisian national posted an update on social media about the fighting shortly after it had begun.

The post from Ali Ani al-Harzi, who is now suspected of participating in the attacks, was what helped U.S. intelligence locate him and track him down after he fled Libya for Turkey, according to four U.S. officials familiar with the unfolding investigation.

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My Comment: I still do not understand why the Tunisian government is not permitting U.S. officials to question this suspect. I guess not enough U.S. pressure is being put.

Update: More doubts on the official U.S. story .... White House told of militant claim two hours after Libya attack: emails -- Reuters

More Contradictions From The White House On The Benghazi Attack

Intelligence Stressed Libya Protest Scenario -- Wall Street Journal

In Reports to Obama, CIA Didn't Alter Assessment of Trigger for Violence for 10 Days, Even as Witness Accounts Disputed It

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama was told in his daily intelligence briefing for more than a week after the consulate siege in Benghazi that the assault grew out of a spontaneous protest, despite conflicting reports from witnesses and other sources that began to cast doubt on the accuracy of that assessment almost from the start.

New details about the contents of the President's Daily Brief, which haven't been reported previously, show that the Central Intelligence Agency didn't adjust the classified assessment until Sept. 22, fueling tensions between the administration and the agency.

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More News On The Recent Intelligence Explanation On The Benghazi Attack

After Benghazi Attack, Talk Lagged Behind Intelligence -- New York Times
Defiant insider: Benghazi attack clearly planned -- Washington Times
Why the Benghazi terrorist attack still dogs Obama -- Brad Knickerbocker, Christian Science Monitor
CIA documents supported Susan Rice’s description of Benghazi attacks -- David Ignatius, Washington Post
Benghazi, Take Two -- David Frum, Daily Beast
Why Benghazi Is Even Bigger Than You Think for Obama and Romney -- Spencer Ackerman, Danger Room

My Comment: The intelligence community and the White House reports one thing ..... other members in the intelligence community leak contradictory info. This is a travesty in every-way. Newsweek/Daily Beast has been a daily must read on this evolving story. Their newest post this Monday morning .... The Truth Behind the Benghazi Attack .... is a must read.

More Indications That The White House And State Department Ignored U.S. And Allied Intelligence On Libya's Dangerous Islamist Groups

Insight: Brazen Islamic Militants Showed Strength Before Benghazi Attack -- Reuters

(Reuters) - In the months before the deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya, U.S. and allied intelligence agencies warned the White House and State Department repeatedly that the region was becoming an increasingly dangerous vortex for jihadist groups loosely linked or sympathetic to al Qaeda, according to U.S. officials.

Despite those warnings, and bold public displays by Islamist militants around Benghazi, embassies in the region were advised to project a sense of calm and normalcy in the run-up to the anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the United States.

So brazen was the Islamist presence in the Benghazi area that militants convened what they billed as the "First Annual Conference of Supporters of Shariah (Islamic law)" in the city in early June, promoting the event on Islamist websites.

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My Comment: It seems that people never learn. Like 9/11, people in power decided to avoid the intelligence. On a side note .... it looks like the U.S. intelligence community is fighting back against White House efforts to "throw them under the bus" for their post Benghazi narrative.

Was The U.S. Consulate Attack In Libya A Hasty Strike Or A Coordinated And Well Planned Assault

The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi in flames during an attack by an armed group Photo: REUTERS

Evidence Points to Hasty Strike on U.S. Compound in Libya -- Bloomberg Businessweek

While details of the attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya last month may never be fully known, there is ample evidence neither the Obama administration’s initial accounts nor Republican portrayals of the incident are accurate.

The administration has abandoned its early depictions of the assault in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans as the escalation of a spontaneous and peaceful demonstration. Republicans, meanwhile, have sought to tie the attack to a resurgent al-Qaeda that President Barack Obama’s administration failed to detect and deter.

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My Comment: Critics are claiming that the White House is downplaying Al Qaeda's role (or possible role) in the Benghazi US consulate attack because this runs contrary to their public message that because of US policies and the death of Bin laden, Al Qaeda is now becoming a spent force. What's my take .... I do not have the intelligence resources that the US government has, but I do know that Al Qaeda's leader has recently been "spiking the football" in his response to last month's successful militant attack on the US consulate in Libya.

Who Ordered The 16 Man Special Ops Team Out From Benghazi In August, And Why?

Congress To Probe Security Flaws For Libya Diplomats -- CBS

(CBS News) WASHINGTON - CBS News has learned that congressional investigators have issued a subpoena to a former top security official at the US mission in Libya. The official is Lt. Col. Andy Wood, a Utah National Guard Army Green Beret who headed up a Special Forces "Site Security Team" in Libya.

The subpoena compels Lt. Col. Wood to appear at a House Oversight Committee hearing next week that will examine security decisions leading up to the Sept. 11 Muslim extremist terror assault on the U.S. compound at Benghazi. U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three of his colleagues were killed in the attack.

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Update: Security team pulled out of Libya in August -- Rick Moran, American Thinker

My Comment: The above FOX News report is disturbing if true. I would like to know who gave the order to pull this special ops team out of Benghazi when it is clear from this report that the security team was concerned for the safety of the staff in the consulate.

Guards At U.S. Consulate In Libya Were Only Paid $4 Per Hour

Reuters

U.S. Paid Guards $4 per Hour at Threatened Benghazi Consulate -- Danger Room

There’s fresh evidence that security at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was something less than first class. Documents recovered from the grounds of the American mission show that the guards there were paid an hourly rate of 5.21 Libyan Dinars — the equivalent of $4 per hour.

Libya isn’t a wealthy country by American standards. Before the country’s civil war in 2011, the average income was about $12,000, or six dollars per hour for a 40-hour work week. It’s safe to assume that the fighting over the last 18 months has only lowered that average take-home pay.

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My Comment: Paying guards $4 per hour to protect a US diplomatic post that has been targeted with numerous threats .... and for some of these guards they had no weapons. This is NOT how you  protect a diplomatic post.

Witness To U.S. Consulate Attack In Benghazi Ignored By Both Libyan And U.S. Authorities

A protester reacts as the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames during a protest by an armed group said to have been protesting a film being produced in the United States. (Reuters)

Libyans Say Few Questions Being Asked About Attack -- Washington Post

BENGHAZI, Libya — Three weeks after the attack that killed four Americans in this city, the investigation of its causes remains in its initial stages, with just a handful of suspects detained, the crime scenes minimally secured and Walid Faraj waiting for a phone call from someone, anyone, asking him what he saw on the night he was injured while protecting the U.S. diplomatic post here.

Faraj, a member of the militia that local officials tasked with securing Americans in Benghazi, said he saw the attack nearly from start to finish. But neither American nor Libyan investigators have paid him a visit, even as he fears that the perpetrators know who he is.

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My Comment: This eye-witness was there. He saw and knows what happened. But .... I can easily predict .... that he will be ignored until after the Presidential election. On a side note .... brickbats to the reporter who interviewed him. Here was a chance for him to ask a whole slew of questions .... was this a planned or spontaneous attack .... who was there .... what exactly happened .... but for reasons not explained this Washington Post reporter choose to not ask him the questions that I am sure that many of his readers would want to know.

Report: Within 24 Hours Dozens Of U.S. Intelligence Reports Suggested Al Qaeda Militants Were Responsible For The U.S. Consulate Attack In Libya

The US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Photo: Mustafa El-Shridi/Reuters

U.S. Had Early Indications Libya Attack Tied To Organized Militants -- Reuters

Within hours of last month's attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, President Barack Obama's administration received about a dozen intelligence reports suggesting militants connected to al Qaeda were involved, three government sources said.

Despite these reports, in public statements and private meetings, top U.S. officials spent nearly two weeks highlighting intelligence suggesting that the attacks were spontaneous protests against an anti-Muslim film, while playing down the involvement of organized militant groups.

It was not until last Friday that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's office issued an unusual public statement, which described how the picture that intelligence agencies presented to U.S. policymakers had "evolved" into an acknowledgement that the attacks were "deliberate and organized" and "carried out by extremists."

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My Comment: As I said in an earlier post .... through drips and drabs we are learning more and more on how the White House responded to the attack .... more specifically .... for their own reasons they decided to spin a different and misleading narrative to the American public.

Pentagon Knew Within 24 Hours That The US Consulate Attack In Benghazi Was An Act Of Terrorism

Watch FBI Investigation Continues on Benghazi Attacks on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Pentagon Eyed Al Qaeda Early As Attacker On U.S. Consulate -- Washington Times 

The day after the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, military intelligence was spreading the word inside the Pentagon that an al Qaeda-linked group was likely responsible. A source familiar with intelligence reporting told The Washington Times that the Libyan militant group Ansar al-Sharia was singled out as the likely principal planner and executor of the attack that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans on Sept. 11. U.S. Special Operations Command quickly dispatched its troops to the region, but not into Libya directly, to stand by in case Ansar al-Sharia launched more attacks on Americans or took hostages.

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My Comment: The truth is now coming out on the U.S. consulate attack in Libya .... even if it is in drips and drabs. After the attack and murder of a US Ambassador, the Pentagon did the right thing. They assessed the intelligence and information that they had .... made the judgement that this was an Al Qaeda and/or Al Qaeda affiliated group attack .... and responded by sending US special forces into the region with the expectation of more attacks. But what is surprising about this news is that the Pentagon completely ignored the White House line that this was a spontaneous demonstration and riot because of a video .... as far as the Pentagon was concerned .... this was a terrorist attack, and the US military was going to act accordingly.

Makes you wonder if the White House has .... or does not have .... complete control of what the military can (and cannot do) when it comes to matters and international incidents like this one. Or .... is it possible that the White House was on the same page with the Pentagon on why was the US consulate attacked (and who attacked it) .... but decided to push a different narrative to the public. Either way .... there are way to many questions, and a need to know a few answers.

U.S. Diplomats In Libya Pleaded For More Security, But US State Department Declined Their Requests

Deadly attack: The consulate, located in the city of Benghazi, was reportedly bombed twice in the months leading up to the attack, which occurred on the 11th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. Daily Mail

U.S. Officials Sought Security Before Libya Attack: Lawmakers -- Reuters

(Reuters) - U.S. officials in Libya asked repeatedly for more security at their mission in Benghazi before the September 11 attack that killed four Americans there, but Washington denied the requests, leaders of a congressional committee said on Tuesday.

U.S. Representatives Darrell Issa and Jason Chaffetz wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanding details of the requests for more security.

They said the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold an October 10 hearing on the Benghazi attack.

"Multiple U.S. federal government officials have confirmed to the committee that, prior to the September 11 attack, the U.S. mission in Libya made repeated requests for increased security in Benghazi," Issa and Chaffetz wrote.

"The mission in Libya, however, was denied these resources by officials in Washington," the Republican lawmakers said.

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More News On US Diplomat Requests For More Security In Benghazi Were Denied

House committee: security requests denied in Libya -- AP
Diplomats' Libyan security requests denied -- The Australian
House: U.S. Embassy in Libya asked for extra security, request denied -- Washington Examiner
GOP demands answers on Libya security -- AJC

My Comment: I hope that these Republican lawmaker claims are not true .... but if true .... this is a scandal .... and someone in the US State department has clearly dropped the ball. Individuals need to be held accountable starting with the US Secretary of State.

Update: This explains why US diplomats in Benghazi wanted more security. More news and info on this story is here.

Update #2: White House Has No Comment on House GOPers’ Assertions that Libyan Mission Requested Security Prior to 9/11/12 Attack -- ABC News

The Theats And Warning Signs Were There Before The Benghazi U.S. Consulate Attack

The US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in flames September 11, 2012. Photo: Mustafa El-Shridi/Reuters

U.S. Consulate In Benghazi Bombed Twice In Run-Up to 9/11 Anniversary -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast

Jihadists twice set off explosives at the consulate prior to the incident that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens, and announced threats on Facebook about escalating attacks on Western targets in the run-up to the 9/11 anniversary, according to whistleblowers reaching out to House Republicans.

In the five months leading up to this year’s 9/11 anniversary, there were two bombings on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and increasing threats to and attacks on the Libyan nationals hired to provide security at the U.S. missions in Tripoli and Benghazi.

Details on these alleged incidents stem in part from the testimony of a handful of whistleblowers who approached the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the days and weeks following the attack on the Benghazi consulate. The incidents are disclosed in a letter to be sent Tuesday to Hillary Clinton from Rep. Darrell Issa, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the oversight committee’s subcommittee that deals with national security.

The State Department did not offer comment on the record last night.

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My Comment: It is now obvious (with hindsight) that the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was under imminent threat. Unfortunately for the 4 Americans who were killed, these threats were ignored.

Did The Arab Spring Release Militants From Jail Who Are Now Plotting New Attacks?

The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was in flames during an attack on Sept. 11. There are competing narratives on whether the attack was premeditated. Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters /Landov

Militant Link To Libya Attack -- Wall Street Journal

U.S. Tracks Egyptian Operative Freed From Prison in Wake of Arab Spring.

The revolutions that swept the Middle East and North Africa also emptied prisons of militants, a problem now emerging as a potential new terrorist threat.

Fighters linked to one freed militant, Muhammad Jamal Abu Ahmad, took part in the Sept. 11 attack on U.S. diplomatic outposts in Libya that killed four Americans, U.S. officials believe based on initial reports. Intelligence reports suggest that some of the attackers trained at camps he established in the Libyan Desert, a former U.S. official said.

The revolutions that swept the Middle East and North Africa also emptied prisons of militants, a problem now emerging as a potential new terrorist threat.

Fighters linked to one freed militant, Muhammad Jamal Abu Ahmad, took part in the Sept. 11 attack on U.S. diplomatic outposts in Libya that killed four Americans, U.S. officials believe based on initial reports. Intelligence reports suggest that some of the attackers trained at camps he established in the Libyan Desert, a former U.S. official said.

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Update: Militant freed from prison in wake of Arab Spring may be linked to Libya attack -- FOX News

My Comment: With all U.S. foreign personnel being ordered to leave Benghazi today, it looks like we will now never know what exactly happened in Benghazi.

British Security Firm Facing Questions Over It's Failure To Protect Amb. Stevens

British Security Firm Facing Questions Over Role In Benghazi Attack -- The Telegraph

A British private security firm is facing questions over its role in the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi after it emerged that it was responsible for hiring local guards to protect the diplomatic site.

Blue Mountain, a Wales-based firm staffed by former special forces operatives, was hired by the US government to provide security at the consulate before it was overrun in an assault that killed the ambassador and three other Americans.

The company was paid only $387,413 (£239,683) by the US State Department for the year-long contract, less than the cost of deploying a single American soldier.

In return, Blue Mountain assembled a force of local guards who were unable to protect Ambassador Chris Stevens or repel the coordinated attack on September 11.

Read more ....

My Comment: I guess some in the State Department (and elsewhere)  are looking for a fall guy to pin the blame for this disaster.

FBI Investigation On The Benghazi Consulate Raid Still Delayed Two Weeks After The Attack

The caskets of U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens, Foreign Service officer Sean Smith, and security officers Tyrone S. Woods and Glen A. Doherty are escorted through an honor cordon on Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sept. 14, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Mother Of Navy SEAL Killed In Libya While Trying To Protect Ambassador Slams Government For 'Unacceptable' Delay In Investigating Deaths -- Daily Mail

* Tyrone Woods died on September 11 while defending Benghazi consulate
* FBI agents have not been allowed into 'unsafe' city to investigate attack
* SEAL's mother says delay is 'absolutely unacceptable'

The mother of one of the Navy SEALs killed in the raid on a U.S. consulate in Libya has criticised the administration for its slow response to the massacre earlier this month.

More than two weeks after the apparent terrorist attack in Benghazi which killed ambassador Chris Stevens along with three other officials, an FBI investigation team has yet to enter the city.

Cheryl Croft Bennett, whose son Tyrone Woods died alongside his comrade Glen Doherty while trying to protect consulate staff, took to Facebook to denounce the lack of progress in uncovering the circumstances behind the raid.

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Update: Murdered ex-SEAL’s mother frustrated by pace of Benghazi investigation -- The Cable/Foreign Policy

My Comment: As I had mentioned a week ago, if Benghazi is too dangerous for the FBI .... why was the Ambassador sent there in the first place? There are too many contradictions and questions that need to be answered .... and it looks like there will now be no investigation. The mother of one of the killed Navy SEALS has just cause to be frustrated.

Benghazi Is Too Dangerous For The FBI

REUTERS/Esam Al-Fetori

Security Concerns Keep FBI From Scene Of Ambassador's Murder: Official -- ABC News

More than two weeks after militants killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans at a diplomatic mission in Libya, FBI investigators have not gone into the city where the attack took place due to security concerns, a federal law enforcement official said today, even if such concerns haven't stopped journalists from operating freely in the same city.

"In a perfect world, we'd be there. No one is preventing us from going there," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Security and safety are the big issues that will dictate when things change."

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My Comment: If it is too dangerous to send the FBI .... why was the US Ambassador sent there to begin with? This is just more proof to the argument that this was a huge security failure.

Update: Benghazi attack followed deep cuts in State Department security budget -- Washington Times

Conflicting And Contradictory Statements On The US Consulate Attack In Libya Have Caught Up With The White House

Deadly attack: U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens died in the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, pictured

They DID Know: Now White House Admits They Knew 'Within 24 Hours' That Al Qaeda Was Behind Libya Attacks Despite Confusing Public Statements -- Daily Mail

* U.S. Government privately labelled attack on U.S. Consulate a terrorist act almost immediately and knew CIA was chasing specific suspect
* White House claimed for a week that assault was staged by crazed protestors reacting to anti-Islam film
* Finally admitted act was a 'terrorist' strike last week
* Hillary Clinton yesterday said she believed the attack linked to al Qaeda
* Libyan president Mohamed Magarief said that attacks were 'pre-planned'
* FBI being denied access to crime scene in Benghazi
* U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens was killed along with fellow Americans Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty

The Obama administration has confirmed that it knew within 24 hours that U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens had been killed in a pre-planned terrorist attack and not by crazed protestors enraged by an anti-Islam film.

The White House claimed for a week that the assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was 'spontaneous' and sparked by the controversial movie, before finally admitting that the 9/11 anniversary attack was orchestrated by terrorists.

But senior U.S. officials have now confessed the government privately labelled the attack a terrorist act almost immediately after it happened, and even knew that the perpetrators had links to al Qaeda.

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More News On the US Consulate Attack In Libya

From video to terrorist attack: a definitive timeline of administration statements on the Libya attack -- Washington Post
Intel quickly saw signs of al Qaeda links in consulate attack -- CNN
US Officials Knew Libya Attack Was Terrorism Within 24 Hours, Sources Confirm -- FOX News
Obama knew attack on US Embassy in Libya was terror strike: report -- New York Post
Carney: Obama believes Libya attack was terrorism -- The Hill
Libya assault was planned, 'terrorist' attack: US -- AFP
White House Defends Changing Rhetoric On Libya Attack -- ABC News
Some Administration Officials Were Concerned About Initial White House Push Blaming Benghazi Attack on Mob, Video -- ABC News
Republicans assail Obama on 9/11 attack in Libya -- AP
The Libya facts: Will Romney use them? -- Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post