2016 Postmortem

DonViejo

(60,536 posts) Thu Dec 20, 2012, 01:41 PM Dec 2012

The Benghazi Final Report: Republican charges of a cover-up are pure fiction.

The Ghosts of Benghazi

The final report on the attack on the U.S. consulate makes one thing clear: Republican charges of a cover-up are pure fiction.

By David Weigel|Posted Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, at 6:35 PM ET

During the drive to one of Barack Obama’s final campaign stops, navigating the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, I found a dozen or so protesters standing where the media might see them. They held up handmade posters, demanding more questions and answers about the Sept. 11 attack on America’s consulate in Benghazi. One sign simply named the four Americans killed that day, in letters too big to miss. The others assigned blame:

Obama Said “Stand Down”

Ask About Benghazi

Tell the Truth Obama

Media at the time—conservative media, especially—were reporting every possible turn, twist, and revelation about the attacks. The “stand down” theory originated in an October 26 Fox News EXCLUSIVE (capital letters in the original), which reported that the CIA “chain of command” had “told the CIA operators twice to ‘stand down’ rather than help” besieged Americans. A complementary theory, advanced by the father of the murdered Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, suggested that the White House had a “live feed” of the attack and sat shiva, doing nothing. Another theory, universally shared: The White House, led by people like UN Ambassador Susan Rice, was engaged in a massive cover-up.

This anger and panic added impetus to a study of the Benghazi killings, conducted by the State Department’s Accountability Review Board. The grimmest tales, the fodder for outrage and fulmination, were debunked. In fact, the problems at Benghazi started months before the attack, not in a fit of on-the-spot cowardice.

According to the report, the incident began around 9:42 p.m., after the day’s work was over. (To simplify matters, I’ve converted the military time in the report to standard time.) There were seven Americans at the consulate, which consisted of several buildings, and they were guarded by four members of the February 17 Martyr’s Brigade. “Guarded” is a lose term. A regional security officer saw, via a security camera, that “dozens of individuals” were marching through the compound’s main gate. The guards had fled; a police car, which was supposed to be outside, was gone.

-snip-

read more:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/12/benghazi_report_not_a_cover_up.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content

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The Benghazi Final Report: Republican charges of a cover-up are pure fiction. (Original Post) DonViejo Dec 2012 OP

I heard that Corker and another repug finally admitted louis-t Dec 2012 #1

John McCain has a history of less than honorable service. Dawson Leery Dec 2012 #2

This mixes myth with reality. No evidence of "stand-down", but there is a coverup of CIA operations leveymg Dec 2012 #3

louis-t

(23,297 posts)

1. I heard that Corker and another repug finally admitted

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Thu Dec 20, 2012, 01:47 PM

Dec 2012

that they were "at least partially responsible" for voting against State Dept. requests for more money for security. You will NEVER hear that on Fox, though.

Dawson Leery

(19,348 posts)

2. John McCain has a history of less than honorable service.

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Thu Dec 20, 2012, 01:51 PM

Dec 2012

leveymg

(36,418 posts)

3. This mixes myth with reality. No evidence of "stand-down", but there is a coverup of CIA operations

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Thu Dec 20, 2012, 03:05 PM

Dec 2012

Last edited Thu Dec 20, 2012, 04:23 PM - Edit history (3)

in Benghazi, specifically having to do with the Agency's role with Libyan Jihadis and heavy weapons, specifically MANPADs, transiting to Syria by way of ports in Turkey. As the slate article says,

According to the report, the incident began around 9:42 p.m., after the day’s work was over.

But, what was that day's work for Amb. Stevens and the CIA station housed at the nearby "annex"? That is the question that has been tellingly omitted, obscured or skipped over by the GOP, corporate media, and this investigation. But, such details selectively unexamined go directly to the motive of the attackers, which is why this part of the event isn't addressed in the report.

Rewind the tape a bit to 7:30, which marks the arrival of a Turkish diplomat, who Stevens saw to the gate at 8:30. Nothing amiss is reported to have happened to that individual -- and no warning give by him to Stevens, either -- despite the streets around the mission had reportedly already been cordoned off by the "demonstrators" with machine guns who would later carry out the attack, according to the AP. See, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/libyan-witnesses-recount-organized-benghazi-attack

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — It began around nightfall on Sept. 11 with around 150 bearded gunmen, some wearing the Afghan-style tunics favored by Islamic militants, sealing off the streets leading to the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. They set up roadblocks with pick-up trucks mounted with heavy machine guns, according to witnesses.

The trucks bore the logo of Ansar al-Shariah, a powerful local group of Islamist militants who worked with the municipal government to manage security in Benghazi, the main city in eastern Libya and birthplace of the uprising last year that ousted Moammar Gadhafi after a 42-year dictatorship.

That too seems a detail that might have been examined, but wasn't.

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