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...somehow being able to get to Benghazi in time in the midst of chaos, confusion, and an evolving mission is just irresponsible. The appropriate forces and equipment were some distance away, and aside from the time-space factors there was no guarantee they'd have been able to intervene in time. It is also possible there would have been additional casualties.

General Carter Ham answered this question recently on NPR's Morning Edition.

[url]http://www.npr.org/2014/05/08/310630813/u-s-team-to-assist-nigeria-in-locating-kidnapped-school-girls?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=morningedition&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140508[/url]

HAM: Well, as I think back about that event as it was unfolding, we did respond. And as I have, and as others have stated to the accountability review board, to a number of congressional groups both in public and in private hearings, forces were put into motion. But the nature of the mission changed over time and we certainly were working against very significant time-distance factors.

INSKEEP: Meaning that a lot of the troops you were talking about were outside...

HAM: That's right. Mostly Europe-based and you're talking a matter of several hours to get to Libya during that timeframe in a situation that, at least the initial attack, began and then largely subsided over about an hour. So not much time to respond very quickly. But the good news is, I think, after - one of the lessons learned from the attacks on Benghazi was to provide more forces to the current commander of Africa command and have a better response capability for instances in the future.

But certainly not right now sufficient forces postured to be able to respond to any diplomatic facility across the vast African continent in a short period of time.

There's more at the link.