Damning evidence surfaces about Libyan attacks

In summary, two former Navy SEALs, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, went to the scene of the Benghazi attacks to help save unarmed personnel. They were later killed by a mortar shell after waiting for backup for nearly seven hours, despite the availability of live feed from drones and nearby military bases. The communication during the attack was going on locally between operatives in Benghazi and the White House was not directly involved in making decisions. The men were part of the Global Response Staff, a CIA element, and were also on a mission to track and repurchase arms in Benghazi. The situation is complicated and there is debate over whether more could have been done to save the lives of these men.
  • #1
Oltz
So apparently the 2 prior Navy Seals who died broke order to go and save unarmed personnel at the scene of the attacks and then were killed 7 hours later by a mortar round.

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.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/cia-operators-were-denied-request-for-help-during-benghazi-attack-sources-say/

I am sorry but as a vet I do not understand how anyone can support an administration who left those men to die when support was available. A live feed from drones was available in the situation room and no action was taken.

This story really has 3 parts the fact that it happened the fact that its taken so long to come out and the fact that ABC NBC and CBS are not all over this.

This is one of the largest single stories in foreign affairs in a decade and they are not covering it.

I will add a link to the emails talking about it being a terror attack 2 hours into it as well.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/int...emails-on-libya-terror-attack/?intcmp=related
Thoughts?
 
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  • #2
I think there's more to the story. The communication was going on locally between operatives in Benghazi, you act like Obama was on the phone calling the shots, get real.

The men were contractors, they used to be Navy Seals, they were not active Military.

"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.

And CNN's report.

"It was during that (second attack) that two additional U.S. personnel were killed and two others were wounded," a senior administration official said last week in providing details of the attack Those two victims were later confirmed to be Doherty and Woods.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/21/world/africa/libya-consulate-attack/index.html
 
  • #3
Evo said:
I think there's more to the story. The communication was going on locally between operatives in Benghazi, you act like Obama was on the phone calling the shots, get real.



And CNN's report.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/21/world/africa/libya-consulate-attack/index.html

At least when I was in the military if an attack was believed to be over you either pulled the men out or reinforced them you didn't just leave them there alone and assume everything was fine now troops are deployed to support action under way all the time especially when you are not sure what is going on. Plus with drones in the air they had a better idea what was happening then the troops on the ground. That is CYA by Penetta and anybody who has been in combat will tell you that.

I am sorry Obama takes full credit for every action of the seals when they were on live in the situation room going after Osama so at least somebody had to have mentioned to him that this was going on.

They had painted the mortar team with a laser for missile guidance misses that are on the drones if the order had been given to fire those men would be alive.
 
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  • #4
Evo they were CIA of one form or another hence:

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.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...ng-benghazi-attack-sources-say/#ixzz2AQzU7ky2
 
  • #5
Oltz said:
At least when I was in the military if an attack was believed to be over you either pulled the men out or reinforced them you didn't just leave them there alone and assume everything was fine
The attack on the location where Stevens was killed WAS evacuated. The SECOND attack was on a SECOND location hours later.

I am sorry Obama takes full credit for every action of the seals when they were on live in the situation room going after Osama so at least somebody had to have mentioned to him that this was going on.
Osama was a planned attack by US.
 
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  • #6
The best read that I have found on the action in Benghazi.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics...azing-story-of-what-happened-in-libya/263597/

This is another:

http://www.france24.com/en/20120917...azi&ns_fee=0&gclid=CM6G-fjniLMCFUfNOgodoTgAmw

No point in making small cut and pastes on this very complicated situation.

The big thing is that Libyan officials did not want foreign boots on the ground for security. Americans were supposed to be protected by the Libyan 17th of September Militia. They were not up to the task.
 
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  • #7
edward said:
...

FOX news is using 20/20 hind site to make up "what if" scenarios.

...
Can you demonstrate where this is the case in the OP's linked story?
 
  • #8
mheslep said:
Can you demonstrate where this is the case in the OP's linked story?

Rather than getting into this any further I deleted that sentence.
 
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  • #9
While I'm perfectly fine with the CIA having a little private army in Benghazi (Clear And Present Danger, anyone? Once again, life imitates Clancy), it certainly created a sticky situation for them to be so close to the poorly protected ambassador! They aren't supposed to be there and it would be a little ugly if we had a major ground and air battle by troops who aren't supposed to exist. So I do understand why they were told to stand down, but it really was a bad catch-22.

It is tough to cut through the fog of war, but knowing the ambassador was missing and their cover was almost certainly blown (though it did take a while for that to be made clear), I would have preferred a much stronger response. Once you're in it, you might as well go for broke.
Evo said:
The men were contractors...
I don't think that's true: it sounds to me like they were CIA employees. Though I don't really think it matters.
...they used to be Navy Seals, they were not active Military.
No irony intended, but:
The Clandestine Service is looking for U.S. citizen candidates to fill Paramilitary Operations Officer and Specialized Skills Officer positions...

Minimum requirements for Paramilitary Operations Officers include a bachelor's degree, military special operations or combat arms experience (ground, air or maritime), as well as combat leadership experience.
https://www.cia.gov/careers/opportunities/clandestine/paramilitary-operations-officer-specialized-skills-officer.html

Wiki said:
A paramilitary is a military-esque force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces.[1] Under the Law of Armed Conflict, a state may incorporate a paramilitary organization or armed agency charged with police functions into its armed forces. The other parties to a conflict have to be notified thereof.[2]
The term paramilitary is subjective, depending on what is considered similar to a military force, and what status a force is considered to have. The nature of paramilitary forces therefore varies greatly according to the speaker and the context.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramilitary
 
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  • #10
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/w...-major-defensive-role-in-libya-attack.html?hp

The account given by the senior officials, who did not want to be identified, provided the most detailed description to date of the C.I.A.’s role in Benghazi, a covert presence that appears to have been much more significant than publicly disclosed.
...
The senior officials also shed new light on the C.I.A.’s role in Libya.

Within months of the start of the Libyan revolution in February 2011, the agency began building a meaningful but covert presence in Benghazi, a locus of the rebel efforts to oust the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

The C.I.A.’s surveillance targets in Benghazi and eastern Libya included Ansar al-Shariah, a militia that some have blamed for the attack on the mission, as well as suspected members of Al Qaeda’s affiliate in North Africa, known as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

American intelligence operatives also helped State Department contractors and Libyan officials in tracking shoulder-fired missiles taken from the former Libyan Army arsenals, American officials said.

“There were no orders to anybody to stand down in providing support,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of continuing investigations by the State Department and the F.B.I.

CBS seems to refute this.

Absent coordination from Counterterrorism Security Group, a senior US counterterrorism official says the response to the crisis became more confused. The official says the FBI received a call during the attack representing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and requesting agents be deployed. But he and his colleagues agreed the agents "would not make any difference without security and other enablers to get them in the country and synch their efforts with military and diplomatic efforts to maximize their success."

Another senior counter terrorism official says a hostage rescue team was alternately asked to get ready and then stand down throughout the night, as officials seemed unable to make up their minds.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57544026/sources-key-task-force-not-convened-during-benghazi-consulate-attack/?tag=socsh
 
  • #11
nsaspook said:
CBS seems to refute this.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57544026/sources-key-task-force-not-convened-during-benghazi-consulate-attack/?tag=socsh


Another senior counter terrorism official says a hostage rescue team was alternately asked to get ready and then stand down throughout the night, as officials seemed unable to make up their minds.



One thing that may be considered is that there were no hostages taken.:rolleyes:
 
  • #12
edward said:
One thing that may be considered is that there were no hostages taken.:rolleyes:

So what, maybe there were none because good men died stopping it from happening. :rolleyes: The teams "Delta/HRT" train to handle all contingencies including (as in this case Counter-terrorism) attempts to kill US personnel, calling them a "hostage rescue team" is just PC.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...50f-11e2-9313-3c7f59038d93_story.html?hpid=z5

Following a single background briefing, the State Department has mostly refused to respond to inquiries about Benghazi, citing an ongoing investigation by a review board. But considerable evidence has emerged that Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, who died in the attack, and his security staff were deeply concerned about what they considered to be inadequate security. Fox Newsreported this week that a secret cable described an Aug. 15 “emergency meeting” at the consulate, at which the State Department’s regional security officer “expressed concerns with the ability to defend Post in the event of a coordinated attack due to limited manpower, security measures, weapons capabilities, host nation support and the overall size of the compound.”

...
From these, and a report Friday by the Wall Street Journal, it emerges that the CIA mission in Benghazi was considerably larger than the consulate and may have been partly responsible for its defense. According to the CIA account, on the night of Sept. 11 a six-member paramilitary force set out to rescue consulate personnel, arriving some 50 minutes after the attack began. Surviving Americans were evacuated to the CIA station, which itself came under attack hours later.

The Pentagon and CIA accounts describe a reaction to the attack that, while inadequate, was the best that could be mustered. Even if so, that leaves the question of why the various agencies were not better prepared for such an emergency, given the clear warnings. Did the Obama administration’s political preoccupation with maintaining a light footprint in Libya lead to an ill-considered reliance on local militias, rather than on U.S. forces? Given the region’s instability, why were no military rapid-reaction assets — such as Special Forces or armed drones — within reach of Northern Africa?
 
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  • #13
CNN reports that former Central Intelligence Agency director David H. Petraeus wants to tell Congress that he knew “almost immediately” that the attack on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi was perpetrated by terrorists.

According to the source, reports attributing the attack to protests surrounding an anti-Islam video and protests in Cairo were not disproven until after Petraeus made his initial report to Congress.

Despite that, according to CNN, Petraeus had separate talking points from Rice’s and that her talking points came from somewhere else in the administration.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/15/politics/benghazi-hearings/index.html

Legislators saw a "real-time film (showing) exactly what happened" on September 11 in Benghazi, starting before the attack began up "through the incident and the exodus," said Feinstein. A source familiar with the House committee hearing said the video included shots of Stevens being dragged out of the building. Sen. Dan Coats, an Indiana Republican, described the footage as "a combination of video from a surveillance camera and a drone."

"It gave us a good picture, from the surveillance standpoint, what was happening," Coats said.
 
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  • #14
Oltz said:
At least when I was in the military if an attack was believed to be over you either pulled the men out or reinforced them you didn't just leave them there alone and assume everything was fine now troops are deployed to support action under way all the time especially when you are not sure what is going on. Plus with drones in the air they had a better idea what was happening then the troops on the ground. That is CYA by Penetta and anybody who has been in combat will tell you that.

I am sorry Obama takes full credit for every action of the seals when they were on live in the situation room going after Osama so at least somebody had to have mentioned to him that this was going on.

They had painted the mortar team with a laser for missile guidance misses that are on the drones if the order had been given to fire those men would be alive.

Just as an FYI, Libya was and is a sovereign nation with all the rights and privileges afford by international law. That includes protection from external military action.

Consulates and embassies can be protected internally by the outside nations forces often because it is considered the occupying nations territory. They cannot, however, install troops outside of the premises without permission. And most nations do not want foreign troops occupying their sovereign territory.

It was Libya's job to protect all of the area surrounding the consulate. And it was their job to react in the event of an attack. The United States cannot simply invade another country without proper cause and[STRIKE] the Libyan government resisted US efforts to send in troops.[/STRIKE]

I cannot find the source where I heard that last statement so I am striking it from my argument.
 
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  • #15
The United States cannot simply invade another country without proper cause and the Libyan government resisted US efforts to send in troops.

Source for this?
 
  • #16
Angry Citizen said:
Source for this?

Searching for where I read that and can't find it. It was well over a month ago either way so I might have misread or claims may have been redacted.
 
  • #17
mkarger said:
Searching for where I read that and can't find it. It was well over a month ago either way so I might have misread or claims may have been redacted.

Guess I'll have to subpoena you for creating a "confusing narrative" o_O
 
  • #18
Angry Citizen said:
Guess I'll have to subpoena you for creating a "confusing narrative" o_O

I can only handle one subpoena a month and the MCSO has already taken that spot.
 
  • #19
  • #20
I believe Stevens and the US operation in Libya were always dedicated to the "light footprint" strategy. So the besieged personnel, numbering some 30 plus the bodies, in neither Benghazi facility were ever going to be rescued by cannon-firing AC-130 gunships and commando-style helicopter missions. I believe it was the February 17 Martyrs Brigade that were urgently summoned by the CIA to provide relief, and indeed it was a 50 vehicle convoy of this militia that finally relieved the siege, albeit many hours after the initial call.

As of this time, any investigation of the incident by Libyan authorities seems to be stalled, so perhaps it is the FBI to whom we must turn for answers?

Respectfully submitted,
Steve
 
  • #21
Dotini said:
I believe Stevens and the US operation in Libya were always dedicated to the "light footprint" strategy. So the besieged personnel, numbering some 30 plus the bodies, in neither Benghazi facility were ever going to be rescued by cannon-firing AC-130 gunships and commando-style helicopter missions. I believe it was the February 17 Martyrs Brigade that were urgently summoned by the CIA to provide relief, and indeed it was a 50 vehicle convoy of this militia that finally relieved the siege, albeit many hours after the initial call.

As of this time, any investigation of the incident by Libyan authorities seems to be stalled, so perhaps it is the FBI to whom we must turn for answers?

Respectfully submitted,
Steve

Clearly, AC-130 gunships are of little use to a building that has already been invaded, and commando-style helicopter missions don't just spring up out of nowhere, and can always go wrong. Remember Carter's response to the Iran hostage crisis?
 
  • #22
Angry Citizen said:
Clearly, AC-130 gunships are of little use to a building that has already been invaded, and commando-style helicopter missions don't just spring up out of nowhere, and can always go wrong. Remember Carter's response to the Iran hostage crisis?

Agreed. The first facility, an information office without diplomatic status of the State Department (not a Consulate), was attacked at about 9:30 pm in their evening. This compound was soon invaded and torched, with Stevens and another subsequently lost. Paramilitary CIA operators from a larger nearby CIA annex rescued the survivors, and retreated to the annex, which was itself besieged until 5:15 am the following morning, when a mortar round took out the two defenders at the rooftop mounted .50 caliber machine gun. The Feb 17 militia arrived minutes later.

Respectfully,
Steve
 
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  • #23
There was a reason why only an unmanned drone was over the conflict in Benghazi. It is the same reason why so many CIA and special ops were there. It was also the same reason that there was a cover story.

In an interview with ABC News last month, Glen Doherty, a 42-year-old former Navy SEAL who worked as a contractor with the State Department, said he personally went into the field to track down so-called MANPADS, shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, and destroy them. After the fall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, the State Department launched a mission to round up thousands of MANPADS that may have been looted from military installations across the country. U.S. officials previously told ABC News they were concerned the MANPADS could fall into the hands of terrorists, creating a threat to commercial airliners.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/glen-doherty-navy-seal-killed-libya-intel-mission/story?id=17229037

Edit.

The CIA annex was in a secret location that the Libyans were not aware of.

http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2019670396_benghazi13.html [Broken]

How did the attackers find the annex? Only a personal opinion here and probably the truth will never be known.

When the special OPS at the CIA annex broke orders and went to the the consulate, they then went back to the annex. Returning to the annex they ran up behind heavy traffic. They jumped over the medain in their armored vehicle and drove into oncoming traffic.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/10/198791.htm

Someone had to notice this. The mortar barrage didn't start on the annex until after they had returned. This would definately explain why they were ordered to stay at the annex in the first place.
 
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  • #24
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/w...into-islamist-hands.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&hp

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration secretly gave its blessing to arms shipments to Libyan rebels from Qatar last year, but American officials later grew alarmed as evidence grew that Qatar was turning some of the weapons over to Islamic militants, according to United States officials and foreign diplomats.

No evidence has emerged linking the weapons provided by the Qataris during the uprising against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi to the attack that killed four Americans at the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, in September.
 
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  • #25
With that news of no relationship, it's a good place to close.
 

1. What is the evidence that has surfaced about the Libyan attacks?

The evidence that has surfaced includes emails from government officials discussing the attacks and their response, as well as surveillance footage and witness testimonies.

2. Who is responsible for the Libyan attacks?

The attacks were carried out by a militant group called Ansar al-Sharia, but it is believed that they had support from members of the Libyan government.

3. How did this evidence come to light?

The evidence was obtained through investigations by the US government and media outlets, as well as leaks from government officials.

4. What implications does this evidence have?

The evidence suggests that the US government may have been aware of the attacks before they occurred and did not take appropriate action to prevent them.

5. What actions are being taken in response to this evidence?

The US government has launched further investigations and there have been calls for accountability and justice for those involved in the attacks. There may also be political consequences for those implicated in the evidence.

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