Benghazi’s Smoking Gun? Only President Can Give ‘Cross-Border Authority’
The Benghazi debacle boils down to a single key factor — the granting or withholding of “cross-border authority.” This opinion is informed by my experience as a Navy SEAL officer who took a NavSpecWar Detachment to Beirut.
Once the alarm is sent – in this case, from the consulate in Benghazi — dozens of HQs are notified and are in the planning loop in real time, including AFRICOM and EURCOM, both located in Germany. Without waiting for specific orders from Washington, they begin planning and executing rescue operations, including moving personnel, ships, and aircraft forward toward the location of the crisis. However, there is one thing they can’t do without explicit orders from the president: cross an international border on a hostile mission.
That is the clear “red line” in this type of a crisis situation.
No administration wants to stumble into a war because a jet jockey in hot pursuit (or a mixed-up SEAL squad in a rubber boat) strays into hostile territory. Because of this, only the president can give the order for our military to cross a nation’s border without that nation’s permission. For the Osama bin Laden mission, President Obama granted CBA for our forces to enter Pakistani airspace.
On the other side of the CBA coin: in order to prevent a military rescue in Benghazi, all the POTUS has to do is not grant cross-border authority. If he does not, the entire rescue mission (already in progress) must stop in its tracks.
Ships can loiter on station, but airplanes fall out of the sky, so they must be redirected to an air base (Sigonella, in Sicily) to await the POTUS decision on granting CBA. If the decision to grant CBA never comes, the besieged diplomatic outpost in Benghazi can rely only on assets already “in country” in Libya — such as the Tripoli quick reaction force and the Predator drones. These assets can be put into action on the independent authority of the acting ambassador or CIA station chief in Tripoli. They are already “in country,” so CBA rules do not apply to them.
How might this process have played out in the White House?
If, at the 5:00 p.m. Oval Office meeting with Defense Secretary Panetta and Vice President Biden, President Obama said about Benghazi: “I think we should not go the military action route,” meaning that no CBA will be granted, then that is it. Case closed. Another possibility is that the president might have said: “We should do what we can to help them … but no military intervention from outside of Libya.” Those words then constitute “standing orders” all the way down the chain of command, via Panetta and General Dempsey to General Ham and the subordinate commanders who are already gearing up to rescue the besieged outpost.
When that meeting took place, it may have seemed as if the consulate attack was over, so President Obama might have thought the situation would stabilize on its own from that point forward. If he then goes upstairs to the family quarters, or otherwise makes himself “unavailable,” then his last standing orders will continue to stand until he changes them, even if he goes to sleep until the morning of September 12.
Nobody in the chain of command below President Obama can countermand his “standing orders” not to send outside military forces into Libyan air space. Nobody. Not Leon Panetta, not Hillary Clinton, not General Dempsey, and not General Ham in Stuttgart, Germany, who is in charge of the forces staging in Sigonella.
Perhaps the president left “no outside military intervention, no cross-border authority” standing orders, and then made himself scarce to those below him seeking further guidance, clarification, or modified orders. Or perhaps he was in the Situation Room watching the Predator videos in live time for all seven hours. We don’t yet know where the president was hour by hour.
But this is 100 percent sure: Panetta and Dempsey would have executed a rescue mission order if the president had given those orders.
And like the former SEALs in Benghazi, General Ham and all of the troops under him would have been straining forward in their harnesses, ready to go into battle to save American lives.
The execute orders would be given verbally to General Ham at AFRICOM in Stuttgart, but they would immediately be backed up in official message traffic for the official record. That is why cross-border authority is the King Arthur’s Sword for understanding Benghazi. The POTUS and only the POTUS can pull out that sword.
We can be 100% certain that cross-border authority was never given. How do I know this? Because if CBA was granted and the rescue mission execute orders were handed down, irrefutable records exist today in at least a dozen involved component commands, and probably many more. No general or admiral will risk being hung out to dry for undertaking a mission-gone-wrong that the POTUS later disavows ordering, and instead blames on “loose cannons” or “rogue officers” exceeding their authority. No general or admiral will order U.S. armed forces to cross an international border on a hostile mission unless and until he is certain that the National Command Authority, in the person of the POTUS and his chain of command, has clearly and explicitly given that order: verbally at the outset, but thereafter in written orders and official messages. If they exist, they could be produced today.
When it comes to granting cross-border authority, there are no presidential mumblings or musings to paraphrase or decipher. If you hear confusion over parsed statements given as an excuse for Benghazi, then you are hearing lies. I am sure that hundreds of active-duty military officers know all about the Benghazi execute orders (or the lack thereof), and I am impatiently waiting for one of them to come forward to risk his career and pension as a whistleblower.
Leon Panetta is falling on his sword for President Obama with his absurd-on-its-face, “the U.S. military doesn’t do risky things”-defense of his shameful no-rescue policy. Panetta is utterly destroying his reputation. General Dempsey joins Panetta on the same sword with his tacit agreement by silence. But why? How far does loyalty extend when it comes to covering up gross dereliction of duty by the president?
General Petraeus, however, has indirectly blown the whistle. He was probably “used” in some way early in the cover-up with the purported CIA intel link to the Mohammed video, and now he feels burned. So he conclusively said via his public affairs officer that the stand-down order did not come from the CIA. Well — what outranks the CIA? Only the national security team at the White House. That means President Obama, and nobody else. Petraeus is naming Obama without naming him. If that is not quite as courageous as blowing a whistle, it is far better than the disgraceful behavior of Panetta and Dempsey.
We do not know the facts for certain, but we do know that the rescue mission stand-down issue revolves around the granting or withholding of cross-border authority, which belongs only to President Obama. More than one hundred gung-ho Force Recon Marines were waiting on the tarmac in Sigonella, just two hours away for the launch order that never came.





Hey Travis!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2952216/posts?page=17#17
Well, looks like someone in the White House just threw the CIA under the buss. The Bengazhi operation was a CIA op, and it was their baby not State.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/11/02/US-officials-CIA-ran-Benghazi-consulate/UPI-44771351839600/
Would the cross-border authority issue also apply to the CIF? Where is the theater’s CIF based?
Our men in Benghazi might be alive today if they called Netanyahu instead of Obama. I think the Israelis might have obliged, first, out of gratitude to the US and second, to show their stuff.
No, Never! Israel gets blamed for everything even when we do the right thing.
Since this is all speculation and Israel would not have been asked, your response has no foundation. History demonstrates quite conclusively, that the Israelis do what they believe they should and must. The chips are allowed fall where they may. As you noted they will be blamed no matter what.
No doubt…had Obama had to make a decision like the Israelies during Entebbe, the hostages would’ve been screwed.
Yes, Screwed Before they were beheaded
faboutlaws, interesting that you mentioned Israeli special ops because rescue ops are their forte, but only if our PM lets them loose! And herein lies the problem in both the U.S. and Israel, when our political top dogs refuse to take care of business!
http://adinakutnicki.com/2012/10/28/israeli-sabotage-via-its-elite-commando-forces-offers-possible-alternative-to-all-out-military-pre-emption-frying-irans-grids-commentary-by-adina-kutnicki/
There is much talk about ‘this or that’ in Israel, in relation to our own albatross – the Iranian Hitlerite regime. And in no small measure, the fact that the Islamist-in-Chief failed to protect his own men in Bengazhi is only more reason never to rely on him going after the Iranian genocidal program, regardless of its dangers to America, as well as too many to count American deaths under their orders.
Simply put, the POTUS is anti-American to his core.
Boy, did you ever hit the nail on the head! What amazes me is, that, American Jews are still voting for Obama, after the disgraceful way he’s treated Israel. Makes no sense to me whatever. As a Christian, I am a strong supporter of Israel, since they ARE God’s chosen people. Sadly though, there are those who claim to be Christians that are dead set against Israel, & that’s one reason some of our political leaders are trying to get rid of your nation. If you get the chance to talk to any of the Jews in THIS country, let them have it! Anybody, with any sense, HAS to see that Obama is a destructive force, bent on destroying BOTH of our countries. God bless you, & shalom!
Actually, the percentage is getting lower.
Thanks for this article. This is the clearest explanation yet. The president can say that he ordered our people in harms way secured but with the restriction of no CBA. Another lie and half-truth.
Thank you, Matt, for this very informative article. Even though I found it very interesting, I also found it very sickening to now know, with even more certainty, that our president did absolutely nothing to save our guys. I am praying with all my heart that, come Tues., this pile of the well-known substance is out on his heels. (I know he still has until Jan. and that, too, sickens me. How much more damage can he do before he leaves? I shudder to think!)
If the President failed to give cross border authority and then hung up the Do Not Disturb sign it would be the most costly sleep in since OKW failed to disturb Hitler to release the Panzers at Normandy.
(a) How do we know he DIDN’T grant authority, and that the responses from various groups that they didn’t know how to to respond (justifiably or no) aren’t true?
(b) How do we know that he was ever asked?
A true leader wouldn’t have to be asked or told. He would say what are the positives and negatives of this situation and what can I do to help? Read up on the Bin Laden situation where he was forced to go ahead with the operation.
So your defense of the President is “The buck never got here”?!?
Worked so well for President Clinton, so I guess you are giving President Obama a pass as well.
No, I’m saying that, without actual evidence, this is all just speculation. We don’t know that this magical “CBA” wasn’t granted, and we don’t know that the CIA/State never got that far because they didn’t think they had any options. It’s all just guessing. Grasping at invisible straws. Nobody can say what “must have happened”, because nobody here actually knows.
Since Obama is VERY upset about those deaths, heads should be rolling all over the place if he wasn’t notified. It’s not like he’s opposed to throwing offenders (and others) under the bus. He was notified.
He has had ample opportunity to explain what happened; he can only say, “We’ll bring these folks to justice,” which probably means a criminal trial in the United States, sometime in the far future. He HAS called them “folks.” He really is “folksy.” Heck, he probably thinks of them as just “folks.”
The bad news is that if somehow the truth were to come out after he was (God forbid) re-elected, and Obama were somehow impeached (perhaps even the Senate’s Harry Reid would be outraged?), our new president would be Joe Biden. Frankly, I’d rather it were Sarah Palin.
What we do know, with certainty is that Americans are dead, and the American public is getting NO answers! No excuses.
As Commander In Chief, the President is at all times responsible for the proper functioning of the Chain of Command. If the Chain of Command fails, it is his failure.
You do not send civilians into a hostile area with known threats without security and an extraction plan. You do not fail to inform your superior about a hostage crisis or a terrorist attack. Under some provisions of the UCMJ (IX 913 Article 114 Misbehavior of a sentinal, IX 894 Article 94 Mutiny or Sedition, and most noteably IX 899 Article 99 Misbehavior before the enemy (particularly Paragraph 9)) in time of war these are potentially executable offenses.
If President Obama’s chain of command is not functioning, then it is his duty to purge it, both quickly and publicly. Ultimately, it’s his job to make sure there are no failures. This is the meaning of the term “Commander In Chief”.
For the same reason we know the sun is going to come up tomorrow. We can’t prove either one in a court of law, but anyone who knows how things works knows the sun is going to come up tomorrow.
The pathetic levels to which leftists will stoop to justify this traitor say a LOT about them, and what is said ain’t good.
It’s true, it’s like obama’s sheep just follow blindly along, neither looking left or right, they defend him no matter what. It’s like the man can do no wrong. what did he hypnotist them? that’s how they act.
Techno,
Your first question was already addressed by Matt Bracken in the article. See the para begining “We can be 100% certain…”. It was also addressed in his Comment 10, see the second last para.
Your second question is not so thoughtful. How could the State Dept and the CIA keep it secret from Obama? As soon as he was told it was the same as if he was asked. He is the one responsible. There is no one else who can be asked for help. Obama never said he did not know. He just said that as soon as he knew he gave 3 orders. No one admits receiving those orders. No one heard of those orders until he told the journalist more than one month after the event.
If Obama had issued CBA, he would’ve produced the written orders to prove it. He would be able to correctly claim that he did everything possible to save those people and saved himself a lot of grief.
He has produced no such orders, so that in and of itself is strong evidence that he never gave them.
We have teams especially trained for these things. After 9/11/2001 a Counterterrorism team was put together to have access to all team and to organize at different levels. They were never contacted!
I think a few people are confusing the issuing of specific orders with the president giving his magical “CBA”. If the president indicated that he would grant the authority but the proposals for action never came back, there’d be no orders.
It’s just speculation. Nobody here knows what happened.
look a squirrel
I’m saying that you can’t produce evidence and you’re speculating. You’re saying that’s a distraction.
Ima soap smokin lefty and I know when I see anotha wun. Chatter bot, youse should chek yoself. It aint pretty. Man up homy.
If he did, & they didn’t obey, then we want to know that too. We want the TRUTH. If he did what he should have, then, we accept that, & move on. But, if he didn’t do what he should have, then we need to know that too. Also, we have had SEVERAL leaked emails, AND cablegrams specifically asking for more security. And, the attack went on for SEVEN hours, all the while it was being streamed to the WH, so if he did give the order, & they didn’t go in, he should have issued other orders. SOMEBODY blew this big time, & needs to pay for the deaths of 4 Americans.
Techno:
a: Because if he HAD, the military would’ve rocked the Libyan’s world. Trust me, when Americans are in danger, we go. My unit flew our Chinooks on an unscheduled night Medevac mission to rescue injured paratroopers (night training jump went really, really bad) because the Blackhawk Medevac crews were unable to do so.
Our crews jumped in the birds and went and got them. End of story.
“didn’t know how to respond” – We do what the SEAL’s did. We go to the sound of the guns. It’s not hard.
b: If he wasn’t then his administration is beyond incompetent and needs to be impeached on that basis alone. It beggars the imagination that he would not have been asked.
Orion
Spot on Orion.
Who Remembers the Scott O’Grady rescue in Bosnia?
(F-16 pilot shot down by Serbs?)
It was regular Marine Infantry that got the call.
Off the Tawawa, if I remember right (my old ship!)
Just whatever battalion/company happend to have the duty that day.
No Special Forces, no super-secret Spook Ops.
Just Regular Enlisted Marines, your kids or mine, a few years out of high school suddenly thrust into an “international event”…
And they did their job like we tie our shoes, like carpenters hammer nails, like plumbers solder pipes and like X-Ray Techs take X-rays.
Its what we DO.
All we need is a “work order” and its DONE
Outstanding reply, Root ’83. I was in Beirut in 1983, as it happens. And you are correct, any BLT can “get the call” if they are the closest to a downed-airman or a diplomatic mission under attack. Every Amphibious Ready Group (ARG, MART in the Med) did full dress-rehearsels for “NEO Ops.” Non-combatant Evacuation Operation. This training involved the full BLT including landing craft, helos, the whole shebang. Role players for the “civilians” as well as the attaking forces, angry mobs, etc. If people only knew the training that “ordinary” grunt Marines go through before deploying! The scoop I heard on TV (Bing West I think it was) said that it was over a hundred Force Recon on Sigonella waiting for the launch order. That is a big can of whoop-ass. The six CIA shooters from Benghazi should have arrived only after the Force Recon boys had secured the perimeter, with the American Eagle flying above all the way up to space, ready to zap anybody who looked cross-wise toward the consulate or annex.
Semper Fi Buddy!
Yeah, we’re ready for anything from a State Dinner to a Prison Riot aint we?
Got mine at O.P. 69, South of the B.I.A. 10/27/83…
Then my KID gave them f*ckers hell, 25 years later.
Paybacks a bitch aint it Haji?
O’Grady was (I believe) a T.R.A.P. Operation (Tactical Recovery of Aircraft Personnel)
one of the many Standard Tools in the Grunt Box.
I was a PLC/TBS Instructor teaching the “Breaching Soviet Style Defenses” course at Quantico mid-late 80’s.
That was A LOT OF FUN when done “live” with Air, Arty and Engineering Assets at 29 Palms.
Large scale Combined Arms Exercise is money well spent. Thanks Ronnie!
Wouldnt quite know how to today with the all the Sat Comm gear, target designators and nav.gadgets. All we had was smoke grenades, PRC-77′s, engineer tape, and Squad Leaders loaded up with 100% tracers to mark/prioritze targets…
FO’s further back called Air, based on where they could SEE us, no one at the platoon level would’ve know what
to tell an A-6 driver even if we COULD have talked to him.
They say its “easier” now with all that gadgetry and advanced Comm, but thats even MORE stuff (call signs, procedures) to learn and integrate into the plan…God bless these kids today.
My kid is smarter, cockier, more capable (and better looking in blues!) than I ever was.
I blame my wife for that last part!
The infantry astounds me today with their professionalism and skill – They still do basically the same thing, they’ve just refined it and perfected it though so that it’s like saying the NFL just does the same thing a top college team does.
(Disclosure – I’m Aviation, now IRR – a Section Leader and DART leader: a wrench turner, not a door kicker! but of course, I speak only for myself, not for the US Army).
The level of skill that an average infantryman has just boggles my brain. The number of procedures, techniques, skills, and so on beggars the mind; And they have to have it all on instant recall so that it’s done flawlessly under fire, from a 9-line to battle drill 1A to clearing a room to searching a civ…
But please bear in mind: What we know now and what we DO now is from lessons paid for in blood by those who went before us. I spent a year sharing hangar space with MAG26 so I’m pretty familiar with Marines.
You folks rock. I bow to no one in my admiration for Soldiers, but Marines are definitely a cut above. A joke summed it up nicely -The other Service chiefs were tremendously impressed with the Army’s new slogan: ARMY STRONG! and decided to come up with their own one-word summation of their branch.
Air Force General Johnson thought for a moment, smiled, and said “AIR FORCE SMART!”
Admiral Smith sang out with “NAVY NICE!”
Marine General Baker puffed on his cigar and growled out “MARINES….BETTER.”
Orion
Drill, drill, drill. Drill ’till you drop. Then on your feet and do it again.
There’s a reason Sargeants are selected from the fatherless offspring of canines.
It keeps the troops alive.
And my most sincere thanks go out to you, Orion, and every other man & women who wears, or has worn, the uniform of the United States Military. You are the best. And, when afforded proper leadership, are capable of near miracles.
@The Root First of all, thank you for your service to our country. I’m so proud of all of our military, both present, & past. And, wasn’t it just regular troops that went in, rescued that female from the Iraqis, when we went in to Iraq? I can’t remember her name, but she was in pretty bad shape when they got her out. And, our guys are ALL trained at some pretty good fighting techniques,plus weaponry too. So, I can just see Marines, SEALs, or any other military personnel, hearing gun fire, & not going to the rescue. NOT!! My oldest son was in the Navy for 12 years, & I still don’t know a lot of things that he did, but he did them, & didn’t hesitate. They even went in, & cleaned up the mess when we accidently torpedoed that ship that time, even jumping in the ocean, & pulling bodies out, looking for survivors. If there was failure on anybody’s part, it was at the TOP of the chain.
White House knew about Libya attacks… Watch here: http://bwcentral.org/2012/10/white-house-knew-about-libya-attacks/
The current “blame CIA” story linked above by Scandia Recluse is part of the White House’s obfuscation effort. More smoke. (I am counting Hillary as being part of the Obama/Jarrett/Axlerod/Michelle team that is actually directing the nation.)
The point is not the percent of CIA compared to State Dept in Benghazi, or how soon they went from the annex to the consulate on the initial rescue attempt. Or how soon the guys from Tripoli got there. Putting the spotlight on the CIA for a few days buys the White House more time, a few days, an eternity just days before an election.
But don’t go for the Magician’s feint: “Look at the bad CIA!” Keep your eye on the ball, which is the lack of outside military rescue, which was waiting to go in Sigonella for many hours of the seven hour battle of Benghazi. At any time Obama could have granted CBA and the rescue force would be inbound. It’s important to note that the flying time from either Tripoli or Sigonella to Benghazi are the same. So why make a big issue of when the CIA contractors left Tripoli on a chartered flight? (As we know, they were already “in country” and not bound by CBA rules.)
By the time the six CIA “shooters” from Tripoli finally arrived at the annex in Benghazi, they should have been met by a hundred Force Recon Marines, who already had the situation well in hand, with USN and USAF assets controlling the high ground clear up to space and satellites.
Getting side-showed by the CIA’s puny ad-hoc and chartered “rescue assets” in Tripoli is ridiculous. Keep your eye on the main thing, the rescue that didn’t happen, by the entire U.S. military that was ready, willing and able to go, on a moment’s notice, the minute the POTUS granted an execute order including CBA.
If he had done it, we would know it, because the White House could produce the orders. If they existed. No execute order, no CBA, no rescue mission.
More of the full column I wrote can be found on Free Republic.
Actually, I WANT them to point fingers of blame at the CIA. Know why? Because when you throw intel under the bus “leaks” suddenly develop.
“Mr.President; as you so well know, only the POTUS can give the order for our military to cross a nation’s border without that nation’s permission. With this is mind; could you please tall the American people whether or not you granted CBA; thereby giving all our quick response assets the opportunity to rescue those in peril at the Benghazi compound? – Jake Tapper
“That’ll be the day!” – John Wayne
One person … one person is all it would take to ask the question above … One out of 3,000,000 million plus. God help us.
“One person … one person is all it would take to ask the question above … One out of 3,000,000 million plus.”
The problem is that this person would have to ask a President who hasn’t held a press conference in months. Even then, the President could simply ignore the question or issue one of those vague non-answers that politicians use so often.
“But this is 100 percent sure: Panetta and Dempsey would have executed a rescue mission order if the president had given those orders.”
And it’s obvious that those orders were never given. Perhaps Obama was treating the attack on Libya as a local civil unrest situation rather than a military assault on the consulate and the ambassador? I think that was what happened. Obama did not want to admit that this was a coordinated military attack with heavy weapons on our consulate and, therefore, a military assault requiring a military response. He probably thought the local Libyan “authorities” (which were almost non-existant) could probably handle the situation and that the American military was not needed. And when the real truth came out a few days later that this WAS a coordinated military attack, the White House tried to cover it up by saying that it was a riot started over a stupid video nobody saw and that the “protest” got out of hand and got violent.
At this point and given what we now know, I don’t know which is worse, the Islamists who killed our people in Benghazi or the people in the White House who tried to cover it up.
You’re right Ship.
Obama knows full well Muslims propensity for unwarranted violence (and the leftist need to constantly apologize it away) so he probably figured we should “let them blow off steam” we’ll replace the broken windows in the morning, and went to bed.
I mean after all, it WAS the Anniversary of 9/11, and we EXPECT them to “celebrate” don’t we? Lets not “over-provoke” them because “we’re strong enough to absorb” their tantrum, and THEN we can get down to making them like us better.
I’m sure that was his mindset, because it’s the mindset of ALL Leftists when it comes to Islam. The video” was a perfect foil to once again explain away the violent nature leftists KNOW exists, but cant admit out loud…..because they are THIS CLOSE to solving the problem, see? Calling a Spade a Spade NOW, would set back all that fantastic work they’ve accomplished so far.
I’m certain he was more annoyed than concerned about the whole thing. He didn’t stick around to find out any details. He went to bed, expected it all to be gone by morning. Vegas was on his mind, not Bengazi. If anything needed to be “done” he could pay it some lip service a or so day later with “bla, bla, Video…bla, bla Intolerance, bla, bla Partnership…” and everything will be wrapped up nice and neat by the Media.
THAT was his plan. Bummer folks got killed, but he cant blame ISLAM for the violence, can he? He’s not fumbling, he’s been tripped up by the fact that anyone has challenged him on such a False Narrative, WHEN EVERYONE IN WASHINGTON AND THE MEDIA AGREES A FALSE NARRATIVE IS NECESSARY FOR PROGRESS.
There is no “cover-up” you see. Its just US, inexplicably on the wrong page of the narrative. Obama isn’t stonewalling, he’s rolling his eyes at our stupidity, prodding the Media to “get these idiots up to speed” so he can Rule Over Us, like everyone knows he’s SUPPOSED to, for our own good.
“I don’t know which is worse, the Islamists who killed our people in Benghazi or the people in the White House who tried to cover it up.”
No contest, Liberty. The answer: the White House, who betrayed the four who died, the thousands chomping at the bit to save their fellow Americans, and every American citizen.
Let me help clear this up, ‘I don’t know which is worse, the Islamists who killed our people in Benghazi or the people in the White House who tried to cover it up.’ Since the Islamists were/are doing exactly is expected, while the clowns inhabiting the Obama Administration refused to act, the White House cover-up is worse. Losses in combat can be accepted being, stabbed in the back is something else again. What can be expected from the consciousness?
Yeah, you expect to get mugged by a mugger..
When FAMILY steals from you, its twice as bad
The cover-up is worse. The bungling…even as it seems to be borderline criminal negligence, Obama could survive. The cover-up may push the day of reckoning beyond the election, but it is ultimately what is going to bring him down. What is it going to take though to get the MSM to pay any attention to this story?!
Sent to Drudge.
Photos of U.S. and Afghan Troops Patrolling Poppy Fields June 29, 2012
http://publicintelligence.net/us-afghan-patrolling-poppy-fields-2012/
You might want to get on topic.
Methinks that President Obama [and, of course Valerie Jarret] fumbled the ball because they thought they learned from history – the only kind of history that matters to them. I’m sure they concluded that Jimmy Carter lost the 1980 election because he authorized the helicopter rescue operation for the hostages in Iran that got hung up. Seeing the order as a mistake, he [they] declined to give cross-border authority to the rescuers that were ready to move in.
That’s how liberals try to learn from history, folks. They not only think statically in regard to tax policy, they think statically period. Word to the wise, or wised-up.
I think you are definitely on to something here. I hadn’t thought about the Jimmah Carter failed rescue attempt in Iran. This administration is desperately trying not to be the worst in history, but they exceeded the incompetence of the Carter administration by not even trying.
Yeah, its called “choke”.
Some players, even whole teams, just “choke” when the pressure is on.
They may be great atheletes, but they just dont have the mental chops for the game. They get psyched out worrying ABOUT failure, and fail…
And since NOBODY ever saw Obama play before he was given the quarterback slot, they figured well, he looks SO good in those shoulderpads, what could go wrong?
If Romney is truly getting security briefings (and even if not, if his team is competent, knowledgeable and experienced), then he too knows about CBA. If he does–this is what he should be publicly asking the president. What happened–and why did you not issue CBA? Force the media to cover the matter because they will have to cover Romney.
This is not a campaign issue, this is an issue of negligence on the part of the White House. If Romney weighs in it gives the media another chance to manipulate the story and take away from Obama! Obama and his administration OWN this, it has nothing to do with Romney or public policy.
Heck, I bet it takes Presidential Authority to even send weapons across an international border….
But … ah … with … ah … NAFTA … ah … in place …. ah …. there …. ah … really is … no … ah … border …. ah …. ah … dividing us … fro …. from … ah …. our …. ah …. southern …. neighbors
Well, there’s a rumour that the CSG-3 Admiral and AFRICOM General were relieved because they were going to attempt a rescue even after being directly ordered to stand-down.
http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/2012/10/obama-fires-top-admiral-as-coup-plot-fears-grows-2466106.html
I’m not familiar enough with the site to know whether they’re legitimate or just conspriacy enthusiasts…
Beat me to it – it is burning up the military blogs. The 2 General Officers in the vicinity on 9-11 are both relieved and/or “retiring”. Something very fishy is happening.
These guys are legitimate and fair. Nothing concluded in the link – but it certainly fits with the possibility that they were trying to get help to Benghazi in opposition to orders coming out of the White House.
http://www.blackfive.net/main/2012/10/rumors-of-general-officers-arrested-relieved.html#comments
Would the failure of our marginally documented leader to issue an order to rescue our people using assets in Europe prevent the aircraft and drones already in Libya from being used?
No, there had to be a stand down order
“If you hear confusion over parsed statements given as an excuse for Benghazi, then you are hearing lies.”
Excellent observation. This makes it obvious that almost everything we’ve heard from the White House regarding Benghazi can only be interpreted as lies.
Mr. Bracken’s name should appear as a byline and not just at the end.
My bad, it’s there, just not where I’m used to looking…
Pound it home, Matt. Don’t let up and we won’t either.
Excellent article, well written. It expresses much of what many of my friends with military experience have been saying. Thank you for putting it to words where others can be informed.
The thugs have had seven weeks already to refine their lies. Rest assured they will have gone through every single word the Fraud has said and every single word or document said by any other administration official, and an ironclad story and a long cast of scapegoats have been identified that will be accepted whole hog by pravda and probably even trumpeted as another gutsy call that prevented war with Libya or some such nonsense.
It will be impossible for congress to blast through that firewall if the Fraud is re-elected.
The only thing they are not incompetant at is lying.
Matt – thanks for the excellent article and explaining things for those who may not understand all that goes into what can and cannot be done, and, ultimately WHO can make decisions to protect our citizens.
I posted the link to Facebook, and added this comment:
Benghazi? Know about it? Wanna know more? Here’s an excellent article by a former Navy SEAL, Matt Bracken, and he explains very well WHO is truly accountable for the situation…
Watergate was poor decision making and lying
Blue Dress gate was a horny president who couldn’t keep it in his pants
Benghazi-gate = LIVES LOST
Thanks for your service Matt, and, for your insight into what is going on in America now…
Blue Dress Gate was a much bigger deal than that.
Blue Dress gate was the CEO of the Corporation diddling an intern, on Company Property, during Work Hours.
Because of the “power” differential between them, it is tantamount to “rape” (and would have been called that if he was a Republican) and is SURLEY a case of Inappropriate Workplace Behavior, at a MINIMUM it’s a Sexual Harassment Lawsuit that could bankrupt the Company and destroy its reputation/brand in the Marketplace.
Its also about Perjury, and a risk of Blackmail that could have ruined the Company…
The CEO was worried the Competition (Russians Chinese) were aware of his Inappropriate Behavior, and might “convince” (pay handsomely) the Intern to sully the CEO’s name in order to gain market advantage…The Intern did in fact make that that exact threat and demand exorbitant compensation from The CEO to secure her silence. The CEO then conspired with OTHERS IN THE COMPANY to shut the intern up with a Plumb, virtual no-show job in another Division, all on the Shareholders Dime…
Additionally, The CEO MAY HAVE BEEN pressured to reveal Company Secrets (Patents & Products = Defense Treaty & Trade?) to the Competition (Chinese and Russians) in exchange for their “cooperation” in keeping the Intern quiet…This is an ongoing concern, the damage from which may never be fully determined, but we DO KNOW he was so distracted from his Primary Duties as CEO by all the secrecy and conspiracy, that he LOST THE COMPANY BLACKBERRY (nuclear football) for several DAYS because of it, and thus left the Company wide open to hackers determined to do us harm….
And, when confronted with all this, THE CEO LIED ABOUT ALL OF IT at the Shareholders meeting, only to be PROVEN a brazen, unrepentant liar, point by point, by the detailed and costly investigation of a diligent (but unpopular) gum-shoe, who, ironically, brought more distain and Loss of Market Share to The Company than the CEO who’s dangerous and unethical behavior CAUSED all this to occur.
Blue Dress Gate was a VERY big deal.
The CEO should have been FIRED, and had his PENSION revoked, before he went to JAIL, for how poorly he took his responsibilities to Manage the Company entrusted to him.
This needs to go viral. Bracken an excellent, VERY reliable source!
This article comes closest to what I believe is the reality. I don’t think these people sat in the situation room, gloating over the success of some weird plot or other. I don’t think they were anywhere near the situation room. I don’t think they had any clear idea what was going on until long after the fight was over and the Ambassador was dead. And without clarity – without absolute certainty that this was a terrorist attack and Americans were dying – they did what diplomats and bureaucrats always do: nothing. Wait and see.
After all, you don’t want to rush in with guns blazing when it’s only a “peaceful protest” due to “understandable rage” about an “offensive video.” You don’t want to further outrage the Muslim world by “invading” a Muslim country and killing a bunch of “innocent” Muslims. Mostly, you don’t want to act on bad information and thereby make the situation worse.
Trouble was, this particular situation was already as bad as it could have been. Sending in the Marines couldn’t have made it worse, and might have made it considerably better. At the very least, a violent response would have sent a message: “It’s dangerous to attack American diplomats.”
Unfortunately, Obama sent a different message: “American diplomats are fair game.”
That theory doesn’t wash…the ambassador was sent under protest that morning. There’s much more to this story.
I find it interesting that those far from the scene of carnage think others should make an unnecessary target of themselves. The comment, ‘Petraeus is naming Obama without naming him. If that is not quite as courageous as blowing a whistle, it is far better than the disgraceful behavior of Panetta and Dempsey.’ does not take into account what would happen next if Petraeus blew the whistle. Even if he could not be prosecuted for divulging secret information, he would surely be fired. Being fired would more than likely enhance his standing. However, what happens at and to the CIA? We didn’t see 9/11/01 coming because Jimmy Carter Blinded the CIA! I think, no matter what happens Nov 6, come the 7th Petraeus is fired.
We all know Obama denied help in Benghazi and Americans died. Obama is just trying to get the election over with but this isn’t going to go away.
It may be true that only a president can outhorize “cross border” operations.
But consider for a moment what would have happened if some General did send help and was successful in saving those folks frombeing murdered.
Who do you suppose would be taking all the credit ? do you suppose the press release would have read something like “So I, and then I, and when I, approached me, I decided, I have had enough etc etc etc etc —————
If only it was that easy. Operation Odyssey Dawn had cross border permissions. Were those permissions cancelled or withdrawn? SOP for UN authorized military actions (kinetic events) is to remain valid until cancelled. That is why a state of war still exists in Korea. The politicians in Iraq were smarter. They went to the UN and got all the war stuff cancelled. That included the sanctions and financial restrictions.
In the real world, cold war style, we would run penetration mission at will. If we needed to go in a little to get a larger horizon, we did. The Gooks didn’t like it. Several planes were shot down. I flew a mission right after an Ec-121 was shot down by the Norks. I wasn’t that worried. Most of the 7th fleet had our back. The Norks didn’t even twitch. Tricky Dick and Henry the K didn’t want trouble, they just want’ed to show the Norks that we were not afraid. 7th fleet wanted to tear the Norks a new a$$hole. We would have left most of North Korea burning.
When you cut through all the BS, the reason the troops were left to die is a lack of moral fiber (LMF) on the part of high command. Now that the fan has already distributed the feces all over the room, High Command is trying to CYA. Some of them think that if they can stonewall past the election, they will be home free. Delusional.
Congress has blood in their eye and the chance to appear patriotic. No matter who wins, the hearings will start in January.
“We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men”
~George Orwell
Stoicheion, I’ll bet you could tell a few cold war stories!
Nah!. The military trains you, then they send you some place to use that training. When all the parts are whirling and the gears meshing, it is actually sort of boring.
It only when Murphy throws a stick in the spokes and sand in the gears that things get interesting.
The wheels came off at Benghazi. It has happened before. Many times. Always because somewhere up the chain of command there was a loss or lack of moral courage. Somebody doesn’t have the moral courage to put their career on the line to save lives. So people die. Good people. POTS, DoD, SoS and DCIA all decided their careers were more important then 4 men’s lives. They were wrong, of course.
Beyond the political effects, In the military there will be another little chip in the wall of confidence that is so important to victory. The next American soldier, sailor, or airman going in harms way will wonder; “Do they really have my back?”
Haji can’t shoot.
you know, it wouldn’t be quite so bad if someone had become nuked in the intervening weeks since then. but no … the *only* response our government has had to this debacle is to haul a California parolee in in the middle of night, try to blame the whole thing on him, and keep him incommunicado and behind bars since then. I read one little bitty story that some terrorist who *might* have been involved *might* have been killed in some other backwards sandbox country … but that was probably the Israeli’s taking care of their own business. what does it take for Obama to go after entities who murder Americans? or is he waiting to award *them* with their own medals of honor.
Great question, I’d like to here answers also!!
Matt Bracken has given us an insider’s knowledge that’s pure gold. The shameful and shameless lamestream remain in cover-Obama’s butt mode. It’s unconscionable, in our so-called free Republic.
Remember when the president promised American’s “the most transparent administrations?” How’s that working out?
Our new media, like PJ Media can only do so much, and the lamestream know it. I have linked this to my Face Book and hope everyone who tweets will tweet like mad!
agreed: when the CIC desides to not comitt outside of country forces, it’s up to what ever exists in country, I also agree that in time, today, tomarrow, next week, next month sooner or later someone who was involved, probably military because of the oath to defend will step forward and spill the beans, whoever it is, is probably putting a time line togther at this moment, figureing when the best time would be or how much pain he is able to put up with.
I’m somewhat mollified that it is likely General Petraeus did not or was not, responsible or partially responsible for this egregious dereliction of duty. Whoever is responsible deserves to be charged with much worse (accessory to murder?) but I suspect that wouldn’t stand up to a strict legal analysis of the offense. The General has always struck me as being a stand up guy with a solid, unblemished military background, to the minimal extent I can make that judgment based primarily on first impressions and little in the way of biographical data. Hilary Clinton’s obnoxious “General betray us” comment and his performance at that hearing only served to strengthen that view.
What Mr. Bracken is asserting here adds more credence to what must be naturally inferred by the administrations obvious lying and stonewalling and the Obama media machine’s silence on the Benghazi tragedy. If America truly has not disintegrated into a nation of illiterate, throughly indoctrinated, ignoramuses and is made aware of the concerted effort of the Obama White House to obfuscate, deflect, spin, downplay and suppress the disturbing significance of the Benghazi story until after the election, when an Obama victory will insure that the truth will never come out, then America, “the land of the free and the home of the brave” will become the international joke that Obama has done his best to make of it.
I served with Carter Ham over 30 years ago when he was an Infantry captain (after he served as an enlisted soldier in the 82nd Airborne Division). He was my company/team commander when I was a tank platoon leader. It is my considered opinion that someone above him would have had to have ordered him to “stand down” for him not to have put boots on the ground in Benghazi. I do not for one second believe Panetta that Carter Ham would have agreed that it was “too dangerous” to launch a rescue attempt.
Obama and his coterie have committed the worst possible act of leadership: Failure to provide forces in contact the resources they need.
hmmm.
no CBA talked about, potus goes to bed saying don’t disturb me for anything and cokes up.
all hell breaks loose, hillary plays the A. Haig card and tries to take over and “outranks” Biden.
Plugs to dumb to care and she drops the ball.
I dunno, I just do not trust Hillary at ALL.
lucky I got out before she killed the military.
I’m absolutely prepared to believe that Hillary gave the stand-down order. I do think she’s the only one in that whole group with any balls at all, who can make a decision. I also think she’s not nearly as smart as she thinks she is and when she *does* make a decision, frequently it’s the wrong one. I wonder if she would have asked Bill before saying “stand down”.
BTW, even if Hillary did make the decision that still does not say wonderful things about The Prez, his focus on that day, his own intelligence (in a smart way, not a spy way), nor his morality and/or bravery and/or work ethic.
On target Matt.
It ain’t over till the heads on the floor.
Maybe not even then.
I was in the military long ago. I was aware from the very first time I heard about this that a CBA order had to be given and it had to come from POTUS.
I have a question that no one seems to have addressed. When the Embassy in Cairo was over run, our flag taken down and a Al Qaeda flag raised, in my time Afcom would have already been on alert waiting for direction. Especially since it was the anniversary of 9/11 and all the Mid East is powder keg. And don’t forget what happened in Iran when a demonstration got out of hand. Now Reagan was president when I served so things may have changed. But how come it seems that no one was involve in what was happening in the middle east before shortly after 5 pm our time and shortly after 11 pm Libya time. Yes, that was 2 hours after the attack began in Libya but I thought the thing in Cairo occurred in around mid afternoon. Am I wrong there. What was our leaders doing during that part of all this. At one time they actually thought they were related.
If seems inconceivable that the Potus wasn’t involved at that time and military was on alert at that time. How about another theory. Similar but different Obama was involved early on during Cairo. Then when it started to settle down he said good I going upstairs to pack and rest for tomorrow don’t disturb me. That is why it took him 2 hour to reengage with the Libya part. After all situation room is how far from his quarters? Can anyone shed light on what I am talking about?
Please keep in mind that drones were overhead in Benghazi.
That means real time video, infra-red capability, weaponized missles and a bad momma capable of serious damage that usually requires presidential authority to unleash in pro-forma regularity.
The Arizona-based air jockies piloting the drones can read a ground situation with astonishing clarity and tell you how many persons present in a building and identify combatants.
President Obama freely leaks his drone-killing prowess to take out terrorist enemies, yet—failed to engage the terrorists in Benghazi to save our four felled American brothers murdered in real-time, but found the time as Commander-in Chief to divert culpability to a hostile video.
Well, everyone was waiting for POTUS to give the CBA, and his “Gutsy Call” was to vote Present.
Thanks for posting your opinion, I’m trying to look into CBA, but unfortunately I can’t find anything about that term before 9/10/2012 on Google. Surely, this would be some well-known term right? Or is it classified? Or is it just more magical pixie dust for political purposes? Assuming it does exist, and we were already conducting CIA operations in Benghazi, wouldn’t that authorization have already been granted in the first place?
Why don’t you widen your research to include why the Taliban and bin Laden have been fleeing into (and back out) of Pakistan, knowing that when they “Cross Border” it will protect them. Ditto incursions into (and out of) Iraq from Iran. American troops are prohibited from “crossing borders” when they’re chasing bad guys. Don’t you suppose in a magical pixie dust way that they might be equally prohibited from “crossing borders” when they’re trying to rescue good guys unless they get the go-ahead from someone really high up, who’s willing to push a red button on his/her football and go to war, if necessary?
CBA is Cross Border Authority. Or at least it was back in the day. Things DO change, even in the military. The media refers to CBA as “Hot Pursuit”. That does sound more martial.
There is a difference between CBA and planning operations on sovereign soil not one’s own. Both in American Law and International custom. Planned cross border operations are acts of war. Following somebody across a border, pulling them from their hole and killing them normally isn’t an act of war.
The whole thing is being used as a excuse to cover somebodies a$$. Several somebodies.
Air strikes to save people would not have been seen as an act of war. Except, of course, by Haji who is already at war with us.
A flimsy excuse that has collapsed at the first glimpse of truth.
Still doesn’t add up. If we were running CiA ops, had drones in the air, along with an AC-130 then that authorization would’ve already been defintely granted.
You *do* understand that, legally, it’s possible to convict someone of murder without there actually being a body, right? Or are you one of those nit-pickers who won’t convict unless there are fingerprints AND three different videotapes from different directions recording the incident AND a signed and notarized confession. And even then, because you want to be extra sure, not to mention very very special, you’ll still question everything.
You know, there’s a religion for people like you. It’s Islam, and they won’t convict on anything unless there’s eye witness testimony either.
I have a feeling, though, the basic bottom problem is that you simply personally can’t tell the difference between a good guy and a bad guy, so that there’s nothing I or anyone else can tell you that will satisfy your “questions”.
We have nothing less than a Coward and Traitor in Barack Obama! I pray he is put on Trial for Treason, for sacrificing these four Americans for his Political Gain and that if found guilty, spend the next few decades in a Federal Level 6 Prison, or better yet, be Executed. Our entire military are now unsure of their Commander in Chief, he has proven he cannot be trusted with authority or with giving the order to help any Americans, military or civilian, if the need should arise. He will let them DIE before he cares about them. For the first time in my life, after serving under Presidents Johnson thru Reagan, I do not Trust or have Confidence in the Commander in Chief, in fact, I dispise Soetoro with a passion now! TRAITOR OF BENGAZI, the BIGGEST COWARD AMERICA HAS EVER HAD SIT IN THE OVAL OFFICE!
Why wasn’t this considered a no-brainer? Libya’s our ally and it was a rescue mission and
not an act of war. Couldn’t we have also asked for British and Turkish help?
It is my understanding British troops were in Benghazi. Turkey is a NATO ally.
For those of you who are former military, why would we have a consulate in Benghazi where much of the
major fighting occurred?
Why was the CIA there?
Did we give weapons to rebels in Libya?
I read an article that Hillary asked for 40 mil. To help libya get weapons back.
If that is the case, why would we have an ambassador in an area where they are trying to
get weapons back?
If Obama and our military did all they could, why blame a video for weeks? It seems if a fog of war
existed, they wouldn’t be promoting the same story by definition.
Just looking for some answers and the truth.
As WSJ reported, “The U.S. effort in Benghazi was at its heart a CIA operation, according to officials briefed on the intelligence. Of the more than 30 American officials evacuated from Benghazi following the deadly assault, only seven worked for the State Department. Nearly all the rest worked for the CIA, under diplomatic cover, which was a principal purpose of the consulate, these officials said.”
That said, AMB Stevens was likely participating in CIA operations coordinating CIA arms shipments to Turkey (hence his last official act having dinner with Turkish Consul General). Stevens was probably that facilitator due to his past knowledge of Libyan militias since he was actively involved with them for the US in 2011 to coordinate drone strikes in Libya. The bigger story here is the Turkish-Benghazi weapons connection and Stevens drone strike experience that motivated him being in Benghazi rather than in Tripoli for diplomatic issues.
Additionally, there is no official consulate in Benghazi. The State Dept never ever used that term. It uses terms such as ‘compound’, ‘post’, ‘buildings’, etc in describing the facility.
http://www.usembassy.gov/
Clinton’s State speeches for terminology references:
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/09/197630.htm
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/09/197654.htm
This leaves a lot of open questions on the posts diplomatic status (e.g. extraterritorial status, etc), not to mention public perception of a ‘consulate’ vs. likely cover for CIA ops house.