Reuters provides their own little “October Surprise”, one entirely of the Obama administrations making. We know that the State Dept. was initially labeling the attack on our Benghazi consulate as a terrorist attack, before switching over to the “it was a spontaneous attack that got a bit chippy”. The White House and State has since thrown the intelligence community under the bus numerous times, but, it seems they weren’t as negligent as they’ve been deemed. And, as This ain’t Hell…. posits “what did the president know and when did he know it?”
(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 records obtained by Reuters consist of three emails dispatched by the State Department’s Operations Center to multiple government offices, including addresses at the White House, Pentagon, intelligence community and FBI, on the afternoon of September 11.
The first email, timed at 4:05 p.m. Washington time – or 10:05 p.m. Benghazi time, 20-30 minutes after the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission allegedly began – carried the subject line “U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi Under Attack” and the notation “SBU”, meaning “Sensitive But Unclassified.”
A second email, headed “Update 1: U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi” and timed 4:54 p.m. Washington time, said that the Embassy in Tripoli had reported that “the firing at the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi had stopped and the compound had been cleared.” It said a “response team” was at the site attempting to locate missing personnel.
A third email, also marked SBU and sent at 6:07 p.m. Washington time, carried the subject line: “Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack.”
The message reported: “Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli.”
So, not long after 4pm on September 11th, the POTUS should have been informed of the attack on our consulate and people. A bit after 6pm, he should have been aware that an al Qaeda affiliated group was taking responsibility. Said emails were sent to the “White House Situation Room, the president’s secure command post.” Obama had a briefing scheduled with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta at 5pm, so we know he was supposed to be at the White House. Is there anyone who can possibly think that no one would inform the POTUS that a consulate was under attack?
More important than what did he know, is “what did he do?” Was there any attempt to send in forces to protect our people, or did they simply rely on the September 17 Martyrs Brigade?
After that, why did he give a nebulous squishy Rose Garden speech on September 12 which mentioned terrorism, but did not ascribe the attack specifically to terrorism? And then go on to blame a video, including during his United Nations speech, along with others doing the same, such as Susan Rice and Press Secretary Jay Carney? There are two reasons we can deduce: the incompetence of the Obama administration during and before this crisis, which would include the failure to provide proper security in Benghazi, a place that even the press knew was infested with Islamic extremist groups and increasingly dangerous to Westerners.
The second is that if Obama had specifically labeled the attack “terrorism”, he would have been destroyed had he continued on with his Las Vegas campaign appearance. And as we’ve seen over the past almost 4 years, Obama is more interested in campaigning and the perks of the job than the details and duties of the job.
Via Memeorandum, more at CBS News, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Belmont Club, This ain’t Hell …, Instapundit, Weasel Zippers, Telegraph, The PJ Tatler, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, Hot Air, Riehl World News, American Glob, BuzzFeed, Jammie Wearing Fools, Atlas Shrugs, Michael J. Totten’s blog, Questions and Observations and Patterico’s Pontifications
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
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See the problem is, we don’t know who the instigator of the act is yet. You have to have a target before you bomb it, or your a war criminal.We just got one set of criminals out, Got some dumb asses in the house the last election, who cannot figure out what not to say. No opsec. And who cut funds to embassy staffing, cutting security staffing, and then brag about it. And some one dies that was ??? wern’t smart. And then you list friends who, and dump lists of cia companies, and this from the head of the FRC of the house. Damn sam, not smart, talk about retard.
Next, we have drones overhead during the attack.Taking film,We keep watch of the people that way, really, and we could not figure out where these groups melted away to? Our drone operators were not that smart, shows high up control. Get the drone to verify that payment will go down. Who do we get to go after for the monies. Bomb them, or prove they paid for it. Which ones legal.
I say even if you have the proof you need, a trial, show the evidence to the world, and say these are the bad guys. You got 72 hours to take them out of circulation in the world, or we do it.
Then
I remember reading, early on, that Barry was notified that Stevens was missing…and then he, Obama, went to bed…knowing that! Where are the questions about what Obama did when he got the 3am call???
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This is an utterly impeachable offense.
When the embassy was under attack, the embassy was being monitored and within 2 hours, the White House knew. I bet even sooner.
POTUS did nothing. Had they done something then, we would have had a means of protection for Stevens when his safe house came under attack 4 hours later. But, at that time, Obama was in bed and no one bothered to wake him. Nor, did he bother to learn what was happening.
Then, after Stevens was assassinated, Potus still refused to find out what happened or send in the FBI\CIA or.. anyone with a gun to protect the scene.
It was so abandoned by POTUS that a CNN reporter was able to sweep through the debris and pull out STevens’ diary and use it for news broadcasts. And with impunity from this administration.
With what they have done to cause the deaths of 2 border guards, @300 Mexican citizens, handing untracked weapons to drug gangs and felons, now actively unprotecting and ignoring pleas for protection from Libya, ignoring the assassination of Stevens and other Americans and marines, and then actively pursuing and jailing an American citizen in an attempt to deflect blame and insight religious violence…… it is time for impeachment and arrest for manslaughter.