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What happened in Benghazi is an aggravation, ‘a craw in our side’, with many veterans still today. It is a sad story of Americans being abandoned by their nation, and it’s unfortunately been used by many politicians for political gain. Excuses were made to explain what happened and to somewhat justify it. Both Republicans and Democrats distort the facts during TV appearances and hearings. But the damage to those left behind - the families and survivors - seems forgotten, without explanation.
Many Americans don’t even understand what these men and women went through - they were living in hell for the thirteen hours preceding the final assault and the evacuation from the CIA annex. Many incorrectly think that the four Americans - Ambassador Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty - died during the initial assault on the U.S. Diplomatic Compound. There was actually four separate attacks; the first attack on the compound and then three more on the CIA annex where everyone fled to after the first assault. Also, ten others were injured in these attacks. The compound was not an embassy, which means that it didn’t have the normal security detail or bunkering/protections that an American Embassy has. Only five diplomatic security special agents were in Benghazi at the time of the attack; two of them were there by chance, having traveled with Ambassador Stevens from Tripoli. One mile away, a CIA team at the annex was the quick reaction force for the compound, but no one was supposed to know that the CIA security team existed.
Ambassador Stevens was adored by many Libyans and had a great fondness for the country. He felt he could make a difference in the lives of those in Libya, and wanted to show the people that the United States stood behind them in establishing a new democracy. Eastern Libya, Benghazi in particular, was a key hub for intelligence operatives monitoring Ansar al-Sharia and members of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Along with Ambassador Stevens, Secretary of State Clinton also wanted a more permanent post in Benghazi.
There was quite a bit of instability in the region prior to the attacks of September 11, 2012. There was frequent IED-related violence. The International Red Cross office in Libya was attacked and there was an assassination attempt on Dominic Asquith, the British ambassador. Requests were made for more security, but according to the regional security officer, Eric Nordstrom, they were rebuffed. Nordstrom told media that, for him and his staff, “it was abundantly clear that [they] were not going to get resources until the aftermath of an incident.” Lt. Col Andrew Wood, U.S. site security commander in Libya, testified that a regional security officer had tried obtaining more personnel, but was never able to attain a level of security that he felt comfortable with. It was pretty well known within the American intelligence community during the months preceding the attack that Benghazi was unstable and increasingly dangerous - and that a significant attack was imminent.
Top U.S. officials reported the attack as if it had been a spontaneous protest created by an anti-Muslim video...yet there were no such protests immediately prior to the attacks. There was, however, every indication that everything was premeditated. The assault began at nightfall, by militants swathed in flak jackets with covered faces. They were armed with RPGs, hand grenades, AK-47s, mortars, and machine guns. With that level of artillery, it’s quite apparent that this was not a spontaneous protest.
But for some reason...that is what we were supposed to believe.
Ambassador Stevens and State Department information management officer, Sean Smith - an Air Force veteran, died during the initial assault on the compound. The Global Response Staff team, which included former SEAL Tyrone Woods, left the CIA annex approximately twenty minutes later as the Quick Reaction Force in order to aid and/or rescue everyone at the compound. The Quick Reaction Force evacuated everyone from the compound to the CIA annex where they began preparing for potential continuing assaults.
In the ensuing hours, attacks continued as they bunkered at the CIA annex waiting for reinforcements or rescue. Meanwhile another former Navy SEAL, Glen Doherty, and six other men (five CIA operatives and two volunteer Delta operators) gathered at the Tripoli Embassy preparing to mount a rescue - 406 miles away from Benghazi. Since this was not a planned evacuation or rescue attempt by U.S. leadership, they had to figure some way to get to Benghazi. They somehow garnered $30,000 and, with a little persuasion of a couple of Libyan military pilots, they got them to fly from the airport in Tripoli to Benghazi.
At the Benghazi airport, they met up with supportive Libyan troops who took the team of seven men to the CIA annex. Upon arrival, Glen Doherty met Tyrone Woods on the roof of the annex. Within minutes, mortars were fired and both were mortally wounded - two more Americans killed in Benghazi within hours. After this final assault, everyone remaining was transported to the Benghazi airport with the help of the same Libyan troops who assisted Glen Doherty and his team.
The whole incident is very disappointing to me, and something I will never forget. We, as Airmen, Soldiers, Marines and Sailors, exist under an oath stating that we will “never leave our brothers and sisters behind”... but these people were left to die. They were left alone - abandoned by the administration, Congress, and in a sense, by their country. Their families also seemed to be forgotten as they never received any explanation regarding this incident. The names of everyone else who had been in Benghazi were also quickly forgotten. It seemed as though many Americans heard enough and didn’t want the truth regardless of the facts...and still don’t. Overall, the incidents that day were incredibly tragic, and I will continue to hope that someday everyone will have the answers they need!
Many Americans don’t even understand what these men and women went through - they were living in hell for the thirteen hours preceding the final assault and the evacuation from the CIA annex. Many incorrectly think that the four Americans - Ambassador Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty - died during the initial assault on the U.S. Diplomatic Compound. There was actually four separate attacks; the first attack on the compound and then three more on the CIA annex where everyone fled to after the first assault. Also, ten others were injured in these attacks. The compound was not an embassy, which means that it didn’t have the normal security detail or bunkering/protections that an American Embassy has. Only five diplomatic security special agents were in Benghazi at the time of the attack; two of them were there by chance, having traveled with Ambassador Stevens from Tripoli. One mile away, a CIA team at the annex was the quick reaction force for the compound, but no one was supposed to know that the CIA security team existed.
Ambassador Stevens was adored by many Libyans and had a great fondness for the country. He felt he could make a difference in the lives of those in Libya, and wanted to show the people that the United States stood behind them in establishing a new democracy. Eastern Libya, Benghazi in particular, was a key hub for intelligence operatives monitoring Ansar al-Sharia and members of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Along with Ambassador Stevens, Secretary of State Clinton also wanted a more permanent post in Benghazi.
There was quite a bit of instability in the region prior to the attacks of September 11, 2012. There was frequent IED-related violence. The International Red Cross office in Libya was attacked and there was an assassination attempt on Dominic Asquith, the British ambassador. Requests were made for more security, but according to the regional security officer, Eric Nordstrom, they were rebuffed. Nordstrom told media that, for him and his staff, “it was abundantly clear that [they] were not going to get resources until the aftermath of an incident.” Lt. Col Andrew Wood, U.S. site security commander in Libya, testified that a regional security officer had tried obtaining more personnel, but was never able to attain a level of security that he felt comfortable with. It was pretty well known within the American intelligence community during the months preceding the attack that Benghazi was unstable and increasingly dangerous - and that a significant attack was imminent.
Top U.S. officials reported the attack as if it had been a spontaneous protest created by an anti-Muslim video...yet there were no such protests immediately prior to the attacks. There was, however, every indication that everything was premeditated. The assault began at nightfall, by militants swathed in flak jackets with covered faces. They were armed with RPGs, hand grenades, AK-47s, mortars, and machine guns. With that level of artillery, it’s quite apparent that this was not a spontaneous protest.
But for some reason...that is what we were supposed to believe.
Ambassador Stevens and State Department information management officer, Sean Smith - an Air Force veteran, died during the initial assault on the compound. The Global Response Staff team, which included former SEAL Tyrone Woods, left the CIA annex approximately twenty minutes later as the Quick Reaction Force in order to aid and/or rescue everyone at the compound. The Quick Reaction Force evacuated everyone from the compound to the CIA annex where they began preparing for potential continuing assaults.
In the ensuing hours, attacks continued as they bunkered at the CIA annex waiting for reinforcements or rescue. Meanwhile another former Navy SEAL, Glen Doherty, and six other men (five CIA operatives and two volunteer Delta operators) gathered at the Tripoli Embassy preparing to mount a rescue - 406 miles away from Benghazi. Since this was not a planned evacuation or rescue attempt by U.S. leadership, they had to figure some way to get to Benghazi. They somehow garnered $30,000 and, with a little persuasion of a couple of Libyan military pilots, they got them to fly from the airport in Tripoli to Benghazi.
At the Benghazi airport, they met up with supportive Libyan troops who took the team of seven men to the CIA annex. Upon arrival, Glen Doherty met Tyrone Woods on the roof of the annex. Within minutes, mortars were fired and both were mortally wounded - two more Americans killed in Benghazi within hours. After this final assault, everyone remaining was transported to the Benghazi airport with the help of the same Libyan troops who assisted Glen Doherty and his team.
The whole incident is very disappointing to me, and something I will never forget. We, as Airmen, Soldiers, Marines and Sailors, exist under an oath stating that we will “never leave our brothers and sisters behind”... but these people were left to die. They were left alone - abandoned by the administration, Congress, and in a sense, by their country. Their families also seemed to be forgotten as they never received any explanation regarding this incident. The names of everyone else who had been in Benghazi were also quickly forgotten. It seemed as though many Americans heard enough and didn’t want the truth regardless of the facts...and still don’t. Overall, the incidents that day were incredibly tragic, and I will continue to hope that someday everyone will have the answers they need!
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 232
We never should have been in Libya in the first place but Secretary Clinton pushed and insisted to President Obama that we had to act. We should have let Gaddafi's government do what they needed. The insurgent mortar team at Benghazi was not a bunch of what we used to call "technicals" with little training. They were obviously a well-trained/experienced team that quickly ranged and walked in their rounds right on target.
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For some reason the Obama administration got a free pass no one got their butts in a sling, Hillary didn't give a dam, the buck stops at the Obama desk but he wasn't in front of Congress, the families are left hanging without closure, without any justice just a bunch of mumbo jumbo, but those who knew these brave folks will not forget them, my sincere condolences to the families
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MSgt Curtis,
I love this article, thank you
Thank you for putting this out so everyone can think back and remember our Fallen warriors.
I have read up on the Benghazi in depth. I'd like to thank you for all the good info you used in your article, so true are those words you put on paper.
To play Devils Advocate, I just want to put this out there to see if there is any response. Knowing the secret CIA base was without a compliment of Marines and really no protection. Now, thinking about the QRF. They are not recognized as military, yet they are hired by a private company that charges the government a ton of money for their service, not that they dont deserve it because they do, but should have been manned by official military . Remember this is just hypothetical. I bring it up for discussion if anyone wants to do that .Now, maybe our country didn't really know the extent of the CIA compound, and maybe the majority of the officers-in-charge were 2 or 3?? and didn't care about the QRF. en tell it was to late. Maybe they had to double check and triple check before they were going to entertain an act of aggression. Maybe, they did know everything we knew and just didn't think it was appropriate to help a non acknowledge-official CIA compound and deal with the repercussions after the fact.
These are just a few of the questions that people have come up with. Me, I agree with the MSgt. We must always, always remember places like Benghazi as well as the people who was in that NON-OFFICAL CIA compound.
There are a lot of "maybe's" in this. I did that for a reason. I want to know where our military, now and then, stand on this injustice, that seems to take place more frequently as we move forward.
God Bless all who are now and have served our country. I salute you.
I love this article, thank you
Thank you for putting this out so everyone can think back and remember our Fallen warriors.
I have read up on the Benghazi in depth. I'd like to thank you for all the good info you used in your article, so true are those words you put on paper.
To play Devils Advocate, I just want to put this out there to see if there is any response. Knowing the secret CIA base was without a compliment of Marines and really no protection. Now, thinking about the QRF. They are not recognized as military, yet they are hired by a private company that charges the government a ton of money for their service, not that they dont deserve it because they do, but should have been manned by official military . Remember this is just hypothetical. I bring it up for discussion if anyone wants to do that .Now, maybe our country didn't really know the extent of the CIA compound, and maybe the majority of the officers-in-charge were 2 or 3?? and didn't care about the QRF. en tell it was to late. Maybe they had to double check and triple check before they were going to entertain an act of aggression. Maybe, they did know everything we knew and just didn't think it was appropriate to help a non acknowledge-official CIA compound and deal with the repercussions after the fact.
These are just a few of the questions that people have come up with. Me, I agree with the MSgt. We must always, always remember places like Benghazi as well as the people who was in that NON-OFFICAL CIA compound.
There are a lot of "maybe's" in this. I did that for a reason. I want to know where our military, now and then, stand on this injustice, that seems to take place more frequently as we move forward.
God Bless all who are now and have served our country. I salute you.
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I agree with you totally. About people knowing what they went though, I think it this way. First, I'm glad they dont know what really happened they are not trained for anything like that. Plus, when someone asks me what happens in Nam, I tell them this way, "I could tell you but in reality you won't know what I was talking about . You cant display something like that in words, it's ugly for me, I cant think what it is to them, even if I could explain it! I was married for 23 years and my wife never knew what I went though, because she wouldn't understand, plus I dont talk about it with nobody, if I can help it.
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Whose idea was it for Ambassador Stevens to go to the annex? Did Secretary of State Clinton know that was his intention? Did he request additional security from her? Did the Secretary of State have the authority to order troops to Benghazi?
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I truly feel for those who have had to endure that. I will throw in the forgotten war that so many of us are still dealing with. We were all called baby killers no matter what branch of service we were in. Spit on, things thrown in anger to the point that we've kept quiet for the 40 plus years since Vietnam was over.
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Unfortunately there is far more involved than the surface, or even a deeper dive by authors and even Congress.
I was tasked to the Regional Security Office in Basrah, Iraq as a new CPT (it's a long story). However, I had the opportunity to see the inner workings and struggles as well as coordination with multiple federal letter agencies and 'other government agencies' as well as international partners with regards to the security of the compound and the city at large. In short order, the RSO allowed me to security plans for the site, conducting briefs for new personnel, and even a few sections of the Emergency Action Plan and briefs sent to the highest levels.
I in no way want to downplay the role of senior level officials, but at the same time, there are an unbelievable number of levels and gates at each level to get projects approved. As well, unfortunately they are not the only ones to lose their lives in this type of work (as noted by the loss of four PSD members on my birthday).
Could the security posture of the compound been better? Of course, there is always more to be done; continual position improvement. But, there isn't a blank check. Projects compete for money and there are ranking criteria for these projects. It's no different than the military. Branches must pick and determine which weapons systems they choose to pursue while others get the axe.
Again, I'm not trying to condone, nor condemn the Congressional circus after the fact, just to help lay a further understanding of events before that date.
I was tasked to the Regional Security Office in Basrah, Iraq as a new CPT (it's a long story). However, I had the opportunity to see the inner workings and struggles as well as coordination with multiple federal letter agencies and 'other government agencies' as well as international partners with regards to the security of the compound and the city at large. In short order, the RSO allowed me to security plans for the site, conducting briefs for new personnel, and even a few sections of the Emergency Action Plan and briefs sent to the highest levels.
I in no way want to downplay the role of senior level officials, but at the same time, there are an unbelievable number of levels and gates at each level to get projects approved. As well, unfortunately they are not the only ones to lose their lives in this type of work (as noted by the loss of four PSD members on my birthday).
Could the security posture of the compound been better? Of course, there is always more to be done; continual position improvement. But, there isn't a blank check. Projects compete for money and there are ranking criteria for these projects. It's no different than the military. Branches must pick and determine which weapons systems they choose to pursue while others get the axe.
Again, I'm not trying to condone, nor condemn the Congressional circus after the fact, just to help lay a further understanding of events before that date.
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When the Tripoli counsulate was attacked, President Obama didn't send any assistance to protect Ambassador Stevens. A small detail of security can't fight off 40 -100 attackers, with limited weapons and ammunition. Isn't a counselate soverign property of the nation that it represents? 2 Americans, including Ambassador Stevens died in the counsulate grounds. The CIA annex, doing the intelligence work for our country, was an annex of the counsulate. Americans with Libiyan assests, gathering intel and buying weapons, that were sold to Quadaffi, seized by mobs of Libiyan terrorists to gain control of the country or liberate it. What did Mr. Obama and then Department of State Secretary Hillary Clinton think? Aren't American lives worth saving from armed "protesters". The last sitting POTUS (Carter) face the same situation in Iran, back in 1979? We lost 8 good American soldiers in the attempt to rescue embassy personnel, but at least they tried. USSOCOM now has assets close by countries where countries are likely to errupt into radical chaos, threaten our embassies, counsulate and annexs and the American lives who work there. Those assets, in a short time could deploy to defend the embassies and personnel. That's part of their mandates. Let us not forget the Benghazi Four. Let us also remember that they had families, that they will never grow old with any more. Remember, it is better to do something, than do nothing. Remember Benghazi!
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Secretary Clinton testified many times before Trey Goudy’s committee investigating Benghazi and they found nothing. Clinton haters will never stop beating this dead horse. How many times did Trump testify before Robert Mueller? Oh yeah. NONE!
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