Originally posted by pyramid head
reply to post by Flavian

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They had gunships on standby in Italy. Those involved in the attack had a laser high-lighting the target for hours with repeated calls for back up. Had a desicion been made the gunship could have destroyed the "target" within an hour. Most special forces have this capability, especially so close to hostil territories. As a former marine, it makes me sick to think they were left to die. There is nothing more soul crushing then being abandoned by the thing you have been willing to die for. Americans were abandoned and so were their family and friends by a cowardly government.

Even if this can be linked back to Obama not doing anything, i would have to say that an hour would have been too long. These situations are generally very fast moving (as i am sure you are aware, given your background).

As it turned out, only three February 17 Martyrs Brigade members were at the consulate, along with five U.S. security officers. Outmatched, they proved unable to stop scores of militants storming through a gate, firing grenades and using diesel fuel to set fire to the compound. Mr. Stevens sought safety in the living quarters, which became engulfed in flames. A nearby CIA base, identified by the State Department as one of its annexes, sent a rescue team of martyrs brigade members and at least one former Navy SEAL, Tyrone Woods. They collected all the staff they could find amid fires and gunshots, and returned to the annex in armored cars — minus the ambassador, whose whereabouts was unknown. Now close to midnight in Libya, the CIA officers sent urgent radio messages to headquarters in Langley asking for the military to send help, Fox News reported Friday. It said the CIA had ordered the officers not to attempt the rescue, but they went anyway. No military help was sent. An unmanned spy aircraft, whose video signal could be relayed to policymakers in Washington, buzzed overhead during part of the raid. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee says a 50-minute recording exists, but it has not been provided to Congress. At the White House during the attack, President Obama and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met in the Oval Office. Seven hours later, a rescue contingent from Tripoli, with Libyan personnel, made its way from the airport to the annex, which then came under mortar fire.

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.

* In the movie "Red Dawn" are the Wolverines terrorists? Are the Russians brave heroes? Just perspective.

Not usually a 'defensive' tool at all, and not something you'd have laying around unless you were going to use it.

EXCLUSIVE: Memo warned consulate in Libya couldn't withstand 'coordinated attack'

By Catherine Herridge Published October 31, 2012 FoxNews.com Read more: www.foxnews.com...

The U.S. Mission in Benghazi convened an “emergency meeting” less than a month before the assault that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, because Al Qaeda had training camps in Benghazi and the consulate could not defend against a “coordinated attack,” according to a classified cable reviewed by Fox News.

Summarizing an Aug. 15 emergency meeting convened by the U.S. Mission in Benghazi, the Aug. 16 cable marked “SECRET” said that the State Department’s senior security officer, also known as the RSO, did not believe the consulate could be protected. “RSO (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,” the cable said.

According to a review of the cable addressed to the Office of the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Emergency Action Committee was also briefed "on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ training camps within Benghazi … these groups ran the spectrum from Islamist militias, such as the QRF Brigade and Ansar al-Sharia, to ‘Takfirist thugs.’”

Each U.S. mission has a so-called Emergency Action Committee that is responsible for security measures and emergency planning. The details in the cable seemed to foreshadow the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. compound, which was a coordinated, commando-style assault using direct and indirect fire.

Al Qaeda in North Africa and Ansar al-Sharia, both mentioned in the cable, have since been implicated in the consulate attack. In addition to describing the security situation in Benghazi as “trending negatively,” the cable said explicitly that the mission would ask for more help. “In light of the uncertain security environment, US Mission Benghazi will submit specific requests to US Embassy Tripoli for additional physical security upgrades and staffing needs by separate cover.”

Read more: www.foxnews.com...