Really Mr. Secretary?

Well that sure didn’t take long.  Seems I recall predicting to someone just Friday that we would get a “new” Benghazigate story by today.  Right on cue, and early in fact, we get one Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta projectile vomiting the latest batch of lies and misdirection in a crude attempt to cover up for the previous batch of lies and misdirection.

Misdirection #1. “There is a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking going on by people who don’t know what’s going on.”  Really Mr. Secretary?  Are you implying that the DoD does know what’s going on or are you saying that if the DoD doesn’t know what’s going on nobody else possible could either?

Lie #2. When asked why fighter aircraft had not been sent to the scene to at least do “low and loud” passes over the consulate or to lay down suppressing fire the Secretary said that they “were concerned about creating civilian casualties that might further inflame the situation.”  Really Mr. Secretary? The Consulate was already in flames, how much more inflamed could it get?  Anybody who has ever been in combat will tell you that once a firefight breaks out that civilians flee the area as quickly as possible or crawl into the deepest hole they can find to keep from getting their heads blown off.  What did the Secretary think these “civilians” he’s so concerned about were doing?  Sitting out in their lawn chairs watching the show and roasting shish-ka-bobs of the flames of burning vehicles?

Lie #3. “We weren’t going to deploy assets into a situation we hadn’t fully assessed.”  Really Mr. Secretary?  Just how much more information did you need?  You had both Flash Traffic and emails coming from inside the Consulate as the attack was taking place.  You had CIA assets at the annex requesting permission to led assistance to the Consulate that could have both provided support and on a further on the ground situation report.  You had Predator drones circling overhead providing you live video feeds in both visible and infrared light.  What else were you waiting for Mr. Secretary?  Did you think al Qaida was going to post their Order of Battle to help you make a decision? 

This was followed by the most monstrous, shameful and shameless lie of all.

Lie #4.  With a shrug of his shoulders Mr. Panetta concluded, “This was all over before we could do anything about it.”  Really Mr. Secretary?  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the designator for US Army Delta Force units is QRT (Quick Response Team).  Do you need “quick” defined for you?  Why did they remain on the ground in Sicily two hours away?  Why were they not embarked on their KC-130 aircraft to at the very least circle off shore where they could then either go into action or return to base as the situation developed?  Do not such QRTs also have AC-130 gunships attached?  Aren’t these aircraft designed for and known for being able to lay down pinpoint accurate suppressing fire?  Is there not a US Navy CVN and LHA stationed full time in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea?  Just what are those QRT teams, aircraft and that full Battalion of Marines there for if not for just such situations?

I’m sorry Mr. Secretary no one but the gullible, naïve or stupid is buying any of this retched street pizza your laying out.  The real shame is not that hack politicians lie to us; we’ve come to expect it.  No the real shame is that no one in the so-called mainstream media is asking anything close to these kinds of follow up questions when presented with such blatant and obvious lies.

A Scathing Indictment. Another Piece from Matt Bracken.

OBAMA WENT TO BED
Matt Bracken 10-25-2012

The biggest stench from the Benghazi fiasco is that it is beginning to smell like Obama went “nighty-night” to rest up for Las Vegas, instead of manning up in the Situation Room and seeing the crisis through and (had he only been awake) ordering a rescue mission.

In Benghazi, after 6-8 hours enduring a few “Fort Apaches,” with running street battles in …
between, (like a mini Blackhawk Down), the living Americans must have been thinking, “Any minute now, here come the helicopters! Just hang on!”

But they didn’t. So even though Delta had forward staged to Sigonella Sicily (rumint) from base in Germany, nobody was willing or able to pull the trigger and send a rescue force. Or even a few F-18 supersonic flybys, to bust windows and warn, “Here comes American airpower, and you camel jockeys know what that means.” Just as a morale booster it would have helped the besieged staffers.

But it was never sent, not even a lousy supersonic low-level flyby. One hour from bases in Italy, max.

Here is the deal. The military automatically does a lot on its own, under standing orders and SOPs. The minute they see that the consulate is under attack, and the ambassador and others are in a “safe room” hiding, it becomes TOP priority. Every other mission aborts or slaves over to support any possible rescue.

At that moment when the critical incident alarm messages start ringing, military steps happen on autopilot in real time. Everybody in the Navy and USAF chain of command swings into a crisis contingency plan mode. What ships are closest? Helicopters? Marines? Delta is in Germany? Get them moving right now. Where is closest? Sigonella, for now. It’s NATO, no permission needed, just fly.

En route in C-17s, the D-boys would even be prepping for an immediate action rescue mission, that is, the C-17s will fly directly to some desert road outside of Benghazi, and here comes “The Raid On Entebbe,” done in crisis mode, canned actions, but they would do it. They practice for these exact scenarios, and leave gear staged for them.

They would coordinate with fighters out of Italy, mid-air-refueling platforms start shifting, it’s a huge show that swings into action for thousands of miles around Behghazi. The ongoing consulate attack is JOB ONE, the only job. VIPs will be tossed off of planes at remote runways if they need that platform.

Or Marines on amphibious ships in the central Med, (if any were available), would also be put on the real-time options board. We used to have a “Amphibious Ready Group” of about 3-5 USN gator freighters, including a helo carrier like a Tarawa class. They carry an entire battalion of USMC, plus SEALs etc, with helos and Ospreys to carry them all. (But not at once.) Where was our ARG? Does our Navy have enough ships for that mission any more?

But while all of that military staging would have happened/did happen during the 6-8 hour battle at the consulate and annex, what the military cannot do on their own say-so is cross an international border without an order from the NCA, the National Command Authority, and that means POTUS, Obama.

Only POTUS can authorize a cross-border hostile mission. That is, guns clear, no official permission from the Tripoli govt (if it really exists outside State Dept fantasies.)

Only one man can pull that trigger and say, “GO!” Obama.

(But for America to act “unilaterally” would have meant the bogus Libyan Arab Spring and so-called new Libyan Unity Govt. that we were propping up didn’t really exist. Libyan sovereignty must be held sacrosanct, even the false image of one, where in reality, Al Queda is top dog in Libya. Even when an Al Queda offshoot is your external “security,” namely, “The 17th of February Martyrs Brigade.” IOW, the White House thought they had a “deal” with AQ in Behghazi, since we were helping to run weaponry from Libya to their pals in Syria. So there was an “institutional bias” at State against crossing the border on a rescue operation sin permisso.)

Anyway, be that as it may, no General or Admiral will order the Marines ashore, or a Delta raid or even an F-18 or F-16 low-level supersonic flyby. They can not and will not cross a border without a clear-cut order from POTUS via the NCA. Not even Hillary can make that decision. Only Obama.

But no order came, as of midnight in DC. And then none would come. Because the POTUS retired for the night with a “do not disturb” sign on his door, punted, and went to bed, to be well rested for Las Vegas.

While his ambassador was off the U.S. radar, missing, at that moment possibly being dragged down a Benghazi street or even raped. But that is when Obama went to bed. Midnight in DC is 0600 in Beghazi.

That is the greatest scandal of Benghazi. The POTUS slept through it, while all around the world, military forces were poised for the Raid on Entebbe or any other damn thing the POTUS ordered them to do. (And the were raring to go, believe me.)

But the POTUS said, “We’ll discuss it further in the morning,” and then he went to bed around midnight in DC, 0600 in Benghazi, with a missing ambassador and a full-blown crisis in full mega flap.

He punted. He went to bed.

God help us.

I think that’s the big secret they are keeping. The President went to bed, with his lost Ambassador being dragged through streets.

Obama went to bed.

Digging A Hole In The Libyan Sands

President Obama has dug himself a deep hole in the Libyan sands of Benghazi and like any other clueless leftist thinks that the way out of the hole is to keep digging. Given what came out today with the release of diplomatic traffic between the ambassador, his staff and the state department the picture get uglier and uglier every day.  (Gee didn't predict that just last week?)  Clear and definitive warnings were being given the AQ was moving into the area in strength. AQ flags were reported over government buildings and training facilities.  What few other western consulates had pulled up stakes and left town.  The Red Cross had come under repeated attacks and had also left Benghazi.  The consulate had come under two previous attacks.  One in June had blown a large hole in the perimeter wall.  The ambassador himself had sent a cable just the day before his death that the situation was "out of control" and that Libyan government security forces were not up to the task and most likely could not be trusted.

So Mr. President, why were existing SST and MSD security teams withdrawn?  Why were repeated requests for added security denied given the deteriorating conditions?   Why was the State Dept. DC-3 aircraft withdrawn?  Why weren't the ambassador and his staff withdrawn and the consulate closed?  If the State Department had a drone over the consulate during the attack and they were watching the attack as it unfolded how do you justify saying for two weeks that it was a reaction to some stupid youtube video?  It doesn't take a genius to tell the difference between a spontaneous riot and a coordinated attack with heavy weapons.

Mr. President was all this the result of incompetence, indifference or something worse?  Good and loyal American citizens are dead and the public is demanding definitive answers to how and why it happened.

Fidel Goes to Hell

Mephistopheles greets Fidel Castro at the gates of hell, “Hello my friend, welcome to your new home!”  He escorts Fidel through the gate and firmly closes it behind him.  “Before we go any further I have to ask you a few questions.  I hope you understand.”

“Of course.” Castro replies, “Go right ahead.”

“Well first, do you smoke?”

“You know I do!  I love my Havanas!”

“That’s great because on Mondays around here all we do is smoke. Cigars, pipes, cigarettes, only the finest of tobaccos.  We smoke until we are sick and then we smoke some more.  What’s it gonna do kill you?  You’re already dead!”

“Ok I guess that make sense.” Castro replies with a pleased look on his face.

“Next then, do you drink?”

“Of course I do.  Good Cuban beer. And I have to confess, I like good American Bourbon, I never cared for that Russian Vodka.”  Castro was clearly getting excited; this place was beginning to sound like party central.

“Wonderful my friend because on Tuesdays all we do is drink, beer, bourbon, whatever you want!  We drink until we puke and then we drink some more! What’s it gonna do, kill you? You’re already dead!”

Castro’s grin widened, “I got to tell you I’m sure begining to like the sound of this place!”

“Perfect then.  Next question, do you take drugs?”

“Well Che and I did smoke some weed while we were hiding in the mountains from Batista and his troops.  And then when we helped the Columbians ship all that cocaine to those decadent Americans we always took a few samples! Castro said now openly laughing with his new friend.

“Ok then because on Wednesdays we do drugs, lots of drugs, we have unlimited supplies! Weed, cocaine, heroin, what ever we want. We smoke it, snort it inject it.  What’s it gonna do kill you?  You’re already dead!”

Fidel was now ecstatic at the thought.  Hell truly was going to be the just reward for the righteous socialist.  All the murders, all his hard work and four hour long speeches were going to find their reward!

Mephistopheles smiled a wide grin and said “Ok one more question, are you gay?”

“No!” Castro sharply replied. “That is nothing more than capitalist decadence!  I will have no part of it!”

Mephistopheles’s smile was gone, replaced with a serious frown.  “Well that then is just to bad, because it looks like every day is going to be Thursday for you!” 

 

Is This Just Irony Or are They Trying To Tell Us Something?

Posted without further comment.

Just What's Wrong With Your Typical "Republican."

Just recently one of my fellow posters on a comment page in my local newspaper attempted to take me to task for some, what he thought was hash criticism, of the resident leftists and encouraging me to “step back and take a deep breath" because after all it was just “entertainment.”  That this individual is normally of a pretty conservative bent I was thoroughly enraged by his admonition.   That far to many Americans and conservatives ones too boot consider the political process little more than “entertainment” is a large part of how we have gottten into such a mess.  Complacency has led to ignorance and it will lead to bondage.

I responded to him as follows:

With all due respect to your normally conservative perspective I must disagree and heartily so. These are not "normal" times where we would have the luxury of regarding the election process, the candidates and the proposals they make as mere "entertainment." That far to many people have done so for far to long is exactly why the Republic and indeed western civilization itself is in such peril. We have bought into the crap of "moral relativism" for far too long. That the decline of the Republic has paralleled the public eating this crap sandwich is NOT coincidental.

As a nation and a people we have "gone along to get along" for far too long and it has brought us to the brink of financial ruin. It has allowed us to tolerate a brutal, inhuman, totalitarian political philosophy to enter our midst just because it masquerades as a religion.

So do I consider any of these characters, these "useful idiots" as Lenin called them, my personal enemies? No, not unless I should have the distinct displeasure of actually meeting one of them. But I do consider them to be enemies "domestic" of the Republic. I seem to recall having sworn an oath to protect it from just such as them.

If all this leads some in here to judge me as strident or inflexible so be it. I hardly take into consideration the opinions of individuals who clearly have no grasp of history beyond their own limited recollections. None of them, not a single one dared answer my questions about fiscal and physical economy nor my question why the founders kept the works of Tacitus, Cicero and Plutarch close at hand. Those two facts alone tell us all we need to know about depth of their thought process and the so-called validity of their opinions.