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- Sep 13, 2012
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Quite obviously, security at the Benghazi compound was insufficient. The fact that the attack was successful is indicative of that. And yes, that's on State and, to an extent, the White House.
However, while this shouldn't be political, it is. One repeated cudgel used by the GOP has been that the White House issued a "stand down" order to forces that might have been able to assist, which leads to the conclusion that Obama "let them die." As we now see, this is not correct.
While clearly the priority should be to prevent future attacks, knowing how they screwed up and knowing how they didn't are both vital.
As a prior military SOF, getting an order to not deploy from Tripoli to Benghazi has the same meaning and effect as stand down.
I wish that these types of events were less political. Both sides have gone overboard with the politics; the Democrats in refusing to identify the failures and where they originated, and the Republicans by emphasizing the President and Secretary of State rather than letting the evidence lead where it will.
This has the same smell, to me, as when Johnson tried to run the Vietnam war instead of letting the Generals do it, as well as an event I was personally involved in - Somalia, where Clinton recalled a crew served weapons and armored personnel carriers because he didn't want the illusion of an occupying force, even after we literally begged to have them returned resulting in many US deaths in Mogadishu.
These problems arise when the civilians either think they know better than the Generals, or when the civilians let political gain override US military lives.
Before anyone says anything, there's no slant in me naming Johnson and Clinton because every President was guilty if this to one extent or another; even Reagan in another event I was part of - Grenada.
We do need know if Hillary had a hand in the decisions, IF she decides to run for President. Simply, because we need to know if she would be willing to make the same choices of politics over lives. There may not be a way to know if others from either party may make the same choices (although I tend to think they may since it isn't just a Democrat failing), but as to Hillary, we may actually the evidence to show a pattern - and that - we need to know.