Stevens Went To Benghazi So Clinton Could Announce A Permanent Post; ARB Omits

according to gregory hicks, #2 in libya to chris stevens, the reason the ambassador was in benghazi on 9-11 in the first place is because hrc, certainly cued by obama, was pushing all out to upgrade the consulate to permanent mission status

in order to get her upgrade, the secretary needed "a report on the political and security environment in benghazi," necessary for the preparation of an "action memo" to get things moving

"we had funds available that we could, that could be transferred from an account set aside for iraq and could be dedicated to this purpose,” hicks testified, “they had to be obligated by september 30th,” end of the fiscal year

hillary wanted and needed her december trip to benghazi for a big rollout, swears the acting mission chief who was subsequently demoted

barack needed arab spring to be a blossom

ambassador hicks reported to arb's pickering and mullen this effort of hrc's to upgrade the consulate

but this critical explanation for stevens' return to libya was EXCLUDED in the final arb product

directions came from beth jones' office, near eastern affairs

"ambassador stevens was in benghazi on september 11, 2012, to work toward making it a permanent state department post," swore the man who worked with and took over for the ambassador when he died

"he felt that he had a political imperative to go to benghazi and represent the united states there in order to move the project forward to make the benghazi consulate a permanent constituent post”

“chris told me that in his exit interview with the secretary after he was sworn in, the secretary said, ‘we need to make benghazi a permanent post,’ and chris said, ‘i'll make it happen’”

there are going to be a lot more hearings lasting more than a year, there's gonna be a special committee chaired probably by evil issa

and this question of exactly what was stevens doing there in an undefended and previously attacked consulate in september occupied a great deal of the focus of reps massie, collins, lankford...

hillary really wanted that permanent mission

finally, hicks revealed that the consulate did not meet the standard department's overseas security policy board, ospb, standards for security

indeed, the consulate, standing there with a hole in the wall, didn't even live up to weak secca mandates

trey gowdy (you're really gonna learn to hate him, from SC), pounced here

he dug out that only the secretary of state has the authority to allow any ambassador to visit a department asset so vulnerable

"she can--is the only one that can authorize waivers for secca," swore hicks

no one in cummings' caucus countered

indeed, when hrc visited in october, 2011, dod positioned a flotilla offshore

Amb. Chris Stevens--murdered by terrorists in Benghazi, Libya on the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks—was at thepoorly secured State Department facility in that city that dayat least in part because Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wanted to convert the department compound there into a permanent outpostand department officials wanted her to be able to announce this was the case when she made a planned visit to Libya in December 2012.

This fact—stated by Stevens’ top deputy in Libya in sworn congressional testimony on Wednesday--was omitted from the State Department’s Accountability Review Board (ARB) Report published in December.

This was despite the fact that Stevens' deputy--Greg Hicks--specifically told the ARB that Clinton wanted the Benghazi mission converted into a permanent post.

Amb. Thomas Pickering and Admiral Mike Mullen, the co-chairs of the State Department’s Accountability Review Board that investigated the Benghazi attack--and which omitted this key fact from its report—have refused requests from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to testify in the committee or even speak informally with it.

Hicks, who was the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli on Sept. 11, 2012 (and thus was second in command to Amb. Chris Stevens), told multiple members at the Wednesday hearing that Clinton’s desire to make Benghazi a permanent State Department facility was a major motivation for Amb. Stevens' trip there last September.

Hicks also testified that he told the State Department’s Accountability Review Board about Secretary Clinton's desire to make the Benghazi mission a permanent post.

“Did you tell the Accountability Review Board about Secretary Clinton's interest in establishing a permanent presence in Benghazi?” Rep. Thomas Massie (R.-Ky.) asked Hicks. “Because, ostensibly, wasn't that the reason that the ambassador was going to Benghazi?”

“Yes, I did tell the Accountability Review Board that Secretary Clinton wanted the post made permanent,” said Hicks. “Ambassador Pickering looked surprised. He looked both ways on the--to the members of the board, saying, ‘Does the 7th floor know about this?’ (The secretary of state and other top State Department officials have their offices on the seventh floor of the department's headquarters.)

“And another factor,” Hicks continued in his sworn testimony, “was our understanding that Secretary Clinton intended to visit Tripoli in December.”

“So Pickering was surprised that this was his [Amb. Stevens’] mission was to establish a permanent facility there?” asked Rep. Massie.

“Yes,” testified Hicks.

Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa followed up on this exchange to clarify the point.

“I just want you to say it unambiguously--if that's the correct way to say it--without a flaw, one more time,” said Issa. “The reason the ambassador was in Benghazi, at least one of the reasons was x?”

“At least one of the reasons he was in Benghazi was to further the secretary's wish that, that post become a permanent constituent post, and also there, because we understood that the secretary intended to visit Tripoli later in the year,” said Hicks. “We hoped that she would be able to announce to the Libyan people our establishment of a permanent constituent post in Benghazi at that time.”

“According to [Amb.] Chris [Stevens], Secretary Clinton wanted Benghazi converted into a permanent constituent post,” said Hicks. “Timing for this decision was important. Chris needed to report before September 30th, the end of the fiscal year, on the physical---the political and security environment in Benghazi to support an action memo to convert Benghazi from a temporary facility to a permanent facility."

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Testimony: Stevens Went to Benghazi Mission on 9/11/12 So Clinton Could Announce on Upcoming Libyan Visit It Had Become Permanent U.S. Post | CNS News

questions, questions...

who ordered the stand down?

who ignored so many requests for security in the weeks and months preceding, when the streets were echoing to the vibrations of at least 5 major attacks like the assassination attempt vs the brit?

why was security in benghazi reduced from 16 to 4 after a carjacking mere weeks before the TERRORIST attack?

why can't obama pronounce TERRORIST?

why can't he call out specifically by name muslim or islamic extremism?

how can we move forward with a cic so dumb (as in speechless)?

why did the white house lie about a video when it full well knew better?

why are so many threatened, intimidated, demoted, why are they told not to talk to members of the opposition party, why must a state dept lawyer be present?

why so much hiding, why so much covering up?

where are the survivors, who are the survivors, what did they see, how many are injured and how bad, how many spoke with arb and how many didn't?

just who all did talk to arb, who didn't?

why didn't hrc?

why did pickering and mullen refuse to testify yesterday?

why so much hiding, why so much coverup?

no one really cares what you have to say now, today

what matters is what people are gonna think months, and more, from now

cuz we're just getting started

where was hillary clinton all day and and all nite, 9-11-12, and exactly what was she doing?

why did the president go to bed, how could the president go to bed?

why did he go to vegas the next morning for a fundraiser?

that's enough for now, but believe me, i could go on for a lot longer than i already have

and you just know i will

she sent him to die, because she and Obama needed a Foreign policy prop.

She denied him extra security, even removed cut his security staff down from 30 to 6, and when he died, she looked into the face of the Father of the Seal and said, " we're going to arrest and prosecute the guy who made this video"

What a sub-human POS she is.

Thanks Prof, for the continued post on this scandal.

The libs need to know its not going away.

I hope people at the State Dept and WH are having to take handfuls of diazopan, to get a hours sleep, because they have to know their days at the State Dept or WH are numbered.

Why does prof believe all of these things?

Deuce said:

Why does prof believe all of these things?

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Because he not so blinded by Obama lust and a corrupt ideology, he can actually make a objective analysis concerning Benghazi.

I knew the Democrat party had sold out to scum bags and POS liars and ideologues, but Benghazi is just horrible.

The Repubs will keep pushing, new FACTS will be revealed and his legacy will be one of economic failure and corruption and incompetence.

Does Prof know how to use capitalized letters?

rso nordstrom testifies patrick kennedy signed off on the determined move into a fatally unsafe building

all whitewashed by arb

even more to talk about in evil issa's special committee

The co-chairmen of the board, retired veteran diplomat Thomas R. Pickering and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff retired Adm. Michael Mullen, said in a statement this week that they were allowed to interview whoever they wanted and that they spoke with everyone they needed to answer the questions they had.

But in dramatic prepared testimony for Wednesday’s hearing, Mr. Nordstorm states that the buildings housing U.S. facilities in Tripoli and Benghazi did not meet departmental security standards and should not have been occupied by U.S. personnel.

He said he was told by officials in Washington that Mr. Kennedy had personally signed off on the decision to move in anyway.

Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S. in Libya Gregory H. Hicks slated the Accountability Review Board (ARB) for putting all the responsibility for poor security in Benghazi on officials at the assistant secretary level and below.

“For the ARB to ignore the role senior department leadership played before, during and after the Sept. 11 attack sends a clear message to all State Department employees,” he said.

The board’s failure to review the actions of Mr. Kennedy and other senior officials, “who made critical decisions regarding all aspects of operations in Tripoli, to include occupancy of facilities, which did not meet the aforementioned [security] requirements, is inexplicable,” he said.

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Benghazi whistleblower: State Dept. should have interviewed more senior officials - Oversight Hearings

hey, it's just sworn testimony

by career state dept professionals

seeya at the hearings, homeys

bring a comfy chair, it's gonna be awhile

Moot said:

Does Prof know how to use capitalized letters?

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Wow!!

You totally rebutted EVERYTHING in the OP with just 8 words!

:roll:

5 committees already busy---oversight, intel, armed services, foreign relations and homeland security

Boehner Promises More Benghazi Hearings

the strangely orange dude is focused on the talking points---why were the american people purposely deceived about some video being behind all this when this state department and its united intel apparatus knew fully well better

coming soon:

62% of House GOP Now Co-Sponsoring Bill for Special Committee on Benghazi | CNS News

the sheer multitude and overlapping nature of the critical questions confronting concerned americans about exactly what this white house was doing in the weeks and months before 9-11, the 8 to 10 hours comprising the actual attack, and the approaching-a-year after that dreadful day DEMAND a coordinated and concentrated inquiry

the time frame---because you know the kind of people who are running the house these days, people like me---is 18 months

worry

Thread: Stevens Went To Benghazi So Clinton Could Announce A Permanent Post; ARB Omits
--------------------
That's it?
HRC, allegedly, wanted to announce a permanent post?
Why on God's green earth was that a significant goal, when most Americans couldn't have cared less about Libya or a "permanent post" in Benghazi.
Seems like the downfall of Qaddafi was important, a smart pol like Clinton wouldn't have seen a "post" as very important.

Seems like the downfall of Qaddafi was important

Click to expand...

let's see...

on the one hand we have sworn testimony from a 22 year foggy bottom pro who had advanced thru the ranks to become acting mission chief on the death of his boss, with never a blot on his record and no real personal ax to grind other than the honor of his conviction, his belief in what he saw with his own eyes...

and on the other hand we have...

"it seems..."

as little comeback as elijah cummings

meanwhile:

Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa noted at the beginning of the hearing that Accountability Review Board co-chairman Pickering and Mullen refused to testify to the committee or even informally talk to it.

“On February 22nd, this committee wrote to Ambassador Pickering and Admiral Mullen, who, as required by law, were appointed by Secretary Clinton and co-chair the accountability review board investigation,” said Chairman Issa. “We asked them to testify about their investigation and findings. They refused, and our minority said nothing.

“When we asked Ambassador Pickering and Admiral Mullen to speak with us and our committee informally,” said Issa, “they again refused, and again there was silence by the minority.”

Click to expand...

link above

why won't pickering and mullen testify under oath like the professionals hillary demoted?

why do cummings and crew cavil no objection... over anything?

by christmas, everyone will know

radioman said:

HRC, allegedly, wanted to announce a permanent post?
Why on God's green earth was that a significant goal, when most Americans couldn't have cared less about Libya or a "permanent post" in Benghazi.

Click to expand...

In fairness, most Americans don't care about the vast majority of permanent missions we have in the world.

Jack Fabulous said:

Wow!!

You totally rebutted EVERYTHING in the OP with just 8 words!

:roll:

Click to expand...

wow u sure told me. :roll:

by christmas, everyone will know
----------------
Doubtful.
By Christmas, you'll be making an equally baseless timeline prediction......New Years?, nah.... Presidents Day?, nah.......ooh, ooh, ooh...I've got it...April Fools Day.
Good luck, prof.
You need it.

most Americans don't care about the vast majority of permanent missions we have in the world.

Click to expand...

according to sworn testimony from the foggy bottom careerist who was promoted to libya, who served with distinction under 3 presidents, who both hillary and her boss called after the attack to praise him for his heroism...

according to that eyewitness account, some people apparently do

"ambassador stevens was in benghazi on september 11, 2012, to work toward making it a permanent state department post," swore the man who worked with and took over for the ambassador when he died

"he felt that he had a political imperative to go to benghazi and represent the united states there in order to move the project forward to make the benghazi consulate a permanent constituent post”

“chris told me that in his exit interview with the secretary after he was sworn in, the secretary said, ‘we need to make benghazi a permanent post,’ and chris said, ‘i'll make it happen’”

link above

Sarcogito said:

In fairness, most Americans don't care about the vast majority of permanent missions we have in the world.

Click to expand...

---------------
Correct.
That's why I doubt HRC was lusting for this permanent mission.
Not much of a resume enhancer, I would say.

I doubt HRC was lusting for this

Click to expand...

on the one hand, not a word of objection from the members of cummings' caucus...

on the other, "i doubt..."

one open mouthed kneejerk's mere unsourced opinion is worthless

ie, if you aint got a link you're outta luck

why won't pickering and mullen testify?

wapo:

Clinton and her senior aides should have paid more attention to deteriorating security in Libya over the months preceding the attacks, along with requests from the post for additional resources, said Eric Nordstrom, who served as the embassy’s security chief until July.

If for no other reason, Nordstrom said, Clinton was planning to travel to Libya later in the year and had signaled that she wanted the United States to turn its temporary mission in Benghazi into a formal diplomatic post.

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link above

politico:

Late in the day, Hicks told the committee that Clinton was the reason Stevens was in Benghazi.

“We understood the secretary planned to visit Tripoli later in the year,” Hicks said. “We hoped she would be able to announce a permanent position there.”

“[Clinton told him], ‘We need to make Benghazi a permanent post,’ and Chris said, ‘I’ll make it happen,’” Hicks said.

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Benghazi hearing: State officials get emotional - POLITICO.com

how could they put the ambassador in a previously attacked consulate with a hole in the wall, big enough for 40 men, which failed by far foggy bottom's own security standards, such that stevens' visit required the personal assent of the secretary of state?

why when hillary went to benghazi the previous october was there a fleet of navy offshore just in case?

did they think things were less dangerous in september of '12?

after the assassination attempt against the brit, after the ied that blew out the wall, after the attack on the red cross, after at least 5 serious terrorist actions in the previous 6 months?

why did press spokesperson victoria nuland on the nite before susan-rice-sunday insist on expunging the mention of those previous attacks from the cia advisory prepared for the edification of the american people, according to the email chain in the possession of evil issa?

The Benghazi Talking Points | The Weekly Standard

stay tuned

for months

Prof...Prof...Prof......

"how could they put the ambassador in a previously attacked consulate with a hole in the wall, big enough for 40 men, which failed by far foggy bottom's own security standards, such that stevens' visit required the personal assent of the secretary of state?"

Just when you're starting to wear me down with your insistence that HRC wanted this permanent post....you lose me.
If HRC wanted this permanent post, why wouldn't she have demanded the highest security possible?
A smart pol like Clinton would never allow her presidential ambitions to be derailed by a security breach.
I'm beginning to think you're not a real professor.

Is there an embassy in Libya now? Just curious.

There is nothing about Benghazi that is impeachable.

There are some problems obviously.

Prior to Benghazi - and certainly since - it should be clear that both the policies concerning security of embassies and any decisions made in such an instance should have been made along a military-Secretary of Defense chain of command, not the Secretary of State. Certainly, if time to ask or at any point the President could alter those decisions.

In my opinion, the decision should have been essentially automatic. An embassy and embassy staff including ambassor was under armed attack - therefore we send everything we got and just keep sending them - rather than trying to do political-tactical-potential body count-study.

The White House instantly went into a cover-up and diversionary mode, rather than just telling what happened, acknowledging mistakes and bad judgment, hold those accountable accountable, and adopt new procedures and policies accordingly.

We also see what can happen when politicians with no experience are put into not just policy, but also pragmatic decisions positions. That is the only certain criticism. The response in this instant-decision-needed, should not have been snagged up by politicians.

To make this a hate on Obama or blindly defend Obama is non-productive.

A smart pol like Clinton would never allow her presidential ambitions to be derailed by a security breach

Click to expand...

LOL!

link?

meanwhile:

December 2011: Terror plot thwarted, but Benghazi emergency plan warns of many Islamic terrorists still operating in area.

March 2012: U.S. Embassy in Tripoli lead security officer, RSO Eric Nordstrom, requests additional security but later testified he received no response.

April 10, 2012: An explosive device is thrown at a convoy carrying U.N. envoy Ian Martin.

May 22, 2012: A rocket-propelled grenade hits the offices of the International Red Cross.

June 6, 2012: An IED explodes outside the Benghazi consulate compound.

June 11, 2012: An RPG hits a convoy carrying the British Ambassador. The U.K. closes its consulate. Col. Wood, military Site Security Team (SST) commander, is in Benghazi, and helps with emergency response.

July 2012: RSO Nordstrom again requests additional security (perhaps via cable signed by Amb. Stevens dated July 9, see below).

July 9, 2012: Amb. Stevens sends a cable requesting continued help from military SST and State Dept. MSD (Mobile Security Deployment team) through mid-Sept. 2012, saying that benchmarks for a drawdown have not been met. The teams are not extended.

Early August: State Dept. removes the last of three 6-man State Dept. security teams and a 16-man military SST team from Libya.

August 2, 2012: Ambassador Stevens sends a cable to D.C. requesting "protective detail bodyguard positions" -- saying the added guards "will fill the vacuum of security personnel currently at post... who will be leaving with the next month and will not be replaced." He called "the security condition in Libya ... unpredictable, volatile and violent."

August 8, 2012: A cable from Amb. Stevens to D.C. says "a series of violent incidents has dominated the political landscape" and calls them "targeted and discriminate attacks."

Aug. 27, 2012: The State Department issues a travel warning for Libya citing the threat of assassination and car bombings in Benghazi/Tripoli.

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Timeline: How Benghazi attack, probe unfolded - CBS News

exactly WHO denied repeated requests for additional security, exactly WHO stripped the security team after the carjacking in august, exactly WHY were all references to the perilous situation in benghazi stripped from that much abused advisory by state spokespeople?

why did state leave ambassador stevens' diary lying around for days for cnn to find to blab to the world the ambassador feared he was on an aq hit list?

CNN finds, returns journal belonging to late U.S. ambassador - CNN.com

why did hillary's "longtime aide" philippe reines crassly, crudely cuss out daily beast reporter michael hastings for criticizing the dept for its shoddiness

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...partment-aide-tells-reporter-to-****-off.html

cuz hillary's too smart?

an opinion with eyes squeezed shut is the product of an insufferable narcissm

in other words, shut up and read

The Prof said:

LOL!


an opinion with eyes squeezed shut is the product of an insufferable narcissm

in other words, shut up and read

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-----------------
Oh, man....you've got 'em on the run now.
This time for sure.
Gov't officials ALWAYS pay the price for their misdeeds.
You're a funny guy, Prof.
I'm a little worried about that pulsating vein in your temple, though.

Gov't officials ALWAYS pay the price for their misdeeds

Click to expand...

link?

We also see what can happen when politicians with no experience are put into not just policy, but also pragmatic decisions positions

Click to expand...

yup

tiffany (cbs), sunday before the hearings:

Another witness for Wednesday's hearing, Mark Thompson, is a counterterrorism expert. He's likely to address another sore spot surrounding the night of the attacks: the fact that the Obama Administration did not convene its top interagency counterterrorism resource, the Counterterrorism Security Group (CSG). According to Rep. Issa, Thompson will testify that he was locked out of the process "even though he was the individual who was supposed to react to these kinds of things."

Counterterrorism sources and internal emails reviewed by CBS News express frustration that key responders were ready to deploy, but were not called upon to help in the attack. National Security Council Spokesman Tommy Vietor told CBS News the CSG was not needed.

"The CSG is the one group that's supposed to know what resources every agency has. They know of multiple options and have the ability to coordinate counterterrorism assets across all the agencies," a high-ranking government official told CBS News. "They were not allowed to do their job. They were not called upon."

Absent coordination from Counterterrorism Security Group, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official says the response to the crisis became more confused. "The response process was isolated at the most senior level," says an official referring to top officials in the executive branch. "My fellow counterterrorism professionals and I (were) not consulted."

Hicks and several others whose accounts are at odds with official government statements about Benghazi have reported feeling marginalized, intimidated and/or subjected to threats of retaliation.

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Dutch Ruppersberger, told Bob Schieffer on Sunday's "Face the Nation:" "Let's get the facts. This should not be a partisan issue at all. This should be to get the facts, an open issue, and to hear from everybody. And when you hear allegations that people are told not to talk, I would hope those issues would come out and if that's the case we should be held accountable."

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Three more officials to testify about Benghazi attacks - CBS News

The Prof said:

link?

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--------------
??????
Now I have to provide a link for a sarcastic jab at you?
I'm probably gonna be rebuked by the mods...but are you drunk?
Oh, and please...get that pulsating vein checked out.
Good night......do I need a link for that, too?

It's been almost a year since Benghazi, and still only e-warriors care about it. No calls of impeachment from the Republicans in DC. Boehner is paying lip service to the party faithful and not doing much else. A committee? Lol, they're a dime a dozen.