Benghazi Notes

This is supported by the fact that Vice Admiral Charles J. Leidig, AFRICOM Deputy Commander, made it clear that from 6 to 11PM (12AM to 5AM Benghazi Time), they were focused on locating the ambassador. (3/3)

Hillary was passed a message during the call claiming that a blond-haired individual had been found at a #Benghazi hospital. She then read the message to the other attendees and relayed her assumption that this was Stevens. By her seniority and in reading the message, she had implicitly adopted a closed leadership style and imparted a concurrence-seeking atmosphere without deference to divergent opinions. Her announcement ended the discussion to other alternatives. (2/3)

As the teleconference attendee with most seniority, @HillaryClinton was the defacto leader and reinforced an atmosphere of groupthink that dominated the decision making process. (1/3)

As a result, Leon Panetta and Pentagon officials failed to understand that their actions and orders on the night of 9/11/12 never had a chance to succeed. (4/4)

Instead, Pentagon officials implemented a contingency plan and issued orders for the operation they named "Jukebox Lotus," but they engaged in a disjointed decision process. Operation Jukebox Lotus orders stated that the end state was securing American facilities and interests in Tripoli, not #Benghazi where real help was needed, and posturing forces for follow-on missions in Libya. (3/4)

The false conclusion from the White House teleconference was that the #Benghazi attack had been a singular event, resulting in Ambassador Stevens being taken hostage. The Pentagon shifted the mission from one of an attack on the Benghazi compound to one of rescuing Stevens. Pentagon decision makers assumed they were facing another hostage rescue operation, such as the 4/12/09 Maersk Alabama Captain Richard Phillips rescue or the 1/25/12 operation that rescued Jessica Buchanan and Paul Hagen Thisted. (1/4)

Yup this is a common misconception people have, even the military assets that slowly started moving were all going to Tripoli, none were coming to Benghazi because of a stupid threat posted on Facebook about Tripoli when ongoing attack were literally happening in Benghazi still this was about 0100 local

When viewed through the lens of Barack Obama's "lead from behind" foreign policy doctrine, however, it is easier to understand why concern over offending the host country and second-guessing overruled taking aggressive action to defend Americans under attack. (3/3)

It is unclear why concurrence from anyone attending the White House meeting for forces to deploy was needed. The National Command Authority, the lawful source of military orders, consists of 2 people: the President and the Secretary of Defense. Neither attended that meeting. The @HouseBenghazi Select Committee investigation of the #Benghazi attacks exposes in excruciating detail the mass confusion among US officials along the chain of command regarding the semantics of the incompetent Panetta's "deploy orders." (2/3)

Kurt Tidd emailed orders he stated came from Leon Panetta, none of which directed any forces to #Benghazi. The CIF and SOF were to go to an "intermediate staging base" and the FAST was to prepare to deploy to Tripoli pending yet another final clearance from Panetta. Tidd testified one reason the CIF and the U.S. SOF were ordered to an intermediate staging base and not to Libya directly was due to concerns expressed by Hillary Clinton's State Dept regarding the number of military personnel that would arrive in country. (1/3)

@BenghaziNotes FAST was not coming to rescue Americans as that’s not what they actually do but instead they are sent to increase security at Embassies under threat so they went to Tripoli and never had any orders to Benghazi.

@BenghaziNotes Patrick was full of shit at the time, immediately the Libyan Air Force said bring in whatever you want for a response, they authorized full blanket approvals

Hillary's undersecretary for management Patrick Kennedy insisted in the White House teleconference that the FAST team stationed in Rota, Spain wear civilian clothes when deploying to Libya. His reasoning was to "minimize the signature that looked like a big military invasion, a big military arrival there." Translation: We don't want to scare or offend anyone in our attempt to rescue Americans. @HillaryClinton also insisted in the teleconference that "wheeled military vehicles should not be used" in the deployment.

@sarahadams @The_Watch_Floor Its great that you and Boon could at least visit and provide an update on the condition of the villa. It could have just as easily been abandoned. I imagine knowing it's a family home again helps give a sense of closure to those of you who endured the attacks.

Villa C, where our Ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, has been restored. We will share video from inside in the coming weeks on @The_Watch_Floor, but today it is once again a family home, and we intend to respect the family living there. We were told that over the years many strange individuals, along with members of the press, have attempted to gain access to the compound, and we want to strongly discourage that behavior. One detail that stayed with us: every September 11th, someone quietly places bouquets of flowers at the main gate. They have done so every year since the attacks. In a place tied to so much loss, that simple act of remembrance matters. Never forget, but also understand that the people of Benghazi were not our enemy. Many opened their homes, their properties, and their lives to Americans during one of the most dangerous periods in Libya’s history. What should never be forgotten is that the U.S. @StateDept failed to pay the landlords for the damage done to the compounds, walked away from the leases, and never even paid the final three months owed. When you represent the United States overseas, integrity matters. American ideals are not just words we use in speeches, they are obligations. These families deserved better, and the United States should finally reimburse them for what they were owed.

In the White House teleconference, @HillaryClinton insisted that any deployment be formally cleared by the Libyan government first. Clearance includes sending paperwork on tail numbers and expected arrival of the aircraft, the number of personnel, and types of weapons. In order for a formal request to be made, a representative of the Libyan government had to be available to receive the paperwork for that request. There was no Libyan representative on duty overnight on 9/11/12. A Defense Attache in Tripoli later testified that he didn't have the information required for a formal clearance request until sometime between mid-morning and noon on 9/12/12 and that "It could have been a little bit after that."

These notes once again contradict Leon Panetta's insistence that his deploy orders were clear. Either clear orders were not given, or White House teleconference attendees ignored them. But since neither Panetta nor Barack Obama bothered to follow up on the supposed "deploy order," they abdicated any responsibility that came with their jobs that night, and Americans perished because of it. (3/3)

An action item from the meeting confirms deployment would not occur until US Congress was notified under the War Powers Act and that Libya must agree to it. By all accounts and documentation, it is clear by the end of the meeting that no forces would be headed to #Benghazi. (2/3)

Notes from an attendee of the White House teleconference confirm that the overall theme of the meeting was "getting forces ready to deploy in case the crisis expands and a real threat materializes against Embassy Tripoli." (not #Benghazi) Another summary described the deployment of assets in response to #Benghazi as “likely” and “possibly.” According to these summaries, the conclusion from the meeting was that forces were not going to deploy “until order comes, to go to either Tripoli or Benghazi.” (1/3)