Quote:FACT

In 2011, al-Qaeda was known to be in Tripoli to exploit Libya’s unsettled status and to try to obtain some of the thousands of missing MANPADS (man portable air-defense systems): shoulder-fired missiles seized by rebel forces that stormed Qaddafi government bases. U.S. Ambassador Cretz realized there were seriously dangerous tensions among anti-Qaddafi factions: Islamists and secularists. “I think there is a genuine cause to be concerned that things could go wrong,” he told reporters.

FACT

Operation Papa Noel, a major terrorist plot targeting foreign diplomatic missions in Libya, was thwarted in December of 2011. Pro-Qaddafi elements had planned to launch a sophisticated attack on foreign diplomatic missions and oil fields in Libya. Later, the written emergency-evacuation plan for the U.S. mission in Benghazi warned, “the majority of Loyalist insurgents tasked with carrying out this plan are still active and free in Benghazi” and “Islamic terrorist elements do exist in this area of the country, and have been reported by open sources to be gaining operational capability.”

FACT

In an online posting in 2012, al-Qaeda stated its intent to attack the Red Cross, the British
, and then the Americans in Benghazi
. The goals were accomplished in order.

FACT

April 10, 2012: An explosive device is thrown at a convoy traveling in Benghazi carrying United Nations envoy Ian Martin.

FACT

May 22, 2012: A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) hits the Benghazi offices of the International Red Cross
and the agency decides to pull out.

FACT

June 6, 2012: An improvised explosive device detonated just outside the Benghazi consulate compound.

FACT

June 11, 2012: A rocket-propelled grenade hit a convoy carrying the British ambassador in Benghazi
. The U.K. pulled out of Benghazi.

FACT

2012: There was an al-Qaeda demonstration right smack in the middle of Benghazi. “They had a parade down the streets. They raised their flag on one of the county buildings,” says one observer.


Here is the final FACT regarding this.
Approximately 3:40 p.m
. A security agent at the Benghazi compound hears “loud noises” coming from the front gate and “gunfire and an explosion.” A senior State Department official at the Oct. 9 briefing says that “the camera on the main gate reveals a large number of people – a large number of men, armed men, flowing into the compound.”


6:07 p.m
.: The State Department’s Operations Center sends an email to the White House, Pentagon, FBI and other government agencies that said Ansar al-Sharia has claimed credit for the attack on its Facebook and Twitter accounts. (The existence of the email was not disclosed until Reuters reported it on Oct. 24.)


About 10:00 p.m.
: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://www.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2012/09/197628.htm'>issues a statement</a> confirming that one State official was killed in an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. Her statement, which MSNBC
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48996921/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/t/us-confirms-death-official-benghazi-attack/#.UIm7A4ZJpr4'>posted</a> at 10:32 p.m., made reference to the anti-Muslim video.


11:12 p.m.
: Clinton sends
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/chelsea-clinton-diane-reynolds-secret-email-115786'>an email to her daughter</a>, Chelsea, that reads: “Two of our officers were killed in Benghazi by an al Qaeda-like group: The Ambassador, whom I handpicked and a young communications officer on temporary duty w a wife and two young children. Very hard day and I fear more of the same tomorrow.” (The email was discovered in 2015 by the House Select Committee on Benghazi. It is written to “Diane Reynolds,” which was Chelsea Clinton’s alias.)


I can post more that clearly shows how she and other administration officials clearly lied about the whole thing. These are all facts that are freely available for those who choose to find out the truth.

That is a lot of facts. I have never defended a stance that I feel Hillary is/was being entirely truthful with the events immediately following the attack. I don't expect most politicians to tell any "truth" which does not fit their narrative (see Rick Scott), especially ones who are former Monsanto employees.


I also won't wholly blame Republicans who slashed budgets for embassy security (plenty of Dems have dirty hands there too), though I will say it was a factor. The reason being.. though Republicans conveniently decided to no longer write blank checks for the so-called war on terror the moment Obama took office, spending just on embassy security increased over 1000% between 1998 - 2012. At some point there is a need for fiscal responsibility. (Of course, I would have gone straight to the Afghanistan / Pakistan region on 9/12/01 instead of spending billions trying to colonize Iraq, but I digress..)


There were several problems with the facility at Benghazi. Because it was not designated as a full time facility, it was not held to the same security standards as other embassies and was not eligible for security upgrade funds (for things like raising the height of the perimeter wall which was well below where it should have been). It was cash strapped and relied heavily on the embassy in Tripoli for support (financial and otherwise).


Were there warning signs? Could the Dept of State done more to protect these people with the limited resources they had? Yes.


Once the attack started, was there anything anyone could do to save these people? No. They were on their own.


The point I made was this type of thing happened plenty of other times and nobody gave a [BAD WORD REMOVED].


To challenge Rumsfeld or Rice after any of the tragedies I mentioned earlier in this thread would be considered unpatriotic and in poor taste.


Were there warning signs or preventative measures Rumsfeld and Rice could have taken to save the lives of the dozens of others killed in similar attacks on embassies and consulates? Just like Hillary, at the time protecting those people was their job. Nobody, especially the media, really stopped to ask about these other instances though. Certainly not to the degree they are about this one incident. But when it's Hillary at the post, the rules of what is acceptable and expected is a 180 degree flip. That is what I find offensive. This entire hearing is a politically driven dog and pony show. Fact.

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