Hillary

[spence]

Originally Posted by detbuch

I guess those interviews on the ground didn't involve queries of those who were actually responsible for the attack. Or maybe those interviewed were lying. It is well known that Islamic Jihad requires you to lie to the enemy if that is useful in conquering him. So why immediately go to the "it was the video" rather than waiting for confirmation of responsibility, especially if there was strong evidence that it was terrorism?

I think they presented the story as it appeared. It looked as though a protest formed that was rapidly taken over by heavily armed extremists. Even a week later I'm not sure they had any real evidence to contradict that view...other than circumstantial.

Did you just answer your own hearing. Threats, bigger threats, escalating security situation . . . and no response.

Actionable as in specific...time, location etc...

Apparently it has not been debunked. The question exists because no adequate answer has been given. And more information is not given in the face of requests for it. Relevant interviews and information is denied or made secret. That keeps it alive.

Politics keep it alive. When the leadership responsible in the US Military, CIA, State etc... all say there wasn't a better response option should pretty much put the issue to bed. The "stand down" story has been discredited.

To overturn a call on the field you have to have clear evidence it was wrong...not a conspiracy theory.

Mullen said <snip>

All that's known. The report was extremely critical of the working in the State Department. What's important is if the system is corrected. Some Republicans called it a "whitewash" because it didn't hang Clinton out to dry.

And you don't attribute the attack to an obscure video alone before you investigate the large evidence of terrorist culpability, including, and especially, Al Qaeda involvement. Al Qaeda is comprised of a network of regional factions, militias, individuals, who support it. You have seen NO evidence of a major Al Qaeda attack? Interesting.

No direct evidence, no.

The 60 Min piece is also walking on thin ice with their accusation that the attack was well planned...the internal findings were just the opposite, that it was planned yet disorganized. They seem to be hinging that remark on the comment that hitting a rooftop with a mortar is like making a basket over your shoulder.

Perhaps Jim can give us some input on how quickly an experienced mortar crew (assuming as they just came off a civil war) could dial in a building from a close range.

-spence

[detbuch]

Originally Posted by spence

I think they presented the story as it appeared. It looked as though a protest formed that was rapidly taken over by heavily armed extremists. Even a week later I'm not sure they had any real evidence to contradict that view...other than circumstantial.

My first reaction to such reasoning is that to say an American citizen exercising his free speech rights, no matter how offensive it may be to others, cannot be a "spontaneous" cause of what happened at Benghazi. If the reaction to a video is to kill, especially those who did not make the video nor who expressed thoughts that were in the video and who expressly were there to help the people of Libya, then the reaction is ideological in nature. To merely label the killers "extremists" tells nothing about them. Extreme in what? In their view of how Islam is to be followed? And if the vast majority of Libyans don't hold the "extremist" views, then how did the "extremists" arrive at those views? Views, BTW, quite similar, even identical, to "extremist" views throughout Islam in much of the world. Did the Benghazi "extremists" just "spontaneously" come up with those views out of the clear blue on their own?

I don't think so. I think there is too much evidence that such extreme views have been disseminated and taught by specific elements in Islam, al Qaeda among them. Whether it was al Qaeda, which was openly operating in Libya, or other "extreme" jihadists, it makes much more sense that these violent "protests" are prodded by and planned by larger jihadist organizations rather than by mindless, emotional, "spontaneous" outbursts.

My second reaction is suspicion that a quick explanation of what happened, in the face what is happening worldwide and what was happening in Libya, is that it was just some crazy outburst due to some crazy and obscure video . . . that such an explanation quickly arrived at and broadcast as the reason for the killing, was a whitewash of the event, not only to cover deeper "systemic" blame, but to mollify the feelings of our Islamic "partners." Constantly hiding the truth, no matter how noble the objective, leads to that wider "systemic" culture which has pervaded our political society--explanation and persuasion by spin.

Actionable as in specific...time, location etc...

How about preventive when various specifics in extended time and locations presage violent events.

Politics keep it alive. When the leadership responsible in the US Military, CIA, State etc... all say there wasn't a better response option should pretty much put the issue to bed. The "stand down" story has been discredited.

When the leadership tries to cover up mistakes or incompetence then it is valuable for politics to keep the issue alive until the truth is known, or it will continue on its corrupt path. The "stand down story" has been deliberately discredited by semantic obfuscation. The phrase "stand down" has a specific military meaning to desist, to stop doing, to do nothing. It has a very direct and immediate command to stop the action of the moment. So the phrase "stand down" may not have been used by military commanders. If civilians loosely use the term to describe a denial of requests for aid or better security, it would be a semantic error, but a true description of events.

To overturn a call on the field you have to have clear evidence it was wrong...not a conspiracy theory.

Those asking for help had clear evidence that it was needed AS LATER PROVED CORRECT. If the evidence was clear to them, and they were correct, what does that say about the competence of those who overturned the call. Great battles have been won not merely on evidence but by hunch or leaders who disregarded bureaucratic procedures who assessed situations with greater competence than those safely ensconced in a far away "system."

All that's known. The report was extremely critical of the working in the State Department. What's important is if the system is corrected. Some Republicans called it a "whitewash" because it didn't hang Clinton out to dry.

They called it a whitewash because they saw it as a whitewash. Blaming a "system" as the fault rather than incompetent leadership is the whitewash. Systems only work with competent personnel and leaders. Dumb will always destroy system.

And Democrats in the investigation called the leadership into question which is even more damaging to Clinton.

The 60 Min piece is also walking on thin ice with their accusation that the attack was well planned...the internal findings were just the opposite, that it was planned yet disorganized. They seem to be hinging that remark on the comment that hitting a rooftop with a mortar is like making a basket over your shoulder.

Ah, the big difference was not that it was spontaneous, but that it was planned "yet disorganized" rather than being "well" planned. So who did the "disorganized" planning (didn't seem all that disorganized, even well executed)?

Perhaps Jim can give us some input on how quickly an experienced mortar crew (assuming as they just came off a civil war) could dial in a building from a close range.

-spence

I think Jim has already made pertinent comments on how Stevens and the others could have been saved.