Fog of war in Benghazi hampered military response

[alp227]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) —The military might have been able to prevent two of the four U.S. deaths in Benghazi if commanders had known more about the intensity of the sporadic gunfire directed at the CIA installation where Americans had taken refuge and had pressed to get a rescue team there faster, according to senior military leaders.

In closed-door testimony to Congress earlier this year, top military officers said that after the first attack on the main U.S. diplomatic outpost on Sept. 11, 2012, they thought the fighting had subsided and the Americans who had fled to the CIA base about a mile away were safe. In fact, they were facing intermittent small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades around midnight and had returned fire. Then the attackers dispersed.

Hours later, at first light, an 11-minute mortar and rocket-propelled grenade attack slammed into the CIA annex, killing security contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

In hindsight, retired Gen. Carter Ham, then head of the U.S. military command in Africa, said he would have pressed Libyan contacts in the defense ministry and other officials to help speed up the evacuation of Americans from Benghazi.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fog-war-benghazi-hampered-military-response

[delrem]

1. Mephistopheles: "Fog of War" is the most beautific of phrases. nt

[bradla]

2. I cannot believe we are still talking about this.

[cynzke]

4. And this is why....

from the beginning the White House through Susan Rice and others warned that information was sporadic and based on what they had at the time and could change. From this story, you can see the chaos and confusion as to what had occurred, the timing and all involved. It is very clear that everyone was scrambling to figure out what was going on as opposed the right wing accusations they were hatching a cover up.

[Historic NY]

5. They (the military) already testified to this in Issa's Kabuki theater....

interesting how they keep re-running this over and ovoer and over.

[Fred Sanders]

6. Yep, over and over they run the story as if for the first time. It is how you make propaganda

effective, endless repetition is required.

[Festivito]

7. Jeepers. With ideal conditions and predicting abilities...

... They might have have gone to a secret CIA site to find an 11 minute battle after an hours long lull they would have to predict as well.

And that is all if any of the three teams dispatched were there in time. One from Croatia one from Spain and one from Tripoli.

Then they could have saved the two people at the secret CIA annex, somehow, by predicting it would be a bombing attack, predicting when, and predicting they would have to evacuate them.

Yeah. Right. Sure. Grasp for straws much.

[Turbineguy]

8. Fog of War

is only valid when repubs are in charge. Democrats have 20/20 vision.