Tag: Chris Stevens

Benghazigate: Stinger Missiles Given to al-Queda? General Ham Told to Stand Down?

On By kingsjesterIn Politics3 Comments

benghazigate cartoon 5813On the night of September 11, 2012, the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya was attacked and overrun by Muslim Terrorists, who murdered 4 brave Americans in the process. The Administration’s curious reaction was to blame it on a Youtube video, which no one in the Middle East had ever seen. Eight months later, the truth of that horrible night is finally, slowly being revealed.

A Fox News Poll, released yesterday, shows 62 percent of voters believe that President Barack Hussein Obama could have done more to help the four Americans murdered at the consulate in Benghazi on that horrible night

Even Democrats are about equally likely to say the president could have done more (44 percent) as to say he did all he could (43 percent). Eighty-four percent of Republicans and 60 percent of independents think Obama could have done more.

Nearly two-thirds of voters who have served in the military think Obama could have done more.

…Overall, 27 percent think the president did everything he could to help.

…A 60-percent majority says the administration is covering up what happened. That’s more than twice as many as the 28 percent who say the Obama administration is being open and transparent.

Sixty percent of independents and a third of Democrats (33 percent) think the administration is hiding something on Benghazi. Almost all Republicans think so (88 percent).

Who should get more of the blame for what happened in Libya? About equal numbers say Obama should get more of the blame (32 percent) as say former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (31 percent). About one in six volunteers the response “neither” (16 percent) and about one in 10 says “both” are to blame (11 percent).

Republicans are more likely to blame Obama than Clinton by an 18 percentage-point margin. Democrats are more likely to blame Clinton by 12 points. Independents divide the blame evenly (28 percent Clinton, 27 percent Obama).

During Congressional hearings, Clinton was asked about who caused the violence in Benghazi. She answered with her now famous rhetorical question: “Was it because of a protest, or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they’d go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make?”

A 56-percent majority disagrees with her. Thirty-three percent of voters agree with Clinton’s assessment.

Voters were also asked why the Obama administration changed the CIA explanation about the attack to remove references to al Qaeda. Half of voters (50 percent) think the administration made the change for political reasons to bolster the president’s campaign claim that al Qaeda was “on the run.” On the other side, 37 percent think the changes were made for security reasons related to the on-going initial investigation.

The administration initially said the Benghazi attack was a spontaneous protest sparked by a controversial online video. Later the White House acknowledged it was a planned terrorist attack and not a protest or a demonstration.

In general, a 53-percent majority disapproves of how the administration has handled the response to the attack in Benghazi. That includes about one in four Democrats (24 percent disapprove) and over half of independents (54 percent).

About a third of voters (32 percent) approve of the administration’s handling of Benghazi.

Interest in this story is high: 75 percent of voters say they are following news about Benghazi. That includes 35 percent who are following it “very” closely and another 40 percent “somewhat” closely.

According to PJ Media, several whistleblowers will be coming forth shortly, as soon as they have procured legal counsel. They have to, since they work in areas where they are not fully protected by the Whistleblower Law.

Two diplomats relayed this information to PJ Media. and they claim that what these new witnesses will reveal will be more explosive than what we already have learned from the testimony of previous whistleblowers.

The information revealed is supposed to be very damaging to President Obama and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is presently the Democratic Front-runner for their Presidential Nomination in 2016.

These new revelations are supposed to reveal that Amb. Chris Stevens was in Benghazi to buy back Stinger missiles from the Libyan Rebels , which our idiot State Department, headed by Mrs. Clinton, sold to them.

Such a mission would usually be a CIA effort, but the intelligence agency had opposed the idea because of the high risk involved in arming “insurgents” with powerful weapons that endanger civilian aircraft.

Hillary Clinton still wanted to proceed because, in part, as one of the diplomats said, she wanted “to overthrow Gaddafi on the cheap.”

This left Stevens in the position of having to clean up the scandalous enterprise when it became clear that the “insurgents” actually were al-Qaeda – indeed, in the view of one of the diplomats, the same group that attacked the consulate and ended up killing Stevens.

The other part of the revelations will involve pressure which was put on General Carter Ham, then in command of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and therefore responsible for Libya, not to act to protect jeopardized U.S. personnel.

An article by John Griffing,  published on AmericanThinker.com, on November 17, 2012, reported that

…Already uncovered in the [Benghazi] controversy is how there had been pleas for more security for the Americans in that location, how forces who were nearby could have responded, and how there were orders stopping that from happening.

It is within this context that questions are being asked about the scheduled replacement of General Ham, head of Africom, only a few years before his mandatory retirement date, especially since his replacement occurred so close to the consulate attacks. Africom is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. This command encompasses all of Africa and its adjacent waters except for Egypt.

It is notable that Ham is to be removed from a post with a three-year rotation after only one and a half years.

When announcing Ham’s replacement, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta praised Ham’s service. A report from the department said leaders remain “fully confident” in Ham’s performance.

Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said that Ham “has the full confidence of the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.” Little attributed the change to Ham’s “decision to retire,” which he described as “an entirely personal decision.”

Officials have denied there were other reasons for the change. “Gen. Ham’s departure is part of routine succession planning that has been ongoing since July,” said a government statement.

So…where did the “pressure” on Gen. Ham come from? 

My guess? The top of the Food Chain.

In the wake of Fast and Furious, the White House could scarcely afford another gun-running scandal.

Only, this would be worse. Stinger Missiles???!!! People who are supposed to be looking out for US, gave a bunch of Muslims Terrorists Stinger Missiles? What if some of those “toys” found their way back to America? Can you even imagine what kind of destruction Muslim Terrorists could achieve with those things?

What the He!! were Obama and Clinton thinking? Are they both that cotton-pickin’ stupid and naive?

Ambassador Stevens, Tyrone Woods, Sean Smith, and Glen Doherty would probably answer with a resounding “Yes!!!”…if they could.

Stay tuned. The revelations are only going to get worse. 

Until He Comes,

KJ

Middle East American Embassies Attacked. Obama Heads to Vegas.

On By kingsjesterIn Politics3 Comments

Americans are in danger in the Middle East…and Obama has voted “Present”…again.

WTOP.com has the story:

Intelligence experts and U.S. government officials are starting to view the attack in Libya that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others in Benghazi as a coordinated attack.

Congressman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., went as far Wednesday to say the attack had all the hallmarks of al-Qaida.

“This was a coordinated attack, more of a commando style event. It had both coordinated fire, direct fire, indirect fire,” Rogers said following an intelligence briefing on Capitol Hill.

Other sources, including officials at the Pentagon and the State Department, are also discussing the possibility that it was a planned operation, and some say several developments support the possibility.

The incident does not appear to be a random mob scene, but rather an opportunity that militants seized, sources say. The attackers used a rocket-propelled grenade, a weapon not traditionally carried by protesters, but commonly used by terrorists.

The attack is believed to have come in two waves. The first wave got inside of the compound, and a second wave penetrated a secure location inside the building. This development raises questions about how the attackers knew the location of that secure facility, sources say.

They also knew that Obama had outsourced the security of the Embassy to Libya. That worked out well, didn’t it? Well, better late than never, I guess:

WSJ.com reports that:

The U.S. responded to the assault by dispatching two Navy destroyers, dozens of Marines, federal investigators and intelligence assets to Libya to protect Americans and help hunt the suspected religious extremists who carried out the attack late Tuesday.

And, as I write this post, news comes of more unrest outside the Egyptian Embassy:

Egyptian security forces have used tear gas on a raging crowd of demonstrators near the US Embassy in Cairo. Several dozen people have reportedly been injured as the police dispersed the stone-throwing demonstrators.

Riot police have managed to push a group of several hundred protesters back in Cairo’s side streets near the embassy.­

Some of the protesters have been injured, state news agency MENA reported, giving no further details. Witnesses reporting the incident on Twitter said as many as several dozen people may have been injured.

The incident comes just a day after some 2,000 demonstrators gathered around the US embassy, while a group of the most conservative protesters tore down the American flag and replaced it with a black banner bearing the traditional Islamic message, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet.”

Four participants in Tuesday’s demonstration who had climbed the wall of the embassy were arrested and transferred to the prosecutor’s office. Police are still looking for others involved in the incident.

“Arab Spring” is in full bloom. How absolutely lovely:

The American embassies in Algeria and Tunisia warned of more protests Wednesday, following attacks by protesters in neighboring Libya in which the U.S. ambassador and three embassy staff were killed.

Ambassador Chris Stevens and the three other Americans died in an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi by armed protesters angry over a film by a California filmmaker that ridiculed Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.

In an emergency message, the embassy in Tunis warned Americans to avoid crowded places, saying that even gatherings “intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence.” The embassy in Algiers had similar advice.

The Algiers embassy said unspecified groups were using online social networks to organize demonstrations “to protest a range of issues” there Wednesday. The statement out of Tunis cited “media reports” indicating protests were planned, but said the embassy remained open.

So, what did the Leader of the Free World have to say Wednesday morning, before he jetted to Las Vegas for a Campaign Fundraiser? I’ll give you a clue: It was positively…uninspiring:

Every day all across the world, American diplomats and civilians work tirelessly to advance the interests and values of our nation. Often, they are away from their families. Sometimes, they brave great danger.

Yesterday, four of these extraordinary Americans were killed in an attack on our diplomatic post in Benghazi. Among those killed was our ambassador, Chris Stevens, as well as Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith. We are still notifying the families of the others who were killed.

And today, the American people stand united in holding the families of the four Americans in our thoughts and in our prayers.

The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack. We’re working with the government of Libya to secure our diplomats. I’ve also directed my administration to increase our security at diplomatic posts around the world. And make no mistake, we will work with the Libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people.

Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others.

But there is absolutely no justification for this type of senseless violence. None. The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts. Already many Libyans have joined us in doing so, and this attack will not break the bonds between the United States and Libya. Libyan security personnel fought back against the attackers alongside Americans. Libyans helped some of our diplomats find safety, and they carried Ambassador Stevens’ body to the hospital, where we tragically learned that he had died.

Campare and contrast that to Republican Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney, who, by the way, has supposed to have been receiving daily foreign intelligence breifings from the White House, but has not.

I’ll hand it to Mitt. He acted more like a U.S. President than Obama did:

Americans woke up this morning with tragic news and felt heavy hearts as they considered that individuals who have served in our diplomatic corps were brutally murdered across the world.

This attack on American individuals and embassies is outrageous. It’s disgusting. It breaks the hearts of all of us to think of these people who have served during their lives because of freedom and justice and honor.

We mourn their loss and joined together in prayer that the spirit of the almighty might comfort the families of those who have been so brutally slain. Four diplomats lost their life including the US ambassador. And, of course, with these words, I extend my condolences to the grieving loved ones who have been left behind as a result of these who have lost their lives in the service of our nation and I know that the people across America are grateful for their service and we mourned their sacrifice.

America will not tolerate attacks against our citizens and against our embassies. We will defend also our constitutional rights of speech and assembly and religion.

We have confidence in our clause…in America. We respect our constitution. We stand for the principles our constitution protects.

Regarding our present CIC, who, as I write this post,  is either chowing down on Wagu Beef and arugula, or rolling craps at his fundraiser in Vegas…

Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin nails him to the wall…again:

It’s about time our president stood up for America and condemned these Islamic extremists. I realize there must be a lot on his mind these days – what with our economy’s abysmal jobless numbers and Moody’s new warning about yet another downgrade to our nation’s credit rating due to the current administration’s failure to come up with a credible deficit reduction plan. And, of course, he has a busy schedule – with all those rounds of golf, softball interviews with the “Pimp with the Limp,” and fundraising dinners with his corporate cronies. But our nation’s security should be of utmost importance to our Commander-in-chief. America can’t afford any more “leading from behind” in such a dangerous world. We already know that President Obama likes to “speak softly” to our enemies. If he doesn’t have a “big stick” to carry, maybe it’s time for him to grow one.

Ouch. That’s gonna leave a mark.

This malignant tumor overtaking the Middle East, known as “Arab Spring”, is the fault of one President Barack Hussein Obama, and his hench-woman, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. 

Their lack of spines and their quest to appease the Muslim Brotherhood, has brought us full circle, back to a Foreign Policy situation eerily similar to 1979.

God help us.