Yesterday John Kerry informed Congress that he would not be making the Benghazi survivors available to testify before Congress:
Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News tweeted today that “Secy Kerry tells congress he will not honor the request to make Benghazi survivors available for questioning.”
The stonewalling of the Obama Administration on the Benghazi survivors is incredibly frustrating, but made worse by the complete lack of interest by the mainstream media. Kerry has faced the question of the Benghazi survivors on numerous occasions and has effectively dodged the issue at every turn.
In March, Secretary of State John Kerry was asked by Fox News correspondent James Rosen why nobody has “heard from” the Benghazi survivors. Kerry stumbled through the answer, saying
“Well, I – I mean, I can’t tell you the answer to that.”
Rosen pressed John Kerry on the issue by asking, “Will we hear from them?”
Kerry responded:
“I can’t tell you- I don’t know what the circumstances are of any requests to talk to them or not.”
It can’t be easy to remember all the lies. Additional information has been uncovered by the Guardian and it is chilling. You will know why Kerry absolutely does not want any survivors to testify. There are highly significant differences between the Obama regime’s account and the truth.
Security
Event Staff at the US special mission in Benghazi woke on 11 September to the sight of a Libyan policeman, deployed to guard them, filming the compound from a neighbouring rooftop. When challenged, he vanished. Later, an unmarked car made lazy circles around the compound, a walled redoubt rented in the southern suburbs of the Libyan city.
US version The state department says there were no warning of impending attack, a spokesman insisting there was “nothing unusual during the day at all”.
Conflicting evidence Two days earlier, the ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, had received a veiled warning. According to one of his cables, one of his diplomats had a meeting with two Islamist militia leaders in which they complained that the US was supporting a secular leader, Mahmoud Jibril, in a vote for prime minister due on 12 September. If Jibril won, they warned, they would “no longer guarantee security”. The consulate was already relying on one of the militias, the February 17th Martyrs Brigade, for armed protection.
In the words of a subsequent report by the US Senate’s homeland security committee, warning lights were “flashing red”. As the day went on, news came in of attacks by radicals on the US embassy in Cairo, a response to a film, the Innocence of Muslims, released in America which mocked Muhammad. The CIA sent a cable to its foreign stations warning of possible copycat incidents.
The compound
US version The state department insists the compound had been well fortified in the spring. The walls had been raised to 3.6 metres (12ft) and topped with barbed wire and concertina barbed wire. The villa had been prepared as a redoubt in the event the walls were breached. It was surrounded by sandbagged emplacements and fitted with grilles on the windows and bulletproof steel doors. Security cameras covered the site.
Conflicting evidence Most of the wall running around the compound had not been heightened beyond around 8ft. The rear wall also had no wire. Two days after the attack the landlord showed the Guardian where attackers had scrambled over. “It was easy for them,” he said. Whether cameras were mounted outside the compound is unclear. But failure to see what diners at the Venezia could see in the 10 minutes before the attack would have catastrophic consequences.
Protection
US version The state department insists security was more than adequate that night, because five DSS agents were in place, more than the recommended three, supported by five unarmed Libyan guards and three armed militiamen from the February 17 brigade.
Conflicting evidence In the preceding months Stevens had cabled three times (7 June, 9 July, and 15 August) asking for more protection or that plans to draw down security be halted, according to the House oversight report. Those months had seen escalating attacks against foreign targets in the city. Commonwealth war graves had been smashed, the Tunisian consulate stormed, a Sudanese diplomat attacked, a UN convoy bombed and the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross rocketed. After two bodyguards of British ambassador Dominic Asquith were wounded in a rocket attack on the UK consulate, London closed its mission down. The US mission had been struck twice by home made bombs thrown at the outside wall.
But even as attacks in Benghazi escalated, Washington decreased security, in line with its official position that Libya, post revolution, was normalising. Three quick-reaction DSS units, named situation security teams, deployed in Tripoli, were withdrawn in the summer, despite objections from their chief, Colonel Andrew Wood. He later told CBS that losing those units was like “being asked to play the piano with two fingers”.
On 15 August, the day after Wood was withdrawn, Stevens cabled Washington to say that security in Benghazi was left dangerously exposed. He worried that February 17 was becoming unreliable: a dispute over payment by the embassy meant the brigade’s militiamen no longer guarded convoys outside the compound. In addition, the police officers supposed to guard the mission were often late. “Many hours pass when we have no police support at all”, he wrote.
Gunfight
US version State department accounts say the agents were under prolonged fire throughout their ordeal, with battle raging in the compound grounds. “There is considerable firing going on outside,” one spokesman briefed journalists. “There are tracer bullets. There is smoke … there are explosions. I can’t tell you that they were RPGs, but I think they were RPGs. So there’s a lot of action going on.”
Conflicting evidence The testimony of heavy fighting is hard to reconcile with the lack of bullet holes in the buildings. The villa’s sandy walls are still blackened by the smoke from the fire, but there are few bullet marks here or on the other buildings, nor are there spent casings visible, at least on the paths and asphalt. The front gate has no sign of damage except two bullet holes. The only sign of heavy firing is at the rear gate, with holes from 23 rounds fired into the compound and six fired out. This gunfight is not mentioned in accounts made public. From the time of the attack to the time they were summoned, four of the five DSS agents were in hiding.
Susan Rice
Events On the Sunday following the attack, Susan Rice, America’s ambassador to the UN, gave interviews to TV networks ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News to offer an explanation for the attacks on Benghazi.
US version Rice said she believed the attack was the result of a protest against the Innocence of Muslims film which had escalated: “The currently available information suggests that the demonstrations in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by the protests at the US embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the US diplomatic post in Benghazi and subsequently its annexe,” she said. “There are indications that extremists participated in the violent demonstrations.”
Conflicting evidence Within hours, her claim was being disputed in Libya. Mohammed Magaraif, Speaker of the Libyan Congress, was visiting Benghazi to meet survivors and blamed elements of Ansar al-Sharia’s militia for the attack. His comments matched those of witnesses.
In America many were surprised Rice was chosen to make a statement about the death of the first US ambassador to be killed since 1979. More properly, the announcement belonged to Hillary Clinton, or possibly the president himself. There was speculation that Rice, the president’s foreign policy adviser during his 2008 election campaign, was being given a high profile in readiness for her to step into Clinton’s shoes if Obama won a second term in the November election.
Evidence from the US survivors, debriefed on American soil, confirmed the Libyan version of events. There was no protest.
The investigation
US version On 9 August 2013, Obama said the investigation into the attacks remained “top priority”. He added: “We’re going to stay on it until we get them.” Issa promised that he and his House committee would continue its scrutiny until it got to the truth: “It is our job to work tirelessly in partnership with citizens watchdogs to deliver the facts to the American people.”
Conflicting evidence It took four weeks for the FBI to travel to the Benghazi consulate site. By that time the area had been combed over by journalists and the curious, contaminating the evidence. Even after the FBI visit, it was possible for the Guardian to recover classified documents scattered there. In Tripoli, diplomats contrasted the slowness of the FBI with French forensic specialists who were on the ground the day after France’s embassy in Tripoli was bombed in April.
There is much more. Do read it all. It is obvious that Obama and company are lying through their teeth about Benghazi. We demand to know the truth. Don’t you wish that Obama and Hillary cared as much about the Americans who died here as they do about the Syrians?
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.
Many forget that Amb. Stevens had dinner with a high ranking Turkish official in the compound just before the attack, funny coincidence considering the Turk’s connections with Syria, AQ, and a host of others in the ME….
Jon Stewart Destroys Fox News Over Syria Coverage: ‘Who Cares HOW We Avoided A War…’ (VIDEO)
I get that Fox opposes the Syria peace plan because its modus operandi is to foment dissent in the form of a relentless, irrational contrarianism to Barack Obama and all things Democratic to advance its ultimate objective of creating a deliberately misinformed body politic whose fear, anger, mistrust and discontent is the manna upon which it sustains its parasitic, succubus like existence.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/11/jon-stewart-destroys-fox-news-syria_n_3906294.html
Alex Jones: Syria diplomacy a plot to extinguish humans so Obama and elitists can be cyborgs
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/11/alex-jones-syria-diplomacy-a-plot-to-extinguish-humans-so-obama-and-elitists-can-be-cyborgs/
Fox News Host Neil Cavuto Suggests Syria Conflict Will Bring the Second Coming of Christ
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/fox-news-hosts-suggests-syria-conflict-will-
@This one:
That is an admission that Obama screwed the pooch.
Obama bumbled into peace, but who knows it it is even real?
He has, for now, made a Russian/Syrian plan to pull the wool over the world’s eyes look like it was Obama’s own plan from the start.
Obama’s Sec State Kerry based his beliefs of a mostly moderate rebel force on a lying bitch who has been exposed as having a fake Yorktown PhD and is in the employ of the Muslim Brotherhood!
In terms of Obama saving face, he managed to pull off that look cat’s have when they fall, the ”I meant to do that,” look.
But at least he did it without putting our military lives in more peril.
I just watched a couple of black Americans wanting (illogically and flying in the face of reality) international allies for Obama’s Syria plan.
That’s not going to happen.
Who even knows what Obama’s ”plan,” was/is?
It changes every ten minutes.
Usually polls of ”all adults,” favor the Democrat over polls of “registered voters,” and also over polls of ”likely voters.”
So, it is BAD for Obama that only 38% of an ”all adults” poll find any favor in Obama at all.
YIKES!
@This one:
But didn’t Hillary say that dissent is the height of patriotism?
And for the record, referencing Huffpo and Alex Jones is hardly a credible way to debate conservative ideas. We are opposed to attacking Syria because there is no threat to US interests.
Overheard one jolly eve in the White House – during One Dark Benghazi massacre:
BO – “I’m off to watch some TV and then bed. Call me if you need me. See you in the morning.”
VJ – “Goodnight Barack. I’ve got this. See you at breakfast.”
Unknown voice – “Mrs. Clinton’s on the line. Do you want to take it?”
VJ – “Oh, great, flying all over world, accomplishing nothing. What is she whining about now?”
Unknown voice – “Ms. Jarrett is on another line, can I give her a message? OK, I will. …… Mrs. Clinton says she’s asked Director Petreus for help. She wants to know what you want to do. Things are getting worse at the compound.”
VJ – “Can’t anybody get anything done around here? Do I have to do everything? Shit. Get me Petreus, if you can pull him away from Broadwell. ….. David, what the hell? What do you mean? No. Nothing. Let it play out. We can’t have anyone find out what was going on. The missiles were all moved, and some are already in Syria, so there’s no evidence left. Trust me, David, let it play out. If it’s on fire, what are you going to do about it anyway. Nothing you can do. It’s too late and we can’t make it worse than it already is. No you can’t talk to him. He’s not here. And don’t tell Clinton anything else about any of this. She’s likely to flap her lips. Anyway, she’s done what she was told to do. We don’t need anything else from her. I won’t ask you how Holy is doing.” Click.
Darrell Issa said (tweeted) if the administration is not forthcoming with requested information on Benghazi, he would be having subpoenas issued.
Why are the republicans taking so long to do anything? You would think that they would want to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible.
@james Raider: LOL
They are hiding and threatening the Benghazi witnesses. Why? the answer is obvious. They know the truth and the administration cannot afford the truth. It bothers me that we after a year can’t seem to look into the Benghazi incident (what does it matter now -hillary) where 4 Americans were killed but they (obama) jump into a war with Syria .
Is anyone on the hill ever going to do something about obama? Does obama have so much dirt from the NSA on these guys they are afraid to say something. This man is a threat to our country, to our lives and no one seems to care (qualifier: those on the hill)
@enchanted: #10
I have printed out obama’s birth certificate, circled some items on it, told how the experts explained each item proved it was a fake, and mailed them to my three REPUBLICAN federal politicians. Each one still said they believe obama is legal to be president. Labrador had a Town Hall meeting, and I took copies of the printouts to it, and asked him about obama’s fake birth certificate. He said he believes obama is legal, and wouldn’t look at the papers. I had asked him several times through his web email page if he looked at the birth certificate obama presented, and to this day he hasn’t answered that question.
Feel free to mail the printouts to your politicians. Here is the birth certificate with items circled, and JUST A FEW OF THE MANY explanations the experts say proves it is fake:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35983084@N07/9612818667/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35983084@N07/9616070332/
I am really worried about the republican party, when NOT ONE republican will look into obama’s fake birth certificate. Are they ALL in on this? It should take only one who ACTUALLY LOOKS AT THE CERTIFICATE to start an investigation. Have you asked your republican politicians why they haven’t looked into this? Have you asked your friends and relatives to ask their politicians?
@This one: With every post you reaffirm your clueless thoughts. I guess if you can’t be informative, at least you are entertaining.
We’ve seen (and therefore so has every man and woman in Congress) Obama take out four or five Generals and one or two Admirals using illegally obtained wiretaps and maybe even honeypot vixens.
If you hear a congressman speak out, you know he’s as clean as was Romney.
Recall, all the Obama team could get on Romney was the FALSE story (which, had it been true would have had to have been illegally obtained) that he paid no income taxes.
It wouldn’t surprise me one bit to learn in someone’s memoirs that he or she had Obama’s blackmail threats over his/her head almost the whole time he was president.
But, for now, they are acting pretty cowardly.
Turns out the US has been meeting with Russia for over a year on this issue. Obama pwns and wingnuts have egg on their faces once again.
@This one: On Benghazi?
@This one:
Clueless again.
Why are the Benghazi survivors being held incommunicado? It’s obvious. If they talk bamster and hillary will be ruined. Also, these people don’t want to end up like Vince Foster or Andrew Breitbart. This White House is blackmailing key members of congress, senate, and the supreme court. Just ask chief justice John Roberts who declared bamster care legal. If he had voted any other way, he could have lost his two adopted children from Ireland but picked up in Mexico.
They do not care about the Syrians either — you are giving these Marxist SOB’s way too much benefit of the doubt — never forget that the only way any Marxist crap has ever gained temporary footholds is with MASS murder.
@Scott in Oklahoma: And Obie (with more flexibility) met with his KGB handler Putin just a day or so ahead of the “deal”.
What is going on from both sides is a scam stall – massive buildups are underway — the goals of most of the Arab world, the Iranians the Russians and with the Chinese on the sidelines is to destroy the US military and wipe out Israel
@Smorgasbord: Uh — there were probably many who were fully aware of the goings on — think — replace incumbents next year
@enchanted: It is not just the man — it is the whole Democrat====COMMUNIST party and their behind the scene manipulators and the RINO enablers!
@Smorgasbord: any chance that you have higher res pictures? those are so blurry that I could not read them…or maybe it is this mac 😉
Obama’s peeps are leaking that Obama planned to make somebody else own this Sryian mess.
If it couldn’t be our own Congress, Putin would do.
Just as long as his running at the mouth didn’t cause blow back on him!
@This one: This one, you are a pathetic clown. What in the hell does any of that have to do with this article? Go away.
Am I dreaming or did the State Dept. guy from the Embassy that testified at the hearings let the cat out of the bag?
I believe he testified that:
1. It is State Department policy that All cables regarding security from AN AMBASSADOR have to be considered in person by the Secretary of State in person and security policy set by the Secretary. If so, Hillary personally overruled the security recommendations of the security team that Ambassador asked for in his cables.
2. That’s specifically the reason why Ambassador Stevens used the official cable format instead of an email when making requests for greater security for the Bengazi consulate.
I was especially tuned in to that testimony because it meant that Hillary was personally responsible for approving the reduction of the security force and better security improvements.
That’s what difference it makes, Madame Secretary.
@wildbill2u: Almost enough to cause a concussion.
It wouldn’t be the first person Hillary killed…sorry, allegedly had killed.
I suspect that most Flopping Acers would support a strike v Syria if a Republican was President. Instead, the Prez is a Dem, so he’s subject to the same lack of support as Clinton received for the Haiti and Kosovo missions, and for his attempt to kill Bin Laden in Afghanistan. Yes, liberals are similarly hypocritical.
I suspect, Richard , that you are racist. See what I did there – I mimicked your completely asinine comment to make a point that most liberals can’t see on their own?
that all happened a year ago. Theses “survivors” I guess they all must be considered by you to be all ObamaBots because NONE have come forward and testified before Congress? I mean do you think Obama has all hidden tem away somewhere and they are being held against their will in some secret location? Possibly at one the the CIA “blacksites”? Certainly by now in the year 2013 we all must know that secrets can’t be kept. If the people in Benghazi had anything important to say, they would have by now all written books on it. Look how many were published after Bin Laden. The ranking security guy there was USMC Col George Bristol. He retired officially on Aug 1st ( before that he was on extended leave living at his home in VA) If Congress wants him they can subpoena him. He has not offered to go before the House Circus Investigation probably because he saw what happened to General Carter Ham (4stars) when he testified before Issa. Issa would not release Ham’s full testimony, he would only release the selected parts that Issa wanted. The problem with BENGHAZI!!! is if you believe it, you must believe that the CONSPIRACY!!!! extends to the entire Pentagon and that a USMC Col George Bristol is a central player in this nefarious plot.
Anyone want to go on record with that ???
The CIA had a pretty good idea who was responsible aftter the attack, THEY chose to keep that knowledge classified. They did not want to alert the people they were then going to hunt. they killed the leader of taht militia 2 weeks later.
Ambassador Stevens knew more about the local conditions for security than anyone in DC, is this a whole blame the gay guy thing?
@john:
Why would you say that? It’s very clear he wanted more security and it’s also very clear that Hillary hung him out to dry.
@john: John
They sign non-disclosure agreements as CIA employees and then forced to sign again if they wanted to be rescued.
@john: Did it take you a lot of work to get that stupid, or did you come by it naturally?
@drjohn:
You are correct about the non-disclosure agreements for CIA.
Fox News has an ex-CIA agent, Mike Baker, as a commentator and he gives his opinions about many things, but never his old stories about what he did.
Never.
Keep this name in mind: Pat Kennedy. He testified, along with Charlene Lamb who is his underling. He is directly under John Kerry and was directly under Hillary Clinton last Sept. 11th. This is not a good guy, and everyone in D.C. fears him, much like everyone in D.C. feared J. Edgar Hoover.
@Budvarakbar: #19
I mentioned this a long time ago. I wonder if they have decided yet, what country gets what part of the once free USA.
@Budvarakbar: #20
I have been thinking and preaching that for some time now. There doesn’t seem to be any babies in the bath water any more, so throw it ALL out. The problem will still exist as long as we have the same laws for campaigning, and for while they are in office. The NEW politicians will see how much money they can make, and how much power they will have, and will become just like what we have now. Whoever donates the most to a politician, owns THAT politician.
A long time ago I wrote to the Tea Party Patriots and suggested that before they endorse any candidate, the have the candidate sign a contract stating that they will do certain things, and if they don’t do them by a certain date, the same contract would be their resignation ON THE DATE STATED.
Some of things they would have to agree to introduce into congress, and vote for when they come up for a vote:
(1) Term limits. I suggest three four year terms for each house, with 1/3 of each house running for election every four years.
(2) Bills introduced into congress will be voted on in the order they are introduced. Right now, one person in each house decides if a bill is put out for a vote. There are many bills, include the Fair Tax bill, that are in both houses, but neither speaker wants them voted on, because they think the people won’t vote the way THEY want them to.
(3) No amendments allowed, except by the one or ones who introduced the bill. This should end the pork barrel attachments to bills. No politician is going to add amendments to THEIR bill that will take money from THEIR voters and give it to other politicians, and expect to be reelected.
(4) Bills will be introduce in plain English. Bills like obamacare are purposefully written in a way that the average person can’t understand them. The bills are also split up with references to different parts of sections. The parts the politicians don’t want you to read are broken up this way so that you have to go to each referred item, then put them together to read it.
How many times has the Tea Party Patriots, or other groups, supported a candidate, helped get them elected, then we find out that they vote mostly liberal? Too many! Make them sign a contract.
None of the above, or any other change that the incumbents don’t want will happen from within congress. We have to find a way to put people in congress that will be loyal ONLY TO WE THE PEOPLE. One way is to have them sign a contract with stated goals, and stated resignation date if they haven’t lived up to the agreed to goals. I don’t know if such a contract would be legally binding, it still should be done to show what the candidate agreed to, and if they lived up to their word.
We also need to take the money out of campaigning. As I mentioned before, whoever donates the most to a politician, owns that politician. This is why the ones with the money, get what they want.
@Rob in Katy: #22
I use a Mac myself, and will never go back to a PC. Did you know that most of the games for the PCs are created on a Mac, because of its superior graphics?
I tried to log into my Flickr account, and got the below message:
Bad, bad panda!
Come on. We want photos.
We’re aware of the problem and are fixing it.Thanks for your patience.
@Richard Davison: #28
For years I drove all over the USA listening to talk radio. Every conservative host had their complaints against Bush. Not vetoing any funding bill the democrats gave him was one of them. If you would go back and read every comment on FA, you will find that a lot of us were critical of many things Bush did or didn’t do. Republicans complain about THEIR president if they have a complaint. Democrats stand by THEIR president no matter what. The pan of water you are in is getting hotter and hotter. Are you going to stay in it no matter how hot it gets?
Clinton was OFFERED bin Laden THREE TIMES, and refused to take him all three times. I forget who had him, but they offered him to Clinton. Bush would have taken him the first time.
I looked the word up, and now I know what you look like.
@Smorg. I have a buddy that beat me up crazy on macs, i finally tried one and for the IT work that I do it is pretty nice as I mostly do *nix command line stuff or x-winders. I do keep a copy of 7 installed with Parallels for those odd things (like my firewall) that only seem to work with IE.
Rob
@Rob in Katy: #42
I don’t understand most computer jargon. I just know how to use what I need to to do what I do on my Mac. If you haven’t tried Firefox, I suggest you do. Windows is the most insecure operating system there is, unless they changed it. Firefox is taking over the world. There is another one called Opera that is supposed to be good, but I don’t know anything about it. Safari was rated the most secure browser, but I don’t like the way they do their bookmarks. Firefox lets me have a sidebar that shows all of the bookmarks, and when I close Firefox and start it up again, the bookmarks are just the way I left them, without any folders being closed. I hate that Safari closes them each time it it shut down.
Firefox has an add-on called DoNotTrackMe that blocks companies and social media from tracking you. It’s blocking 2 social medias and 6 companies from knowing I am on this web site. Those 8 know you are here. They can track you even if you aren’t logged in to them.
Another nice thing about Apple, is that there aren’t any viruses created for them yet. If there ever is any, Apple is much more secure than PCs.
all this is proving that OBAMA WAS GETTING WEAPONS
IN SYRIA FOR HIS REBELS, SECRETLY.
@Richard Davison:
When the response is going to be “unbelievably small” yet larger than a pin prick. This is supposed to give us confidence it will stop any more use of chemical weapons by Syria.
Then we are going to rely on the man giving refuge to Edward Snowden to solve this all for us.
And you think it’s just being partisan to disagree with this approach.
Clueless.
The most transparent and ethical Presidency ever!
@Rob in Katy: #22
I checked with Flickr, and if you haven’t checked, the problem is fixed, and you can download the fake birth certificate and the explanations now. Please print them out and send to your federal politicians, and ask others to do the same. We need to get rid of this illegal president. Keep in mind that these are just a few of the things the experts have said are wrong with the face certificate. The links in the images will tell THE REST OF THE STORY. I call it the bird cage paper, since that is all that it is good for. The images are at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35983084@N07/9612818667/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35983084@N07/9616070332/in/photostream/
@Rob in Katy: #46
He is becoming more transparent as time goes on. Before long, people will be able to see through him as though he isn’t there.
@Smorgasbord, well, he is already an empty suit, I couldn’t be more happy when the suit is also gone!
Jon Stewart
is a has been, who is the only one to listen to his jokes.
he attack other like FOX, BECAUSE THEY DON’T USE HIS TALK,