“And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner,”               Exodus 17:15

Memorial Day 2013

As we observe Memorial Day in honor of all the men and women who have died in the service of America’s Armed Forces protecting our Freedom to exercise Our Liberty, Under God, our Nation is embroiled in the aftermath of a notoriously dishonorable event in our history.

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“Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday which occurs every year on the final Monday of May.  Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.  Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service.”  Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

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Regarding Benghazi on 9/11/2012:

Four Americans died; three were wounded in the Benghazi Terrorist Attack. Seven Libyans were also wounded.
There were two assaults – first on the consulate,
second, on the CIA Annex 1.2 miles away.

Defense against overwhelming odds was completely inadequate and help from outside Libya was sorely needed.  The Call was heard, Help was scrambling to respond, but, “Someone” gave the order – at least two times – to STAND DOWN.

America deliberately left her Own to fight and die on foreign soil
ALONE.

On 9/11/2012, the Eleventh Anniversary of the devastating terrorist attack of 9/11/2001,  Ansar Al-Sharia (Partisans for Islamic Law) an Al Qaeda-tied terrorist group, mounted a planned attack on the United States Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi, Libya.  [For an analysis of the group, see the video here: http://video.foxnews.com/v/2368729118001/what-is-ansar-al-sharia/?playlist_id=946609261001 ]

Calls for help against the attack went out quickly.  Wikipedia reports that in a phone call to the Deputy Chief of Mission at the embassy in Tripoli, Gregory Hicks,  Ambassador Chris Stevens told him the consulate was under attack (reference link below).  It was clear from the start, according to Hicks, that it was an attack.  On May 8, Hicks testified as to his surprise when he later heard claims that the assault grew out of a spontaneous demonstration!

Considering the current volatile situation and requests for increased security that went unanswered before the attack, and the fact that islamist jihadists are prone to carrying-out attacks on anniversaries of important past events, the United States Government should have been ready for an imminent attack on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11.  According to Wikipedia,

“In the aftermath of the attack, investigators identified more than a dozen violent events in Benghazi during the previous six months. On October 2, 2012, three weeks after the attacks, Darrell Issa (R-CA, chairman of the Committee) and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT, chairman of the subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense, and Foreign Operations) sent a letter to Secretary of State Clinton which listed a number of these events—including car jackings, kidnappings, assassination attempts, and gun battles. The letter stated, ‘Put together, these events indicated a clear pattern of security threats that could only be reasonably interpreted to justify increased security for U.S. personnel and facilities in Benghazi.’ “  And,

Weapons used by attackers: “Rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades, assault rifles, 14.5 mm anti-aircraft machine guns and artillery mounted on gun trucks, diesel canisters, mortars”

Attackers numbered “between 125 and 150 men.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Benghazi_attack

[Some details in this extensive report do not agree with facts reported elsewhere, i.e. there is no reference to the graphic images showing Ambassador Stevens’ apparently dead body being carried and dragged through the streets – it in fact reports how wonderful the Libyans were to find and take him to the hospital where a doctor reportedly claimed to administer CPR for 90 minutes desperately trying to save him!  He reportedly died of smoke inhalation (See photos here: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/09/islamists-drag-dead-body-of-us-ambassador-in-the-streets/ ).

Also, discredited inclusion of references to the “video” as a factor in the attack – although there may have been a suspicious ploy using the video as cover, there is no mention of the fact Tyrone Woods had “painted” the mortar position – directly resulting in his death and that of Glen Doherty; and the wounded were “injured.”  (The fourth American killed was Sean Smith, who also reportedly died of smoke inhalation.)  Details of events outside Libya are incomplete.  I urge extreme caution  regarding the details in the report.]

There was no increased security and no adequate preparation – if there was any at all – when the terrorists attacked.

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The United States Government’s Executive Branch under the command of the man occupying the office of the presidency, Barack Hussein Obama, did nothing to rescue the Americans who were under siege in two separate locations in 7.5 hours.  They were left to the valiant efforts of a few brave men who fought for the lives the Executive Branch couldn’t be bothered to defend.

The Obama Administration has lied many times about the attack that left four brave Americans dead, three wounded, and twenty-nine others in harm’s way.  And wounded seven Libyans.

There are those who don’t understand the indignation over this infamous event.  In a sad commentary on the state or our nation, the answer appears political.  For want of a Second Term for Obama, and for Democrats to keep the U.S. Senate with hopes of recapturing the U.S. House of Representatives, Americans were left to fight and die against superior forces and weaponry when HELP was within reach by military design and preparation (see below).

Those who refuse to see clay feet upon which their hero, Obama, and heroine, Hillary Clinton, are slogging around in the bad-smelling muck of this debacle, either do not know the facts or don’t care about the truth.

The logical conclusion is, the Executive Branch

had to be well aware of the previous terrorist attacks in Libya; they reduced security, refused to reverse that decision, and left our Countrymen on American Soil at the Consulate and the CIA Annex hanging out to dry when the atrocity could have been prevented or successfully repulsed had Obama, as Commander-In-Chief, done what any previous American president would have done.

He would have beefed-up security in the first place, and once the attack began, he would have made certain the American “Combatant Commanders In-Extremis” Forces tasked, trained, and strategically placed for quick, lethal response in such situations  would deploy post-haste.  [See below.]

But, the man occupying the office of the presidency either gave the order, made sure it was given, or took Pontius Pilate’s road and attempted to wash his hands of responsibility.  The Rescue Response ended with Forces being ordered – at least twice – to STAND DOWN. 

The Forces that were responding according to their mission protocol were ordered not to rescue these Americans who were sitting ducks without a military contingent providing security in a KNOWN TERRORIST HOTBED.

They were ordered, not once, but, at least two times:
STAND DOWN!!!

And, four brave Americans and their companions were left to die by the greatest military force in the world, because their leaders abandoned them, apparently for political reasons.  Could there be any other reason?

The two dead former Navy SEALs, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, died when Woods “painted the target” of an enemy firing position for the air support he thought was imminent.  This is not an act a SEAL would have taken unless he was given good reason to believe air support was ready to strike the enemy position.  He well-knew when he trained his red targeting laser on it, the attackers could see exactly where he was by the origin point of the laser.  No air support was there to fire, and the attackers quickly killed Woods and Doherty.

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After the eventual rescue, the survivors were muzzled.

They have not yet been allowed to tell their on-the-ground story of what really happened during those long hours under attack.  The May 8th testimony by Hicks, the Deputy Chief of Mission, is the first real report provided to the American People in the seven-and-a-half months since the night that “will live in infamy.”  As reported below, Hicks was demoted, and others have not yet been able tell their story to the American People.  His testimony video appears below.

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Obama’s Administration followed his lead, blaming a completely unrelated video for a spontaneous demonstration.  You don’t bring the military weapons listed above to a spontaneous demonstration.  This story was exposed as a complete fabrication, although the man who made the video is in prison because of it.  An innocent scapegoat, his constitutionally protected Freedoms are violated as he suffers unjustly for something in which he had no part.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s self-righteous indignation in her appearance before Congress on January 23, 2013, when she passionately and disrespectfully cried, “What difference at this point does it make?” was disingenuous considering she was attempting to perpetuate the myth that the attack was spontaneous.  [See the link to her testimony below.]

I clearly remember hearing one time, the first or second day of news coverage after the attack, that attackers were an Al Qaeda-tied terrorist group.  But, that report was rapidly quashed.  It is now plain that it was true and the Administration knew it at the time.  The group itself claimed responsibility while the attack was still ongoing!

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Whatever the real reason

behind the reduced security and the order for rescue forces to stand down, September 11, 2012, has taken its place as another Day that will live in infamy, when the man occupying the office of the presidency of the United States of America, and his administration deliberately allowed Americans to undergo attack for 7.5 hours, suffer wounds, and four to die.  As noted above, reminiscent of Somalia and “Black Hawk Down” during the Clinton Administration, Ambassador Chris Stevens’ body was dragged through the streets of Benghazi by the savage islamists.

Barack Obama should be held accountable to the fullest extent of American Justice for his part in this outrage.  Even if he actually managed to build some form of “plausible deniability,” it doesn’t hold water, because it all happened on his watch.  And, he is ultimately responsible and culpable, even if by dereliction – but especially if by malfeasance.

“Plausible deniability is a term coined by the CIA during the Kennedy administration to describe the withholding of information from senior officials in order to protect them from repercussions in the event that illegal or unpopular activities by the CIA became public knowledge.

The term most often refers to the denial of blame in (formal or informal) chains of command, where senior figures assign responsibility to the lower ranks, and records of instructions given do not exist or are inaccessible, meaning independent confirmation of responsibility for the action is nearly impossible. In the case that illegal or otherwise disreputable and unpopular activities become public, high-ranking officials may deny any awareness of such act or any connection to the agents used to carry out such acts. The lack of evidence to the contrary ostensibly makes the denial plausible, that is, credible. The term typically implies forethought, such as intentionally setting up the conditions to plausibly avoid responsibility for one’s (future) actions or knowledge.”  Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plausible_deniability

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The above definition seems also to apply to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the immediate superior to the State Department officials who reduced security and refused to correct that reprehensible act.  I do not believe she was ignorant of the situation, but whether she was or not, she absolutely should answer to charges for her department’s part in the deaths and injuries that resulted… and for lying to Congress.

I haven’t been able to embed a video of her January 23, 2013, testimony before a Congressional committee hearing the matter.  It is suddenly becoming more difficult to copy and embed videos from other websites, however, here is a link to a clip from it.  Once at this site, you can navigate to a number of videos on the subject:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Hillary+Clinton+Full+Testimony&view=detail&mid=4E0A0E4A071BFC9DD1114E0A0E4A071BFC9DD111&first=21&FORM=NVPFVR

“Benghazi” will forever be a black mark on the American Presidency, and especially on the debacle that is the Obama Presidency.

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This video is the Full Testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, of the Deputy Chief of Mission in Libya during the Benghazi terrorist attack, Gregory Hicks.  He has since been demoted to “desk officer” for speaking about the attack and for asking the “wrong” questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4tT4LFYLiBw#t=17s

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The next excerpt is from an article published the day after Hicks testified by the Christian Science Monitor, which includes a video report on the Hicks testimony, reporting other details in context, and images from the attack, etc.

Benghazi whistleblower: Has diplomat Gregory Hicks suffered for speaking out? (+video)

Gregory Hicks told a House panel that superiors opposed his meeting with House investigators and his questioning of claims that the Benghazi attacks were ‘spontaneous.’ He was reassigned to a desk job.

By Peter Grier, Staff Writer / May 9, 2013

Has US diplomat Gregory Hicks suffered political retaliation for revealing details of the lethal terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, last Sept. 11? That’s a big question raised by Wednesday’s House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform….

…But the part of his testimony that has Washington buzzing Thursday deals with allegations that he’s been punished for speaking out, both publicly and within the State Department bureaucracy….

Read more at the site.  There are several other articles on the subject accessible on the page, at: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2013/0509/Benghazi-whistleblower-Has-diplomat-Gregory-Hicks-suffered-for-speaking-out-video

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http://townhall.com/columnists/hughhewitt/2013/05/09/house-gop-owes-the-benghazi-dead-wounded-and-their-familes-the-respect-and-urgency-they-did-not-get-from-hillary-or-the-president-n1591669

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Following is an excerpt from an article at American Thinker.com, May 25, 2013.  There is much more in the full article at: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/us_military_we_could_have_saved_ambassador_stevens.html#ixzz2UJkwZpA4

U.S. Military: We Could Have Saved Ambassador Stevens

By Jonathon Moseley

Elite U.S. troops were completely capable of saving Ambassador Chris Stevens during the Benghazi Consulate attacks on September 11, 2012.  Elements of the highly specialized Combatant Commanders In-Extremis (CIF) units are always on alert, on forward deployment, ready to respond.  Their job description is to hit the ground in 3 to 5 hours.  CIF elements are ready to engage in active combat anywhere in their region, 3 to 5 hours after the call.Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense at the time, either misled the U.S.  Congress or was incompetent.  Panetta testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on February 7, 2013 that the U.S. military could not have responded in less than 9 to 12 hours.Obama’s first secretary of defense, Robert Gates, told CBS’s Face the Nation on May 12, 2013 that “[w]e don’t have a ready force standing by” in that region.But we absolutely do “have a ready force standing by” to reach any trouble spot in a few hours.  Insider reports previously revealed that CIF elements were training in Croatia and could have been in Benghazi in three and a half hours.

Although rotating out of the United States, some CIF elements are always forward-deployed within each military command region, always on stand-by.  Their training includes expertise within each local region.  Some of each region’s unit is always ready.  They don’t need to pack.  Being ready to go — immediately — is their job description.  It’s the reason they exist.

The U.S. military has developed a range of capabilities, from CIF teams to the Navy SEALs, to Rangers, to Green Berets.  But now many in the special forces/special operators community feel betrayed.  Commanders in Extremis units are so highly trained and expert that even elite Green Berets wash out of the highly demanding CIF training in large numbers.

Standard military doctrine is to activate all such resources immediately, even if they are ultimately not used.  Military’s plans require getting such teams in the air and on the way, not waiting to see if they will be needed….

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/us_military_we_could_have_saved_ambassador_stevens.html#ixzz2UJkwZpA4

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The Benghazi Jihadist Terrorist Attack of September 11, 2012, was a planned attack that exposed the true character of the Collectivist/Progressives in control of the United States Government, in their unconscionable decision not to act.  To them,

THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS.

America, as more evidence of their maxim surfaces seemingly every day, when will we, the “Sleeping Giant” feared by Admiral Yamamoto in the aftermath of his surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, awaken once again to stop the

“Collectivist fundamental transformation of America?”

I pray, soon, and not too late.

Itasca Small

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“The power under the Constitution will always be in the people.  It is entrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can, and undoubtedly will, be recalled.”  George Washington