JMS's Chronology of the Bengazi Raid and "cover-up"

Seems like the Birthers have a new conspiracy theory going... I just wanted to take a crack at highlighting what happened, and hear what other people think the conspiracy theory points are..

Two Timelines from the Benghazi Attack. The first the actual attack. The second how the administration reacted to the attack in the press.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444620104578008922056244096.html

How the Benghazi Attack Unfolded

A large-scale attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, surprised personnel at the compound on Sept. 11 2012. Militants overwhelmed the guards and set fire to structures before the occupants could escape or reinforcements arrived. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others were killed in the night of violence. Source: Libyan and U.S. officials

• About 8 p.m.--------Ambassador finishes meeting with Turkish consul general, says he's retiring for night.
  
• 8:30 - 9 p.m.--------A mob approaches the consulate at the front gate, where four Libyan guards are posted.
  
• 9:30 p.m.-----------Mob fires first shots. Militants breach the front and east walls around the consulate. Americans fire from inside.
  
• 9:30 - 10 p.m.----Consulate alarm sounds. Libyan guards ask for help from friends in nearby barracks.
  
• 10 p.m. ------------Consulate in flames. Libyan government reinforcements arrive. They guard front and rear gates as militants begin to crowd at rear gate. U.S. and Libyan guards enter burning building and pull out body of information officer Sean Smith. They can’t find ambassador.
  
• 10:30 - 11 p.m.----Americans, except for the ambassador, retreat from the front gate in two cars to an annex a kilometer away.
  
• After 11 p.m.----Lull in fighting.
  
• After midnight---Looters on consulate grounds pull ambassador, unidentified, from burned consulate.
  
• 1 a.m. ------------The ambassador, as an unidentified patient, is admitted to Benghazi Medical Center, described as unresponsive.
  
• After 1 a.m.-----U.S. security reinforcements from Tripoli arrive, head to annex
  ( edited, originally I thought this was Woods group, but there is conflicting evidence here so I took that out ).
  
  http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/10/david_ignatius_questions_about_benghazi_deserve_to_be_answered.html
  
  

  
  

• 1:45 a.m -------Patient declared declared dead.
  
• After 2 a.m. ---Annex comes under attack. Fierce fighting for an hour. Former Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods are killed. (at the annex)
  
• 2 - 4 a.m. ---- Americans holed up in annex.
  
• Around 3-4 a.m. ---- Libyan security forces locate body at hospital. Americans at annex describe ambassador’s features. Libyans identify body as ambassador’s.
  
• Dawn ---- First flight with Americans leaves Benghazi.
  
• 8 - 9 a.m. ----Second and final plane leaves Benghazi carrying Americans, including ambassador's body.
  

William Safire, the late New York Times columnist—and one of the few senior Nixon aides to escape Watergate unsullied—once defined coverup broadly to include "any plan to avoid detection of wrongdoing . . . an act to conceal a mistake."

In Washington How the Administration spoke about the Attack.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/timeline-of-comments-on-attack-on-us-consulate-in-benghazi-libya-that-killed-4-americans/2012/10/27/bf20bfce-2083-11e2-8817-41b9a7aaabc7_story_1.html

• Sept. 11, 2012: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a statement on the attack on Benghazi, notes that “some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet.”
  
• Sept. 12: From the Rose Garden, President Barack Obama calls Benghazi an “outrageous and shocking attack.” He says the U.S. rejects efforts to denigrate religious beliefs of others, but that there is no justification “to this type of senseless violence.” He adds that “no acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation...”
  Later, at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Obama sends a message to “anybody who would do us harm: No act of terror will dim the light of the values that we proudly shine on the rest of the world, and no act of violence will shake the resolve of the United States of America.”
  Clinton, in a statement, condemns what she calls a “vicious and violent attack.” She says later, “This was an attack by a small and savage group — not the people or Government of Libya.” She says that “as long as there are those who would take innocent life in the name of God, the world will never know a true and lasting peace.”
  
• Sept. 13: At a campaign event in Colorado, Obama again says, “To all those who would do us harm, no act of terror will go unpunished.”
  In Washington, Clinton addresses the “video circulating on the Internet that has led to these protests in a number of countries.” She later returns to the “small and savage group in Benghazi” and says again “some seek to justify this behavior as a response to inflammatory, despicable material posted on the Internet.”
  In Libya, Wanis el-Sharef, then eastern Libya’s deputy interior minister, said the attacks were suspected to have been timed to mark the 9/11 anniversary and that the militants used civilians protesting an anti-Islam film as cover for their action. Infiltrators within the security forces may have tipped off militants to the safe house location, he said.
  
• Sept. 14: At the repatriation ceremony for the victims of the attacks, Clinton calls Benghazi a “heavy assault” and adds: “We’ve seen rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful internet video that we had nothing to do with.”
  
• Sept. 15: In his weekly address, Obama stresses that the U.S. “has a profound respect for people of all faiths” and rejects the denigration of Islam. “Yet there is never any justification for violence,” he says. “There is no excuse for attacks on our embassies and consulates.”
  
• Sept. 16: U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, goes on morning shows at NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX and CNN. Based on the administration’s best information, she says, the Benghazi attack was a “spontaneous — not a premeditated — response” to the anti-video protests in Cairo. A small number of protesters came to the consulate “and then as that unfolded, it seems to have been hijacked, let us say, by some individual clusters of extremists who came with heavier weapons,” she said. Rice called the attack a “direct result of a heinous and offensive video that was widely disseminated, that the U.S. government had nothing to do with.” She said the U.S. had no information at the time “that leads us to conclude that this was premeditated or preplanned.”
  In Libya, interim President Mohammed el-Megarif said: “It was planned, definitely. It was planned by foreigners, by people who entered the country a few months ago. And they were planning this criminal act since their arrival.”
  
• Sept. 18: Clinton says U.S. and Libya are working closely together to bring to justice those who “murdered” the four Americas in Benghazi. She notes that in a number of places where protests have turned violent, “we are seeing the hand of extremists who are trying to exploit people’s inflamed passions for their own agendas.” She cites Clapper’s assessment that the U.S. had no actionable intelligence that an attack in Benghazi was planned or imminent.
  
• Sept. 19: Matthew Olsen, the national counter terrorism center director, tells the Senate committee on homeland security and government affairs that the Benghazi events were a “terrorist attack.”
  
• Sept. 20: At a town hall event in Miami, Obama says what we’ve seen over the last week-and-a-half “is an offensive video or cartoon directed at the prophet Muhammad. And this is obviously something that then is used as an excuse by some to carry out inexcusable violent acts directed at Westerners or Americans.” He says the U.S. is investigating, and that the circumstances differ in each country. But, he adds, “What we do know is that the natural protests that arose because of the outrage over the video were used as an excuse by extremists to see if they can also directly harm U.S. interests.”
  
• Sept. 21: Clinton calls Benghazi a “terrorist attack.”
  
• Sept. 26: At a U.N. event focusing on Africa’s Sahel region, Clinton says al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and other groups “have launched attacks and kidnappings from northern Mali into neighboring countries.” She says terrorists are “working with other violent extremists to undermine the democratic transitions underway in North Africa, as we tragically saw in Benghazi.”
  
• Oct. 26: Obama administration officials defend their response to the attack amid new claims that the White House failed to send help quickly enough as militants overran the mission.
  

But wait, where is the part where Obama watched on tv as the Navy Seals died?

i wonder if this:

After 1 a.m.-----U.S. security reinforcements from Tripoli arrive, head to annex ( This is the 8 member CIA team which includes the two Seals who died an hour latter... These men were originally held back in Tripoli for about 20 minutes, by the CIA as the CIA tried to contact Libyan militia, known as the February 17 Brigade, which was the closest thing to an organized security force in Benghazi.

is the actual explanation for this:

On Tuesday night’s “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” on the Fox News Channel, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said that major news networks might have secret emails proving that the White House canceled plans to assist the besieged U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

Gingrich said that the bombshell emails could be revealed within the next two days.

“There is a rumor — I want to be clear, it’s a rumor — that at least two networks have emails from the National Security Adviser’s office telling a counterterrorism group to stand down,” Gingrich said. “But they were a group in real-time trying to mobilize marines and C-130s and the fighter aircraft, and they were told explicitly by the White House stand down and do nothing. This is not a terrorist action. If that is true, and I’ve been told this by a fairly reliable U.S. senator, if that is true and comes out, I think it raises enormous questions about the president’s role, and Tom Donilon, the National Security Adviser’s role, the Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who has taken it on his own shoulders, that he said don’t go. And that is, I think, very dubious, given that the president said he had instructions they are supposed to do everything they could to secure American personnel.”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/31/gingrich-rumor-says-networks-have-white-house-emails-telling-counterterrorism-group-to-stand-down-on-benghazi-rescue/#ixzz2AtfAjFwJ

http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/31/gingrich-rumor-says-networks-have-white-house-emails-telling-counterterrorism-group-to-stand-down-on-benghazi-rescue/

Oh goodness Newt says there are secret emails....riiiiiiiiight. If they had 'em we'd already see 'em.

Someone needs to tell me why Newt is busy trading in rumor and speculation...oh he's on Faux News and they trade in rumor and inuendo as if they were facts.

I though Hillary took blame for this?

Oh goodness Newt says there are secret emails....riiiiiiiiight. If they had 'em we'd already see 'em.

Someone needs to tell me why Newt is busy trading in rumor and speculation...oh he's on Faux News and they trade in rumor and inuendo as if they were facts.

To be fair, is this any different than Reid saying he was told by a reliable source close to Romney that Romney paid zero taxes for a few years?

But like you said, if the major networks had them, they would have been released by now, unless there were questions about authenticity. That's the only reason something like that gets held back.

Also, "major networks" includes Fox. If ABC has them, you can be damn sure Fox has them too.

I find it pointless the speculate until we have all the facts released on this story. We can politicize the hell out of it but then we're just as slimy as the pols who are presently doing exactly that. I'll pass for now till I know the full story. Hopefully we have some genuine disclosure on this since we all deserve it just like the families of the fallen do.

But Newt was told by a "fairly reliable U.S. senator". Sheesh. Is Newt badmouthing Obama or the US Senate?

If Fox News had the emails, and the content of the emails is what has been "rumored" by Newt and others, they would have been trumpeted to the skies.

What I think is happening is that they are going with these "rumors" by Newt and other supposed Republican leaders to fog up the electorate and hope that independents will vote Republican. And Newt is just as much of a rumormonger as Fox News, and the people who are the rumor originators. Remember, they don't really have to display those emails, ever. They are hoping that just the mention of such emails will be enough to sway voters.

But this story is now a non-starter, given the damage from Storm Sandy, Chris Christie's praise of Obama's and the administration's handling of the disaster. And too bad for Tea Partiers, we need the Federal Government for just these kinds of occasions, when it's obvious that the states cannot take care of these kinds of disasters on their own.

They claim to "have emails" as a tactic to get the administration to counter-act or fess up. The administration didn't buy the bluff and didn't respond. At that point, Newty and his bro's could have released the emails and forced the hand of the administration to admit they were involved. That didn't happen.

Therefore, I believe there are no emails. Just political chess playing in the public eye.

They claim to "have emails" as a tactic to get the administration to counter-act or fess up. The administration didn't buy the bluff and didn't respond. At that point, Newty and his bro's could have released the emails and forced the hand of the administration to admit they were involved. That didn't happen.

Therefore, I believe there are no emails. Just political chess playing in the public eye.

Donald Trump Extortion.....

If Fox News had the emails, and the content of the emails is what has been "rumored" by Newt and others, they would have been trumpeted to the skies.

What I think is happening is that they are going with these "rumors" by Newt and other supposed Republican leaders to fog up the electorate and hope that independents will vote Republican. And Newt is just as much of a rumormonger as Fox News, and the people who are the rumor originators. Remember, they don't really have to display those emails, ever. They are hoping that just the mention of such emails will be enough to sway voters.

But this story is now a non-starter, given the damage from Storm Sandy, Chris Christie's praise of Obama's and the administration's handling of the disaster. And too bad for Tea Partiers, we need the Federal Government for just these kinds of occasions, when it's obvious that the states cannot take care of these kinds of disasters on their own.

Isn't what you describe precisely what Harry Reid was trying to accomplish?

i wonder if this:

is the actual explanation for this: (Newt saying there are emails about "counter terrorism" group to stand down )..

Conspiracy Web Site Take on Events

Maybe, As I've read on one conspiracy theory web site, They've claimed the "seals" were held back for hours at the CIA annex by some unknown beurocracy presumable Obama, as they continuously asked for permission to move... Finally the seals went on their own without permission and died at the embassy hours after arriving... And Obama personally denied reinforcements....

What the Mainstream Press is Reporting

Now what they are actually saying in the timeline is a team of eight CIA operatives including 2 former seals who were in Tripoli were held up for twenty minutes by the CIA as they requested permission to travel from Tripoli to Benghazi... When they got to Benghazi they went to the Annex, not the embassy, where the two former seals were killed by a mortar attack....

Of coarse Newt's press conference held 10/31? could have also been referring to Leon's Penneta's ( Sec Def ) press conference 10/25 where he, the CJCS and another General took responsibility for the decision not to send in military assets.

Panetta Says Risk Impeded Deployment to Benghazi

Published: October 25, 2012

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Thursday that he and top military commanders “felt very strongly” that deploying American forces to defend against the

fatal attack last month on the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, was too risky because they did not have a clear picture of what was happening on the ground.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/world/africa/panetta-tells-of-monitoring-situation-in-benghazi.html?_r=0

I think given reports that 150 guys were involved at the initial attack on the Embassy, and then the attackers showed up at the secret Annex more than a mile away from the embassy given there was minimal support from the Libyan government; it lends perspective to the military leaders reluctance to blindly commit forces to the situation; and rather evacuate the Americans there already. Which is what they did.

COUGH Harry Reid COUGH

Isn't what you describe precisely what Harry Reid was trying to accomplish?

There is a difference.

Romney could release is tax forms.

The White House can't PROVE there are no secret e-mails.

One person is requesting information that absolutely exsist and the relevant party has control over.

Romney has/had to do a calculation to determine which is best.

IF the e-mails don't exist, there's not much the White House can do.

But this story is now a non-starter, given the damage from Storm Sandy, Chris Christie's praise of Obama's and the administration's handling of the disaster. And too bad for Tea Partiers, we need the Federal Government for just these kinds of occasions, when it's obvious that the states cannot take care of these kinds of disasters on their own.

I think the story is a non starter because frankly it's a non starter... We know where there is smoke there isn't always fire.. but where their is no smoke, there never is fire....

I think the timeline clearly shows that the Obama administration started to change there story 48-72 hours after the event and focused on some sort of demonstration associated with the video on U-Tube, after initially labeling the event an act of terrorism. Then about 7-10 days latter they begin to change back to an organized attack by terrorists.... So it took them a 7-10 days for the information on the ground, and export reports, to get generated and filter up to mouth's of the administration... Sounds like a long time... But considering it took more than two years for Bush to acknowledge Iraq wasn't behind 9/11 when his Terrorism adviser was telling him that within day's of 9/11...and more than 8 years for Dick Cheney to publicly admit to that conclusion.... Or the previous administrations Katrina response (5 days to get water to the astro-dome?).... I think it really makes the Obama team look like rock stars with their response... They weren't perfect, or clairvoyant or anything... but considering everything they were pretty darn spectacular.

And frankly... 4 death's from an attack by more than 150 terrorists on an isolated consulate; that also seems pretty amazingly modest considering what it could be.... We had 100 casualties ( 20 deaths, 80 wounded) when the US military tried to respond to black hawk helicopter being shot down in the battle of Mogadishu in 1993... I think getting the hell out of dodge in Benghazi is a perfectly reasonable tactic here, for Penetta and the Chairman of the joint chiefs.... Don't fight where they want you to fight.. fight where you want to fight... I don't see the smoke.

You want to criticize Obama... you don't have to make things up... hit him on the economy.. I think there is plenty there to criticize him on... I just don't see it here. Frankly I think the Republicans trying to make something of this, impacts there credibility.

.

There is a difference.

Romney could release is tax forms.

The White House can't PROVE there are no secret e-mails.

One person is requesting information that absolutely exsist and the relevant party has control over.

Romney has/had to do a calculation to determine which is best.

IF the e-mails don't exist, there's not much the White House can do.

Ummm, Newt Gingrich is a talking head. Harry Reid is a sitting US Senator. You don't see a slight difference in their obligations when it comes to political pontificating?

Didn't you get the memo? The Dem senator is allowed to make stuff up, but the Rep talk show host is not allowed. I mean, Romney can always show his taxes, but Obama doesn't have to show any emails or his birth certificate, or some kind of logic like that.

10:30 - 11 p.m.----Americans, except for the ambassador, retreat from the front gate in two cars to an annex a kilometer away.

That is short for:

CIA Agents at Annex disobey orders twice and go and rescue the people in the embassy.

They rescue people and get one body, collect 3 prisoners on the way

Make it back to the Annex.

One gets on the Roof with heavy gun and at one point lasers the enemy for air support that never comes.

They have to give the 3 prisoners to the Feb17th group against their wishes.

Don't even know why i try, this thread is not meant for facts, this is a group chuckle to make fun of Republicans to save a President and disregard the hero's.

Have fun.

Ummm, Newt Gingrich is a talking head. Harry Reid is a sitting US Senator. You don't see a slight difference in their obligations when it comes to political pontificating?

Come on we all know Mitt is hiding something in his tax forms. When his father ran for President he released more than a decade worth of tax returns?. Mitt has released Only the two years in which he was actually running for President.

We also know Mitt Romney has been linked to a form of tax fraud called BOSS, and Son of BOSS,

Romney has had a close, long-standing, personal and business connection with Marriott International and its founders. He served as a member of the Marriott board of directors for many years. From 1993 to 1998, Romney was the head of the audit committee of the Marriott board.

During that period, Marriott engaged in a series of complex and high-profile maneuvers, including "Son of Boss," a notoriously abusive prepackaged tax shelter that investment banks and accounting firms marketed to corporations such as Marriott. In this respect, Marriott was in the vanguard of a then-emerging corporate tax shelter bubble that substantially undermined the entire corporate tax system.

Son of Boss and its related shelters represented perhaps the largest tax avoidance scheme in history, costing the U.S. many billions in lost corporate tax revenues. In response, the government initiated legal challenges that resulted in complete disallowance of the losses claimed by Marriott and other corporations.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/08/opinion/canellos-kleinbard-romney-taxes/index.html

here are some other stories documenting the Marriott Tax troubles while Romney was in charge of their return.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-22/romney-as-auditing-chairman-saw-marriott-son-of-boss-tax-shelter-defy-irs.html

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/08/obama-ad-alleges-romney-role-in-notorious-tax-scandal/

Finally we know the IRS had a tax amnesty in which it is rumored Mitt Romney took advantage of.... So we have facts, and rumors coming together to explain Romney's shyness with giving out his tax forms. We also know rather than answer the charges Romney has decided to remain silent on it... That's Romney's choice to allow the senate majority leader to throw out an amaizing accusation and not answer it; None of that has anything to do with Benghazi.

---------- Post added October-31st-2012 at 03:00 PM ----------

10:30 - 11 p.m.----Americans, except for the ambassador, retreat from the front gate in two cars to an annex a kilometer away.

That is short for:

CIA Agents at Annex disobey orders twice and go and rescue the people in the embassy.

They rescue people and get one body, collect 3 prisoners on the way

Make it back to the Annex.

One gets on the Roof with heavy gun and at one point lasers the enemy for air support that never comes.

They have to give the 3 prisoners to the Feb17th group against their wishes.

Don't even know why i try, this thread is not meant for facts, this is a group chuckle to make fun of Republicans to save a President and disregard the hero's.

Have fun.

Please post a link to this account from a reputable source if you have one... .

I'm very interested in understanding what happened and what the accusations say happened...

David Ignatius in Responding to accusations made by Fox News, says two CIA officials who were former Navy Seals were held up, by the CIA, but only for 20 minutes..

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-benghazi-questions-the-administration-must-answer/2012/10/30/02d02538-22e2-11e2-8448-81b1ce7d6978_story.html

Say's nothing about painting a target with a laser or the like.... From what I understand Tyrone Woods was on the roof of the CIA annex and was killed by a motor shell.

Come on we all know Mitt is hiding something in his tax forms. When his father ran for President he released more than a decade worth of tax returns?. Mitt has released Only the two years in which he was actually running for President.

We also know Mitt Romney has been linked to a form of tax fraud called BOSS, and Son of BOSS,

here are some other stories documenting the Marriott Tax troubles while Romney was in charge of their return.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-22/romney-as-auditing-chairman-saw-marriott-son-of-boss-tax-shelter-defy-irs.html

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/08/obama-ad-alleges-romney-role-in-notorious-tax-scandal/

Finally we know the IRS had a tax amnesty in which it is rumored Mitt Romney took advantage of.... So we have facts, and rumors coming together to explain Romney's shyness with giving out his tax forms. We also know rather than answer the charges Romney has decided to remain silent on it... That's Romney's choice to allow the senate majority leader to throw out an amaizing accusation and not answer it; None of that has anything to do with Benghazi.

---------- Post added October-31st-2012 at 03:00 PM ----------

Please post a link to this account from a reputable source if you have one... From what I'm reading in the WSJ the former Seals don't appear to ever have gone to the embassy but rather arrived at the annex from Tripoli...

I'm very interested in understanding what happened.

Reid did it 30 years earlier running against someone and in a book apologized... then he did it again

10:30 - 11 p.m.----Americans, except for the ambassador, retreat from the front gate in two cars to an annex a kilometer away.

That is short for:

CIA Agents at Annex disobey orders twice and go and rescue the people in the embassy.

They rescue people and get one body, collect 3 prisoners on the way

Make it back to the Annex.

One gets on the Roof with heavy gun and at one point lasers the enemy for air support that never comes.

They have to give the 3 prisoners to the Feb17th group against their wishes.

Don't even know why i try, this thread is not meant for facts, this is a group chuckle to make fun of Republicans to save a President and disregard the hero's.

Have fun.

That's kinda what pisses me off the most. Joke about it, go ahead, but in the meantime our own people were murdered while the President takes the credit for killing OBL, and deflects the criticism of handling Bengazi...typical.

So you admit that a sitting US Senator started rumors about Mitt Romney with zero evidence?

He's going to counter without actually answering the question. That's how they handle it...deflect, deflect, deflect...it's like talking to a cowboys fan. Don't actually admit that you have done anything incorrect, or wrong, just point at others and say it's their fault, while taking credit for the things that actually do go right...

I thought this was about Bengazi?

Operative 1456 to base.. derailment successful.

~Bang

Just to throw some more fuel on the fire, Panetta abruptly announced on October 18th that General Carter Ham, current Commander of Africom, would be replaced by General David Rodriguez. If we're talking rumors, it has been rumored that it is from Ham's group that the information regarding available assets not being deployed came from White House/Washington Command and Control, not the field commanders. Thus far he's been a good soldier and only publicly stated that assets were available but were never ordered into action.