Well if you haven't then I guess you don't know yet that the roof has blown off the U.S. Department of State, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense and the White House. And no -- it's not going to die down. It's going to get much worse.
Even Republican Sen. John McCain, who did so much to push U.S. involvement in taking down Gaddafi, is in shock. He said in public that he cannot mentally encompass what Clapper and Petraeus did. Well, this is what happens when you're taking orders from a President you know is more of an Assassin-in-Chief than a Commander-in-Chief and you just sit there like a stump on a log as your response.
Even Foreign Policy magazine has -- finally -- jumped into the fray. I know they hate fighting on the same side as Fox News. But it so happens that the survivors of the 9/11 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi -- who are all probably Democrats -- are extremely upset that they were turned into cannon fodder. And surely they're just as upset about the murder of four of their colleagues. Clearly, from the number of documents and statements that have been leaked to Fox reporters Jennifer Griffin and Catherine Herridge, their view is that if Fox is the only media outlet that will listen to them, so be it. But breaking news as of about five minutes ago, now other outlets are jumping into the story, including CBS and I think -- could it be? -- ABC News.
So please no more complaints from readers that I kept yanking posts I was putting up last night. There was a little excitement here last night in Punditaland. The only way I could calm down was by writing one of my 'Let's try to put this in perspective' essays that first I yanked then rewrote, and I'm still not happy with it.
And for those fellow bloggers and correspondents who tell me they don't watch TV -- better join us proletariat down here in the mud and turn on the boob tube -- to Fox cable.
All right. Here is the entire Oct 31 report but I warn -- I WARN -- that you really need to hear Greta's interview with Catherine Herridge -- and the next interview, in which Greta spoke with Rep. Jason Chaffetz -- before you can get some idea of the scope of the storm that's bearing down on Washington. Will the storm break before the presidential election? Doesn't matter. This isn't about a President's antics in the White House with a paramour in a blue dress:
Exclusive: Classified cable warned consulate couldn't withstand 'coordinated attack'
By Catherine Herridge
Published October 31, 2012
FoxNews.com
The U.S. Mission in Benghazi convened an “emergency meeting” less than a month before the assault that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, because Al Qaeda had training camps in Benghazi and the consulate could not defend against a “coordinated attack,” according to a classified cable reviewed by Fox News.
Summarizing an Aug. 15 emergency meeting convened by the U.S. Mission in Benghazi, the Aug. 16 cable marked “SECRET” said that the State Department’s senior security officer, also known as the RSO, did not believe the consulate could be protected.
“RSO (Regional Security Officer) expressed concerns with the ability to defend Post in the event of a coordinated attack due to limited manpower, security measures, weapons capabilities, host nation support, and the overall size of the compound,” the cable said.
According to a review of the cable addressed to the Office of the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Emergency Action Committee was also briefed "on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ training camps within Benghazi … these groups ran the spectrum from Islamist militias, such as the QRF Brigade and Ansar al-Sharia, to ‘Takfirist thugs.’” Each U.S. mission has a so-called Emergency Action Committee that is responsible for security measures and emergency planning.
The details in the cable seemed to foreshadow the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. compound, which was a coordinated, commando-style assault using direct and indirect fire. Al Qaeda in North Africa and Ansar al-Sharia, both mentioned in the cable, have since been implicated in the consulate attack.
In addition to describing the security situation in Benghazi as “trending negatively,” the cable said explicitly that the mission would ask for more help. “In light of the uncertain security environment, US Mission Benghazi will submit specific requests to US Embassy Tripoli for additional physical security upgrades and staffing needs by separate cover.”
As for specific threats against the U.S., the cable warned the intelligence was not clear on the issue, cautioning that the militias in Benghazi were not concerned with any significant retaliation from the Libyan government, which had apparently lost control in Benghazi. A briefer explained that they “did not have information suggesting that these entities were targeting Americans but did caveat that (there was not) a complete picture of their intentions yet. RSO (Regional Security Officer) noted that the Benghazi militias have become more brazen in their actions and have little fear of reprisal from the (government of Libya.)”
While the administration’s public statements have suggested that the attack came without warning, the Aug. 16 cable seems to undercut those claims. It was a direct warning to the State Department that the Benghazi consulate was vulnerable to attack, that it could not be defended and that the presence of anti-U.S. militias and Al Qaeda was well-known to the U.S. intelligence community.
In a three-page cable on Sept 11, the day Stevens and the three other Americans were killed, Stevens wrote about “growing problems with security” in Benghazi and “growing frustration” with the security forces and Libyan police. The ambassador saw both as “too weak to keep the country secure.”
Fox News asked the State Department to respond to a series of questions about the Aug. 16 cable, including who was specifically charged with reviewing it and whether action was taken by Washington or Tripoli. Fox News also asked, given the specific warnings and the detailed intelligence laid out in the cable, whether the State Department considered extra measures for the consulate in light of the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks – and if no action was taken, who made that call.
The State Department press office declined to answer specific questions, citing the classified nature of the cable.
"An independent board is conducting a thorough review of the assault on our post in Benghazi," Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said in written statement. "Once we have the board's comprehensive account of what happened, findings and recommendations, we can fully address these matters."
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