Opinion : To the Editor: Benghazi – Cross Border Authority?

There has been no satisfactory explanation of why Leadership was unwilling or unable to launch a rescue mission to save Americans at the Benghazi sub conciliate, and likely we the people will never hear why.  The following was sent to me by a very good friend and former USAF Officer and TWA College.  It is apparent that “Cross Border Authority” was not granted in this case.  It is also apparent that CBA was granted for the Bin Laden raid, the no fly zone over Libya, and granted for the various drone attacks on foreign soils.  CBA can only be granted by the President.  

Following is a partial quote from a retired senior Navy SEAL Officer:   The Benghazi debacle boils down to a single key factor - the granting or withholding of "cross-border authority."  This opinion is informed by my experience as a Navy SEAL officer who took a NavSpecWar Detachment to Beirut.

“Once the alarm is sent - in this case, from the consulate in Benghazi - dozens of HQs are notified and are in the planning loop in real time, including AFRICOM and EURCOM, both located in Germany.  Without waiting   for specific orders from Washington, they begin planning and executing rescue operations, including moving personnel, ships, and aircraft forward toward the location of the crisis.   However, there is one thing they can't do without explicit orders from the president: cross an international border on a hostile mission.  ------ Leon Panetta is falling on his sword for President Obama with his absurd-on-its-face, "the U.S. military doesn't do risky things"-defense of his shameful no-rescue policy.  Panetta is utterly destroying his reputation.

General Dempsey joins Panetta on the same sword with his tacit agreement by silence. But why? How far does loyalty extend when it comes to covering up gross dereliction of duty by the president?

General Petraeus, however, has indirectly blown the whistle. He was probably "used" in some way early in the cover-up with the purported CIA intel link to the Mohammed video, and now he feels burned.  So he conclusively said via his public affairs officer that the stand-down order did not come from the CIA. Well - what outranks the CIA?  Only the national security team at the White House. That means President Obama, and nobody else. Petraeus is naming Obama without naming him. If that is not quite as courageous as blowing a whistle, it is far better than the disgraceful behavior of Panetta and Dempsey.

We do not know the facts for certain, but we do know that the rescue mission stand-down issue revolves around the granting or withholding of cross-border authority, which belongs only to President Obama.  More than one hundred gung-ho Force Recon Marines were waiting on the tarmac in Sigonella, just two hours away for the launch order that never came.”

Following from a different message, the view of a Senior Retired Air Force Officer:       “The combat code of the US Military is that we don't abandon our dead or wounded on the battlefield.   In US Air Force lingo, fighter pilots don't run off and leave their wingmen. If one of our own is shot down, still alive and not yet in enemy captivity, we will either come to get him or die trying.

    Among America’s fighting forces, the calm, sure knowledge that such an irrevocable bond exists is priceless. Along with individual faith and personal grit, it is a sacred trust that has often sustained hope in the face of terribly long odds.

    The disgraceful abandonment of our Ambassador and those brave ex-SEALs who fought to their deaths to save others in that compound is nothing short of dereliction-of-duty. -------    Consider the following scenario (all times Benghazi local): When Hicks in Tripoli receives a call at 9:40 PM from Ambassador Stevens informing him "Greg, we are under attack! (His last words), he immediately notifies all agencies and prepares for the immediate initiation of an existing "Emergency Response Plan."

    At AFRICON, General Carter Ham attempts to mount a rescue effort, but is told to "stand down. By 10:30 PM an unarmed drone is overhead the compound and streaming live feed to various Command and Control Agencies" and everyone watching that feed knew damn well what was going on.

    At 11:30 PM Woods, Doherty and five others leave Tripoli, arriving in Benghazi at 1:30 AM on Wednesday morning, where they hold off the attacking mob from the roof of the compound until they are killed by a mortar direct hit at 4:00 AM.  ------    So nothing could have been done, eh? Nonsense. If one assumes that tanker support really "was not available" what about this:

    When at 10:00 PM AFRICON alerts the 31st TFW (Tatical Fighter Wing) Command Post in Aviano Air Base, Italy of the attack, the Wing Commander orders preparation for the launch of two F-16s and advises the Command Post at NAS (Naval Air Station) Sigonella to prepare for hot pit refueling and quick turn of the jets.

    By 11:30 PM, two F-16Cs with drop tanks and each armed with five hundred 20 MM rounds are airborne. Flying at 0.92 Mach they will cover the 522 nautical miles directly to NAS Sigonella in 1.08 hours. While in-route, the flight lead is informed of the tactical situation, rules of engagement, and radio frequencies to use.

    The jets depart Sigonella at 1:10 AM with full fuel load and cover the 377 nautical miles directly to Benghazi in 0.8 hours, arriving at 1:50 AM" which would be 20 minutes after the arrival of Woods, Doherty and their team.

    Providing that the two F-16s initial pass over the mob, in full afterburner at 200 feet and 550 knots did not stop the attack in its tracks, only a few well-placed strafing runs on targets of opportunity would assuredly do the trick.

    Were the F-16s fuel state insufficient to recover at Sigonelli after jettisoning their external drop tanks, they could easily do so at Tripoli International Airport, only one-half hour away.”

So, no action by a Commander in Chief who voted “present” 300 times in the Illinois Legislature.  Did he vote “present” again or did he leave standing orders short of CBA and then leave the scene for rest before his campaign trip to Vegas?  No one seems to know or probably no one is talking.  Whether there is blame to lie at the feet of the CIC or not -- there is no doubt this was a major screw up.  Whether it was Sec. Clinton, or Pres. Obama, or his National Security Team matters little – the buck stops with the guy in charge.  Six months from now most will have forgotten this incident and the scales will again appear over the eyes of B. O. supporters.  Our foreign policy is in shambles as well as our economy and jobs picture:  Black youth up to 40% unemployed, many new college grads unable to find that first good job so they can get on with life.  Good Grief!

Regards,

John Stiegelmeyer

Vinton