Here is a CBS News report on the Pentagon’s release of the timeline of their response to the September 11, 2012, Benghazi Terrorist Attack. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was notified at 4:42 PM ET of the attack, and ordered special forces deployed between 6-8 PM ET that evening. However, the report says special forces did not arrive in Libya until 3:00 PM – the next day. Panetta claims there were no fixed wing aircraft to assist in the area.
The State Department and the CIA have given their Benghazi timeline — now the Defense Department has provided th… bit.ly/WN7FmD
— Greta Van Susteren (@gretawire) November 10, 2012
Pentagon: Special Forces Arrived in Libya 22 Hours after Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was Notified of Benghazi Terrorist Attack – Video Report 11/10/12
Here is video of RNC Chairman Reince Priebus on CNN’s “State of the Union” today where he said Americans are talking about “the Economy” and “what happened in Benghazi.” Priebus said President Obama claims he gave a directive to help the Americans under attack in Benghazi, but his own Secretary of Defense – Leon Panetta – says he turned down a request for help when it came to him. Priebus said either Obama is not telling truth about giving such a directive, or Panetta chose to “act as Commander-in-Chief” instead of Obama.
RNC Chair Reince Priebus on Benghazi Scandal: Either Obama is Not Telling the Truth or Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Chose to “Act as Commander-in-Chief” – Video 10/28/12
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Here is video of CIA Director Leon Panetta talking to NBC News’ Brian Williams tonight about the spectacular raid by U.S. Navy SEALs that resulted in the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
Leon Panetta said that “ultimately a photograph” will be released to the public to prove that Osama Bin Laden is dead. He said he has seen the photos and Bin Laden is without question dead.
Panetta confirms that the orders they had were to “kill” Bin Laden – although he said the SEALs rules of engagement allowed them to take Bin Laden alive if he were to “raise his hands” in surrender. Panetta said “that opportunity never” presented itself.
Williams also tried to pin him down (begins at around the 3:50 mark) on whether the intelligence that led to Bin Laden was obtained through waterboarding. Panetta tried skirting the question first. He said there were so many different pieces of evidence that it was hard to settle on one piece as the deciding factor. Williams then tried asking Panetta if he was denying that waterboarding helped to obtain the key intelligence that led to Bin Laden. Panetta then said, “NO,” and went on to say that it was used on some of the detainees that gave up information – but that there is no way to know if the same information could not have been obtained through other techniques. He then directly confirmed at the end that “waterboarding” was used to gain information from the detainees that supplied intelligence which led to Bin Laden.
That’s as close as you will ever get from the Obama Administration to an admission that the very interrogation techniques they oppose enabled Osama Bin Laden to be found and killed. Panetta essentially made the admission by arguing that there is no way to know whether the information could have been obtained some other way. That may be true. But we do know that “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” worked.
