Of Course There was a Stand Down Order in Benghazi

There almost certainly had to be a stand down order in Benghazi. Anything less would not make any sense. I arrive at this conclusion from simple logic and human nature.

Let's go back to the day in question. The U.S. safe house is being attacked from Muslim extremists. Now what ? The first thought in a reasonable persons mind is "Can we help them" ?

Since this is a United States compound. They have vast resources and allies throughout the Middle East and the world. So of course the first question is "Can we help them" ? By now the president would have been informed of the situation.

For that question not to have been asked would be gross negligence. We are told that the order was never given. I do not believe that for one second. Somebody had to give the order to stand down. What would even be worse. Much worse is if the order was never given. That sending forces to aid was not even considered.

The question "Can we help them" ? will have an answer of yes or no. If the answer is yes. That the United States did have assets in place to help them. Now the next question would be "Should we" ?

The question of "Can we help them" would be answered by the U.S. Military. The next question "Should we" ? Is or should be answered by the President. For the question never having made it to the President opens up a whole new set of problems. However, for this discussion I will assume the President knew. He should have known and it's hard to imagine a scenario where he would not.

But we are told that there was not a stand down order. If by chance there was not a stand down order because there was nothing to stand down. For instance if the U.S. had nothing in place to help. Then every person in that chain of command would have to answer for it. The United States should always be prepared for situations like this. To not have been prepared for an Embassy attack anywhere in the world is a dereliction of duty. The country should always have forces, air, ground or both ready to go. This attack lasted thirteen hours. An airliner can fly 6500 miles in that amount of time. I am sure the U.S. Military can do better. For Embassy staff to be left on the ground do die is inexcusable. Something that has not been fully answered for yet.

What I suspect happened was that a decision to stand down was issued either by the President or the Secretary of State. The order was issued for political reasons and not for the safety of the embassy. Whoever gave the order was trying to minimize the political fallout. For the United States to send a military force to Libya would contradict everything the Obama White House was portraying before a Presidential Election. They were hoping that the situation would resolve itself and the morning would bring calm. They gambled and they got it wrong.

The next day the blame for the attack went to an anti-Muslim video that had surfaced on You Tube that most had never heard of. That is until they made it famous in their accusations. They diverted attention from the true cause which was organized militants.

And the gamble. The U.S. Ambassadors body was dragged through the streets of Benghazi to a hospital by Good Samaritans. The Ambassador later died. Three other Americans lost their lives that night defending the compound.

And the story about a movie on You Tube starting a riot. It has been discredited. But it did what it was suppose to do. After all. President Obama had an election to win.