By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--December 9, 2015
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Judicial Watch today released a new Benghazi email from then-Department of Defense Chief of Staff Jeremy Bash to State Department leadership immediately offering "forces that could move to Benghazi" during the terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission Compound in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012. In an email sent to top Department of State officials, at 7:19 p.m. ET, only hours after the attack had begun, Bash says, "we have identified the forces that could move to Benghazi. They are spinning up as we speak." The Obama administration redacted the details of the military forces available, oddly citing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption that allows the withholding of "deliberative process" information.
From: Bash, Jeremy CIV SD [REDACTED]Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2012 7:19 PMTo: Sullivan, Jacob J; Sherman, Wendy R; Nides, Thomas RCc: Miller, James HON OSD POLICY; Wienefeld, James A ADM JSC VCJCS; Kelly, John LtGen SD; martin, dempsey [REDACTED]Subject: Libya State colleagues: I just tried you on the phone but you were all in with S [apparent reference to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton]. After consulting with General Dempsey, General Ham and the Joint Staff, we have identified the forces that could move to Benghazi. They are spinning up as we speak. They include a [REDACTED]. Assuming Principals agree to deploy these elements, we will ask State to procure the approval from host nation. Please advise how you wish to convey that approval to us [REDACTED]. JeremyAs Judicial Watch points out, this fits squarely within the timeframe of the attacks, and suggests that assets might have been able to be in place while the assault was still ongoing.
The timing of the Bash email is particularly significant based upon testimony given to members of Congress by Gregory Hicks, Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. embassy in Tripoli at the time of the Benghazi terrorist attack. According to Hicks’ 2013 testimony, a show of force by the U.S. military during the siege could have prevented much of the carnage. Said Hicks, "if we had been able to scramble a fighter or aircraft or two over Benghazi as quickly as possible after the attack commenced, I believe there would not have been a mortar attack on the annex in the morning because I believe the Libyans would have split. They would have been scared to death that we would have gotten a laser on them and killed them." The first assault occurred at the main compound at about 9:40 pm local time -- 3:40 p.m. ET in Washington, DC. The second attack on a CIA annex 1.2 miles away began three hours later, at about 12 am local time the following morning -- 6 p.m. ET.In other words; we may not have been able to offer a show of force during the initial assault, but we probably could have had the mysteriously redacted forces in place during the attack on the CIA annex.
"The Obama administration and Clinton officials hid this compelling Benghazi email for years," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "The email makes readily apparent that the military was prepared to launch immediate assistance that could have made a difference, at least at the CIA Annex. The fact that the Obama Administration withheld this email for so long only worsens the scandal of Benghazi."Let's be honest. None of this is particularly surprising. If you've been paying attention to the interviews given by eyewitnesses - in particular the security team which claims the CIA ordered them not to assist - you've known that something has been "off" about the Benghazi story for a long, long, time. This new email may not offer specifics about what sorts of assets could have been sent to help, but it does indicate that the Pentagon was ready to leap into action. ...And something stopped them. It also - once again - puts the lie to Hillary's efforts to sell the official story. The question now is this: Was a "stand down order" given? Or, are we supposed to do some 'Clintonian word parsing" and assume that no authorization was ever given, so nothing ever happened. It may be a "six of one, half dozen of the other" situation in terms of lost blood and treasure, but it's precisely the kind of distinction the Clinton machine loves to rely.
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