You started complaining only after Bushs last Benghazi:
January 22, 2002. Calcutta, India. Gunmen associated with Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami attack the U.S. Consulate. Five people are killed.
June 14, 2002. Karachi, Pakistan. Suicide bomber connected with al Qaeda attacks the U.S. Consulate, killing 12 and injuring 51.
October 12, 2002. Denpasar, Indonesia. U.S. diplomatic offices bombed as part of a string of "Bali Bombings." No fatalities.
February 28, 2003. Islamabad, Pakistan. Several gunmen fire upon the U.S. Embassy. Two people are killed.
May 12, 2003. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Armed al Qaeda terrorists storm the diplomatic compound, killing 36 people including nine Americans. The assailants committed suicide by detonating a truck bomb.
July 30, 2004. Tashkent, Uzbekistan. A suicide bomber from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan attacks the U.S. Embassy, killing two people.
December 6, 2004. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda terrorists storm the U.S. Consulate and occupy the perimeter wall. Nine people are killed.
March 2, 2006. Karachi, Pakistan again. Suicide bomber attacks the U.S. Consulate killing four people, including U.S. diplomat David Foy who was directly targeted by the attackers. (I wonder if Lindsey Graham or Fox News would even recognize the name "David Foy." This is the third Karachi terrorist attack in four years on what's considered American soil.)
September 12, 2006. Damascus, Syria. Four armed gunmen shouting "Allahu akbar" storm the U.S. Embassy using grenades, automatic weapons, a car bomb and a truck bomb. Four people are killed, 13 are wounded.
January 12, 2007. Athens, Greece. Members of a Greek terrorist group called the Revolutionary Struggle fire a rocket-propelled grenade at the U.S. Embassy. No fatalities.
March 18, 2008. Sana'a, Yemen. Members of the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic Jihad of Yemen fire a mortar at the U.S. Embassy. The shot misses the embassy, but hits nearby school killing two.
July 9, 2008. Istanbul, Turkey. Four armed terrorists attack the U.S. Consulate. Six people are killed.
September 17, 2008. Sana'a, Yemen. Terrorists dressed as military officials attack the U.S. Embassy with an arsenal of weapons including RPGs and detonate two car bombs. Sixteen people are killed, including an American student and her husband (they had been married for three weekswhen the attack occurred). This is the second attack on this embassy in seven months.
There were 13 Benghazi attacks on US embassies and consulates. Twelve of them happened during the Bush administration. Where was the outrage?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/
Government-shrinking conservatives cut $11B from the State Departments budget.
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-
In May 2012, Ambassador Steven continued to make requests for additional security. The State Department official replied that, due to other commitments and limited resources, unfortunately, MSD cannot support the request.
http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/up
When State robbed Peter to pay Paul, the cons complained that Peter was being whacked. Why didnt Obama do something? Missing $11B! = other commitments and limited resources.
The CIAS problem is that they dont tell anyone what they are doing. When they call for help, there are no fully-loaded planes ready for take-off. Resources have to be gathered and deployed. Preparation is the only substitute for time. Help came from Tripoli but not in time.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/d
Official Pentagon time-line:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/09/world/africa/libya-benghazi-timelineForeign Policy published an interesting item from Billy Birdzell, a retired Marine Corps infantry officer and special operations team leader, responding to Fox's secret informant.
http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/201
His conclusion:
Even if the CIF was on ready 5 (fully armed, sitting in the aircraft with pilots at the controls) in Sigonella (the closest European base to Benghazi) with advanced warning of an attack but unsure of the time, and they launched at 2232 on only-in-Hollywood orders from someone other than the president, they would not have been able to do anything about Stevens and Smith's deaths, nor stopped the mortar rounds.
Mr. Petraeus said the names of groups suspected in the attack including Al Qaedas franchise in North Africa and a local Libyan group, Ansar al-Shariah were removed from the public explanation of the attack immediately after the assault to avoiding alerting the militants that American intelligence and law enforcement agencies were tracking them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/world/
The other problem with the CIA is that they always need a cover story in case their operation is blown. So they OK a story that conceals whatever they want to conceal. And everyone on the team goes along with the story. Thats the entire story. End of story.
But if you are a conservative, then its a new story and all Obamas fault. Why was he sleeping on the job? Why did he refuse to act in time to save the ambassador? Why did he lie about what happened. Why doesnt he let the truth get out? Etc., etc.
Politicians (and some journalists) get away with that crap because half of all adults have below-average IQ. And only a small fraction of the other half has any military experience. They have a cartoon view of a world in which the President is omniscient and can push a button and counter attacks arrive on time.
The Commander-in-Chief does not direct a platoon. That is done by a lieutenant, far down the line. The C-in-C gets a report concerning one of dozens of simultaneous emergencies. He orders a fix and then turns away to the next emergency in line, expecting to eventually get an update from his next-in-command. It is only in the very rare Kill Ben Laden operation that the C-in-C observes the progress. Thats the real world, beyond the comprehension of a conservative.
The naïve view of the conservative is fed by visions of GWB landing on the deck of the Lexington, fresh from the combat zone where he personally directed the defeat of Saddam. Conservatives live in a cartoon world. The with-hunt wont work.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/article
You started complaining only after Bushs last Be... (