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Pentagon releases response timeline for Benghazi attacks
Nov 10, 2012
Written by
Associated Press
WASHINGTON New Pentagon details show that the first U.S. military unit arrived in Libya more than 15 hours after the attack on the consulate in Benghazi was over, and four Americans, including the ambassador, were dead.
A Defense Department timeline obtained by The Associated Press underscores how far the military response lagged behind the Sept. 11 attack, due largely to the long distances the commando teams had to travel to get to Libya.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his top military adviser were notified of the attack about 50 minutes after it began and were about to head into a previously scheduled meeting with President Barack Obama. The meeting quickly turned into a discussion of potential responses to the unfolding situation in Benghazi, where militants had surrounded the consulate and set it on fire. The first wave of the attack at the consulate lasted less than two hours.
Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed in the attack. Intelligence, State Department and military officials have released details on the response in an effort to answer Republican criticism that the administration was holding back what and when it knew about the assault.
Panetta and other defense officials have repeatedly said that they did not have armed aircraft or military teams near Benghazi that could have gotten there quickly.
But there have been persistent questions about whether the Pentagon should have moved more rapidly to get troops into Libya or had units closer to the area as the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America approached. In particular, there was at least a 19-hour gap between the time when Panetta first ordered military units to prepare to deploy between midnight and 2 a.m. local time in Tripoli and the time a Marine anti-terrorism team landed in Tripoli, which as just before 9 p.m.
A senior defense official on Friday said forces were at the ready around the globe, but it took time to assess the murky situation, evaluate the threats, put plans in place and get the teams there. With the situation on the ground rapidly evolving, military officials have said there were a number of potential scenarios that had to be evaluated, including concerns that the violence could continue for some time or there could be a hostage situation to which commandos might have to respond.
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Pentagon releases response timeline for Benghazi attacks | The Clarion-Ledger | clarionledger.com
