I supposed they’re there to protect the diplomats from drinking too much rum and avoid gun wielding pot growers if the diplomats take a drive up into the mountains
(CNS News) When terrorists attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11 of this year and killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, there were no U.S. Marines deployed in Libya to defend U.S. diplomats, diplomatic facilities and classified information and equipment.
However, says the State Department, a Marine Security Detachment was deployed on that day to carry out those duties at the U.S. Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados.
“U.S. Marine Security Guards serve at the U.S. Embassy in Bridgetown, and at other diplomatic missions around the world, to protect and safeguard American diplomacy,†Rebecca Ross, the U.S. Embassy to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Counselor for Public Affairs, said in a statement to CNSNews.com.
“On September 11, 2012, our U.S. Marine Security Detachment carried out its regular duties which include providing internal security, preventing the compromise of classified information and equipment, and providing protection for U.S. citizens and property located within official U.S. facilities,†Ross said.
Hmm, we have a Marine detachment in Barbados, but only had a small number of security contractors in Benghazi, of which we were told was “the correct number” by the State Department during the Congressional hearing. In a place with a growing al Qaeda presence, where Westerners weren’t safe, and which our Consulate had been attacked multiple times.
Now, the White House is claiming that Obama and Biden were never aware of the requests for more security at the Benghazi compound. I can believe that. First, that would be a function of the Department of State, and not something that would probably make it to the attention of either the VP or President. I’ll avoid anything snarky about the notion that if it was in the security briefings, Obama probably never bothered to read them. And because of this, it looks like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is joining the intelligence community in front of Obama’s big bus
“These kinds of issues are handling in the State Department by security officials,†White House spokesman Jay Carney said during Friday’s press briefing.
Security matters “are decided at the State Department,†he said, amid tough questioning from Fox News Channel’s Ed Henry.
The question remains, will this be a hit and run or a run her over then back up and park over her? And some have positioned this as being bad for Obama, that it would be wrong to throw her under the bus. I disagree: if she knew, and did nothing, then she should be run over, no matter how popular she is. We can talk about the buck stopping in the White House, but, the top person in any organization isn’t going to know about or make decisions on everything, and, again, this was a function of State. Fortunately, the State Department was very concerned making sure the post in Vienna received their Chevy Volt.
But, one would think that the POTUS would be briefed now and then about the security situation within a country he launched an air war against once in awhile, eh?
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
Read: On 9/11/12, There Was A Marine Detachment In Barbados, But Not Benghazi »
The debate was really two very different debates, depending on whether you watched it or listened to it. On the radio, Biden was much more assertive than President Obama was last week, seeming to have taken a page from Mitt Romney’s book. He was at all times on the offensive, never letting a point get past unchallenged, and occasionally trying to keep the point from getting past at all. He sounded confident and in command, if not always entirely grounded in facts and logic, while Ryan sounded more deferential.
