Expert On Benghazi: We could have done much more

     Gentlemen

     I would say every US fighter pilot, retired or on active duty, knows that Panetta and Dempsey both are full of crap when they said there was no time to send help to Benghazi. They claim it was a problem of "time/space." All my friends and I said, "Bullshit." We know they could have gotten F-16s there from Aviano. 

     "Hands" Handley is a well-respected USAF fighter pilot. Here is his short resume and what he just wrote about Benghazi below that. If anything, Handley is pessimistic in his timeline of when F-16s could have reached Benghazi . I think they could have been airborne even sooner and turned quicker at Sig. The decision to not try was not based on capability. We had the operational capability in every way. 

     I hope Handley's taxes are in order. His IRS audit is forthcoming. 

     Eagle Biography 

     Colonel Phil "Hands" Handley 

     Colonel Phil "Hands" Handley is credited with the highest speed air- to-air gun kill in the history of aerial combat. He flew operationally for all but 11 months of a 26-year career, in aircraft such as the F-86 Sabre, F-15 Eagle, and the C-130A Hercules. Additionally, he flew 275 combat missions during two tours in Southeast Asia in the F- 4D and F-4E. His awards include 21 Air Medals, 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and the Silver Star. 

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     Betrayal in Benghazi

     Phil "Hands" Handley Colonel, USAF (Ret.) 

     The combat code of the US Military is that we don't abandon our dead or wounded on the battlefield. In US Air Force lingo, fighter pilots don't run off and leave their wingmen. If one of our own is shot down, still alive and not yet in enemy captivity, we will either come to get him or die trying. 

     Among America 's fighting forces, the calm, sure knowledge that such an irrevocable bond exists is priceless. Along with individual faith and personal grit, it is a sacred trust that has often sustained hope in the face of terribly long odds. 

     The disgraceful abandonment of our Ambassador and those brave ex-SEALs who fought to their deaths to save others in that compound is nothing short of dereliction-of-duty. 

     Additionally, the patently absurd cover-up scenario that was fabricated in the aftermath was an outright lie in an attempt to shield the President and the Secretary of State from responsibility. 

     It has been over eight months since the attack on our compound in Benghazi . The White House strategy, with the aid of a "lap dog" press has been to run out the clock before the truth is forthcoming. 

     The recent testimonies of the three "whistle blowers" have reopened the subject and hopefully will lead to exposure and disgrace of those responsible for this embarrassing debacle. It would appear that the most recent firewall which the Administration is counting on is the contention "that there were simply no military assets that could be brought to bear in time to make a difference" mainly due to the unavailability of tanker support for fighter aircraft. 

     This is simply BS, regardless how many supposed "experts" the Administration trot out to make such an assertion. 

     The bottom line is that even if the closest asset capable of response was half-way around the world, you don't just sit on your penguin ass and do nothing. 

     The fact is that the closest asset was not half-way around the world, but as near as Aviano Air Base, Italy where two squadrons of F-16Cs are based. 

     Consider the following scenario (all times Benghazi local): When Hicks in Tripoli receives a call at 9:40 PM from Ambassador Stevens informing him "Greg, we are under attack!" (his last words), he immediately notifies all agencies and prepares for the immediate initiation of an existing "Emergency Response Plan." 

     At AFRICON, General Carter Ham attempts to mount a rescue effort, but is told to "stand down". By 10:30 PM an unarmed drone is overhead the compound and streaming live feed to various "Command and Control Agencies" and everyone watching that feed knew damn well what was going on. 

     At 11:30 PM Woods, Doherty and five others leave Tripoli, arriving in Benghazi at 1:30 AM on Wednesday morning, where they hold off the attacking mob from the roof of the compound until they are killed by a mortar direct hit at 4:00 AM. 

     So nothing could have been done, eh? Nonsense. If one assumes that tanker support really "was not available" what about this: 

     When at 10:00 PM AFRICON alerts the 31st TFW Command Post in Aviano Air Base, Italy of the attack, the Wing Commander orders preparation for the launch of two F-16s and advises the Command Post at NAS Sigonella to prepare for hot pit refueling and quick turn of the jets. 

     By 11:30 PM, two F-16Cs with drop tanks and each armed with five hundred 20 MM rounds are airborne. Flying at 0.92 mach they will cover the 522 nautical miles directly to NAS Sigonella in 1.08 hours. While in-route, the flight lead is informed of the tactical situation, rules of engagement, and radio frequencies to use. 

     The jets depart Sigonella at 1:10 AM with full fuel load and cover the 377 nautical miles directly to Benghazi in 0.8 hours, arriving at 1:50 AM which would be 20 minutes after the arrival of Woods, Doherty and their team. 

     Providing that the two F-16s initial pass over the mob, in full afterburner at 200 feet and 550 knots did not stop the attack in its tracks, only a few well placed strafing runs on targets of opportunity would assuredly do the trick. 

     Were the F-16s fuel state insufficient to recover at Sigonelli after jettisoning their external drop tanks, they could easily do so at Tripoli International Airport , only one-half hour away. 

     As for those hand-wringing naysayers who would worry about IFR clearances, border crossing authority, collateral damage, landing rights, political correctness and dozens of other reasons not to act" screw them. It is high time that our "leadership" get their priorities straight and put America's interests first. 

     The end result would be that Woods and Doherty would be alive. Dozens in the attacking rabble would be rendezvousing with "72 virgins" and a clear message would have been sent to the next worthless POS terrorist contemplating an attack on Americans that it is not really a good idea to "tug" on Superman's cape. 

     Of course all this would depend upon a Commander In Chief that was more concerned with saving the lives of those he put in harm's way than getting his crew rested for a campaign fund raising event in Las Vegas the next day. As well as a Secretary of State that actually understood "What difference did it make?", or a Secretary of Defense whose immediate response was not to the effect that "One of the military tenants is that you don't commit assets until you fully understand the tactical situation." Was he not watching a live feed from the unarmed drone, and he didn't understand the tactical situation? 

     YGBSM! 

     Ultimately it comes down to the question of who gave that order to stand down? Whoever that coward turns out to be should be exposed, removed from office, and face criminal charges for dereliction of duty. The combat forces of the Untied States of America deserve leadership that really does "have their back" when the chips are down. 

FOR THOSE OF YOU HAVE ACTUALLY TAKEN THE TIME TO READ THIS, YOU NEED TO DO ONE THING FOR ME! FORWARD THIS OUT TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!  WE CAN NEVER ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN AGAIN AND WHOEVER GAVE THE "STAND DOWN" ORDER NEEDS TO BE EXPOSED!!!!

Benghazi Liares Exposed

May 10, 2013

Why discovering the truth about Benghazi matters—and it has to do with 9/11

by Guy Rodgers
Executive Director ACT! for America

There’s a lesson from 9/11 that MUST be applied to the Benghazi terror attack—and very few people are talking about it. Please take a few minutes to read this.

We know that terrorist attacks against America pre-9/11, such as the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the attack on the USS Cole, emboldened Osama bin Laden.

He watched the weak and confused responses by our government to those terrorist attacks and concluded the United States government and its people didn’t have the will to fight back against a larger attack.

He even alluded to this in one of his videos in the late 90’s, when he made reference to the world watching to see who is “the strong horse.”

Fast forward to Benghazi.

It should be abundantly clear by now to any reasonable observer that there were government decisions made prior to the attack that compromised security in Benghazi; there were decisions made during the attack that compromised the ability to rescue those under attack; and there were decisions made after the attack to alter the narrative to make it look like a video prompted the attack.

Even the “establishment media” has finally, finally, finally begun to take a closer look at this.

For instance, this short, must-see ABC News report, provides powerful evidence that it was people inside the Obama administration who changed the talking points about what happened in Benghazi—not the intelligence community as White House Press Secretary Jay Carney claimed on November 28, 2012.

Here’s one excerpt from that ABC News report:

In an email to officials at the White House and the intelligence agencies, State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland took issue with including that information because it “could be abused by members [of Congress] to beat up the State Department for not paying attention to warnings, so why would we want to feed that either?”

Nuland was referring to information from the CIA that was originally included in the talking points. The CIA clearly had concerns about previous al Qaida-related activity and how it could not “rule out” that al-Qaida related Islamists were involved in the attack.

In other words, Nuland was more concerned about the State Department getting a black eye for ignoring security warnings than it was about putting out the truth as to why those four men died.

In spite of all of these new revelations, there are those who still ask, “Why does it matter?” Even some ACT! for America members have emailed us asking why we keep focusing on this.

Here’s why we won’t let this go. It’s because of the lesson America should have learned from 9/11.

9/11 happened in large part because American leadership displayed weakness, confusion, and a lack of resolve in responding to the terrorist attacks that occurred prior to 9/11.

Now, today, consider what jihadists around the world are watching:

An administration blaming a video for the Benghazi attack. An administration desperately trying to keep the American people in the dark about what really happened—both before the attack and after the attack. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in testimony before Congress, blurting out “what difference does it make” regarding what really happened. A compliant “establishment media” that failed to doggedly investigate this attack prior to last year’s election, capped off by CNN’s Candy Crowley, the debate moderator, jumping to Obama’s side during his debate with Mitt Romney. Secretary of State John Kerry recently saying “we need to move on to more important matters.” State Department career officials, such as Gregory Hicks, getting punished for trying to get the truth out. Democrats in Congress attacking these whistleblowers from the State Department, and describing the investigation as a “witch hunt.”

What message is being sent, loud and clear, to our jihadist enemies in America and around the world? The same message of weakness, confusion and a lack of resolve that was sent prior to 9/11. But this time it’s worse, because not only has the response by this administration been weak and confusing, it has compounded that failure by attempting to cover up what really happened.

Are there Republicans in Washington who want to use this debacle for partisan, political purposes? Of course—just as there would be Democrats trying to do so if this happened on the watch of a Republican president.

But that’s not why ACT! for America continues to press for the full truth to be brought to light.

Our reason is this:

THE JIHADISTS OF THE WORLD NEED TO KNOW, WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT, THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES WHO WILL NOT CAPITULATE IN THE FACE OF TERRORISM AND WHO ARE NOT CONFUSED ABOUT WHO THE ENEMY IS AND WHY THE ENEMY IS ATTACKING US. THEY NEED TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE IN AMERICA WHO WILL NOT REST UNTIL WE HAVE A FULL ACCOUNTING OF WHY THESE MEN DIED, SO THAT AMERICA CAN TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION TO ENSURE SOMETHING LIKE THIS NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. THEY NEED TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES WHO WILL CONTINUE TO DEMAND THAT OUR GOVERNMENT POLICIES RELATED TO JIHAD BE CHANGED TO ACCURATELY DEFINE WHO OUR ENEMY IS AND WHY THEY ARE ATTACKING US.

We cannot, as a nation, afford once again to send signs of weakness and confusion to the jihadist world, as we did before 9/11.

If we do, we are giving the jihadists of the world every encouragement to attack us again in a major way.

The “easy button” would be for ACT! for America to, as John Kerry said, move on to other matters.

But our mission to protect our national security—our very reason for being—and our responsibility to our fellow Americans, will not allow us to do that.

This is why, on Monday, we will issue a national ACTION ALERT to pressure House Speaker John Boehner to appoint a special select committee to finally and completely ferret out the truth—and issue recommendations regarding what must be done so that this does not happen again.

Rest assured, we will continue to fight for you, for your families, and for the well-being of this country we love.

Yours for a safe and free America,


Guy Rodgers