There were no American helicopters shot down at the CIA annex in Benghazi. But those who have seen the movie, “Blackhawk Down,” will surely recall the scene where the two Delta snipers, Randy Shugart and Gary Gordon, are desperately fighting off the Somali attackers, who are attempting to capture the crew of the downed Black Hawk. Shugart and Gordon, valiant men who were both posthumously awarded the congressional Medal of Honor, killed 25 Somalis while defending the crew before being killed by the enemy militia.
As the details of the large-scale attacks on the American diplomatic compound and the CIA annex gradually leak out into the press, it appears that two of the four fallen Americans, former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, died fighting in a manner no less valorous than Sgt. 1st Class Shugart and Master Sgt. Gordon. While there have been no reliable reports to substantiate the claim as yet, it has been rumored that the two ex-SEALs accounted for even more jihadists than the brave snipers of Mogadishu. If the rumors subsequently turn out to be true, the Battle of Benghazi would merit its place in military history alongside “Blackhawk Down,” the Alamo and other courageous American last stands.
And it would also merit considerable outrage on the part of the SEALs’ families, as well as the American military and the American public. In addition to the remarkable – and to be honest, not very credible – enemy body count, there are also reports, which are laid out in a wiki-timeline of the attack, that the two men requested military support at least three times and were repeatedly denied. It is reported that although the fighting at the annex went on for four hours, six hours and 20 minutes after the attack on the diplomatic mission began, no assistance was provided despite two Special Ops teams and an entire airbase full of jets and helicopters only two hours away. Even worse, the request for military support was denied, despite two surveillance drones that were patrolling the area and providing live information that was available to the White House.
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Now the Navy admiral in command of an aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East has been replaced due to an investigation into “an accusation of inappropriate leadership judgment,” there are rumors that Gen. Carter F. Ham, the commander of U.S. Africa Command, has been fired, and the CIA has put out an official statement declaring, “No one at any level in the CIA told anybody not to help those in need.” The situation fairly reeks of a desperate White House attempting to cover whatever responsibility for the debacle.
It is certainly still possible that the commander in chief was blameless in the entire affair, but that appears unlikely considering the amount of provable untruths that his administration has put forth with regard to it. This is why a public congressional investigation into the Benghazi attacks is required now, not after the election, so that the American people can take the facts of the matter into account while they are deciding if Barack Obama merits a second term.
Obama himself should welcome such an inquiry. Otherwise, he may one day find himself facing the families of Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, and being told something very similar to what Herbert Shughart, the father of Randy Shughart, told Bill Clinton after refusing to shake his hand.
“You are not fit to be president of the United States. The blame for my son’s death rests with the White House and with you. You are not fit to command.”
