Joined
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4,373 Posts
Just want to rant,
When I graduated college and was looking for work in LE I found the civilian agency Naval Investigative Service (not to be confused with whats on TV). They expanded on some training I'd already gotten and for the next 3.5 years I escorted dignataries in Europe and Central America. I probably spent 120 days a year in foreign embassies and consulates including a few under duress. Now clearly I've been out of that world for some time, and DSS was formed while I was with NIS and our mission was reduced to supporting military officers the last two years I was on board.
When the news of Benghazi struck I wondered about the guys who did my job there. When I found out the Ambassador of our Nation had no one like me with him I was completely floored - in Libya? How the hell? What the "F" there is no way? No way in hell an Ambassador had no security personnel with him - no way? I never even escorted an Ambassador; they were above my pay grade, but people I did escort met with them often and they always had security. It still shocks me today.
As the story unfolded and the rumors of a riot causing the attack on the consulate I had to wonder if the guards simply could not fire on a crowd - I could it happening. Who wants to shoot in to a crowd of peple - but that was a lie. It was perpetuated for weeks and just a lie, and as the story unfolded and I learned that men volunteered themselves to try and rescue the Ambassador from a good distance away, fought hard for hours, and our people watched live footage of it I couldn't help but wonder - where was our aircraft? Where was the fast response teams? Where was the military that has bases just across the Med in Italy? I recalled a protocol for a central American installation I spent several nights in - we just needed to hold on 4 hours tops - if anything happened. That was our training - military response was assured within just 4 hours. And our closest base was in Texas. How could they watch this attack unfold and not send in military forces? This is just wrong on so many levels.
I heard Leon Penetta, who by the way I've met more than once, say we could not commit troops to what we did not know, but yet those on the ground blocks away from the compound committed themselves - twice - and drew fire from the enemy to their safe house because of it. That holds no water Leon, its wrong, you don't hold back troops commited to saving the lives of our foreign service operatives. They train for that very contingency. We had a drone in the air, but fired nothing from it - yet we fire on churches, mosques, schools and have killed countless civilians with drone attacks across the middle east - why none that night?
Finally the American response. FOX news catches hell for beating on our administration for this tragedy. Where is journalism today? Why doesn't this regime the masses in this country hold dear not have to be accountable for this tragedy. 3 months now and no one is in prison, no one has been summarily executed by drone, no one has been brought to justice in anyway for the attack on our soverign soil. Where are the journalist? They made a bigger deal on CNN about secret service agents hiring hookers in Columbia than terrorists killing Americans in Libya.
Rant out sorry.
When I graduated college and was looking for work in LE I found the civilian agency Naval Investigative Service (not to be confused with whats on TV). They expanded on some training I'd already gotten and for the next 3.5 years I escorted dignataries in Europe and Central America. I probably spent 120 days a year in foreign embassies and consulates including a few under duress. Now clearly I've been out of that world for some time, and DSS was formed while I was with NIS and our mission was reduced to supporting military officers the last two years I was on board.
When the news of Benghazi struck I wondered about the guys who did my job there. When I found out the Ambassador of our Nation had no one like me with him I was completely floored - in Libya? How the hell? What the "F" there is no way? No way in hell an Ambassador had no security personnel with him - no way? I never even escorted an Ambassador; they were above my pay grade, but people I did escort met with them often and they always had security. It still shocks me today.
As the story unfolded and the rumors of a riot causing the attack on the consulate I had to wonder if the guards simply could not fire on a crowd - I could it happening. Who wants to shoot in to a crowd of peple - but that was a lie. It was perpetuated for weeks and just a lie, and as the story unfolded and I learned that men volunteered themselves to try and rescue the Ambassador from a good distance away, fought hard for hours, and our people watched live footage of it I couldn't help but wonder - where was our aircraft? Where was the fast response teams? Where was the military that has bases just across the Med in Italy? I recalled a protocol for a central American installation I spent several nights in - we just needed to hold on 4 hours tops - if anything happened. That was our training - military response was assured within just 4 hours. And our closest base was in Texas. How could they watch this attack unfold and not send in military forces? This is just wrong on so many levels.
I heard Leon Penetta, who by the way I've met more than once, say we could not commit troops to what we did not know, but yet those on the ground blocks away from the compound committed themselves - twice - and drew fire from the enemy to their safe house because of it. That holds no water Leon, its wrong, you don't hold back troops commited to saving the lives of our foreign service operatives. They train for that very contingency. We had a drone in the air, but fired nothing from it - yet we fire on churches, mosques, schools and have killed countless civilians with drone attacks across the middle east - why none that night?
Finally the American response. FOX news catches hell for beating on our administration for this tragedy. Where is journalism today? Why doesn't this regime the masses in this country hold dear not have to be accountable for this tragedy. 3 months now and no one is in prison, no one has been summarily executed by drone, no one has been brought to justice in anyway for the attack on our soverign soil. Where are the journalist? They made a bigger deal on CNN about secret service agents hiring hookers in Columbia than terrorists killing Americans in Libya.
Rant out sorry.
