Benghazi--A failure of leadership at the top in Pentagon

Rowan Scarborough:

Congress generally has given the Pentagon a pass on failing to come to the aid of Americans in Benghazi — that is until now.

Six Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, led by Vice Chairman Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, have issued a blistering criticism of Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, who as Joint Chiefs chairman is the nation’s highest-ranking officer and chief military adviser to President Obama.

SPECIAL COVERAGE: Benghazi Attack Under Microscope

Under the heading “Failures in leadership — General Dempsey,” the senators singled out the four-star officer for not having an emergency plan in place in al Qaeda-infiltrated North Africa, including Benghazi, Libya.

No plan meant there were no U.S. forces close enough to arrive in time to help after terrorists invaded the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi at 9:40 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2012, and then attacked a nearby CIA annex holding spies, diplomats and security personnel.

The annex personnel were rescued by a team from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli and left Benghazi around 10 a.m. Sept. 12. The first U.S. military reinforcements — a Marine Corps Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team — did not arrive in the country until 9 p.m., 11 hours after the attack.

“The tenure of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, has been marked by what we view as significant deficiencies in command,” the six wrote in an addendum to the committee’s Jan. 15 report on Benghazi. “From Syria to Benghazi, there has been either a profound inability or clear unwillingness to identify and prevent problems before they arise. Given the known operating environment in Benghazi, much less North Africa, a strong military leader would have ensured there was a viable plan in place to rescue Americans should the need arise.”
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“General Dempsey’s attempts to excuse inaction by claiming that forces were not deployed because they would not have gotten there in time does not pass the common sense test,” they wrote. “No one knew when the attacks against our facilities in Benghazi would end, or how aggressive the attacks would be. That is the whole point of a pre-established emergency rescue plan — so that the length of the attack alone does not dictate the rescue or survival of Americans.”
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I think the criticism is fair unless he was ordered not to place troops in a position to help by the President.  We were clearly unprepared to help people who were in harms way and there was ample warning of the dangers these people faced.  Both the civilian and military leadership failed in their duty.