Benghazi timeline

This week, US intelligence officials finally released a timeline for the September 11th attack on the consulate in Benghazi that left ambassador Stevens and three other Americans dead. The question has been: Did someone give an order to stand down? Where was the cavalry?

Well it turns out it was trying to get there. The so-called annex near the consulate was actually a CIA station, and according to the report, it organized a counter attack within 25 minutes of getting the first call at 9:40 p.m.

The report says “team members approach the compound, attempt to secure heavy weapons from Libyans encountered along the way, and make their way onto the compound itself in the face of enemy fire.”

So there was a counter-attack; but the CIA was outgunned.

In addition, the report says, eight more operatives from the CIA station in Tripoli were desperately trying to charter a plane to Benghazi to join the fight. They finally got there after midnight, and were in position at the CIA annex when two of them were killed by a mortar attack. So the two final victims were from the rescue team that arrived from Tripoli.

There was also a drone flying above the fighting, but it was unarmed, and could only provide pictures.

It took a heavily armed Libyan military unit to finally end the fight and evacuate the survivors.

Why didn’t the Libyans get there sooner, why didn’t the CIA station have better weapons — don’t know.

But what the report does show is that the CIA was in the fight and did send reinforcements, and there is nothing in the report showing an order to “stand down.”