It has been some time since I last penned a blog post, however the events of the last month have overwhelmed me so, that I can no longer sit idle and allow my peers to remain in the dark on such a grave matter. I am speaking of the terror attack that occurred in Benghazi, Libya, the one that killed four Americans on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11.
It is not the attack alone that has warranted my attention; it is also the actions and events that have taken place in the aftermath. Upon hearing the fatal news on the morning of September 12, 2012, I immediately rejected the story of the film depicting the Prophet Mohammad as the culprit and inspiration of a vicious and deadly mob. Rather, I knew that an attack on US interests in Benghazi, Libya, was absolutely a planned attack by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or at the very least, an affiliate link to the group who wanted to send America a very clear message: "Osama bin laden may be dead but we are not on the run."
My conclusion is based on my knowledge of terrorist operations. It is known that Al Qaeda and associated groups, as well as the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, are planning these kinds of operations in our own backyard in South America. Casing and running surveillance of US and Israeli embassies as well as embassy personnel, are well documented within our intelligence community. If these acts are occurring in Latin America, it comes as no surprise that similar efforts would be done in Benghazi, Libya, where we have known since the Libyan Revolution that this area is an Al Qaeda stronghold.
Prior to a terrorist's deployment to a given region to execute an attack, individual(s) are often trained militarily to fulfill their objectives. In the post 9/11 era, terrorist organizations are not as capable, as they were a decade ago, to plan and execute an attack on American soil with such grandiose success. Therefore, they are left to target our interests abroad. The American people have known from day one that the "mob" who attacked the US Consulate were armed with mortars and RPG's among other arms. Ordinary mobs, including those in the Middle East, as seen by the greatest protest in Egypt, were not similarly prepared. This raises eyebrows.
According to Eric Nordstrom, a Regional Security Officer who was relieved of his duty in Tripoli in July of 2012, and delivered a testimony of the 9/11/12 attack to the House Oversight Committee on the Tenth of October, 2012, explains, "The ferocity and intensity of the attack was nothing that we had seen in Libya, or that I had seen in my time in the Diplomatic Security Service."
It is increasingly worrisome how the Obama administration refuses to be forthcoming and transparent about this attack. In the days following this attack, it was clear that the President, the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and UN Ambassador Susan Rice, all maintained that this was the act of an outraged mob. If Nordstrom contends that this attack was more elaborate and well-executed than anything he has ever witnessed in his 15 years of tenured service, then how could it have been conducted by an unorganized crowd of Libyans?
The President and Secretary of State even went as far as airing commercials on Pakistani television condemning the producer of the infamous film. It has recently been revealed by the father of former Navy SEAL, Tyrone Woods, that while awaiting the arrival of his son's American-flag, draped casket, at Andrews Air Force base, Hillary Clinton assured the grieving father that, “We’re going to have that person [filmmaker] arrested and prosecuted that did the video.”
During the second presidential debate, Obama contended that this attack has always been portrayed as the terrorist attack that it was. Assuming that were true, why did the President charge Governor Romney as "shooting first and aiming later" when he condemned this attack and referred to it as terrorism?
In the last couple of weeks, memos and emails have surfaced and have been leaked to the press clearly indicating that the President was aware of this attack in real time which contradicts Obama's explanation that the intelligence community has not made available, the details of the attack. It has also been reported that the President met with Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta and the Vice President at the White House during the attack and were able to watch the attack live via two overhead drones. Some argue the Obama administration has not been obliging about details of this tragedy because they fear it could tip the election.
While this accusation cannot currently be verified, the only conclusion to be made about the lack of transparency and potential cover-ups the Obama administration has put forward, are simply because they indeed have something to hide. Next week's election is critical. We owe it to all Americans who serve our country in foreign lands, in the number of capacities in which they do, to get to the bottom of this disaster. The House Oversight Committee has been working tirelessly to gather the facts.
As a voter, I will not tolerate the Water-gate tactics of governmental cover-ups, especially with four Americans dead, to solidify Barack Obama's reelection efforts. I demand honesty and integrity from my President, I vote Mitt Romney.
Kellie Dunlap
November 1, 2012
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