TAPPER: In the wake of the attacks in Benghazi, the Pentagon and the State Department both made statements they then had to correct, the Pentagon involving whether or not there were Marines at the embassy in Tripoli — there were not — and the State Department regarding the presence of security firms at the Benghazi compound. Why was there such confusion? And is the White House or anyone conducting any sort of internal investigation into what went wrong? CARNEY: Well, there is an ongoing investigation into what happened in Benghazi that’s being led by the FBI. And –
TAPPER: Not that one. I’m not talking about the criminal act. I’m talking about the — obviously, there wasn’t adequate security, that — along the lines of what went wrong and what the administration could have done better. CARNEY: I think I would refer you, for questions about security at the Benghazi diplomatic facility and broadly speaking at diplomatic facilities — consulates, embassies — around the world, to the State Department. In terms of the statements that were corrected by Defense of State, I would refer you to those departments. You know, from our perspective, we got out to you the information that we had as soon as we had it and it was available. And our assessment of what happened has been based on the best available information that we’ve had. There is an ongoing investigation, led by the FBI, now going back to specifically happened in Benghazi, and we await the results of that investigation for more information about the protests and the attacks and what precipitated them and who participated in them, with the primary objective here of fulfilling the president’s commitment that those people responsible for the deaths of four Americans be brought to justice.
TAPPER: What reason could there be? Or let me — let me rephrase that, who made the decision that there should not be in Marines in — at our diplomatic posts in Libya? More than half of our diplomatic posts have Marines. I understand they’re not there to protect people; they’re there to protect classified data. But it doesn’t hurt to have them there. Who make that decision? CARNEY: Well, I think security at diplomatic facilities is overseen by and run by the State Department. So I’d refer you to them about how decisions are made and what the allocation of resources was in Benghazi and elsewhere. I think they’re the best people to answer that question.
TAPPER: Is the president concerned that there was a failure by someone in the administration to ensure adequate security measures, whether through – CARNEY: The president is concerned that violent actions were taken that lead to the deaths of four Americans. You can be sure that he’s concerned about that. And he is absolutely concerned that we take the necessary measures to make sure that those who killed Americans are brought to justice. And he has been focused from the beginning on ensuring that adequate security reinforcements be brought to bear at embassies and consulates and diplomatic facilities where that’s deemed necessary. Again, there’s an investigation — a broad investigation into what happened and how and why in Benghazi. And we have — will await the results.
TAPPER: Is that about the perpetrators of the violence? CARNEY: Well, I think it encompasses everything that happened — I mean, I’m sure that they will look at everything that happened there. I mean, I would refer you to the FBI for details. But look — I mean, Jake, I think what happened in –
TAPPER: It was the anniversary of 9/11, an unstable country with roving bands of individuals who are armed, a government that says it itself cannot provide security; it’s not ready to do so yet.
And it would just seem not that complicated to discern that there need to be some sort — serious security effort there to protect our diplomats. CARNEY: Jake, I appreciate the question, and I understand it. And I — and I can simply say that there is an active investigation into what happened in Benghazi that led to the killing of four Americans. And the president has taken action to make sure that we have reinforced security at facilities as deemed necessary and is very focused on ensuring that we bring to justice those who killed Americans abroad. But I appreciate your question, and I think that, you know, we are awaiting the results of the FBI investigation.
TAPPER: OK. On one other subject, did the president have any response to the Office of Special Counsel report on Secretary Sebelius violating the Hatch Act? CARNEY: I have not spoken to him about it. I think that Secretary Sebelius has responded to that and made sure that what was an — you know, her remarks were extemporaneous. The Health and Human Services Department has since reclassified the event to meet the correct standard. The U.S. Treasury has been reimbursed. And Secretary Sebelius has met with ethics experts to ensure that this never happens again. The error was immediately acknowledged by the secretary and promptly corrected, and no taxpayer dollars were misused.
TAPPER: Is it safe to assume that as far as the president’s concerned, that’s the end of the matter? CARNEY: Well, I think it’s safe to assume that action has been taken by the secretary and the department to remedy what was, you know, the result of an inadvertent error based on extemporaneous remarks. And she acknowledged it immediately, promptly corrected it and ensured that no taxpayer dollars were used and that the event — the department reclassified the event to make sure that the correct standards were met.
TAPPER: Thank you.
-Jake Tapper
September 20th, 2012, 20:18
American Patriot
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/da...7534946578.jpgLibyans walk on the grounds of the gutted U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. Photo: AP/Ibrahim Alaguri
Updated 7:42 pm.
It was not a simple mob that attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday, killing four Americans. Benghazi was the scene of a pitched battle, one in which unknown Libyan assailants besieged American diplomats with small-arms fire for over four hours, repelling several attempts by U.S. personnel to regain control of it.
Nor was what happened in Benghazi a simple story of Americans assaulted by the Libyans they helped to liberate from Moammar Gadhafi last year, American officials say. Libyan security forces and a sympathetic local militia helped the Americans to suppress the attack and get the diplomats inside to safety.
That account is the first official telling of Tuesday’s events. It’s preliminary, as much of what has been initially reported in the media on Wednesday has proven incorrect. And it was provided to reporters late Wednesday afternoon by Obama administration officials who would not speak for the record.
Now, a team of 50 Marines has arrived in Libya to secure the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, where the Benghazi staff was ultimately evacuated. And Google is even assisting by blocking some access to a provocative, anti-Islam video that may have provided a pretext for the attacks. But all that comes too late for the Benghazi consulate, and for four Americans there who died, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.
Beginning at 4 p.m. Washington time on Tuesday, unknown Libyans began an assault on the group of buildings used by the State Department as a Benghazi consulate. That apparently took the consulate by surprise: The diplomats there received no indication of an attack brewing when it reviewed its security posture ahead of Tuesday’s 9/11 anniversary. The compound lacked a Marine guard force, as is present at U.S. embassies in foreign capitals. Nor did it have other typical diplomatic security features, such as bulletproof glass and reinforced doors. Libyan guards were said to be outside the walls providing an outer layer of security, with a State Department security detail of undisclosed size within.
The attack, with small arms fire, set the main building aflame with three people inside, including Amb. Christopher Stevens. A consular official responsible for securing the complex, who initially left the building to escape the flames and thick smoke, found information-management officer and gamer Sean Smith dead inside.
A still-unknown number of American security personnel, dodging small arms fire and flame, attempted unsuccessfully to regain control of the main building 45 minutes after the attack began, retreating to an adjacent building annex. By 5:20 p.m. Washington time, Libyan security forces, assisted by what was described as a sympathetic local militia, regained control of the main building, and assisted an evacuation of the staff of approximately 25 to 30 to the annex. But by 6 p.m., the assailants began to attack the annex with small arms fire. It was there that two other, as-yet-unidentified U.S. nationals died.
It was not until 8:30 p.m. D.C. time that the attack was suppressed. But the security forces had lost track of Stevens.
Administration officials said that Libyans transferred Stevens to a Benghazi hospital at some point during the fighting. It is unknown if he was dead or alive when he reached the hospital, or what ultimately killed him. His body was ultimately transferred to American personnel at Benghazi airport, where a chartered U.S. flight was called in to evacuate the Benghazi diplomatic staff to the embassy in Tripoli.
All told, four U.S. nationals are dead and another three are wounded; it is not believed, contrary to early media reports, that any are U.S. Marines. The wounded and dead have been taken to American military hospitals in Germany, and the human remains will be taken back to the United States.
U.S. officials declined to speak to any motivations behind the assault. Much speculation has turned to a now-viral movie that criticizes the Prophet Muhammad as a tyrant and a sexual deviant. The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg interviewed a consultant on the film, “a self-described militant Christian activist,” who said the film’s producer was credited under a pseudonym, “Sam Bacile.” The reason for the pseudonym, Goldberg reported, was “because he leads anti-Islam protests outside of mosques and schools, and because, [the consultant] said, he is a Vietnam veteran and an expert on uncovering al Qaeda cells in California.”
The Associated Press appears to have tracked down “Bacile.” He is 55 year-old Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a convicted fraudster who was sentenced in 2010 to 21 months in federal prison. He was also ordered to pay $790,000 in fines, and told not to use computers or the internet for five years without his probation officer’s okay.
The anti-Islam Florida pastor Terry Jones is said not to be involved in the film, but Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Jones this morning to persuade him to revoke support for the film.
Google is taking another step. Bloomberg reported that Google will not remove a 14-minute clip from the film available on YouTube, as a YouTube statement said the clip was “clearly within our guidelines.” But it will restrict access to the film on YouTube in Egypt and Libya. Reuters reported that the Afghanistan government has already blocked YouTube access to prevent any potential provocation inside that country.
Administration officials have said they have not yet received indications that Afghanistan, which has already experienced riots ostensibly motivated by affronts to Islam, will soon experience related attacks. But U.S. embassy personnel worldwide have been told to beef up their security as they see fit as a precaution.
For now, in Libya, a Marine Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team or FAST team has the mission to secure the embassy in Tripoli and to assist with any necessary evacuations of U.S. personnel out of Libya. Based out of Rota, Spain, it will not assist in a hunt for the perpetrators of Tuesday’s attack that President Obama has promised will occur.
Defense Department personnel have not, as yet, addressed the composition of that force. Much of it is likely to fall within the command of Army. Gen. Carter Ham, the commander of U.S. troops in Africa. American drones and other military intelligence assets, some of which may not be under Ham’s command, are also likely to be used. Which means the next battle of Benghazi could be even more intense than the last.
September 20th, 2012, 20:23
American Patriot
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
Libya Premier Says Pursuing Suspects in U.S. Mission Attack
By Brigitte Scheffer and Tarek El-Tablawy on September 20, 2012
Libya is pursuing suspects in the fatal attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi who have fled abroad and the government is focusing efforts on improving security, Prime Minister-elect Mustafa Abushagur said.
Abushagur, who was named premier this month, said that eight Libyan nationals had been arrested in connection with the assault and that Ansar al-Shariah, an Islamist militia, was one of the groups thought to be involved. Several suspects are currently being sought after crossing the border into Egypt, Abushagur said in an interview today in his office in Tripoli, the capital, vowing that “these crimes will not go unpunished.”
An attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on Sept. 11 left four Americans including the ambassador, Chris Stevens, dead. More than a year since Muammar Qaddafi was toppled, Libya is still mired in political unrest and economic insecurity. The economy contracted by 61 percent last year as oil production and exports were disrupted by the rebellion, according to the International Monetary Fund.
While the country has a “very specific” plan on how to secure the nation, the government currently is unable to force militias that played a key role in the uprising to disarm, Abushagur said. “Security is a top priority for the next three to six months and 70 percent of our efforts are dedicated to stabilizing Libya,” he said. Consulate Arrests
Libyan officials have blamed the consulate attack on militants taking advantage of unrest stoked by an amateur film made in the U.S. denigrating the Prophet Muhammad. The film sparked protests in several Arab nations, underscoring the challenge the young governments in the so-called Arab Spring nations face in ensuring political stability and economic development while addressing anti-Western sentiment.
Libya’s stability is also threatened by well-armed militias. The country’s previous government under the National Transitional Council, which handed over power to the recently elected General National Congress, was unable to disarm the groups.
“We are very sorry for the deaths of four American nationals on our soil,” he said. “Chris Stevens was a great man and cared for our country.” Planned Rallies
Abushagur’s comments come a day ahead of planned mass rallies in the eastern city of Benghazi against the armed groups. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns is due to meet him later today in “a show of strength and cooperation with the Libyans against extremists and others who want to derail the democratic process,” Abushagur said.
Burns, Abushagur and the Cabinet were due to attend a memorial service for Stevens and the three other Americans today in Tripoli.
“We have made concrete efforts to achieve a great deal of security in the country,” Abushagur said, adding that he was waiting for the full report on the attack on the consulate and nearby safe house to which the Americans had fled before their deaths.
He said authorities believe that as many as 100 people attacked the consulate, though “only 10 to 15 were carrying weapons.” Ansar al-Shariah, which advocates the establishment of an Islamist state in Libya, has denied involvement in the attack.
Speaking to reporters in Tripoli today, Burns stressed “the determination of the U.S. to do exactly what Chris Stevens tried so hard to do, and that is to help Libyans realize the promise of the revolution and to not allow it to be hijacked by extremists.” New Government
Abushagur, 61, moved in the 1970s to the U.S., where he earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the California Institute of Technology. He returned to Libya in March 2011, working as an adviser to the National Transitional Council. He was named deputy prime minister in November and was declared the first elected prime minister-designate in the modern history of Libya on Sept. 12.
“The new Cabinet has to be formed and presented to the General National Congress by Sept. 30,” said Abushagur. “There is a 10-day period to finalize the choice of ministers.”
One critical task facing Abushagur will be to stabilize the economy, which continues to be affected by unrest and protests. An air traffic control strike at Tripoli on Sept. 16 forced airspace over the city to be shut down for roughly a day.
“We want to create a business-friendly environment and will be reviewing many of the laws that are currently in place,” said Abushagur.
The IMF projects that economic growth will return in 2012 after oil output rebounded to near pre-war levels following the fall of Qaddafi. Oil has typically accounted for more than 70 percent of the country’s GDP and roughly 90 percent of government revenues, according to the organization. ‘Historic Juncture’
“Libya is at a historic juncture, and the authorities face the twin challenges of stabilizing the economy and responding to the aspirations of the revolution,” the IMF said in a May report. “The short-term challenges are to manage the political transition, normalize the security situation and exercise budget discipline while maintaining macroeconomic stability.”
Abushagur said that none of the current Cabinet ministers were guaranteed jobs in his administration, stressing that “no minister is indispensable.”
“We need ministers who can perform the job they are given,” he said.
Abushagur said the new government will focus on providing basic services to the people, including health care, education and coping with a dilapidated national infrastructure. It will also push to diversify the economy away from oil and create a financial hub for the region, he said.
Libya “has a lot to offer foreign investors and we will create a good business climate,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brigitte Scheffer in Tripoli at bscheffer@bloomberg.net Tarek El-Tablawy in Cairo at teltablawy@bloomberg.net
September 20th, 2012, 20:39
American Patriot
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/201...62_620x350.jpg Pakistani Muslim demonstrators burn a U.S. flag during a protest against an anti-Islam film in Quetta on September 20, 2012.
(Credit: BANARAS KHAN/AFP/GettyImages)
(CBS News) German satire magazine "Titanic" announced intentions on Thursday to publish a cover depicting an angry Muslim about to stab former German First Lady Bettina Wulff, and the publisher wouldn't say in an interview with a leading German publication whether or not the Muslim is the prophet Mohammad.
The news comes fresh on the heels of a French satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, publishing new cartoons of Mohammad amid violent protests in the Muslim world against an anti-Muslim film produced in the U.S. by a Coptic Christian immigrant.
Some conservative Muslim clerics insist any depictions of their prophet - satirical or not - are so blasphemous that the person who publishes or creates them deserves to die. A small portion have acted in retribution for those perceived insults, with sometimes deadly consequences.
That can leave publishers with a weighty decision: If potentially Mohammad-mocking material could further inflame tensions with possibly violent consequences, is it fair to question their calls to publish that material?
Most Western countries consider the right to free speech as sacred as some clerics consider their prophet's image sacred. Yet there are limits.
The most famous legal case over free speech in the U.S. was the Supreme Court decision in Schenck v. United States in 1919, in which the case for using a "clear and present danger" concern by the government to shut down free speech was first established. Later, this was amended to take into account the speaker's "intentions," thus making it harder to legally limit speech.
There are no recent successful cases in the West of a legal challenge against the publication of purely satirical images. Even Pope Benedict XVI backed down from a legal challenge against Titanic when they published a cover image depicting the pope soiling himself.
Titanic publisher Leo Fischer said his intentions with the recent publication were in fact not to mock Mohammad, but instead he told the Financial Times he wanted "to warn other poorly made defamatory films" like the one currently being protested in the Muslim world.
He told Der Spiegel: "I consider the view that European Muslims are nothing more than sword-swinging crazies to be racist. I am relying on their understanding -- and on their indifference."
However one interprets the Titanic image, or the Charlie Hebdo cartoons, they are legal, so the questions becomes whether or not they're ethically correct.
In France, the reaction has largely been to defend the publication of naked Mohammad cartoons by Charlie Hebdo, but Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius likened the act of doing so to "pouring oil on the fire."
Charlie Hebdo publisher Stephane Charbonnier says the responsibility for any potential ensuing violence over the cartoons are not his fault, but are instead the fault of the people committing the violence. He claims no responsibility for their actions.
"The accusation that we are pouring oil on the flames in the current situation really gets on my nerves," Charbonnier said at a recent press gaggle, according to Der Spiegel. "After the publication of this absurd and grotesque film about Muhammad in the U.S., other newspapers have responded to the protests with cover stories. We are doing the same thing, but with drawings. And a drawing has never killed anyone."
September 21st, 2012, 19:24
vector7
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
Attack Americans and you will die. It's just that simple. Those of us who took the oath to defend this country and the Constitution WILL do it. I'm one person, but there are MILLIONS of us that haven't been brainwashed by the Progressives of this country. If the Muslims start attacking Americans the Muslims will die. That's your final warning. Americans won't stand for these threats any longer.
Muslims don't want peace, they want to rule. I will never be rules by them.
Malaysian protesters burn US flag over anti-Islam film
Posted: 21 September 2012 1848 hrs
KUALA LUMPUR: About 3,000 Muslims marched on the US embassy in Malaysia on Friday, burning an American flag, over a US-made film that has sparked anger in the Islamic world.
Although there was no violence, angry demonstrators declared their willingness to sacrifice their lives to defend the honour of Prophet Mohammed and warned "there will be consequences" over the film.
"We will not allow the prophet to be insulted. We are willing to sacrifice our lives and property," said Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, an official with the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), which spearheaded the march.
About 60 percent of Malaysia's 28 million people are Malay-Muslims.
Protesters shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) and held up signs denouncing the film, America and Jews.
One placard read: "Obama, our patience has its limit. Don't blame us if your citizens die. Blame yourself. U started it!"
Demonstrators handed a memo to an American embassy official, demanding a US apology, "maximum sentences" for the movie-makers and an investigation into whether there was a "planned agenda to provoke hatred and anger towards Muslims".
However, PAS officials said they were not behind the flag burning, and condemned it.
The protest forced the closure of a busy main road in the heavily congested capital Kuala Lumpur for nearly two hours.
The low-budget "Innocence of Muslims", produced by a US Christian activist, mocks Muslims and Prophet Mohammed.
Western, and particularly US, diplomatic missions have been under siege around the world since a trailer for the movie gained attention this month on YouTube.
This week France also found itself in the firing line after the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo printed a batch of cartoons caricaturing Prophet Mohammed.
On Friday, hundreds of protesters also condemned the film at a separate demonstration nearby, organised by the youth wing of Malaysia's ruling party.
The US embassy in Malaysia had closed for a half-day on Friday ahead of the planned protest, while the nearby French embassy closed for the entire day.
Anti-French and anti-American protests also erupted in Indonesia on Friday.
Protesters gathered outside US and French missions, which were closed across the country on the Muslim holy day amid fears of violence, targeted American fast food outlets and scuffled with police.
In Medan, North Sumatra province, dozens of protesters from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) burnt an American flag outside the US consulate.
Outside the French consulate in Surabaya, capital of East Java province, some 200 protesters from another Islamic group chanted "crush America, crush France".
They earlier scuffled with several hundred policemen in riot gear outside a nearby McDonalds. They sealed the entrance to the restaurant with tape, which carried the slogans "death to the filmmakers" and "boycott American products".
About 50 protesters demonstrated outside the US embassy in Jakarta after Friday prayers, where some 200 policemen were stationed.
Some 50 demonstrators gathered at the French embassy in the capital, where they chanted "death to France", "France is evil" and "crush France".
September 23rd, 2012, 21:35
vector7
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
Not only are we seeing the White House and State Department call more attention to the Mohammed-mocking "Innocence of Muslims" than any terrorist network ever could've hoped for, but the President's \indefensible scapegoating of the film and filmmaker to draw attention and blame away from U.S. security failures apparently knows no bounds.
Next week, Obama will denounce the film in a speech before the United Nations General Assembly:
National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor previews the president's speech to the UN General Assembly next week:
"UNGA always provides an opportunity for the President to put the international situation in context, and to put forward a vision of US leadership. I would certainly expect the President to address the recent unrest in the Muslim world, and the broader context of the democratic transitions in the Arab World."
"As he has in recent days, the President will make it clear that we reject the views in this video, while also underscoring that violence is never acceptable[.]
My God, between the media and the Obama White House, we are finally witnessing Orwell's "1984" blossom to life.
As our economy slows, incomes shrink, unemployment creeps up, and poverty explodes -- the media assures us we're in "recovery" and that our frustrations should be taken out on "Emmanuel Goldstein," also known as "America's Successful."
As Obama's appalling policy of disengaging in the Middle East comes to fruition in the form of the region exploding and al-Qaeda's targeted assassination of an American ambassador -- the media spends two weeks savaging Mitt Romney and directing our sorrow, rage, and helplessness on "Emmanuel Goldstein," also known as "A Stupid Filmmaker."
For weeks this administration, aided and abetted by The State Media, has shamelessly lied to us about what happened in Libya. Moreover, in order to cover up and distract for unforgivable security lapses, this hapless filmmaker has been targeted for all of the blame -- certainly more blame than the Administration's failure to secure a consulate on 9/11 (of all days), but even more blame than the actual murderers.
And now, even though we know the truth about what really happened in Libya, it won't stop. It will never stop. Because Obama knows his media will never make him pay a political price for lying and scapegoating.
At all costs, the media quietly whispers amongst themselves, Obama must be reelected.
The most troubling and Orwellian element in of all this is that the Administration's lies are now becoming truths. As we saw in Pakistan and elsewhere yesterday, Obama's scapegoating and calling unnecessary attention to this film appears to be turning into a self-fulfilling prophecy. How many millions of Muslims are hearing about the film that might not have if Obama didn’t need his Emmanuel Goldstein? Now that our government has ensured every Islamist radical on the planet knows about this film, how much easier is it for extremists to use it to foment chaos?
Donchaknow, it's the "in-thing," what all radicals are doing this season! Don’t you watch the American media?
And so, next week, as Obama condemns this film, and therefore the American ideal of freedom of speech, before the entire world -- all in an effort to quadruple-down on a brazen lie that's already been exposed as such -- it will truly be the ultimate Big Brother moment of this presidency.
September 23rd, 2012, 22:42
American Patriot
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
He needs to be shut down.
I don't see why people are up in arms about this.
September 24th, 2012, 01:36
Avvakum
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick Donaldson
He needs to be shut down.
I don't see why people are up in arms about this.
Our dumbed-down schools have for some time been producing people who are seriously lacking in critical thinking. Aside from the acting in this 'movie', it's actually true that Mohammad was a Warlord and a Demoniac/Pedophile False Prophet, as reprsented in the Film.
If people in the West actually knew or cared about these facts, Islam would not have the increasing hold it has on the World today.
September 24th, 2012, 13:22
American Patriot
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
That should have read "I don't see why people aren't up in arms over this".....
The truth is that people DO know and care about the facts. 50% of us anyway. The other 50% are the so-called Progressives and Liberals who want to let "everyone" have a say in things.
The problem is our own system is being used against us now and we know it.
September 24th, 2012, 20:04
vector7
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
On September 11, 2012, as U.S. embassies were being attacked in Cairo and Benghazi, Barack Hussein Obama addressed the Arab Forum. The video is currently on the Whitehouse’s Youtube page. Obama began by verbally bowing to the government of Qatar and an Islamic sheik referring to him as “his Highness” in an Arabic accent. h/t to tweeter @NavyNmySoul
While Obama was praising the Arab Spring and promising billions of dollars to Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, the Arab Spring wasburning American flags, chanting death to America, and raping and killing an American ambassador and three other Americans in those same exact countries.
Two days later, as Muslims continued rioting, burning and killing, the State Department and Hillary Clinton wasted taxpayer dollars to throw a Muslim party to celebrate the end of Ramadan (known to Muslims as the Month of Jihad).
I've been pretty busy the last several days and am just now getting around to looking into this.
This is a MUCH, MUCH bigger deal than has been let on to and, no surprise, I have seen virtually no mainstream or even alternative media coverage of this.
In this attack, the squadron commander, Lt. Col. Christopher Raible was one of the 2 killed. Additionally, the attack destroyed 6 Harriers, almost an entire squadron of the aircraft! That is a big deal for 2 reasons:
1) There are no more of these aircraft being built and the F-35 isn't ready to be fielded yet. In fact, as a stopgap until the Marine Corps version of the F-35 is ready to be fielded, the Marines had to buy retired Harriers from the British since the Harriers they've got have seen so much wear and tear since TWOT started.
2) There are 7 operational and 1 training squadrons of Harriers and we just lost almost an entire squadron of them. This is one of the largest loses of US military aircraft in 11 years of combat in Afghanistan and could well be one of the largest single day losses of aircraft since Vietnam.
Meanwhile I literally just heard on the radio the Marine Corps is busy punishing Marines for pissing on corpses. No big deal we just lost a squadron of aircraft to enemy action, let's focus on trying to appease a group of people that have been perpetually pissed off for the last 14 centuries. :mad: :mad: :mad:
If there were a Republican in the Oval Office, I can guarantee that we'd be hearing about how this was a modern day Tet Offensive meanwhile with a Dem in there, silence. Simply unreal where priorities of the nation, media, political "leadership", and military are.
September 24th, 2012, 23:04
American Patriot
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
I guess I'll be pissing on corpses soon enough. If those mother fuckers think they can get away with attack us here in America again without a hell of a lot of backlash they have another think coming.
I knew this was a big thing Ryan. I know we're pretty pissed in the military channels but I can't say more than that.
All I can do is surmised that Mr. Fucking Apology Tour will apologize for the terrorists breaking a nail while attack our planes.
A good friend of the family JUST left from that place a few days prior to the attacks. He was unhappy to say the least. He said it shouldn't have happened at all.
September 24th, 2012, 23:07
vector7
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
After Taliban gunmen destroyed eight Harrier jets at a US camp in Helmand Province, the US military has suffered its worst air loss in one day since the Vietnam War.
The Taliban attacked Camp Bastion, the main strategic base in southwestern Afghanistan, on Sept. 14, causing $200 million in damage in the single most destructive strike on a Western base during the war, according to military officials.
Two Marines were killed, nine coalition personnel were wounded and six jets costing between $23 million and $30 million were completely destroyed.
The approximately 15 insurgents, dressed in US Army uniforms, had penetrated the base Friday night and instantly began shooting and setting fire to parked Navy-AV-8B Harrier jets when they were inside. Three refueling stations were severely damaged during the attack.
“It was a running gun battle for a while, two and a half hours, nonetheless they were able to get to the aircraft before we could intercept them,” a military official told the New York Times. Using machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and possibly mortars, most of the aircrafts were demolished.
After a drawn-out nighttime battle that made it hard to see the enemy, all but one of the Taliban fighters were killed. The remaining insurgent is now in military custody.
Camp Bastion is one of the largest and best-defended posts in Afghanistan, making it troubling that the attackers were able to inflict so much damage. “We’re saying it’s a very sophisticated attack,” a military official told the Times. “We’ve lost aircraft in battle, but nothing like this.”
The Taliban made a statement blaming the attack on the anti-Muslim video that sparked outrage in the Arab world. But Wahid Mujda, an Afghan analyst who tracks the Taliban, told the Times that an attack as sophisticated as this one took a lot of planning and training, thereby being unrelated to the release of the video.
“I do not think that the Camp Bastion attack had anything to do with the anti-Prophet movie,” he said. “Given the sophistication of the attack one can say with a lot of confidence that the Taliban had been training, rehearsing and preparing for weeks and even months. Everything was not planned and decided overnight.”
The detrimental attack comes after nearly 10,000 American Marines have left Helmand Province over the past several months, now that the offensive is over. But more coalition service members have died this year in Afghanistan. After Friday’s attack, four more service members were killed on Sunday in Zabul Province, bringing the total number of deaths this year to 51. Last year, 35 were killed as a result of this type of violence.
And as US involvement in Afghanistan trickles down, the Taliban has left its mark on the highest security base with the most destructive attack in the region in 11 years.
On Friday Sept. 14, at around 10.15 p.m. local time, a force of Taliban gunmen attacked Camp Bastion, in Helmand Province, the main strategic base in southwestern Afghanistan.
About 15 insurgents (19 according to some reports), wearing U.S. Army uniforms, organized into three teams, breached the perimeter fence and launched an assault on the airfield, that includes the U.S. Camp Leatherneck and the UK’s Camp Bastion, where British royal Prince Harry, an AH-64 Apache pilot (initially believed to be the main target of the attack) is stationed.
The attackers fired machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and possibly mortars against aircraft parked next to the airport’s runway. Two U.S. Marines were killed in the subsequent fighting whereas eight of 10 AV-8B+ Harrier jets of the Yuma-based Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 211 were destroyed (6) or heavily damaged (2): the worst U.S. air loss in one day since the Vietnam War.
The VMA-211 “Avengers” is part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered in San Diego at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. It deployed to Afghanistan in April and relocated from Kandahar Airfield to Camp Bastion on Jul. 1.
According to Wikipedia, the VMA-211 last suffered this level of losses on Dec. 8, 1941.
Considered that the U.S. Marine Corps are believed to be equipped with slightly more than 120 AV-8B+, the attack on Camp Bastion has wiped out 1/15th of the entire U.S. Jump Jet fleet and a large slice of the Yuma-based squadron. A serious problem for the USMC, that was compelled to buy second hand RAF Harrier GR9s to keep the AV-8B+ in service beyond 2030, when it will be replaced by the F-35B.
Furthermore, the VMA-211 was the only Marine Harrier unit in Afghanistan: until the destroyed airframes will be replaced (most probably, by another Squadron), the coalition ground forces can’t count on the CAS (Close Air Support) provided by the Harrier.
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
Just as I though... Most aircraft lost in a single day since Vietnam. Wow...
September 25th, 2012, 00:10
AGEUSAF
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
Incredible and hardly a word of how this happened. From the first story I heard it sounded like the enemy simply blended in with the others got onto base and did this. This seems like they sneaked in past the wire or forced their way in and then went to work. How in the hell did they get that close to the flight line is beyond me this day in age.
Then again security is an illusion and it just takes balls to pull off most the more seemingly impossible things.
September 25th, 2012, 00:11
Ryan Ruck
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan Ruck
Meanwhile I literally just heard on the radio the Marine Corps is busy punishing Marines for pissing on corpses. No big deal we just lost a squadron of aircraft to enemy action, let's focus on trying to appease a group of people that have been perpetually pissed off for the last 14 centuries. :mad: :mad: :mad:
Apparently, Obama has his next job all lined up for when he leaves Washington in January, 2013: Caliph (leader) of the new Islamic Caliphate.
Speaking on the House floor, Rep. Gohmert accused the Obama administration of allowing Iran to influence Iraq by pulling U.S. troops out, and suggested the attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions are the result of waning American influence from that decision, the Hill reported. He accuses Obama of jump-starting a new Ottoman Empire and left our friend and ally Israel so vulnerable in this sea of radicalism that he has helped bring to the surface.”
Gohmert said a recent report showed approval for the U.S. among Muslim countries had slipped from 33% under George W. Bush in 2008 to just 15% under Obama now. A Pew Research Center survey noted that median approval in Muslim nations for Obama’s policies has declined over the last three years from 34% to 15%. ”This president is trying to buy affection from people who are bullies, who are radical Islamists, who want to destroy us. You don’t get love and affection, you get contempt,” Gohmert said.
September 25th, 2012, 05:58
Ryan Ruck
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
Louie Gohmert is one of the good guys. He's been doing great work on Fast and Furious and trying to put Holder and Obama's feet to the fire.
September 25th, 2012, 12:18
vector7
Re: Is Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya Facing Real Unrest or a Manufactured Crisis?
The attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the American ambassador to the country earlier this month “wasn’t just a mob action,” President Barack Obama said Monday.
During an appearance on the daytime TV show “The View,” Obama was asked if the attack was an act of terrorism. Administration officials began labeling it that way last week, but Obama didn’t use precisely that language.
“There’s no doubt that the kind of weapons that were used, the ongoing assault, that it wasn’t just a mob action. What’s clear is that, around the world, there are still a lot of threats out there,” Obama said, according to a pool report.
Initially, the Obama administration claimed the attack grew out of a protest underway at the consulate in response to an anti-Muslim video posted on the Internet. However, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said Sunday he had “no information” that a protest was underway at that consulate at the time of the attack.