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Former military officer: Last year's Benghazi attack crucial to Syria todayNews - Alicia Moulton - Sept. 13, 2013
Wednesday marked 12 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks. It also marked one year since the attack in Benghazi, Libya, in which four Americans were killed, including an ambassador, an information officer, and two navy seals. Tuesday, retired military officer and former U.S. representative Allen West spoke out on why Benghazi is relevant right now as the U.S. plans military involvement in Syria. He said the situation in Syria could mirror that of Libya if U.S. forces oust the Assad regime as it did with Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, and that the lack of accountability for the last year’s deaths in Benghazi sets a dangerous precedent for U.S. military action. “Someone needs to be held accountable and responsible for the actions that occurred a year ago in Benghazi, and to this point, no one has. This is very shameful,” West said. “We have to do better. Not only do we remember the Americans that were killed in 2001. We will also be remembering the Americans who were abandoned in 2012.” West said the U.S. response to the Benghazi attack still doesn’t add up: It is strange that the U.S. ambassador was sent to Benghazi on September 11 and into a known danger zone in which diplomats from other countries were pulling out. And, in light of the current situation in Syria, it was strange that the U.S. ambassador was sent to meet with officials from Turkey. “Who is one of the biggest suppliers of the rebel forces in Syria? The Turkish government,” West said. He explained that U.S. officials did not pay attention to the warning signs, thereby sending the ambassador, the information officer, and two navy seals into harm’s way. “You have to ask yourself: Why, after the series of attacks that had gone on, why would we send our ambassador into an area where the black Al-Qaeda flag was prominently flying and then give him Islamic militia as his security?” West said. He does not accept the explanation that there was no time for military reinforcement to arrive. Even if they could not reach the ambassador in time, there was still time to get there before the end of the 78-hour attack. He said that would be as if as a commander during an attack in Iraq, he would have said, oh, don’t worry about sending in troops, it will be over in 30 minutes. “How would I know that the firefight is going to be over in 30 minutes?” West said. As with officers who went in to rescue the American pilot who was captured by Somali pirates, even when they did not know if reinforcements would come, Americans have a consistent track record of not leaving anyone behind. “We come to the rescue of our fallen,” West said. “So for anyone to stand up and say that we didn’t have enough time to get someone there [in Benghazi]--That's not who we are.” He emphasized how important it is, in military, to consider unintended consequences and anything that could set in place a series of uncontrollable events. “Before you go into any type of [military] operation…you want to think about your action, you want to think about the reaction of the adversary, and then you want to think about your counter-reaction,” he said. Also important is to ask who the rebels are and what their motivations are. “If we’re not careful, history has a way of repeating itself,” he said. “If radical Islamist forces take over there, then they have another base of operations, which is exactly what they have in Libya right now.” He said that in Benghazi, America failed in its moral obligation, and that Americans need to keep talking about it. “I find it very hypocritical that at this moment in time, the American people are being told that they have a moral obligation to go into Syria,” he said. “But yet I never heard the same type of indignation coming from the President nor this administration when our national security interests attacked [in Benghazi]. An American consulate is sovereign American territory, and an American ambassador was killed… Where was our moral indignation, our moral obligation?” He decried the response of the Obama Administration, which he said took the Star Wars-like “there’s nothing to see here” posture to Benghazi. Since then, several of those officials have been promoted and have received awards. “If this becomes the new model of leadership for the United States of America, well then I do weep for my country,” West said. “If we start to reward and promote liars, people who will go to bed and go to a fundraiser the next day while people are being killed, that says something about who we are as a people…. There is something there, and there are questions that have to be answered. Why does Benghazi make a difference? We abandoned Americans.” West urged citizens to call and email Speaker of the House John Boehner to form a select committee in Congress to investigate the details of Benghazi. He also recommended several books: the newly released “Under Fire, the Untold Story of Benghazi,” and both “The Guns of August” and John Keegan’s “First World War” for important historical background information about unintended consequences stemming from military action. West referenced a website, whiledcslept.com, which is raising money for statues to honor the four Americans who were killed. |
Still clip of Allen West from filmed lecture.
Recommended by Allen West for further information:
Watch the full proceedings above from YouTube or at
http://www.heritage.org/events/2013/09/benghazi. West's remarks run for a half hour and are followed by a panel discussion. Other Helpful Links:
My Comments:
I wrote this article to be an objective report of his message, so I did not give any counter opinions. West seemed to use good logic and preceded his conclusions with multiple details and with experience from his 22-year military career. His tone was always constructive and controlled, and when he firmly criticized the actions of a political figure, he did so always with solid reasons to back it up rather than making a personal attack. I strongly encourage listening to his full remarks (1/2 hr), which include more details about the importance of anticipating unintended consequences in military action. Note: I was not physically present for this lecture at the Heritage Foundation. Although it took place in Washington, DC, I had planned to attend a different event shortly thereafter, so I watched online. |