Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Betrayal in Benghazi

Gentlemen.... and Ladies,

I would say every US fighter pilot, retired or on active duty, knows that Panetta and Dempsey both are full of crap when they said there was no time to send help to Benghazi. They claim it was a problem of "time/space." All my friends and I said, "Bullshit." We know they could have gotten F-16s there from Aviano.

"Hands" Handley is a well-respected USAF fighter pilot. Here is his short resume and what he just wrote about Benghazi below that. If anything, Handley is pessimistic in his timeline of when F-16s could have reached Benghazi . I think they could have been airborne even sooner and turned quicker at Sig. The decision to not try was not based on capability. We had the operational capability in every way.

I hope Handley's taxes are in order. His IRS audit is forthcoming.

Eagle Biography

Colonel Phil "Hands" Handley

Colonel Phil "Hands" Handley is credited with the highest speed air- to-air gun kill in the history of aerial combat. He flew operationally for all but 11 months of a 26-year career, in aircraft such as the F-86 Sabre, F-15 Eagle, and the C-130A Hercules. Additionally, he flew 275 combat missions during two tours in Southeast Asia in the F- 4D and F-4E. His awards include 21 Air Medals, 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and the Silver Star.
----------------------------------------------

Betrayal in Benghazi
Phil "Hands" Handley Colonel, USAF (Ret.)

The combat code of the US Military is that we don't abandon our dead or wounded on the battlefield. In US Air Force lingo, fighter pilots don't run off and leave their wingmen. If one of our own is shot down, still alive and not yet in enemy captivity, we will either come to get him or die trying.

Among America 's fighting forces, the calm, sure knowledge that such an irrevocable bond exists is priceless. Along with individual faith and personal grit, it is a sacred trust that has often sustained hope in the face of terribly long odds.

The disgraceful abandonment of our Ambassador and those brave ex-SEALs who fought to their deaths to save others in that compound is nothing short of dereliction-of-duty.

Additionally, the patently absurd cover-up scenario that was fabricated in the aftermath was an outright lie in an attempt to shield the President and the Secretary of State from responsibility.

It has been over eight months since the attack on our compound in Benghazi . The White House strategy, with the aid of a "lap dog" press has been to run out the clock before the truth is forthcoming.
The recent testimonies of the three "whistle blowers" have reopened the subject and hopefully will lead to exposure and disgrace of those responsible for this embarrassing debacle. It would appear that the most recent firewall which the Administration is counting on is the contention "that there were simply no military assets that could be brought to bear in time to make a difference" mainly due to the unavailability of tanker support for fighter aircraft.

This is simply BS, regardless how many supposed "experts" the Administration trot out to make such an assertion.

The bottom line is that even if the closest asset capable of response was half-way around the world, you don't just sit on your penguin ass and do nothing.

The fact is that the closest asset was not half-way around the world, but as near as Aviano Air Base, Italy where two squadrons of F-16Cs are based.

Consider the following scenario (all times Benghazi local): When Hicks in Tripoli receives a call at 9:40 PM from Ambassador Stevens informing him "Greg, we are under attack!" (his last words), he immediately notifies all agencies and prepares for the immediate initiation of an existing "Emergency Response Plan."

At AFRICON, General Carter Ham attempts to mount a rescue effort, but is told to "stand down". By 10:30 PM an unarmed drone is overhead the compound and streaming live feed to various "Command and Control Agencies" and everyone watching that feed knew damn well what was going on.

At 11:30 PM Woods, Doherty and five others leave Tripoli, arriving in Benghazi at 1:30 AM on Wednesday morning, where they hold off the attacking mob from the roof of the compound until they are killed by a mortar direct hit at 4:00 AM.

So nothing could have been done, he? Nonsense. If one assumes that tanker support really "was not available" what about this:

When at 10:00 PM AFRICON alerts the 31st TFW Command Post in Aviano Air Base, Italy of the attack, the Wing Commander orders preparation for the launch of two F-16s and advises the Command Post at NAS Sigonella to prepare for hot pit refueling and quick turn of the jets.

By 11:30 PM, two F-16Cs with drop tanks and each armed with five hundred 20 MM rounds are airborne. Flying at 0.92 mach they will cover the 522 nautical miles directly to NAS Sigonella in 1.08 hours. While in-route, the flight lead is informed of the tactical situation, rules of engagement, and radio frequencies to use.

The jets depart Sigonella at 1:10 AM with full fuel load and cover the 377 nautical miles directly to Benghazi in 0.8 hours, arriving at 1:50 AM which would be 20 minutes after the arrival of Woods, Doherty and their team.

Providing that the two F-16s initial pass over the mob, in full afterburner at 200 feet and 550 knots did not stop the attack in its tracks, only a few well placed strafing runs on targets of opportunity would assuredly do the trick.

Were the F-16s fuel state insufficient to recover at Sigonelli after jettisoning their external drop tanks, they could easily do so at Tripoli International Airport , only one-half hour away.

As for those hand-wringing naysayers who would worry about IFR clearances, border crossing authority, collateral damage, landing rights, political correctness and dozens of other reasons not to act" screw them. It is high time that our "leadership" get their priorities straight and put America's interests first.

The end result would be that Woods and Doherty would be alive. Dozens in the attacking rabble would be rendezvousing with "72 virgins" and a clear message would have been sent to the next worthless POS terrorist contemplating an attack on Americans that it is not really a good idea to "tug" on Superman's cape.

Of course all this would depend upon a Commander In Chief that was more concerned with saving the lives of those he put in harm's way than getting his crew rested for a campaign fund raising event in Las Vegas the next day. As well as a Secretary of State that actually understood "What difference did it make?", or a Secretary of Defense whose immediate response was not to the effect that "One of the military tenants is that you don't commit assets until you fully understand the tactical situation." Was he not watching a live feed from the unarmed drone, and he didn't understand the tactical situation?


Ultimately it comes down to the question of who gave that order to stand down? Whoever that coward turns out to be should be exposed, removed from office, and face criminal charges for dereliction of duty. The combat forces of the Untied States of America deserve leadership that really does "have their back" when the chips are down.

Not to disagree with anything in the above post, but I find it incredibly difficult the US could not have got assets their in time had they committed early in the crisis.

Where was the nearest aircraft carrier? What about Assault Ships with helicopters or Marine AV-8's or Osprey's?

How long would it have taken to get assets from Djibouti, Iraq, Saudi or Jordan?

Given how important Africa and the ME theaters are, I just can't believe nothing suitable was available..

This guy tells it just like any red-blooded American would see it. And it is obvious to anyone with a brain that our heros were sacrificed by the SOB's in charge for political purposes.

HILLARY Clinton and all persons involved, should be prosecuted for their neglect........They are Commie Rat Bas#$tards for what happened.

No CVN, LHA/D support in the Med at the time. There was however a DDG-51 class destroyer withing striking distance with two SH-60 Hellfire/50 cal armed helos available as well.

How did the party giving the stand down order know how long the fight was going to last? They didn't. It was decided that these folks were going to just be, "bumps in the road".

Remember, the exNavy Seals, who valiantly lost their lives had been told to stand down, and they were right there.

The people at the top, cravenly decided that the deaths of these folks were better for their political careers than to risk some sort of military embarrassment. We are led and deceived by the lowest forms of scum.

God bless and protect "Hands".

Would the Destroyer have had a detachment of Marines on board and if so, approximately how many?

How did those who say we couldn't get assets there in time know how long the attack was gonna go on?

I cannot agree with you more. The betrayal of Benghazi could have been avoided. Shame on our Government and not we who are willing to fight.

Aren't Embassies supposed to be "sacred ground" or sovereign ground? That host countries are responsible to help protect?
Maybe not realistic but to me its time to make it clear to everyone that killing innocent Americans will not be tolerated! Benghazi should have been pounded by our forces as reprisal and if there is collateral damage so be it. That is all our enemies/terrorists will understand, they have shown that they have no problem killing civilians. First tho we need a POTUS with real balls, not the muzzie loving douche bag we have at present.

Unnerving to the core, listening to the official Benghazi narrative unfold and understanding it was patently false, transparently full of mis-direction, but as to what the truth was, and why it was being obscured, we could only guess. That it's slowly been borne out as a completely political "under the bus" job should have the nation up in arms; that it is only 50% up in arms is frightening as well.

True enough, one doesn't just blunder into that compound with no plan, but that's no excuse. Every usable asset in reach needed to be in the air/enroute and ready to be fielded the moment plan/opportunity as realized. To say, as was done, "Ah, it's too far, and we don't want more casualties i.e. bad press," is the height of not only cowardice, nor illpreparation, but in this instance, treason.

If Washington, Jackson, Reagan, etc were in office, there's the chance the initial outcome may have been the same after a vigorous initial response, but there's no way in hell we'd be talking about "progress" in the "case" being the FBI monitoring a few suspected "participating protesters" so they might some day go on trial for attacking sovereign US soil.

this white house was to busy looking at u an me.... to be bothered by a bunch folks mad about a video. on 9/11 i mite add.

No Marines on our ships anymore Pete I'm sorry to say, unless of course they are being transported..

You might also add that its pretty much a general consensus that the video had very little, if anything to do with the whole deal.

I think some of our ships still carry them, but its not as common as it used to be....

I would think in these troubled times carrying a section or even platoon of marines would make a lot of sense, especially for ships deployed to the ME or off the coast of Africa..

I'm afraid that the message that was sent is that Superman was to busy attending gay rights issues and checking out certain partys(other more pressing enemy combatants at home) for unwarranted scrutinys to be bothered with such events at that time.....

In the Good Old Days, we would have had at least a fifty man contingent on Marines on board our Carriers but those went away when the Carrier's role changed from Strategic to strictly tactical. We now have these units stationed around the world called FAST teams (Fast Antiterrorism Security Teams), but if you don't have them ready with assets standing by they aren't much good.

A real CF by the White House indeed!!

I didnt get as many replys to-- F-16's to Bengazi

never shoulda happened - our so called leadership -they all need to be impeached for being traitors - to sit idly while Americans were left to die , when it could have been prevented or at least a rescue attempted-

And cooking up ways to void our 2nd Amendment rights.