Kerry Picket:
Dozens of CIA operatives were involved in an arms smuggling operation on the ground in Benghazi, Libya during the deadly attack on the U.S. compound last September, reports CNN and the U.K. Telegraph. According to these outlets, the spy agency has gone out of its way to keep the information from the public through intimidation of CIA personnel.
Four Americans were killed, including U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens that evening in Benghazi almost one year ago.
In light of this new information, either the Congress’ “Gang of Eight” knew about the operation and misled the public about what they knew, or the Obama administration may have been conducting an unauthorized gun-running operation. Fox News reported in October of 2012 about a Libyan ship, reportedly containing weapons for Syrian Rebels that may have been tied into the attack against the consulate and the CIA annex:
Through shipping records, Fox News has confirmed that the Libyan-flagged vessel Al Entisar, which means “The Victory,” was received in the Turkish port of Iskenderun — 35 miles from the Syrian border — on Sept. 6, just five days before Ambassador Chris Stevens, information management officer Sean Smith and former Navy Seals Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed during an extended assault by more than 100 Islamist militants.
On the night of Sept. 11, in what would become his last known public meeting, Stevens met with the Turkish Consul General Ali Sait Akin, and escorted him out of the consulate front gate one hour before the assault began at approximately 9:35 p.m. local time.
Although what was discussed at the meeting is not public, a source told Fox News that Stevens was in Benghazi to negotiate a weapons transfer, an effort to get SA-7 missiles out of the hands of Libya-based extremists. And although the negotiation said to have taken place may have had nothing to do with the attack on the consulate later that night or the Libyan mystery ship, it could explain why Stevens was travelling in such a volatile region on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
According to section 503’s Presidential Approval and Reporting of Covert Actions in the 1947 National Security Act, the President may not authorize covert CIA actions without informing the intelligence committees of Congress.
Legislation implemented in 1980 gave the president the authority to limit advance notification of especially sensitive covert actions to eight Members of Congress–the “Gang of Eight”: the chairmen and ranking minority Members of the two congressional intelligence committees, the Speaker and minority leader of the House, and Senate majority and minority leaders. These members are: House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA).
By law, such a covert weapons operation in Benghazi should have been known by all eight members. The disastrous results from the events of September 11, 2012 have not made it easy to get answers from these lawmakers regarding this point.
Many remember when Pelosi, a “Gang of Eight” member, found herself at odds with the Democratic base in 2009 and ridiculed by Republicans, when it was revealed she was actually briefed in 2002 by the Bush White House about the administration’s tactic to water-board terrorism suspects during interrogations. Pelosi denied this fact previously.
Way back in Jan 2013 John Boehner was on the Laura Imgram radio show.
On the air he said he KNEW more about the CIA-led gun-running scheme through a “classified source.”
He did not name the CIA at that time, however.
And later, in May of 2013, he pushed – not for more information for himself, but – for more information for the PUBLIC.
This may or may not have been because he KNEW what he was briefed about was in some impossible contrast to the White House’s official story that a video was the cause.
Why should he have sat still while the WH spun tall tales to make itself look as much better as it could?
I see no reason he should have.
And, to this day, he has NOT broken his oath to keep a secret briefing (if he was briefed) secret.
What is puzzling is the fact that Stevens met with Consul General Akin from Turkey that night but we have not heard one word from Akin. Akin left the compound around 8:3o p.m., yet in interviews, the residents of Benghazi said the “bearded men” were well in place to attack the compound by dark, or by 8:00 p.m. Ironically, Akin was able to get through the army of insurgents without problem, nor is there any record of him notifying Stevens of impending problems, considering the fact that ” Libyan witnesses from the Benghazi neighborhood where the U.S. compound was located told reporters from the Associated Press (AP) that “150 bearded gunmen, some wearing the Afghan-style tunics favored by Islamic militants began sealing off the streets” leading to the facility “around nightfall.” Akin would have been fully aware of these militants as he left the compound.
We know that any CIA agents on the ground there would have been fully arms trained. And we now know that in addition to the four dead, we have at least seven severely injured out of the additional 35 CIA agents there. We know this fire fight lasted many hours. And we know that the people responsible are still wandering around Benghazi free as a bird.
Perhaps those are just some of the reasons a left wing contributor to The Atlantic is calling for the investigation into Benghazi to continue.
Now that it is known that there were many CIA agents there running a ‘guns running’ operation, the truth will come out. Not that it will make much difference, but at least we will know that the leaders of our country are not always working in our best interests.
Where are the Democrats who were so angry and vocal about “Iran – Contra”?
Really, what did you expect from this piece of terrorist trash. The heat should be on Feinstein -idiot.This is another CIA screwup. But CIA=failure, has always been their motto.
GENERAL PETRAUS LEFT BUT NOT BECAUSE HE HAD AN AFFAIR,
he was intimidated by using his affair, for wanting to tell the truth about BENGHASI,
SO THEY SHUT HIM UP,
BUT HE DECIDED TO TAKE THE LEAD AND TELL THE PUBLIC HIMSELF OF HIS AFFAIR,
AND LEFT WITH WHAT HE KNEW,AND I’m sure it was a lot more than anyone knew,