You are never safe in "the field."

"The fact is, as important as diplomatic security is, it’s also very, very expensive. Sometimes it requires building a whole new embassy -- a daunting project even in far better budget circumstances.

So our diplomats and spies make do.  And, not to make excuses, but the security officers, intelligence agents and analysts working out of U.S. diplomatic outposts in places like Libya have their hands full trying to find out what the enemy is doing.

In the chaos of post-Gadhafi Libya, moreover, do critics really think that the State Department and the CIA should have been sitting on their hands until they got spanking brand-new facilities built for them? "  Jeff Stein

-------------------------------------

Diplomatic and intelligence work in "the field" as opposed to behind a desk in Washington is a risky business.  The work in the field requires access to the local people.  Some of the local people are always dangerous.  The assumption should be made that they are dangerous.  Nevertheless, it is always necessary to have access to the people in order to accomplish one's duty.  There is not enough money available to fortify all diplomatic and intelligence posts even if it were a good idea to do so, and it is not for the reason stated here above.

Could the consulate in Benghazi have been made a more difficult target within the strictures of operational necessity?  It probably could have been made more difficult for the assault force but not difficult enough to have repelled an attack like this by roughly a hundred determined men armed with small arms and RPG rockets. 

Should the USMC security guard system be given the mission of defending our diplomatic premises?  The present mission of these marines detailed to the State Department is to protect the classified information in these premises, not the premises themselves or the ambassador/consul.  Such a change of mission would require a massive change of training for the marines involved and reinforcement to such a level that this would become a major mission, perhaps the major mission for the USMC. 

Someone who calls himself "Anonymous" critiques Stein's analysis in this article.  I believe I know who "Anonymous" is, and if that is his true identity he never served a day in the field in his life.

BTW, Jeff Stein and I served in the same Army intelligence unit in VN, albeit in different parts of the country.  There was nothing "wimpy' about the men in that unit.  Several small detachments of them fought for their lives in facilities just like the one he described.  Some did not survive.  pl

http://spytalkblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-benghazi-debacle-fubar.html

 

Comments

[Harper]

Thanks to Col. Lang and Jeff Stein for the important reminder and insight into forward based intelligence and diplomacy, both the necessity and the risks involved. If the attack had not occurred in the heat of a presidential election season, I like to think that the rhetorical warfare and dubious positions of both the President's men and the opposition camp would have been less extreme, and we might have conducted a more viable and respectful probe into the incident. I just watched Face the Nation and saw a preview of the upcoming presidential debate on Tuesday night, where this is going to be one dominant topic. The lead voice on TV today for the Obama Administration, addressing the Benghazi attack, was David Axelrod, the campaign chief--not Donilon, not Brennan. They let the campaign rhetoric race ahead of reality, by touting the killing of Osama as synonymous with the killing off of the al Qaeda threat. Then 9/11/12 happened, and the first instinct was to dodge the truth about what happened. The threat of neo-Salafi and Muslim Brotherhood expansion is a very real threat, as is becoming more and more obvious. But the real dangers out there are not being addressed very much, in favor of partisan jabs. More needs to be said about the risks of playing with neo-Salafi fire, as in the Syria situation, Egypt situation, Tunisia situation, Mali situation, Libya situation, etc.

[SolidPhil]

"Is there an Excel spreadsheet template that could have prevented this terrible tragedy?"

Still chuckling. I wonder who the second anonymous could be?

[Jake]

The sad part about this entire event is that the truth died with with Ambassador.

[N. M. salamon]

Off topic:

in the aricle below is a claim by a turkish paper{yurt] that the mortar shells which landed in Turkey were NATO ordinanance,120 AE HE-TNT

http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/10/12/turks-cease-fire/

Wuch ordinance was given by turkey to the Free Syrin group.

[Jose]

The matter should be a political issue simply because the way BHO-HRC administration dealt with the attack. Getting caught in multiple lies just before an election is not good. Spending every moment since the last debate defining WMR as a liar, and getting caught in multiple lies is even worse. Claiming WMR is waging a war on women and then taking a crap on HRC does not smells good.

I agree with Mr. Stein, sh*t happens, but why try to spin something so sensitive?

We are fighting a Hydra that creates two heads for everyone we cut off. Lolaus would advise us to cauterize the wound to prevent the new heads from appearing. This crap about a film only serves to make us look even dumber as new heads appear throughout MENESA.

[jmc5588]

Two interrelated questions I haven't seen addressed in any of the discussions of this tragedy are what, specifically was the Ambassador doing in Benghazi at that time (as opposed to Tripoli), and how did AQ find out about it? Did they just get "lucky?"

[William R. Cumming]

Does not one with the rank of Ambassador have to have a government to which he/she is accredited? Who or whom is that government in Libya?

[Clifford Kiracofe]

...."Why did the White House persist with the phony story of a protest against a video being the cause of Ambassador Stevens’ death, when they had to know there was no protest?

The most plausible explanation is that the truth — we were being hit with the worst terror attack since 9/11 in a city we saved — would have exposed Obama’s boasting about his Libya triumph and al-Qaeda being “on the run” and “on the path to defeat” as absurd propaganda.

Al-Qaeda is now in Libya, Mali, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Pakistan.

And the epidemic of anti-American riots across the Muslim world, with Arab Spring elections bringing to power Islamist regimes, testify to the real truth. After four years of Obama, it is America that is on the run in the Middle East.

But we can’t let folks find that out until after Nov. 6.

Hence the Benghazi cover-up."
http://original.antiwar.com/buchanan/2012/10/15/behind-the-benghazi-cover-up/

Indeed.

[Fred]

Buchanan:

"After four years of Obama, it is America that is on the run in the Middle East."

So Bush's policies were working then? Surprise, surprise. Maybe Mr. Buchanan can talk Mitt's kids into a few tours of duty.

[Clifford Kiracofe]

Would that Buchanan could talk Romney out of his Neocon advisors.

[oj]

pl says:

"The present mission of these marines detailed to the State Department is to protect the classified information in these premises, not the premises themselves or the ambassador/consul."

USMC says:

"The MSGs' primary mission is to provide internal security services at designated U.S. Diplomatic and Consular facilities to prevent the compromise of classified information and equipment that is vital to national security of the United States of America. The secondary mission of the MSG is to provide protection for U.S. citizens and U.S. Government property located within designated U.S. Diplomatic and Consular premises/facilities during exigent circumstances that require immediate aid or action."

http://www.mcesg.marines.mil/About/MCESGHistory.aspx

[turcopolier]

oj

OK, Juice. If that is a mission it is a very, very, very secondary mission. pl

[Lauren]

When I heard about these attacks it reminded me again of the dangerous times we live in. That's why recently I've been arming my family with non lethal weapons (effective yet no need to worry about killing) in case they are ever threatened or attacked. I've been getting whatever i need from www.lifeshield-technology.com.

[Tyler]

If you knew anything about Buchanan you would know he was run out of the Beltway for being against the interventionists. He was certainly never for Bush's foreign policy.

[optimax]

Lauren is an advertisement.