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Our state department had no freaking plan, none. We were attacked by a rag tag group of terrorists with a patch work of weapons, and the Greatest country on earth shrugged and said ooops, guess those US civilians are dead. Our contingency plan was... to enact no plan at all. I'm sure those civilians did not know they were going to be left to die on their own.
Even Maureen Dowd, a died in the wool liberal democrat has finally admitted this. These men did not need to die, our government failed them thru sheer incompetence and stupidity.
Our state department had no freaking plan, none. We were attacked by a rag tag group of terrorists with a patch work of weapons, and the Greatest country on earth shrugged and said ooops, guess those US civilians are dead. Our contingency plan was... to enact no plan at all. I'm sure those civilians did not know they were going to be left to die on their own.
Even Maureen Dowd, a died in the wool liberal democrat has finally admitted this. These men did not need to die, our government failed them thru sheer incompetence and stupidity.
So you are accusing Ambassador Stevens of being a dolt?
Well, Blessed St. Reagan (PBUH) had a clear policy when 240+ (not a typo) marines died in a terror attack in Beirut. Admittedly, the policy was to pack up and bug out, but it was a policy.
Quote:
Lessons learned?
Lessons learned is that if you're gong to do this, you're going to insert your troops, they have to have a mission. They have to have the arms and the equipment, and they have to have a goal that can be fulfilled. It led later to all the so-called Weinberger Doctrine, or whatever you want to call it, to the effect that: you have to have a mission; you have to know what you want to do; you have to use force as a last resort after everything else has failed; that when you use it, you have to use it at overwhelming strength, and win your objective and get out. ...
When you simply think the presence of American troops, no matter how wild the environment is or what's happening all around is going to have any effect, the only effect it's going to have is to risk the lives of the American troops. So I hope that was the lesson that was learned at Beirut. It was learned at terrible cost.
So, in other words, in some ways your policy, which eventually did become the Powell Doctrine of overwhelming force -- it's all the same thing -- basically was the genesis of all that the offense in Beirut?
Well, no. My part in making that speech and imposing that as a proposed doctrine emerged out of Vietnam, where we went in with some 500,000-600,000 troops, not intending to win, never intending to win. The only war we'd ever gone into we did not intend to win, because we didn't have any particular mission.
I said in that talk that enunciated this Weinberger Doctrine that we must never again go commit and ask American forces to commit their lives to a cause that isn't important enough to us to have to win. That is what I think should be the rule, and I think to a considerable extent, now it is, because as I say, I think Colin believes that completely.
Chalk that up as NOT a lesson learned... Amazing, seeing as how Obama was willing to use Reagan's words to increase legal theft via taxes but totally missed out on the other lessons learned.
So you are accusing Ambassador Stevens of being a dolt?
No respect for the dead?
You people don't give a crap about who was lost. The only thing you care about is burying them as deep as you can in whatever mass grave that will never be found.
Last edited by BigJon3475; 05-13-2013 at 07:35 PM..
Our state department had no freaking plan, none. We were attacked by a rag tag group of terrorists with a patch work of weapons, and the Greatest country on earth shrugged and said ooops, guess those US civilians are dead. Our contingency plan was... to enact no plan at all. I'm sure those civilians did not know they were going to be left to die on their own.
Even Maureen Dowd, a died in the wool liberal democrat has finally admitted this. These men did not need to die, our government failed them thru sheer incompetence and stupidity.
I hate to break it to you, but I would bet that there are thousands of facilities that are vulnerable if attacked by mortar. Being the "Greatest country on earth" doesn't prevent us from being attacked. Nor will the United States be able to prevent all attacks. They were not left to die on their own; evacuation plans were begun and the facilities were evacuated within 12 hours of the initial attack.
I hate to break it to you, but I would bet that there are thousands of facilities that are vulnerable if attacked by mortar. Being the "Greatest country on earth" doesn't prevent us from being attacked. Nor will the United States be able to prevent all attacks. They were not left to die on their own; evacuation plans were begun and the facilities were evacuated within 12 hours of the initial attack.
I am not so sure I like your definition of 'evacuated'. Most people call that version dead..
Nice leap there, show me where I blamed the victims. The only people I blame are the the people who killed the 4 Americans. The dangers were much higher in Libya and Benghazi in particular. As far as I have heard, those who died knowingly risked their lives in service of the United States. For that they should be admired.
There was very little help available and what was available was sent. The facilities were evacuated within 12 hours. One of the deaths was a member of a response team sent from Tripoli.
You are wrong but obviously you are going to keep arguing your lame argument. How many times and still you are wrong.
I am not so sure I like your definition of 'evacuated'. Most people call that version dead..
There were no viable rescue scenarios for those that died. The survivors were not abandoned.
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So, in other words, in some ways your policy, which eventually did become the Powell Doctrine of overwhelming force -- it's all the same thing -- basically was the genesis of all that the offense in Beirut?