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The Strange Case of Major General Lloyd R. Fredendall, commander of the American Army II Corps in North Africa, 1943.One of his demoralized men wrote home after the horrors of Sidi Bou Zid and on the eve of battle at Kasserine Pass:SOMEWHERE OVERSEASFebruary 18th, 1943Dearest Mom & Dad,I hope I’ll make you proud, and my unit too. But how words fail.If I don't come back, remember how much I love you, and remember me to everyone back home. I don’t know if dying here makes a difference, but I’m hoping you can make something from it, something out of all this suffering and waste.Surely the hardest work lies ahead. They say that the free countries are stronger, and that there’s more good than evil in God’s world, but I’m not so sure any more. Still, I pray, and I fight, that a freer world really will be safer, more peaceful, and more prosperous for everyone. Never lose heart towards that hope. Never take such blessings for granted.Thank you for the deep love and wonderful life you’ve given me. You’ll always be in my heart, and prayers. Always…Your Son, JackJack was an artillery spotter with the U.S. II Corps. He knew his Corps was poorly prepared and misled. He was all too aware that Fredendall’s headquarters was located some 70 miles behind the front lines, and that it was blasted out of stone in some ravine by over 300 engineers. It took over three weeks to construct. An entire anti-aircraft battalion was emplaced to protect the nearly invisible underground facility dubbed “Lloyd’s Very Last Resort” and “Shangri-La, a million miles from Nowhere”. He knew Fredendall never left his bunker to visit the forward lines; a posing commander who didn’t care about his men - - or ground truth - - or their sacrifices.Earlier Jack had watched Fredendall’s platoons lay anti-tank mines, leaving small flags behind for safety, and then how the Germans thanked them. His comrades dug shallow scrapes into the hard desert rather than deep, proper foxholes and trenches like the British; German tanks simply rolled over the American defenders, giving quick little turns to finish them off. American units were dispersed, so much so that they couldn’t offer mutual fire coverage, while at the same time artillery and air support were poorly coordinated. As the U.S. 1st Armored Division became trapped, one witness described it :“It was murder. They rolled right into the muzzles of the concealed eighty-eights and all I could do was stand by and watch tank after tank blown to bits or burst into flames or just stop, wrecked. Those in the rear tried to turn back but the eighty-eights seemed to be everywhere”.General Lucian Truscott said this about Fredendall:“Small in stature, loud and rough in speech, he was outspoken in his opinions and critical of superiors and subordinates alike. He was inclined to jump to conclusions which were not always well founded. Fredendall rarely left his command post for personal visits and reconnaissance, yet he was impatient with the recommendations of subordinates more familiar with the terrain and other conditions than he.”Fredendall, who had flunked out of West Point then somehow re-enrolled only to drop out, was a general who routinely ignored intelligence reports, bypassed subordinate commanders, and micromanaged troop dispositions down to company level. He often used blowhard, tough-guy sounding language in an attempt to cover up his inability and indecisiveness. Phrases such as “Go smash ‘em,” “Pull a Stonewall Jackson,” “Go get ‘em at once,” or “Use your tanks and shove” were common. He also issued orders using wording that no one understood. His intention was to confuse the enemy if he was listening in. He disliked The French and British and was quick to blame others.After the Americans were routed at Kasserine Pass, Rommel’s staff toasted their predictions come true: sloppy “cowboy” tactics, overconfidence, and a colossal failure to coordinate their massive assets. They toasted the flaws of American character: rugged individualism and unruliness, poor discipline.But Rommel cautioned them:“One battle tells us little. The Americans have very good equipment, and a lot of it, and they are learning how to use and coordinate it, very quickly”.He had studied the American equipment and analyzed the battlefield more closely. The German victory was not decisive enough. He saw evidence that battalion and even brigade-sized American units were toughening up fast, even without strong leadership.Later that February General Eisenhower visited the battle lines seeking out Fredendall. He was nowhere to be seen. Instead Eisenhower was directed to Fredendall’s over-fortified, immobile, and shockingly-distant bunker. He had never seen a command post so concerned over its own safety. Fredendall became the first U.S. Corps commander to be relieved of command during the war.Lt. General George Patton would take his place.Patton wrote in his diary (suggesting much between the lines):“3/5/43 - - Left for Tunisian Front at 11 o’clock. General Eisenhower and General Smith met me at Algiers. I was told that I was to replace Fredendall on the ostensible grounds that this was primarily a tank operation in which I was expert. It was stressed that there must be no criticism of the British.3/6/43 - - Arrived at Headquarters II Corps situated at Dj Kouif at 10:00 a.m. General Fredendall was there and was extremely nice, and in fact, no one could have behaved better. But I was given the impression in Algiers that the staff was not too good. The discipline and dress at Corps Headquarters was extremely poor.Lt. General Cochran, British Army, has been with General Fredendall for some time. He clearly gave me the impression that he wished to instruct me. I let him think that he was doing so. He leaves in the morning.I had General Allen, 1st Infantry Division, and General Ward, 1st Armored Division, come in and explain the next operation. This explanation was based on a letter of instruction received from General Anderson, 1st Army.General Fredendall leaves in the morning. I issued some orders on dress, saluting, etc. It is absurd to believe that soldiers who cannot be made to wear the proper uniform can be induced to move forward in battle.3/7/43 - - Went to breakfast at 7:30. No one was up except General Gaffey. I told the cooks to close the mess at 7:30. I believe that tomorrow people will be on time.About 5 o’clock we got a report that 40 tanks were coming in from the south. They proved to be only 20 tanks and they were French.3/13/43 - - I cannot see what Fredendall did to justify his existence.3/18/43 - - 1st Ranger battalion attached to 1st Infantry Division occupied EL GUETTAR at 1600.”Patton presents a stark contrast… He is suddenly leading the troops from the front in spectacular night attacks. He concludes one order for taking a hill position:“I expect to see such casualties among officers, particularly staff officers, as will convince me that a serious effort has been made to capture this objective”.Two nights later on March 20th, the 1st Rangers raided an Italian position in the surrounding hills by scaling a sheer cliff then silently passing ammunition and equipment up hand over hand. They took the position by complete surprise along with over 200 prisoners,U.S. Army Rangers in World War IIAmerican artillery fire quickly became brutally well-coordinated and accurate. Large units were kept massed, rather than broken up into smaller, unsupported elements as before under General Fredendall. Air support appeared overhead more often, closer and better coordinated. Well-dug Foxholes became the rule and can still be seen today in the slow-to-heal desert 70 years later. Fewer mistakes were made. Morale rapidly improved as the men hardened.II Corps’ Battle of El Guettar under Lt. General George Patton, marked the first in which U.S. Forces were able to defeat experienced German tank units. Axis and Allied losses of men in that battle were each about 5,000 killed or wounded during 3 weeks of fighting, but the Germans and Italians lost twice as many tanks. Tunis would fall to the Allies by early May, and the rest of North Africa followed just days later.But Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was forced to return to Germany well before the bitter end, shortly after the Battle of Kasserine Pass, due to illness and extreme exhaustion.He told Hitler and the German General Staff that he had never confronted troops so poorly prepared as the Americans in Tunisia… Nor any force that had learned faster.His cautions were dismissed, and his requests for large reinforcements of men and material were ignored. Afrika Korps was thus doomed and on May 13th it surrendered almost 300,000 Axis troops in Tunisia, and three months later another 30,000 Germans would be lost in Sicily.Oh what a difference leadership makes.The Americans had learned.

No, illegal migration should not be desirable.Africa is big enough, rich enough to accomodate every African. There should not be no need to move to Europe ( illegally). I am an African who understand both worlds. This is my “last” two cents on this topic. It’s all I have got. Nothing else.Warning: continue reading at your own risk. It might get “too real” in a minute.Image source: Africa is BIG.Economic opportunities can be created at home so that nobody has to embark on that horrible journey of shame and mediocrity on European shores.Before I start, let’s make some facts straight.Fact 1: Africa is not moving to Europe.People from some African countries are moving to Europe. Until Europeans learn to distinguish the African continent from individual countries, we will always have some problems. I always ask. How did you people do the the scramble of Africa in 1885, divided Africa into diverse lands for your ego and invasion purposes, but today, you cannot separate Botswana, from Zambia, Angola, Senegal, to Ivory Coast and others?What happened to some generations in between? I give a pass to countries who had nothing to do with colonization but to the imperialist countries like France, UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, etc. Maybe a little of Karma is a bitch.What happened?Your ancestors partitioned an entire continent, named, renamed, and dislocated countries, but one generation down, you don’t even care to distinguish those countries you created? What happened? I ask.Africa is NOT a country. I don’t know how long I have to keep repeating this.Image source: Africa 101Learn to identify and to distinguish individual countries first, one by one. We would be off to a good start to understand these issues. You seem to be worried about migration ( for the right reasons).For those who say that Europe is being invaded, you have no idea of what you are talking about. At the end of the 19th century, Africa was invaded. Africans on the European shores? That is not what an invasion looks like. Let’s not get too graphic here. You all know that your ancestors did. At least, I hope you learned that in your schools. Or did you? Who knows about King Leopold II, nicknamed as the “butcher of Congo” for murdering tens of millions Congolese people under his charity organization with Christian missionaries?“The commanding officer ordered us to cut off the heads of the men and hang them on the village palisades, also their sexual members, and to hang the women and the children on the palisade in the form of a cross."Image source: Congolese posing with the severed hands of those failed to make the daily rubber sap quota ( Digital Journal, 1904). You can read all about it in the link below.The Butcher of Congo: King Leopold II of Belgium.To me, it does not look like you did learn because some of you still think that you came to “ civilize” Africans. Is that what you learned in school? I ask. If that’s the case, we have more problems that I anticipated. I always roll my eyes on that one. If that’s the case, why did our ancestors fight against your invasion fearlessly, but you kept pushing even harder until their spears and arrows got tired.Image source: Battle between Herero Warriors and German colonial Troops in 1904Did you really have that much mercy to “civilize” Africans that even when they said “no”, you had to kill, murder, torture and humiliate them for the sake of bringing “ civilisation” to them? I ask.Fact 2: Africans love their countries.Photo Credit: Rwanda the Heart of AfricaMajority of Africans are proud of the nations and you would not pay them to leave. Watching your media, they make it seem like we are all coming to Europe. That is just preposterous. Many of you should be reasonable enough to know that already. I have been watching some Italians go “ nuts” on national TV. I just roll my eyes watching you go crazy for such nonsense.Africa has about 1.2 billion people. You know!We are proud of our culture and respective countries. Rwandans, Tanzanians, Botswana people, Tunisians, Ethiopians, and all other people of any African country on the continent. We have beautiful countries, rich cultures and a history to be proud of from our ancestors to today.Africa is Back is your blog to learn more if you are interested.Photo Credit: ( Life in Rwanda) Rwanda the Heart of AfricaLast time I checked, the immigrants were coming from some parts of West-Africa ( Senegal, Mali, Nigeria) and a few others such as Eritrea, South Sudan, and RCA. These people do not represent an entire continent. I know you are worried and get too emotional about this. However, facts are facts and don’t care about your feelings.What can Africans do about it?Educating young folks about what is like to live in Europe ( beyond the fantasy Europe they learn in eurocentric schools and TV).The young people ( mostly young men) who embark on the journey to Europe have no idea of the real harsh life in Europe. Most of them have at least a high school education or even a university degree. They move to a fantasy Europe they have no idea of what it is all about. They barely know what is needed to work in Europe ( legally).Change Eurocentric education system to an Afrocentric education system in primary and secondary schools. African’s duty and obligation.If African Union wanted to genuinely solve the migration issue, I would start changing basic education system. Adopt to an African based education that young Africans can relate to and feel inspired and proud of their country. Each country has a rich history, heroes, amazing stuff to be proud of as an African. Majority of the young folks have no idea because nobody taught them their history.If anything, this quote summarizes everything I want to say about education in Africa.Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will glorify the hunter”. Chinua Achebe, the great Nigerian Author, Novelist, Professor and Poet.Chinua Achebe: Every African child should read his books. Things Fall Apart ( 1958) is the most widely read book in the African Literature.The history of European invasion and colonization praises Europeans because they wrote all of it. Today, that is the same history still taught in our schools. It is at the heart of many issues we have. Corrupted leaders, lack of integrity in leadership, lack of passion and love for one’s country, you name it.We still follow an outdated system from colonial times. An education that was supposed to show Africans that they are “inferior”, “indigenous”, and needed a white man to be their “savior”.My African perspective on migration to Europe.This should have been an African issue, not a European issue.I have taken sometime to think about the root cause of the migration. It all comes down to a Eurocentric education we still have in many African countries today. After colonization, the colonial education designed to worship the white man never changed. Only Africans can fix this mess of an “education” system we have in our schools. The old school education system from the 1970’s needs to be changed ASAP. It should have been changed many years ago. 30–40 years ago.A young African graduating from high school today knows more about Paris ( France) and London ( England) than their home countries. They know more about Napoleon Bonaparte, Churchill, WW II, Hitler, and other European stuff that have nothing to do with her life. I am all about history, but African story should be first. When you know nothing about where your country have been, where it is and where it is headed, you have nothing to inspire you from within. This is a powerful concept in basic education. In my opinion, this is why one goes to primary and secondary schools.By the time, one graduates from secondary school, they should be aware of their societies problems, what needs to be done, looking for their strengths and weaknesses so that their university education can challenge them through research and inovation to solve their society’s problems.Our African story was reduced to nothing. An African child does not know where her country has been, the heroes, the villains, the good and the bad in her country. Her whole history is still taught from an European perspective of belittling and dehumanizing her ancestors. In summary, she barely learns any history about her country. Their heroes and great ancestors have been called “ indigenous” and have been reduced to nothing.By the time, she finishes high school, she does not see greatness in her country.When your rivers and mountains are said to have been discovered by French and British explorers when in reality Senegalese and Ivory Coast ancestors had been living there for generations, you see little or no value in your home country. By the time, you graduate from school, you want to do everything possible to go to Europe. Your dream place as described in all the text books, and other educational materials.Mediocre Education system and unemployment ratesSince this colonial style education from the 70’s and 80’s was designed to train civil servants in government institutions, every university graduate want to work for the government. They are not trained to be “ job creators”. They are trained to be “ job seekers”. To make matters worse, they all want office jobs sitting in offices, computers, and high rise buildings. Dressing up nice to work as the French do and all that nonsense stuff.Nobody wants to be a mechanic, plumber, electrician, and other job creating hands-on skills and professions needed in the African job market.Morning formations at my high school in Rwanda, way back in the days. Before starting our classes, we had a “rassemblement” with the school principal. Pants and shirts for guys and “appropriate” skirts and shirts for ladies. The man in the middle is the director of the school ( school principal in US education system). We are all dressed in similar uniforms, getting instructions and words of wisdom.They are not critical thinkers and analyzers. They have just memorized a bunch of theories from Europe. 90% of university graduates might be expecting to work for the government when in reality they are only 7-10% of jobs available for them on the job market. 10% goes to the private sector. Where does the rest of 80% go?Sit down and wait for a job. A nonexisiting job that is never going to come around because it does not exist. Remember they were not trained to solve problems, but only to complain about problems, like the bureaucrats and politicans do. An accountant cannot start a small business to provide tax services to many businesses in the area. She sits down and waits for a government job.They wait for a job for one, second and third consecutive year, nothing comes around. But then, they remember that Europe is all “good” and the grass is greener than there. This is what they have been taught, but majority have no idea of the harsh reality of life difficulty in Europe ( winters, hustle life, and other things Europeans know already).For such young people whose education system and employment condition has failed, their eyes look to Europe and North-America. When you don’t see greatness in your country, you will find it somewhere else. Just like you, Africans want to live in conditions where they will maximize the use of their talents and potential. In the migration case, the systems in their countries have failed them and have no choice but to look somewhere else.They want to make the journey to Europe as the last resort. Their families don’t know better. Nobody to give them advice on how Europe works. They know Europe through overpaid premier league soccer football players or worse overpaid NGO staff workers who work in their countries.Therefore, some sell their whole belongings to send their sons to Europe, make the journey to Europe expecting that once they make it, money and prosperity will be waiting at the door. No knowledge of legal immigration or work visas, they just assume that the white man will be their savior like they learned in their textbooks ever since they were young.They assume they will start sending money back to their families as soon as they reach European shores. From there, it is roller coster of shame and mediocrity. Disappointments to make the journey alive, what they go through, in Libya and elsewhere. Media jumps on it, humiliates and exaggerates it even more like they always for anything negative about Africa, and so on and on.How to move forward?In my opinion, those already in Europe should come back home and be housed in Africa. If they don’t want to come back to their home countries, all the other African nations can provide food, shelter, and other basic necessities they need. As a proud African who is tired of racism towards Africans, this is our problem and should be solved by us only, not the Europeans. If we don’t want to be mocked by the world, this is how we earn a little bit of dignity and respect back.Europe is already facing their own issues and we should not be adding more on their plates. They already got enough already. Brexit, financially irresponsible countries, unemployment in EU countries, etc.On the other hand, our leaders in the African Union needs to get their shit together to prevent occurences like this to happen ( ever again). Libya is in the African Union ( oh wait, EU and NATO killed the only man who kept Libya together, Muammar Gaddafi for 40 years).He kept Libya safe, maintained peace and security and shared Libya resources with his people. Today, it is a different story. No rule of law, economy in ruin, and Libya is divided in pieces. Now Libya is unstable and cannot prevent such incidences. Oil and gas resources are only enriching EU and American companies instead of Libyan and African people. Karma is a bitch, isn’t it?How Libya holds the key to solving Europe's migration crisisBelow are his exact words before NATO bombed his wonderful country.“Now listen, you people of Nato. You're bombing a wall which stood in the way of African migration to Europe and in the way of al-Qaeda terrorists. This wall was Libya. You're breaking it." African Hero and Former President of Libya.Anyway, what I am saying is that African Union should not allow people to make it that far. When we wait for African migrants to reach the shores of Europe, we feed Europeans and other white supremacy political parties on the myths and stereotypes they already have on Africa. “Poor”, “lazy”, “inferior” Africans and many others that Europeans think about whenever their media news outlets report on some negative events about Africa.This is a brief story but it covers majority of issues related to illegal migration to Europe. If the African Union wants to solve this problem once for all, with a longterm approach , I would start with colonial education we still have today. This mediocre education system teaches African youth that Europe is a paradise as they see on TV.In their textbook, the white man is “superior”, much smarter than Africans. In their mind, they are “inferior” and if their promise of a “ happy life” might be in Europe and America. It is unfair to call this an “ education” because if the purpose of education is to enlighten citizens about their societies’ problems and way to solve them, our so called “education” system would get an F-grade. African youth do not get any inspiration from this system. Add that to the NGO and their aid work in Africa, you have a recipe for a disaster. Why Foreign Aid Is Hurting AfricaIn fact, if you get one thing from this post, know that our system of education is at the heart of it all. I am sure it is much more complex but it all comes down to the way we teach our children. French and Belgium colonies want to go France and Belgium, respectively. English colonies want to go to UK and US.Legal Migration is a GO. Illegal should be a NO GO.As far as I know, every European country has a legal system for African expats who come to work in Europe, temporarily or permanently. Just as we have legal systems for European expats who come to work in Africa.Compared to Africa, Europe is too small ( see the 1st map). In my opinion, Europeans have every right to defend who get to immigrate to their countries. They already have robust systems of legal immigration. However, Europe has her various issues to deal with and does not need to handle African issues on top of theirs. Financially irresponsible countries such as Greece and Spain, unemployment rates in Italy, Portugal, and other countries. With Brexit, EU seems confused of what is next, new trade policies with the UK, and many other issues they are facing.The African migration issue is African issue. It should not have been a European issue in the first place. As an African, this is why I can’t stand the African Union. They could have stopped it before it escalated to the mediteranean shores of Western Europe. Just like Europeans who hate to see those images, We Africans don’t like to see those photos either. They humiliate us and bring lots of shame and disgust.Final RemarksI am sorry I had to get this off my chest. Although I cannot get it out of my mind. My apologies ( in advance) for a long article and little hearts who can’t take the truth. The ugly truth is always uncomfortable and hurts like a bitch.Whatever side you found yourself on by the lottery of birth, I hope we can honestly talk about these issues to move forward in the positive direction. Europe does not want African immigrants and we the African people don’t want to be humiliated like we have been.Each side has mutual interests to pursue, but until we get real and be honest with to one another, we will keep dancing around such issues when we should be talking about the “many” elephants in the room. At this point, the European Union ( EU) and the African Union ( AU) are the representatives from each side.I have been following with the migrant crisis for a while now. I feel like I know what the EU wants. Their expectations are clear. If you ask me, what the AU’s goals are in this matter, I would not tell you. I don’t know. That tells me that they are not talking at all. One side is just lecturing and giving instructions while the other is just sitting and listening; waiting to be told what to do. This is the main problem. In the end, my side is the loser. The African people are the loser, whichever way you look at it.Didier Champion's answer to What will happen in Europe after the migrant crisis?Below is my golden advice to the EU and how they should go about it.Collaborate with African leaders to get hard and harsh on smugglers. They are taking advantage of desperate people. Listen to African leaders and do not lecture them of your opinions. They understand this issue on their side of the world better than you do. On this issue, you need African leaders’ opinions. You cannot do it by yourselves. You have to be crazy to think that you can solve an African issue from a European perspective and ways of doing things.Otherwise, Europeans will keep complaining about those “damn” Africans. On the other side, African people will be banging our heads on walls about WTF is going on. In a nutshell, that is the life of African people with regards to politics and economic progress. Africa is rich and we can afford to help our own people in my opinion.This is my two cents as a Rwandan and an African who longs for our dignity and respect. We are all human beings and have same inalienable rights to be treated like people; not like a bunch of animals in the zoo or second class people. Inalienable Rights - Definition, Examples, Cases ( Taken straight out of your play book and lectures about human rights).Meanwhile, some African leaders need to learn what Rwanda has been doing for the past 20 years. If Rwanda can do it, every African country can. Good leadership and the power of the people matters.10 Richest Countries In Africa 2014 - GDP per capitaPort-Louis, MauritiusKigali, RwandaAn affluent neighboorhood at the heart of Kigali, my home city and the capital city of Rwanda.10 plus One Amazing Facts about Rwanda and Reasons to visit in 2018Ellen Degeneres, visiting Rwanda last month, posing with her flight crew with Akagera Aviation Motors ( May 2018).Photo Credit: Rwanda the Heart of AfricaReferencesAfricans are still tied in the colonial chains of their masters in Africa Today.The Butcher of Congo: King Leopold II of Belgium.Didier Champion's answer to What will happen in Europe after the migrant crisis?Thanks for your time and attention. Feel free to contact me by email or message.I am out, peace!Didier Champion

Original question: What is a liberal view on Benghazi?Not sure what political ideology has to do with this, although Republicans are the ones who politicized the attack of the Benghazi compound to death. But after researching this attack to death, I figured it’s time to gather it all up and write it down.The two main controversies about the Benghazi attack are the insufficient security at the compound and the military response once the attack was underway.One has to realize that the State Department and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeatedly made requests towards Congress to increase security. But House Republicans instead repeatedly cut hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for diplomatic security in the two years before the attack.Now Republicans counter that with it was the State Department’s responsibility to properly allocate the funds and the current funds were being mismanaged. And that’s a fair argument to make, but not all security requests were ignored.“[Diplomatic Security] funded and installed in 2012 a number of physical security upgrades. These included heightening the outer perimeter wall, safety grills on safe area egress windows, concrete jersey barriers, manual drop-arm vehicle barriers, a steel gate for the Villa C safe area, some locally manufactured steel doors, sandbag fortifications, security cameras, some additional security lighting, guard booths, and an Internal Defense Notification System,” the ARB report said.Others have accused Clinton of ignoring requests for more security for the Benghazi consulate. It’s undeniable that officials in Libya repeatedly asked for better security, but there’s no evidence that Hillary Clinton herself was aware or that she willfully denied them.Clinton was asked specifically about US Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens’ (who was one of the victims of the attack and died) request for security at a hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Jan. 23, 2013. She told the committee that she did not see Stevens’ cable. “[A]ny of the cables having to do with security did not come to my attention,” she testified. There has been no evidence since then that suggests otherwise.Some like to point out that Stevens did not have Clinton’s email. But according to Elliott Abrams, the National Security Advisor to President Bush 43, Stevens could have pressed his case directly to Clinton, but there is no evidence that he did. “Ambassadors can caption a cable ‘From the Ambassador to the Secretary’ and use other bureaucratic maneuvers to get a request additional attention,” Abrams said. “Apparently, Stevens never did this.” Therefore, if Stevens really wanted to get in touch directly with the Secretary of State, he would’ve done this.Some like to insist that the State Department messed up by not allocating enough security to Benghazi. But as one digs deeper, it appears that even if the State Department’s requests for increased diplomatic security were met by the Republican-led Congress, it probably wouldn’t have gone to Benghazi anyway. But one can not blame Hillary Clinton herself.This is why I love Vox. They put it perfectly Why didn’t Ambassador Chris Stevens get the security he requested?One major cause of those deficiencies was that no one was quite sure who was in charge of the mission's security. Two State Department bureaus, Diplomatic Security and Near Eastern Affairs, had nominal authority. However, there were no clear lines of responsibility; no person or bureau had point on Benghazi security. So while both bureaus made piecemeal improvements to the mission's security, they didn't add up to enough to make a real difference.Moreover, the mission's confusing legal status made meeting its security needs particularly hard. The Benghazi mission wasn't an embassy or even an official consulate; it was so off-book that the Libyan government was never officially notified of its existence. This strange legal status put the mission outside the normal State Department procedures used to allocate security funding and personnel.Finally, since no one in the US intelligence community had evidence of an imminent attack, neither Ambassador Stevens nor the State Department made Benghazi security a very high priority. Stevens' trip to Benghazi on the day of attack wasn't coordinated with the US security team based with the US embassy in Tripoli, so they didn't go. The ambassador, according to the review board, "did not see a direct threat of an attack of this nature and scale." So while Stevens did ask for more security, his requests weren't taken as urgent enough to overcome the bureaucratic muddle standing in their way.Contrary to Republican insistence that military could’ve came to the Benghazi compound in time to stop the attack and save lives, that is simply not the case. The House Armed Services (HAS) report found that "the Department of Defense had no armed drones or manned aircraft prepared for combat readily available and nearby on September 11 [when the attack occurred]." It’s important to note that a military response is the responsibility of the Department of Defense, not the Department of State.The planes in Italy "were configured for training flights." None of them, the HAS report found, were ready to fly a combat mission. Getting them ready couldn't have been accomplished until after the attack was over.The nearest armed craft was in Djibouti, another country in Africa which (as Major General Darryl Roberson put it in Senate testimony) is about as far from Benghazi as Washington DC is from Los Angeles. It simply couldn't have gotten there in time to do anything. The only nearby available assets were unarmed surveillance drones. Military forces were too far away or could not be mobilized in time, military commanders have said.There were four Green Berets assisting in a separate evacuation mission in Tripoli, the capital of Libya. However the plane available to fly them couldn't have arrived at Benghazi until 7:00 am, well after the attack ended.And the closest AC-130 gunship was in Afghanistan. There were no armed drones within range of Libya. There was no Marine expeditionary unit, a large seaborne force with its own helicopters, in the Mediterranean Sea. The Africa Command also did not have on hand a force able to respond rapidly to emergencies.Even if an armed craft or military weapons were available and could reach the compound in time, one has to consider these factors. Thomas Lewandowski, a former Sergeant of the US Marine Corps, explains:You have to gather the necessary men. (In this case it would have been marines in Spain, who at the time were probably off work).Wait for all of them to show up, quickly (we're Marines, we drink sooo...).Begin planning, gather Intel, look up blueprints of the consulate in order to facilitate actually getting into the place, finding out what you can about hostile forces (probably not very much).Request entry into Libyan airspace.Request a place to land.Make sure landing site can even support the aircraft you're flying in onHow many men are you sending? How many fit in the aircraft?Once landed how are you transporting yourself to the consulate?How long will that even take by itself?Weigh the risks of sending what would likely be a platoon of men with no viable rotary-wing support fighting hundreds of hostiles.Flight time. Planes don't teleport.Actually get to the fight.Are you bringing your own transportation from the airfield to the consulate with you?If not you're relying on very unreliable and uncaring locals.Maybe you have fixed-wing support in the area, do they have the capability to even do anything against ground targets?If so what are the odds that they'll damage the consulate and people inside even further?Do you just start dropping ordnance on people? Are the targets actionable? Does your commander feel it's actionable?Say you finally get there, you're in a fight and outnumbered, fight through hostiles.Hope you don't take casualties or lose momentum once engaged or the whole thing falls apart.Do you stay in place and just secure the consulate?Or do you actually do an extraction?If you stay, fight off remaining enemies.If you leave get through enemy combatants and back to airfield or other secure environment.Do all this while rendering medical attention to your own wounded and evacuees.Do you call on Libyan personnel to help? (Not the most reliable bunch.)Possibly engage local militia that are allied with you because they didn't know who you are.Coordinate in-flight refueling for trip to Libya, if needed (Most of our tankers are not in that area).Spend time on in-flight refueling.Drawing weapons and ammunition (If you're military you know how this is).Gathering and deciding which supplies to bring in the first place.There was also no “stand down” order issued by CIA Chief of Base at the CIA annex a mile away from the Benghazi compound, when the contractors were responding to the attack. Senate Intelligence Committee, the most credible official investigation into Benghazi, investigated this issue. It found that, "Although some members of the security team expressed frustration that they were unable to respond more quickly to the Mission compound," there was "no evidence of intentional delay or obstruction by the Chief of Base or any other party."One of the contractors, Kris Paronto, continued to insist that the CIA Chief of Base did issue a stand-down order. But that has been rejected by every official report that looked at the issue as well as every top-level US official in office at the time. One of them was the CIA Deputy Chief of Base.The reality is that the CIA Chief of Base was telling them to wait because the calls to the militias in Benghazi were not being answered. They didn't want the team mistakenly getting into a firefight with friendly militia forces.And according the Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey to the HAS, "the President instructed us to use all available assets to respond to the attacks to ensure the safety of US personnel in Libya." And the evidence is very clear that the military, in fact, committed every immediately available asset to Benghazi.But despite orders from President Obama, no American military forces were deployed to Benghazi on the night of the attacks (no military forces could get there in time) and Marines stationed in Spain repeatedly received conflicting orders (repeatedly changing clothes).References:PAC Attack on Clinton's Benghazi Record - FactCheck.orghttp://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/21/mike-pence/mike-pences-false-claim-about-clintons-role-and-re/Hannity misleads in Benghazi report findingsMichael Bay's 13 Hours promotes some of the worst Benghazi conspiracy theoriesWhy didn’t Ambassador Chris Stevens get the security he requested?Could the US military have stopped the Benghazi attack?Is the Obama Administration to blame for Benghazi?https://armedservices.house.gov/sites/republicans.armedservices.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/20140211-%20HASC%20O%26I%20Interim%20Report%20%28Actions%20-%20Benghazi%29.pdfHouse Benghazi Report Finds No New Evidence of Wrongdoing by Hillary ClintonThomas Lewandowski's answer to My brother says he voted for Trump because of what happened after the attack in Benghazi, Libya in 2012. What are the issues with that?