Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Hypothesis of What happened the Fateful night in Benghazi.

The Benghazi Scandal lies at the heart of all the controversy that is taking place in Washington and casting a pall over the White House. Something Shameful happened, so damaging in the eyes of Key Officials that it has been concealed from the American People and indeed the whole world. We know that the President was informed that something was going on in Libya. No doubt it was a preliminary report that was perhaps ambiguous. The President must have responded in some manner and since the facts are being concealed, reason mandates the use of assumptions, or proxy facts to figure out what was going on. Thus the problem is defined as: To determine what happened that fnight in Benghazi.

Facts

The President was informed late in the day.
The President went somewhere.
Crisis action measures that could have been taken were not.
Key Generals were asked to retire.
There was a big shake-up in the land based missile leg of the Triad. (Minot AFB)
A shroud of secrecy was imposed that remains in effect to this day.
This event took place leading up to an election.
The record shows some of what happened before and after the night in question.
Security in the area of the crisis was inadequate and deteriorating.
The Administration tried to paint the incident as a “Demonstration that got out of control.”
The Administration has gone to extreme lengths to conceal what happened.
In the event of a preemptive strike the President would have minutes to react and respond.

Assumptions:

Had the President been engaged he would have done something to save the four (4) Americans.

In a crisis with growing National Security Implications, where the President could not be "Engaged" there would be an increase in the alert posture.

The Soviets have their own protocols and if they suspected a preemptive strike would attempt to disrupt the American Command Authority.

The Soviets learned early in the cycle that the US was on a heightened alert posture and efforts to find out why were not cleared up on the "Hot Line."

The Soviets used embedded resources to determine what was going on.

What happened has serious underlying National Security Implications. The incident revealed a huge flaw in the crisis action process where the President must be able to react in in a narrow window of response. It was hours before he realized the extent of what had happened. There was a breach in National Security on the night of the event.

When the President was told the situation was still fluid and the scope was limited. The hypothetical scenario that follows puts matters in the best possible light. Yes, it is based upon an assumption, but one that places what happened in a scenario that is least damaging to the White House.

The election was coming to a crucial point. In addition to getting reelected, (a matter then at issue), the President was concurrently expected to perform his duties as head of State. That night his mind was full of both politics and his elected responsibilities.

As the day came to a close, faced with a grueling campaign schedule in the days ahead, the Secretary of Defense approached the President informing him of late breaking news on Libya.

“Mr. President we just got word from our Ambassador that he is under attack at the Libyan Embassy.”

“What does “Under Attack Mean”?

“We aren’t sure. Nothing is certain right now. I’m quoting a communiqué.”

“What are we doing in response?”

“We have an emergency response plan for contingencies of this sort. Special Operating forces are being moved into position that can be on the scene in hours.”

“Are you sure this is an attack and not some sort of demonstration like we are seeing in Egypt?”

“Like I said Mr. President, the Ambassador says he's under attack.”

LOOK! I have assured the American People we would not act unilaterally in the execution of our Foreign Policy. The last thing I want to do is commit “Boots to the Ground,” into a sovereign nation unless we are absolutely sure there is a very serious incident taking place. Is the Embassy being overrun? If its being threatened we need to get the permission and support of the Libyan Government and determine the exact scope of what is going on before we go off half-cocked. Keep me posted on developments, but for now I want you to “Stand Down,” on any deployment of American troops. I think in the morning we will discover this preliminary report was overstated.”

The President departed for the White House and the Situation Room went on Alert Status. The President had dinner, took a sleeping pill and went to bed early. His wife told the security liaison that the President was not to be disturbed. The following morning the President learned what happened.