Originally posted by Gun Grape
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I should have been clearer. Do we know if contingency plans for a rescue already existed?
I absolutely agree; planning a mission takes time, and if, as in this case, there were no plans on the shelf, probably not enough time was available to save the consulate personnel.
At this point I am more interested in what the thinking was at the top. The powers that be are saying that launching a mission was not possible under the circumstances, lack of on-the-ground intel, etc. I can accept that. But were there other
reasons for not going in? If a mission was feasible at the time, would they have ordered it? Did they order a stand-down?
It's really too late to second guess whether a mission would have succeeded, but not too late to know the real reason why none was tried. Was it really lack of time or really political?
Read the timeline of the attack provided by the State dept and see what you think.
Background Briefing on Libya
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