The parents, wives, children, brothers, sisters, extended relatives, Team Mates, and the majority of caring Americans do not consider the abandonment of 4 brave Americans in Benghazi, that facilitated  their murder by Al Q’ieda terrorists a “Phony Scandal.”  The American people want to know what the occupant of the Oval Office was doing for the 8 hours, while over 125 to 150 well-equipped and disciplined Al Q’ieda terrorists were prosecuting a well-coordinated and rehearsed attack against the Special Mission Compound and the CIA Annex in Benghazi on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11.  The American people and the press were certainly informed in detail, with plenty of photos, what Obama and Hillary were doing for 8 hours when SEAL Team SIX took out Osama Bin Laden---then we watched in horror while the occupant of the Oval Office exposed Top Secret operational information to the world, outed SEAL Team SIX, and alerted terrorists worldwide to vacate their premises.   On the 11th anniversary of 9/11, all US Forces should have been on a High State of Alert worldwide, as they had been in 10 previous years, especially in Libya where terrorists had previously attacked the US Special Mission and blown a hole in the outer perimeter wall. The entire US Intelligence establishment had been alerted in advance that an Al Q’ieda attack in Libya was imminent, because the new Al Q’ieda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri ,who had replaced Osama Bin Laden, had declared that Abu Ya Hya al-Libi still needed to be avenged in Libya on the anniversary of 9/11.  Yet repeated requests by Ambassador Stevens for enhanced security that he made to the State Department, and the National Security apparatus in the White House for many weeks, leading to the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attack, were turned down by Hillary and Obama.

Once the attack was initiated, the Ambassador in Benghazi and the Embassy staff in Tripoli repeatedly and urgently begged the White House Situation Room and Hillary Clinton at the State Department, for a military rescue and security forces in Europe & Tripoli for the support that could have been sent---they were told to stand down---they let them die.  While the Al Q’ieda terrorists were executing their well-coordinated and preplanned commando assault, every attempt to rescue the Americans under attack by different commands, were ordered to stand down by the White House Situation Room---they let them die.  That unconscionable abandonment of US personnel under attack resulted in the murder of J Christopher Stevens, the US Ambassador to Libya, Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, and the US Embassy Information Management Officer, Sean Smith.  The Obama Administration has muzzled the survivors of the attack and prevented them from speaking to Congress for 11 months. One of the most severely wounded survivors of the Al Q’ieda terrorist attack in Benghazi, Diplomatic Security agent David Ubben, risked his life to help save his fellow Americans, and is still being treated at Walter Reed Medical Center to this day—he doesn’t think the events in Benghazi is a “Phony Scandal.”

With jet fighter support 2 hours away, the American people, the Congress, personnel in the US Armed Forces, and the families of the murdered US personnel want to know why they weren’t ordered to provide close air support, and why every other attempt to rescue the Americans by US military forces and by State Department Security personnel were ordered to stand down—they just let them die..  Why did Obama and Hillary force the military to abandon our ancient and noble warrior code “Leave no man behind"?  For 11 months the pliant left of center liberal media establishment hasn’t even tried to do the basic investigative journalism our Founding Fathers counted on the third estate to do, their complicity in this ongoing cover-up and their abandonment of those 4 Americans is because of their blind support for Obama and Hillary---it is shameful.  We will we stand with and support the families, friends, and Team Mates of the Ambassador Stevens, the 2 courageous SEALs, Glen Doherty & Tyrone Woods, and Sean Smith in their efforts to seek the answers to what Obama inappropriately calls a “Phony Scandal.”   “Phony Scandals” don’t come home in body bags, make no mistake about it “Benghazi is a Major Scandal.” 

Cong Tom Rooney, Cpt-USA (JAG) (R-FL-16) wrote the below listed article on the Benghazi cover-up; it was printed in the Tampa Tribune.

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                                  Help wasn't coming in Benghazi: The new reality

   During a Senate hearing on Benghazi, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton famously asked: "What difference at this point does it make?" My answer is this: After Benghazi, America changed.

   You see, the worst part of this tragedy wasn't the failure to protect our own, and it wasn't the Obama administration's efforts to cover up that failure, as seen in the disturbing emails between top officials at the State Department and other agencies.

   The worst part about the assault on our consulate in Benghazi and what we've learned since is this: When terrorists attacked our people, the cavalry never came. And it was never going to come.

   As a former Army officer, I had the privilege of serving alongside some amazing human beings. They wear the uniform knowing they may lay down their lives for their country. Their charge is to fight and win this country's wars. Our service members live by the motto, "Leave no one behind." This is in our DNA.

   Or at least it was.

   On dates like 9/11, we know our enemies want to make a statement with terror. What better target on that date than an unguarded embassy, in the midst of the Arab Spring? To those of us who opposed our involvement in Libya from the start, Libya's failure to become a wellspring of a burgeoning democracy was no surprise. Benghazi was a ticking time bomb, and Ambassador Chris Stevens knew it. And so the terrorists attacked, and hours went by before the terror would end.

   Secretary Clinton talked to embassy officials during the siege. During one of these calls, two of our men who would ultimately give their lives were still alive. As they defended their ground in the middle of the night on hostile territory, far away from home, one thought was surely racing through their minds: Help is on the way. Backup will be here soon. They must have repeatedly looked to the sky expecting an American aircraft to arrive carrying Marines or Special Forces. As more hours went by, no one came. I can only imagine what they were thinking before they died: Where are they?

   When the dust settled, the administration claimed there wasn't enough time to send a rescue team, a claim repeated countless times. I want to know: How did they know that when they first decided not to send help?

   The attack went on for more than eight hours. How did the Obama administration know when the assault was going to end? What if it lasted for 10 or 20 hours? Why not send a rescue team or aircraft at hour two or four or six? Wouldn't it have been worth it to try?

   Politically, Obama could say he tried to save their lives but there just wasn't time. Tactically, we would have reminded the world that if you mess with the United States, your actions will not go unanswered. Sending help would show Americans serving in harm's way around the world that we still look after our own.

   But the truth is, help was never coming in Benghazi. That is a new reality in this country. Our government wants to portray to the world that everything is fine. They want to show how progressive and open-minded we are. Shows of strength and security at the consulate before the attack wouldn't fit that mold.

   Yet the president was comfortable establishing a consulate, with a real live ambassador, in the middle of one of the most dangerous places in the world without real security. Why? To portray to the world that the Arab Spring was working and President Obama was far removed from the mistakes of the Bush administration. The thinking inside the administration goes: Obama helped the Arabs overthrow oppression where Bush went to war with them.

   When the initial attack disproved this notion, the administration did everything it could to protect the narrative. They refused to send help. Sending in military support would have constituted "boots on the ground," a responsibility the commander in chief did not want to bear. Isolated drones strikes and NATO-led missions are the crux of the Obama Doctrine, and both are worthless against a sudden attack.

   In the aftermath, they falsely blamed the attack on a video, then claimed ignorance, and then when caught in a campaign of misinformation, claimed to have acknowledged it was a terrorist attack all along. Confused? That's the idea.

   To cap it all off, no one has been arrested. You burn our consulate? You kill our ambassador? What's the ol' U S of A going to do about it? Well, nothing actually. That sends the wrong message not just to the world, but to our troops, and to our kids who may want to serve someday.

   Whenever someone raises concerns about Benghazi, the other side cries "politics." I really don't care about the politics. I don't care about what this means for 2014 or 2016. This is bigger than Benghazi, and it's certainly bigger than election cycles.

   I care about the moment those men knew they were alone and would die, and the sinking feeling they must have experienced when they realized help wasn't on the way. I care about the new reality, where Americans under attack can't expect relief to come. And that breaks my heart. The "shining city on the hill" is a little dimmer after Benghazi.

   Tom Rooney

Cong Tom Rooney is a member of the House Intelligence and Appropriations Committees is an U.S. Army Veteran and represents Florida's 16th Congressional District.