Benghazi Blackout

Seven weeks ago, on that ill-fated date of 9/11, the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya came under attack by Islamic militants. Or terrorists. Or whatever term you want to apply. Heavily armed, these militants took the lives of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith, and U.S. embassy security personnel Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods (both former Navy SEALs). For seven weeks, the entire Washington establishment from the White House, to the CIA, to the DoD and the State Department has engaged in a remarkable opus of obfuscation. That something went terribly wrong that night is an understatement. But the tremendous effort to change the subject by all parties - aided and abetted by a complicit news media - fills me with an anger that I thought I'd left behind long ago.

We have waited for weeks for the dust to settle and answers to be given. Normally, the news hounds are asking the questions, getting the quotes, and putting out stories that over time piece things together. But apparently, the major news media, with one notable exception, is refusing to even ask the questions. "Wait until after the election, you say? Well, sure, we'll wait. No sense in trying to rush things before the election, and hey, there's a big storm coming too."

Snark aside, please understand that I am not - by any stretch of the imagination - prone to donning the tin foil hat. But I find it very difficult to excuse the journalistic powers for failing to do their job - which once upon a time was intended to, at a minimum, inform us and provide facts about newsworthy stories.

Five days ago, Fox News published a report that included this explosive claim (emphasis mine):

Fox News has learned from sources who were on the ground in Benghazi that an urgent request from the CIA annex for military back-up during the attack on the U.S. consulate and subsequent attack several hours later on the annex itself was denied by the CIA chain of command -- who also told the CIA operators twice to "stand down" rather than help the ambassador's team when shots were heard at approximately 9:40 p.m. in Benghazi on Sept. 11.

Former Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods was part of a small team who was at the CIA annex about a mile from the U.S. consulate where Ambassador Chris Stevens and his team came under attack. When he and others heard the shots fired, they informed their higher-ups at the annex to tell them what they were hearing and requested permission to go to the consulate and help out. They were told to "stand down," according to sources familiar with the exchange. Soon after, they were again told to "stand down."

Woods and at least two others ignored those orders and made their way to the consulate which at that point was on fire.

That was five days ago. In normal circumstances, when one news organization pounces on a story, the others rush to catch up. But if you follow CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, the Washington Post, the New York Times and so on, you might not even be aware of this story. At all. If you read further into the information coming from Fox, you will find that there are more than enough questions being raised about the sequence of events and the discontinuities of what the president said he ordered, what orders were or weren't followed and by whom, and what happened on the ground.

I don't have the facts. But somebody does, and it is obvious to me that the media at large doesn't give a damn about what happened. Heads should be rolling for this by now. But as far as most are concerned, this story doesn't even exist.

I leave you with three links, and yes, you should consider the bias of the sources as you read. Even if these don't align with your particular political persuasion, you have to ask yourself why those venerable practitioners of journalism don't seem interested in finding out the truth behind this story. Their silence can only lead to one conclusion. And in the back of their minds, if not spoken aloud, you can almost hear them darkly giving thanks for Sandy. They just need to run out the clock for 6 more days.

Breitbart: Media Blackout: Aside from FOX, Sunday News Hosts Fail to Raise Benghazi

Breitbart: Media Blackout: Why Obama Dodged the Libya Question

Real Clear Politics: The Media's Benghazi Blackout

Weekly Standard: Petraeus and Panetta Speak—But Not the President

"Please move along. There is nothing to see here." More Benghazi bull.