General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: So, when will McCain be made to answer for arming the Benghazi rebels who attacked the US embassy? [View all]leveymg
(36,418 posts)The evidence suggests that Libyan SAM-7s were first received in some numbers by the opposition in Syria before Benghazi. The fighting between opposition factions over the cargo carried by the Libyan freighter that docked in Turkey in late August, early September attracted a lot of unwanted international attention. Notice that nobody is using exact dates as to Obama's decision to hold off (cease?) these shipments.
Unless we accept this was going on under the noses of both USG agencies, this suggests the possibility that Petraeus and/or Clinton may have been running an off-the-books program (perhaps without an express Presidential finding), that was only halted when its existence leaked wide open. It looks like some effort was being made to freeze-out the Saudi/GCC-backed Jihadi militia from receiving these Libyan SAMs, and that blew the operation's cover. It was a question based in fact, and Clinton's response is telling.