** The untold story of the Benghazi terror attack **
From Fox News:
It has been nearly two years since the fatal attack in Libya. Now, hear for the first time from the men who fought that battle.
Part II: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 AT 5 P.M. & 9 P.M. ET
Part III: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 AT 8 P.M. & 11 P.M. ET
****
UPDATE 11:14pm ET by Dan Riehl
What we learned tonight is that the story of Benghazi not only hasn’t fully been told; perhaps it has barely begun to be told. Tonight and throughout this weekend, Fox News’ 13 Hours in Benghazi looks like the next, if not the first real chapter in the story of getting to the bottom of what happened that terrible night when two good Americans died at the hands of terrorists.
****
UPDATE 11:01pm ET by James Pinkerton
This Fox special has been notable for its restraint: It’s just been Bret Baier and the three eyewitnesses. No speeches, just their eyewitness accounts.
This program will echo loudly for a long time to come. And the bravery and sacrifice of the men will be remembered forever. As the Bible tells us, “Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friends.”
****
UPDATE 10:56pm ET by James Pinkerton
American security operative: “I can’t speak for why a politician did things.” I can just speak for what we have done.
If there had been proper and adequate support: “I strongly believe that they would be alive today.”
****
UPDATE 10:54pm ET by Dan Riehl
All the operators seem to agree, without the delay from the wait, or stand down order, they (Stevens and Smith) would still be alive today.
****
UPDATE 10:53pm ET by James Pinkerton
Bret Baier to three Americans: “Would you do it all over again?
****
UPDATE 10:52pm ET by Dan Riehl
Tweet w Pics from Tiegen – same guy on with Bret now.
Never been seen pictures. Leaving Tripoli (not Benghazi). 4 SUVs contain our 4 men who didn’t make it. #13HoursBook pic.twitter.com/VuMuoDg6w5
— John Tiegen (@JohnTiegen) September 6, 2014
Never been seen pictures. Leaving Tripoli (not Benghazi). 4 SUVs contain our 4 men who didn’t make it. #13HoursBook
****
UPDATE 10:50pm ET by James Pinkerton
Mark Geist: “I walked into Benghazi, I’m going to walk out of here.”
****
UPDATE 10:46pm ET by Dan Riehl
“God watch over him guide him to where he needs to be. Take care of his family” – a battle space prayer said by John Tiegen “Tig.”over the dead body of dead colleague Glen Doherty. Tiegen broke into tears in telling the tale tonight on Fox News.
****
UPDATE 10:44pm ET by James Pinkerton
This Fox special includes footage and pictures from Benghazi, but mostly it’s closeups of the men being interviewed. The viewers can judge them.
****
UPDATE 10:41pm ET by James Pinkerton
Wounded heroes trying to apply first aid–to themselves, while in a battle zone. That’s what happens when there’s not enough support.
****
UPDATE 10:4o pm ET by James Pinkerton
Two Americans–Ambassador Stevens and Sean Smith–were killed early on in the attack. The other two Americans–Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods–were killed hours later.
As one of the on-the-record survivors said to Bret Baier, “When you’re in a fight, you have to stay in the fight.” That’s the Warrior Way.
****
UPDATE 10:37pm ET by Dan Riehl
Two things become clear as you listen to these men tell the story of Benghazi, One, they are warriors, two they were failed by the bureaucrats and politicos who employed them for security. But they are merely telling that story candidly, more than they are complaining about it.
****
UPDATE 10:36pm ET by James Pinkerton
“We were going to stay there and hold the Alamo.”
****
UPDATE 10:34pm ET by James Pinkerton
“We’re all brothers”
****
UPDATE 10:33pm ET by Dan Riehl
What seems clear is that State Department officials had more information than the tactical team on the ground in and around the attack. It was a Depart of State official who told one operator in the compound the Ambassador was dead.
****
UPDATE 10:31pm ET by James Pinkerton
These men are going on the record with Bret Baier and Fox News. Anyone is free to question them, challenge them, argue with them. They are obviously confident that their account will hold up. No doubt a great deal of documentary evidence exists: recordings of conversation, digital data trails, etc., presumably all of this information will be released, or at least closely scrutinized. Once again, it’s worth noting that these three men are sure that when the facts all come up, they will be vindicated.
****
UPDATE 10:26pm ET by James Pinkerton
These three military vets obviously know the tools of their trade — laser-targeted guns, identifying targets, everything else about delivering lethal force on a foe. And yet their efforts were not enough–evidently, they were stymied–to save Ambassador Stevens and the other three Americans.
****
UPDATE 10:24pm ET by James Pinkerton
Benghazi security guard: I asked about the possibility of a gunship overhead. No answer. “That was the last I heard about it.”
****
UPDATE 10:23pm ET by Dan Riehl
Mark “Oz” Geist and his mates detailed description of the deployment of the team that night is riveting and puts you as close as you can be to being on the ground without being in harms way.
****
UPDATE 10:20pm ET by James Pinkerton
Case officer to Mark Geist on the night of the attack: “You need to get back to the base.” That is, abandon the scene of the firefight.
****
UPDATE 10:17pm ET by Dan Riehl
By 11:15 Sean Smith was dead, the ambassador was missing and the facility was enguled in chaos and confusion. There’s no way to know how significant were the consequences of the delay driven by a now documented “stand down” order.
****
UPDATE 10:17pm ET by James Pinkerton
These eyewitnesses, being interviewed right now by Bret Baier, are all three demonstrably brave men. They were all volunteers for either the US Army or the US Marines before they became private security contractors. They showed enormous courage that night, back in 2012, and they are brave to go the air with their story. It’s a safe bet that they won’t get hired for any more US Government security work so long as the Obama administration is power, and perhaps longer thereafter than that.
****
UPDATE 10:12pm ET by James Pinkerton
Bret Baier quotes government officials saying, at the time, “There was no ‘stand down’ order given.”
Mark Geist, one of three American security agents, on scene in Benghazi, refutes this claim: “Well, it happened…. We were told to wait, and stand down. Three times.”
****
UPDATE 10:11pm ET by Dan Riehl
The opening makes it very clear Fox is breaking new ground by actually going “boots on the ground” as regards Benghazi by sharing the actual stories of the men who were in the boots on the ground during the Benghazi incident.
Annex Security Team went to the Team Leader and said thumbs up, they we’re ready to go and was told to wait “Hey stand down, we need to wait” Thst, while Ambassador Stevens was already being forced to take refuge. The security team was delayed a total of three times.
****
UPDATE 10:10pm ET by James Pinkerton
Five minutes after the attack on the Libya compound began, the three men in the Fox News special were ready to go. “Thumbs up.”
****
UPDATE 10:05pm ET by Dan Riehl
The opening makes it very clear Fox is breaking new ground by actually going “boots on the ground” as regards Benghazi by sharing the actual stories of the men who were in the boots on the ground during the Benghazi incident.
****
UPDATE 10:05pm ET by James Pinkerton
Mark Geist, “Oz”; Kris Paranto, “Tanto”; John Tiegen “Tig.” Nothing more compelling than eyewitnesses on camera, telling their story.
Hard to imagine that the incident lasted, as the title says, 13 hours.
None of three on-camera eyewitnesses knew anything about a “Mohammad video” until afterward.
****
UPDATE 10:00pm ET by James Pinkerton
I have been a Fox News Contributor since 1996, but I have never been prouder of Fox News’s journalistic enterprise than I have been in regard to its sleuthing out of the Benghazi story. Many outlets, including Breitbart, have covered the story–and had important scoops–but Fox has been the leader. Now, tonight, “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier has a whole new one-hour special, based on the eyewitness accounts of Benghazi operatives, who, we now discover, were on the ground in Benghazi on that disastrous night almost exactly two years ago. I look forward to seeing them on camera–I am sure we will all learn a lot.
****
UPDATE 10:00pm ET from Fox News
Behind the Scenes: 13 Hours–The Inside Story
I wanted to share a few photos from my 4.5 hour interview with the men behind our special–13 Hours: The Inside Story. For the documentary, Fox News was granted exclusive access to the yet to be published book “13 HOURS: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi” by New York Times bestselling author Mitchell Zuckoff with the Annex Security Team. The book is available September 9th–
It was a pleasure getting to know these men and to hear their story–this is a firsthand account of what the annex security team witnessed and experienced in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012. Their story is one you won’t want to miss–they have been through a lot and say they are now as close as brothers.
Photos taken by Katy Ricalde/ Pictured below: Oz, Tanto and Tig
Thank you to the Fox News Documentary Unit for their work on this piece–great job!
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.