UPDATE: General at center of Benghazi-gate controversy retiring

Maybe once General Ham retires we will learn the truth regarding the order to ‘Stand Down’ and the events that followed!

Via The Washington Times

Updated 10/29) Is an American General losing his job  for trying to save the Americans besieged in Benghazi? This is the latest  potential wrinkle in the growing scandal surrounding the September 11, 2012  terrorist attack that left four men dead and President Obama scrambling for a  coherent explanation.

On October 18, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta appeared unexpectedly at an  otherwise unrelated briefing on “Efforts to Enhance the Financial Health of the  Force.” News organizations and CSPAN were told beforehand there was no news  value to the event and gave it scant coverage. In his brief remarks Mr. Panetta  said, “Today I am very pleased to announce that President Obama will nominate  General David Rodriguez to succeed General Carter Ham as commander of U.S.  Africa Command.” This came as a surprise to many, since General Ham had only  been in the position for a year and a half. The General is a very well  regarded officer who made AFRICOM into a true Combatant Command after the  ineffective leadership of his predecessor, General William E. “Kip” Ward. Later,  word circulated informally that General Ham was scheduled to rotate out in March  2013 anyway, but according to Joint doctrine, “the tour length for combatant  commanders and Defense agency directors is three years.” Some assumed that  he was leaving for unspecified personal reasons.

However on October 26, “Ambassador” posted  the following RUMINT on TigerDroppings (h/t Jim Hoft):

I heard a story today from someone inside the military that I trust  entirely. The story was in reference to General Ham that Panetta referenced in  the quote below.

quote:

“(The) basic principle is that you don’t deploy forces into harm’s way  without knowing what’s going on; without having some real-time information about  what’s taking place,” Panetta told Pentagon reporters. “And as a result of not  having that kind of information, the commander who was on the ground in that  area, Gen. Ham, Gen. Dempsey and I felt very strongly that we could not put  forces at risk in that situation.”

The information I heard today was that General Ham as head of Africom  received the same e-mails the White House received requesting help/support as  the attack was taking place. General Ham immediately had a rapid response unit  ready and communicated to the Pentagon that he had a unit  ready.

General Ham then received the order to stand down.  His response was to screw it, he was going to help anyhow. Within 30 seconds to  a minute after making the move to respond, his second in command apprehended  General Ham and told him that he was now relieved of his  command.

The story continues that now General Rodiguez  would take General Ham’s place as the head of Africom.

Read the rest here.

Related articles

• Obama fires general for wanting to help Americans being attacked in Benghazi (fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com)
• Has General Ham Been Fired? (americanthinker.com)
• Top AFRICOM Leader General Carter Ham Was Never Ordered to Save US Men in Benghazi (Video) (thegatewaypundit.com)
• Did General Ham Become Another Victim for Trying to Save Americans in Benghazi (independentsentinel.com)
• General in Benghazi Scandal Suddenly Retires (godfatherpolitics.com)
• Was Africom General Replaced For His Efforts to Save Benghazi Security Officials” (thegatewaypundit.com)