#Benghazi: And, just like that, the missing colonel is found

**Posted by Phineas

Funny how that works, when Congress controls the appropriations leash:

The U.S. Department of Defense has agreed to make available to Congress a Marine Corps colonel who was in command of U.S. Special Forces in Northern Africa on the night armed terrorists staged a military-style assault on an American diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya.

A series of requests for Marine Col. George Bristol’s testimony from Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, both Republicans, had fallen on deaf ears until Friday. The Pentagon had claimed that since Bristol had retired, it ‘cannot compel’ him to tell congressional panels what he knows about the Benghazi attack.

The Mail was able to locate the colonel’s home in Virginia, but the Pentagon was stumped. That lasted until the Marines Corps Times spilled the beans that he wasn’t really retired, yet.

Here’s why the committee wants to talk with Colonel Bristol:

On that day, Bristol was commander of Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trans Sahara, placing him directly in the chain of command where decisions were made about evaluating and deploying assault teams when American personnel in Northern Africa are in harm’s way.

Other military officials have testified before Congress, including Gen. Carter Ham, who appeared on June 26 before a closed session of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Bristol’s LinkedIn profile indicates that he led a task force with authority over military special operations in 12 countries, including forces tasked with countering violent extremist organizations.

During a change of command ceremony in March 2013 that saw him rotated out of command, he said ‘an evil’ had taken hold in Africa, and ‘it is on us to stomp it out.’

‘Africa is not the next ridgeline,’ Bristol told Stars and Stripes. ‘It is where the enemy is going now. And we are going to do something about it.’

The obvious question to ask the colonel, then, is why we didn’t “do something about it” in Benghazi. I’ll be interested in the answers.

So will the survivors of the four Americans who died there.

via The Anchoress

(Crossposted at Public Secrets)

Drew the Infidel says:

July 19, 2013 at 5:32 pm

The bottom line is four innocent Americans were sacrificed to a cruel fate of death at the hands of terrorists enabled by this administration. All else is secondary in importance.

JoyO says:

July 19, 2013 at 5:48 pm

That’s progress. However, yesterday I was reading that the Administration has required all of the survivors to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements. I think Congress should pull an “Obama” and “unilaterally” waive those agreements so they can question them.

Jimmy Mule says:

July 19, 2013 at 7:04 pm

Ben who?

Press Watch says:

July 19, 2013 at 11:32 pm

What difference will it make?

He won’t tell the truth anyway!

Steve Skubinna says:

July 20, 2013 at 5:24 pm

Looks to me as if the Marines are not going to play the game. Either that or really bad coordination by the DoD hacks and flacks. Generally standup people, the Jarheads, so my money right now is on HQMC refusing to go along with the shell game by keeping the Colonel on ice.

Carlos says:

July 21, 2013 at 10:56 pm

First thought: If our military can’t even find one of its own, we’re in worse shape with the military than I thought.

Second thought: If this is the best the administration can do at hiding people, they’re not nearly as good at being devious as I thought.

Third thought: Good suggestion, JoyO, but I doubt it would receive the required votes in a Democrat-controlled Senate. And a wonderful in-your-face to He Who Would Be King. He needs a lot of those between now and next year’s midterm elections.