The Washington Free Beacon reports that Anne Patterson, the U.S. Ambassador to Cairo, forbade U.S. Marines guarding the embassy from carrying live ammo. Ambassadors might be kings (or queens) of the compound, but her pronouncement was nothing short of professional incompetence.
Forget about the Obama administration reverting to the pre-9/11 era. Patterson set the clock back to pre-1983. After all, it was during that year that Ronald Reagan, in perhaps one of the greatest mistakes of his presidency, ordered U.S. Marines into Beirut as peacekeepers. The Marines guarding their barracks, however, were not authorized to carry live ammunition. Had the guards been carrying loaded weapons, they might have shot the suicide truck bomber who rushed the gates, setting off an explosion which killed 241 American servicemen.
Nor should we dismiss the attack on the embassy as simply a protest that got out of hand, but which was fortunately diffused without the loss of life. Remember: The November 4, 1979 hostage seizure in Iran was actually the second assault on the U.S. embassy in Tehran. On February 14, radicals stormed the embassy much like they did in Cairo, in an incident now long since forgotten. Had Carter upped the defense of the embassy then, Iranian revolutionaries might not have triumphed the second time around. Alas, it seems that Obama’s team, like Carter’s before it, refuses to learn from experience and so condemns Americans to make the same mistakes repeatedly.
Perhaps this was not worded correctly. The mistake, I believe, was not that Reagan ordered troops into Lebanon, but that he did not allow such troops to be fully armed at all times. Another mistake was in withdrawing our troops when they were confronted with armed opponents. Maybe they should have been trained with broom handles as they were prior to WWI when rifles were in short supply.
“The ambassador and RSO (Regional Security Officer) have been completely and appropriately engaged with the security situation. No restrictions on weapons or weapons status have been imposed. This information comes from the Det Commander at AMEMB (American Embassy) Cairo.” n n–Pentagon Lt. Col. Chris Hughes n nOops. Looks like your propaganda machine got stuck on the "spin" cycle again. But I guess your man set the tone for going off half-cocked before knowing all he facts.
The way the govt lies and backpeddles, Hughes comment is almost a moot point. Sad but true. Our POTUS doesn't even know if Egypt is our friend or enemy. Pffft.
Sec State Clinton needs to articulate to her own staffers, and recruits if not all of America how she felt justified in sending an entire diplomatic mission unprotected into one of the most violent unstable places on earth? n nI would truly like an explanation of that decision process.
Get the facts straight before reporting rumors. n nMajor Alex Cross, USMC, Deputy Director, Marine Liaison Office to House of Representatives, said in an email: n nFrom: Cross, Alex Maj OLA, LA-41B nSent: Thursday, September 13, 2012 4:55 PM nTo: Cross, Alex Maj OLA, LA-41B nSubject: Marines in Libya and Egypt n n nLadies and Gentlemen- n nThe following information is provided regarding Marine involvement in the recent actions in Egypt and Libya: n nEgypt: n-The Ambassador did not impose restrictions on weapons or weapons status on the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group (MCESG) detachment. The MCESG Marines in Cairo were allowed to have live ammunition in their weapons. The Ambassador and Regional Security Officer have been completely and appropriately engaged with the security situation. Reports of Marines not being able to have their weapons loaded per direction from the Ambassador are not accurate. n- The Marine Corps does not establish Rules of Engagement (ROE). Nonetheless, ROE is classified and release of that information would jeopardize the Marines and U.S. interests. Any further inquiry should be directed to the State Department, since Marine security guards report to the ambassador not to a military commander. n-As reported in open sources, approximately 2000 personnel were protesting outside the U.S. Embassy and six individuals entered Embassy grounds. The Marines quickly took control of these six individuals and subsequently turned them over to local security officials. n-There were no Marines injured in this, or other actions in Cairo. n-There are no Marine dependents in Cairo. n nLibya: n-Contrary to open source reporting, there are no Marines currently stationed at the Embassy in Tripoli, or the Consulate in Benghazi. n-There were no Marines killed in the attack on the Consulate in Benghazi. n nYemen: n-The American Embassy in Sana'a, Yemen has a MCESG reinforced with a Marine security force. Due to operational security, we are not at liberty to provide additional details at this time. n n
Continuation of email from Major Alex Cross, USMC, Deputy Director, Marine Liaison Office to House of Representativesl: n nMarine Corps Embassy Security Guards (MCESG): nEmbassy security in Tripoli and the consulate in Benghazi fall under the Regional Security Officer with the State Department. The U.S. maintains over 285 diplomatic facilities worldwide. MCESG provides 152 security detachments provide internal security at designated U.S. diplomatic and consular facilities in order to prevent the compromise of classified material vital to the national security of the United States. Perimeter security is the responsibility of the host nation police/security forces. AMEMB Tripoli does not have a MCESG detachment. Typically, when a new embassy is established, it takes time to grow a new MCESG detachment. In coordination with the State Department, there was discussion about establishing a detachment in Tripoli sometime in the next five years. Overall, the plan is to grow the number of MCESG detachments worldwide to 173. The size of a MCESG detachment depends on the size of the Embassy and the security situation on the ground. They normally range anywhere from 5-20+ Marines in size. MCESG can, and have, provided security at Consulates as well as Embassies. For example, Marines guard the US Consulate in Hong Kong and, in the past, have guarded the US Consulate in addition to the Embassy in Haiti. The decision as to which consulates receive this augmented security lies with the State Department. State identifies its requirements and DOD/Marines work to provide it. A U.S. Ambassador serving in an unstable region can/will normally have a security detail provided by the State Departments Diplomatic Security Corps. State has agents specially trained to provide personal security details (similar to the Secret Service). Stephanie Hoostal at the State Liaison Office (B-330) can be reached at 6-4542 if you have questions specific to the State Dept. n nFleet Anti-Terrorism Support Team (FAST): nA FAST platoon deployed to Libya yesterday (12 Sep 12) to provide security for the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli. Established in 1987, FAST platoons provide a limited-duration, expeditionary security force to protect vital naval and national assets. FAST companies maintain forward-deployed platoons at various naval commands around the globe and possess U.S.-based alert forces capable of rapidly responding to unforeseen contingencies worldwide. FAST is not designed to provide a permanent security force for installations. FAST platoons are primarily designed to conduct defensive combat operations, military security operations, and rear area security operations in response to approved requests in support of geographic combatant and fleet commanders. When deployed to reinforce embassies with existing MCESG detachments, FAST platoons will customarily provide an outer cordon of security inside the embassy compound, while MCESG Marines maintain security of the chancery proper, and host nation police/security forces provide an outer cordon of security beyond embassy grounds. n nNOTE: Although a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) has traditionally been forward deployed to the Mediterranean (2.5 MEU forward deployment-1 x east coast MEU to the Med, 1 x west coast MEU to the Pacific, and the 31st MEU forward based out of Okinawa, Japan), there is currently no MEU presence in the Mediterranean. The Marine Corps currently maintains a 1.5 MEU presence forward deployed. We currently have the 24th MEU from the east coast deployed to the Persian Gulf, a west coast MEU is conducting work-ups for deployment, and the 31st MEU is operating from Okinawa. n nPlease see the attachments for more information on FAST or MCESG. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your Marine Corps Liaison Office in RHOB-B324. n nRespectfully, nAlex Cross, Maj USMC nDeputy Director, Marine Liaison Office nU.S. House of Representatives nB-324 Rayburn
Maybe since they had declared Libya a success in progress they decided they had to act like their Panglossian and feckless optimism was true. Cargo cult diplomacy. It's all the rage in this administration.
Great reporting, Commentary! You have published another complete lie, which has been corrected by the Marine Corps. Commentary has devolved into just another right-wing rag that will abandon all journalistic and ethical standards in pursuit of its un-American agenda.
The American Embassy is American territory, if someone ordered the guards to "lay down their weapons" , they knew exactly what they were doing. Go after the Ambassador instead of the protesters.