Politicians Get People Killed!

Rating: 10/10 (13 February 2016)

This is a great movie, up there with American Sniper. I saw it tonight, weeks after its premier. The theater was packed. I had delayed because of some mediocre reviews by what I found out were politically motivated ideologues. In truth, there is absolutely nothing political about this movie. This movie is simply an intense, hour-by-hour account of what happened during the Benghazi disaster. I predict this movie will continue to rise in popularity by word-of-mouth.
I appreciate the great attention to detail of the writers and director. The set-up to the Benghazi disaster and battle scenes are excellent. The actors portraying the contractors are credible and believable.
No politician is referenced during the movie, but by the end of the movie, reasonable viewers must ask, "what idiot approved the Libya mission?" The answer is obvious: just as a general is responsible for his failed campaign, here, Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, is responsible for the failed Libya campaign and the Benghazi disaster.
Even a novice in security or military matters must ask: What was the defense plan for the Diplomatic outpost? What was the extraction plan in case of overwhelming attack? Reading the book or watching this movie leads one to the conclusion that there was no plan for back-up defense or extraction of personnel. Apparently, Hillary Clinton wanted the Benghazi operation to be very low profile, with few personnel or assets involved. The low key approach might have been understandable, if, and only if, there was a solid plan for back up defense assets and evacuation of personnel. Hillary Clinton's plan appears to have been, "let's go in with good intentions and hope for the best." The most troubling issue in the Benghazi disaster remains, "how did the terrorists obtain so much detailed information on the U.S. compounds and the plans and location of the Ambassador and his staff and CIA personnel?" One obvious possibility is that Hillary Clinton's hacked e-mails (now known to contain "operational intelligence") revealed the location and plans of the Ambassador and CIA. The potential further implication of Hillary may explain why the State Department (Obama) refuses to release e-mails containing the operational intelligence.
In any event, this movie makes clear that once the prolonged 13 hour attack began, no one in the U.S. government was willing to send in significant rescue assets. It is also clear that the contractors involved behaved heroically, even though they were abandoned by their government. Sadly, the entire disaster was being viewed in real-time by government bureaucrats via drone camera. Thus, bureaucrats and politicians cannot claim ignorance of the critical nature of the situation. To this day, the U.S. compounds have not been reclaimed by the U.S., and terrorists swim in the dead ambassador's pool. Sadly, Libya is now an ISIS stronghold, and ISIS is in possession of U.S. supplied weapons. Someone deserves to go to prison for the Libya/Benghazi disaster.