On the way home in my car this afternoon, Sean Hannity took a call from a military member who claims to have been the sensor operator for the Predator drone mission over Benghazi on the night of September 12, 2012. The caller, who identified himself as “John,” said the UAV spent only about five minutes over the consulate before being repositioned over the nearby CIA annex. He described seeing a crowd of hundreds of fighters outside the consulate, through the drone’s sensors.
John also confirmed what this blog–and other sources–have reported for months. The situation in Benghazi was actively monitored by various governmental organizations, civilian and military. He noted that the secure “chat” rooms, which allow various nodes to share information during UAV missions, were very active that night. It’s also no secret that the drone’s video feed was available at various command nodes, including the White House Situation Room; CIA Headquarters, the State Department and the National Military Joint Intelligence Center (NMJIC) in the Pentagon.
Now, here’s the shocker. John told Sean Hannity that no one from his unit has been contacted or questioned by Congressional investigators. He was unable to confirm if the video from that terrible night still exists. According to the sensor operator, the sensor “haul” from “uneventful” sorties is eventually erased, and the storage space is used for more recent missions.
Paging Congressmen Darrell Issa and Mike Rogers. You might want to send your investigators to Creech AFB, NV and talk to the sensor crews who were “in the seat” that night. You might also issue a Congressional subpoena for the video, and send your experts to CIA Headquarters; NGA Headquarters, the NMJIC, Langley AFB, VA; Ramstein AFB, Germany, US European Command, Beale AFB, California, Hickam AFB, Hawaii and any other place it might still reside in the bowels of our intelligence apparatus. Before it’s too late.
