The news has been full of the attacks
on our embassies throughout the Muslim world, and in particular, the deaths
of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others in Benghazi, Libya.
However, there’s a little known story
of incredible bravery, heroics, and courage that should be the top
story.
So what actually happened at the U.S.
embassy in Libya? We are learning more about this every day.
Ambassador Stevens and Foreign Service officer Sean Smith, along with
administrative staff, were working out of temporary quarters due to the
fact that in the spring of 2011 during the so-called Arab Spring, the
United States cut ties with then president Moammar Gadhafi. Our
embassy was looted and ransacked, causing it to be unusable. It is
still in a state of disrepair.
Security for embassies and their
personnel is to be provided by the host nation. Since Libya has gone
through a civil war of sorts in the past 18 months, the current government
is very unstable, and therefore, unreliable
A well-organized attack by radical
Muslims was planned specifically targeting the temporary U.S. embassy
building. The Libyan security force that was in place to protect our
people deserted their post, or joined the attacking force.
Either way, our people were in a real fix. And it should be noted that Ambassador Stevens had mentioned on
more than one occasion to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, that he
was quite concerned for his personal safety and the welfare of his
people. It is thought that Ambassador Stevens was on a “hit list.”
A short distance from the American
compound, two Americans were sleeping. They were in Libya as
independent contractors working an assignment totally unrelated to our
embassy. They also happened to be former Navy Seal’s.
When they heard the noise coming from
the attack on our embassy, as you would expect from highly trained
warriors, they ran to the fight. Apparently, they had no weapons, but
seeing the Libyan guards dropping their guns in their haste in fleeing the
scene, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty snatched up several of these discarded
weapons and prepared to defend the American compound.
Not knowing exactly what was taking
place, the two Seal’s set up a defensive perimeter.
Unfortunately Ambassador Stevens was already gravely injured, and Foreign
Service officer, Sean Smith, was dead. However, due to their quick
action and suppressive fire, twenty administrative personnel in the embassy
were able to escape to safety. Eventually, these two courageous men
were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers brought against them, an enemy force
numbering between 100 to 200 attackers which came in two waves. But
the stunning part of the story is that Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty
killed 60 of the attacking force. Once the compound was overrun, the
attackers were incensed to discover that just two men had inflicted so much
death and destruction.
As it became apparent to these selfless
heroes, they were definitely going to lose their lives unless some
reinforcements showed up in a hurry. As we know now, that was not to
be. I’m fairly certain they knew they were going to die in this gun
fight, but not before they took a whole lot of bad guys with them!
Consider these tenets of the Navy SEAL
Code:
1) Loyalty to Country, Team and
Teammate,
2) Serve with Honor and Integrity On
and Off the Battlefield,
3) Ready to Lead, Ready to Follow,
Never Quit,
4) Take responsibility for your actions
and the actions of your teammates,
5) Excel as Warriors through Discipline
and Innovation,
6) Train for War, Fight to Win, Defeat
our Nation’s Enemies, and...
7) Earn your Trident every day
Thank you, Tyrone and Glen. To
the very last breath, you both lived up to the SEAL Code. You served
all of us well. You were courageous in the face of certain death.
And Tyrone, even though you never got
to hold your newborn son, he will grow up knowing the character and quality
of his father, a man among men who sacrificed himself defending others.
Dr. Charles R. Roots
Senior Pastor
Former Staff Sergeant,
USMC Captain,
U. S. Navy Chaplain Corps (Ret.)
This should be passed on
and on and on.
NO TRUE AMERICAN WOULD OBJECT TO
RECEIVING THIS MORE THAN ONCE ... SO PASS IT ON
And Let us never
forget the Hillary Clinton Comment
“What Difference does
it make?
ASK THAT QUESTION AGAIN IN 2016 MRS WANTA BE PRESIDENT, MAYBE THE ANSWER WILL BE A BIT CLEARER TO YOU !
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