(Updates are at the end of the post)
A bombshell article has been published in the DailyMail about David Petraeus and the circumstances around his spectacular fall and about the reasons behind the attack on the U.S. consulate and CIA annex in Benghazi.
The article is based on an e-book written by two former members of elite U.S. military forces and they claim that Petraeus was taken down by a palace coup of sorts, by high-level CIA officers (with the help of his personal bodyguards and contacts at the FBI) who did not like the way Petraeus was running The Company.
They also claim that the Benghazi attack was retaliation for U.S. Special Operations military raids on Libyan militants, raids of which Petraeus and Ambassador Stevens were not aware. The secret raids, according to the authors, targeted leaders of Al Qaeda affiliated militias in Libya, carried out by "hit squads" and one operation happened days before the attack on the consulate.
All of it appears to be based on anonymous sources, some of whom allegedly refused to speak to anyone else. It was written by former members of Special Operations forces in the U.S. military. If and until there are sources on the record or some other evidence, we will have to decide for ourselves how much trust to place in these accounts.
Given that this article has been published in a British tabloid, it requires a lot of scrutiny, though I suspect that this information will be spread all across the news media soon. The article is in the DailyMail, but it is based on an e-book that will be released on Tuesday, which means it is not just a tabloid article. The e-book was written by Brandon Webb, a former Navy SEAL, and Jack Murphy, a former Green Beret, editors of a site called SOFREP, THE Special Operations Forces Situation Report. The publisher is William Morrow and Company and the editor is Harper Collins.
Here is the Amazon information for the book.
Benghazi: The Definitive Report
Brandon Webb, Jack Murphy
Written by the team of former Special Operations warriors who run SOFREP.com, here is the definitive account of what happened before, during, and after the deadly Benghazi attack.
On September 12th, 2012, Brandon Webb learned Glen Doherty, one of his closest friends and his former Navy SEAL teammate, was killed alongside Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and two other Americans when the U.S. State Department and CIA headquarters in Benghazi, Libya, were sieged in a shocking terrorist attack. For the next four months, Webb and his team at SOFREP.com, the world's premier Special Ops website, embarked on a relentless investigation to understand exactly what happened to their countrymen, as well as the roles played by the Obama administration, State Department, and CIA. Drawing on unmatched sources, they spoke to individuals who would talk to no one else, including fellow Special Operations team members familiar with the African theatre, and well-placed contacts in the Washington intelligence community. This is their report--an unforgettably gripping minute-by-minute narrative of the events and their aftermath as they really unfolded on that terrible day in Libya.
The Coup
"7th floor of Central Intelligence headquarters in Langley" collaborated with the FBI to take down Petraeus because he was turning the agency into a paramilitary operation, rather than an intelligence gathering organization.
Excerpt from the book, via the DailyMail article:
'It was well known to Petraeus’s Personal Security Detachment (bodyguards) that he and Broadwell were having an affair. He wasn’t the only high-ranking Agency head or general engaged in extramarital relations, but when the 7th floor wanted Petraeus out, they cashed in their chips,' [...]
'The reality of the situation is that high-ranking CIA officers had already discovered the affair by consulting with Petraeus’s PSD and then found a way to initiate an FBI investigation in order to create a string of evidence and an investigative trail that led to the information they already had—in other words, an official investigation that could be used to force Petraeus to resign.'
[...]
Additionally, he ran the CIA like a four-star general, instead of treating it like a political institution, the authors say. His management style made countless powerful enemies within the CIA.
[...]
'It’s almost like they wanted him not just to resign but that they wanted him kicked out of the political game for at least a number of years,' Murphy told MailOnline.
Link
Read this article by Jeremy Scahill to learn more about the relationship between JSOC and CIA, McRaven and Petraeus:
The Petraeus Legacy: A Paramilitary CIA?
Benghazi
The authors of the book claim that they have a vast network of sources from the world of special operations forces and that while trying to get the details about what happened in Benghazi, they learned that there was never any protest at the consulate in Benghazi but that the attacks were retaliation for a U.S. military program targeting Islamic militants. They also claim that some of their sources are well placed members of the CIA.
The story is that neither Petraeus nor Stevens knew about the covert Special Operations targeting of militia members. This is surprising, but at the same time, the antagonism and conflict between JSOP and CIA was not exactly a secret.
John Brennan, President Barack Obama's Deputy National Security Adviser, had been authorizing 'unilateral operations in North Africa outside of the traditional command structure,' according to the e-book. Brennan is Obama's pick to replace Petraeus as head of the CIA.
Link
It's not clear whether the author of this
New York Post article read the book, interviewed the authors or whether his article is based on the
DailyMail article (that advertises itself as an exclusive):
The secret war behind Benghazi
“With the first phase of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) all but over,” say Murphy and Webb, “JSOC was starting in on ‘GWOT Season 2,’ as it were, where North Africa was seen as the most dangerous hub of terrorist activity.”
Murphy and Webb go on to make a shocking charge: “The nature of these operations remains highly classified. They were never intended to be known to anyone outside a very small circle in the Special Operations community and within Obama’s National Security Council. Ambassador Stevens, the CIA chief of station in Tripoli and then-director of the CIA, Gen. [David] Petraeus, had little if any knowledge about these JSOC missions.”
So the story is that the second phase of the War on Terror has begun, a covert war, led by the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and that some of their operations are so secret that not even the director of the CIA will know about them, nor local ambassadors. One of these covert ops was an attack on a Libyan militia group, Ansar al-Sharia, just days before 9/11/12, and this was the reason for the attack on the consulate and the CIA station/annex in Benghazi.
The authors claim that with the information from their sources in the CIA and in Special Operations, they learned that John Brennan never told Petraeus or Stevens about the operations against Ansar al-Sharia, which would have triggered them to step up security operations and could have prevented the deaths. They said that their SEAL friend, Doherty, was part of a CIA security team who rushed to Benghazi from Tripoli after the consulate was attacked.
John Brennan
I see ties to John Brennan for both of the aspects of this book, both the Petraeus take-down and Benghazi.
First, it is worth noting that there have been recent articles that claim that John Brennan wants to move targeted drone strike operations back to the pervue of the U.S. military, with similar talk about the CIA straying too far from its mission of intelligence gathering. Though I hope the CIA does get out of the drone assassination business, I find this to be curious since the CIA drone program began long before Petraeus became director. Read these two articles for more insight on what was being put out to the media on this before his confirmation hearing:
John Brennan’s Love-Hate Relationship With Drones
John Brennan, Obama's CIA Chief Nominee, Could Restrain the Agency
For the record, I find the DailyBeast article to be marvelous (and in some ways hilarious) propaganda.
Second, the book claims that the secret "hit squad" operations that caused a blowback attack on the consulate were authorized by John Brennan as Assistant to President Obama and Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. If this is true, would the high-level intelligence officers who purportedly took down Petraeus not be furious with Brennan for these operations as well and would they not oppose his nomination for the director position? The consulate attack was costly to the CIA station there in several ways.
Related News Articles
There are more news articles out there based on this same book. None of them, so far, are from sources that I personally trust. Take all of this with a grain of salt until we know more about the authors or until we have more sources.
New Book Claims General Petraeus Was Taken Down by the CIA
The secret war behind Benghazi
A stealth campaign of assassinations, run by CIA nominee John Brennan, resulted in the death of the US ambassador, a new book claims
This, on the other hand, makes me want to pay attention to this book:
About the Authors of "Benghazi: The Definitive Report"
Brandon Webb
Wikipedia:
Brandon Tyler Webb (born 1974) is a former United States Navy SEAL and SEAL Sniper Head Instructor, with combat deployments to southwest Asia, including Iraq and Afghanistan, and an author.[1][2] He served as the Navy SEAL Sniper Course Manager, where he developed new curricula and trained snipers, including Chris Kyle. He is the editor in chief of SOFREP[3] and a media commentator on snipers and related Special Operations Forces military issues.[4] Webb is the co-author of The 21st Century Sniper: A Complete Practical Guide and his memoir The Red Circle.
Author's Page on Amazon.com:
Brandon Webb is a former U.S. Navy SEAL with combat deployments to southwest Asia, including Iraq and Afghanistan. His proudest accomplishment in the U.S. Military was his role as Course Manager for the US Navy SEAL Sniper program, arguably the most difficult sniper course in the world.
Webb has received numerous distinguished service awards throughout his career, including the Presidential Unit Citation (personally awarded to him by President George W. Bush) awarded to his SEAL platoon after their Sept 11th, 2001 deployment to Afghanistan.
After the Navy, he worked in Iraq in support of U.S. Intelligence interests, and then left to focus on business and writing.
He was formerly a contributing editor for Military.com, and currently the Editor-in-Chief of SOFREP.com (Special Ops News). SOFREP.com is the #1 Internet site for timely and accurate information regarding the Special Operations and Intelligence communities.
Brandon is regularly featured in the international media as a subject matter expert. He has appeared on ABC News, CNN, MSNBC, FOX, BBC, Newsmax, The New York Times and more.
Brandon is a New York Times best selling author with several non-fiction titles completed. He is working on his first novel, a military thriller. His last book, The Red Circle, made the New York Times best seller list its first week in publication.
He is an avid surfer, skier, member of the legendary Windansea surf club, free diver, masters swimmer, and an instrument rated private pilot who flies a Yak-52.
Twitter
profile:
صانقلا متاخ
@BrandonTWebb
Navy SEAL, Aviator, Independent thinker, and Patriot. New York Times Best selling Author and Editor-in-Chief of http://SOFREP.com (Special Ops News)
Lake Tahoe, Nevada · http://brandontylerwebb.com
Bio from SOFREP.com is
here.
Jack Murphy
Author's page on Amazon.com:
Jack Murphy is an eight year Army Special Operations veteran who served as a Sniper and Team Leader in 3rd Ranger Battalion and as a Senior Weapons Sergeant on a Military Free Fall team in 5th Special Forces Group.
Growing up in New York, Jack Murphy enlisted in the US Army at age nineteen. Completing Infantry Basic Training, Airborne School, and the Ranger Indoctrination Program, he was assigned to 3rd Ranger Battalion. As a Ranger, he served as an Anti-Tank gunner, Sniper, and Team Leader, and also graduated from Ranger School and Sniper School.
After several deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, he attended the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course and was selected as a Special Forces Weapons Sergeant. Over a year was spent training in the Special Forces Qualification Course, including further weapons training, SERE School, language training, and more.
Assigned as the Senior Weapons Sergeant on a Military Free Fall team in 5th Special Forces Group, Murphy was again sent to numerous schools and training courses before being deployed to Iraq. Acting as the senior trainer and adviser to an Iraqi SWAT team, his Special Forces team conducted Direct Action and other missions across Northern Iraq.
Having left the military in 2010, he is now working towards a degree in Political Science at Columbia University. Murphy is the author of Reflexive Fire, Target Deck, the PROMIS series, and numerous non-fiction articles about Weapons, Tactics, Special Operations, Terrorism, and Counter-Terrorism. He has appeared in documentaries, national television, and syndicated radio.
Twitter
@JackMurphyRGR
Jack Murphy is a military fiction writer who served as an Airborne Ranger and Special Forces Sergeant in Iraq and Afghanistan. Managing editor at SOFREP.
New York City · http://reflexivefire.com
Bio from SOFREP.com site is
here.
Article by Author Announcing The Book
I discovered that this afternoon, Brandon Webb published an article on the SOFREP site about the book he co-authored, so I've linked and excerpted it here.
*UPDATE*Coming MONDAY, Benghazi: The Definitive Report
*Harper Collins just notified us that the e-book will be available for download Monday the 11th.
The book includes many never before revealed details about the Libyan Civil War and the post-war reconsolidation efforts undertaken by Private Military Companies, the CIA, and Ambassador Chris Stevens. This sets the stage for the situation that led to the attack on the US Consulate (technically a Temporary Mission Facility) in Benghazi. We then tell it like it actually happened that night and detail the heroic actions of Ty Woods and his fellow OGA operators. We will also shatter some myths and misconceptions about denied air support and the resignation of General Petraeus.
This is an earlier article on the SOFREP site, from January. I found this article to be the most informative. It indicates that the focus is on the events in Benghazi, not the Petraeus scandal or John Brennan and claims to try to cut through the partisan politics. In this article the authors reveal that the book was written with the help of more than a dozen experts, former Special Operations personnel and others privy to inside information.
PREVIEW – Benghazi: The Definitive Report
The deadly attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, symbolically coinciding with the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, triggered in a confluence of events that spilled into US domestic politics, military covert operations, and a number of classified CIA programs. With the terrorist strike occurring in the run up the US Presidential election, it become a foregone conclusion that the truth of the attacks would be swept up and lost in political squabbling as both major parties jockeyed for position and get some cheap digs in on their opponents. Added to the media circus was the reality that various US government institutions and agencies did engage in a very real cover up: they responsibly tried to keep covert operations secret. But they also sought to limit political liability on the guilty parties whose negligence led to the attack in the first place.
[...]
This e-book intends to cut through the static and white noise generated by the media pundits, the partisan politics, and unfounded conspiracy theories. The truth does involve some conspiracy. After all, the major players were the CIA, Pentagon, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), and State Department – institutions synonymous with backroom politics, intelligence gathering, and covert operations. But this report points in directions and draws conclusions that have henceforth been completely neglected by both the mainstream and alternative media.
When it comes to the hidden world of terrorists, counter-terrorists, and spies, the truth usually is stranger than fiction. Because of this, many will find the facts unfolded in this e-book to be both uncomfortable and unsatisfying. Obama’s foes will see a picture emerge in which the President is far from a callous evil man. Those passionate supporters of the President will be angry to see Obama as aloof and rather ineffective as a leader. Both political parties will be disappointed to see that this story, the 9/11 Benghazi attack, really doesn’t involve the President all that much one way or the other.
Twitter Conversation with Authors
Since I found the authors on Twitter after publishing this, I sent them an FYI and a link to this post, and also copied Jeremy Scahill since I cited him here several times. I did receive a response.
Updates
1. I've added a section with some more information about the authors of the book, "Benghazi: The Definitive Report", that this whole story is about. Both authors have written multiple books before this one. Webb's Wikipedia entry has some links that show that he has been used as an expert guest commentator on CNN.
2. I just saw on Twitter that the release date for the book has been moved up by one day and will be available tomorrow. I don't see the updated date on the Amazon site yet, but the authors claim that Harper Collins has changed the publish date. I changed the title of this post from "Tuesday" to "Monday".
3. I've added a link and an excerpt of an article published by one of the authors on their SOFREP site this afternoon, and another one that was published there in January.
4. Since I found the authors on Twitter after publishing this, I sent them an FYI and a link to this post, and also copied Jeremy Scahill since I cited him here several times. I did receive a response to that and I published that as well in a section above.