February 6, 2026 • 29 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's that time time, time time, luck, Lord, it's the.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Michael Berry Show is on the air. It's Charlie from
BlackBerry Smoking. I can feel a good one coming on.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
It's the Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Ah, yes it is, Yes, it is. You're here, We're here,
We're all here. I'm glad we're here. Shinner, Yeah, it's
a Friday drive home.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
You tell you, ladder look as track cent a fifth
of patrol sun Eddy blue coolers. Take a guess at
all the dodder, and I can feel a good one
coming on, throwing a W Hubbard single lound red deck other.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Any blues I had before God.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Another working week is older, no chance staying sober. I
can feel a good woman coming off.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Ye were gonna get to feed ride.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
We gonna keep this higher. I can feel the brig
of Dolly.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
I can feel a good.
Speaker 5 (01:31):
Woman in com reremoms in a wrecked I Mustang followed
us down to the leaking.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Didn't have to think about.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
That tune long.
Speaker 6 (01:55):
Well, let's start with Timmy Watts, the governor of Minnesota.
He's feeling it now that ice is gradually pulling out
of Minnesota. Never mind that Tom Holman cleaned up Timmy's mess. Well,
Timmy took to his podcast to talk about ice and
the Old Ball Coach has.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Some Super Bowl predictions as well.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Hello, Mannfoda, bring it rum early because the ice is
melting and they're going away slaying with me. We're staying alive,
staying alive. I still gone and staying alive, staying alive,
(02:41):
staying alive.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
That's right, it's time to celebrate case.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Old Timmy put that through ice and they're melting faster
than this chocolate on my hot little scone. Now, I
am glad about all that, But what the Old ball
Coach is really excited about is this big game on Sunday.
I'm as skiddy as a three dollar bill, or however
that saying goes. Let me change into my coachy shorts
and grab my whistle here. Whoa, that's laugh. They don't
(03:14):
call me whistle bridges for nothing. All right, Now, I'm
calling my shot for Sunday. It's the Seahawks over the
Red Sox by three goals.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Mark it down.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Also, my prop bets full back throws to a tight
end for a touchdown. I'll just scream if that happens. Well,
enjoy the big game. Everybody, boom, My chocolate chip cookies
are ready for the tailgate.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Until next time, sprinkle.
Speaker 6 (03:47):
The year was twenty twelve. It was September eleventh. It
was just before early voting would begin in the presidential
election that would Pitt Barack Obama and unfortunately for US
met Romney. A well spring of bitterness and anger can
(04:09):
be summoned by me when I think about Benghazi, when
I think about our men who were betrayed, when.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
I think about the lies that were told.
Speaker 6 (04:18):
Remember Susan Rice was sent around to the Sunday morning
talk shows to say, oh, no, no, this wasn't a nine
to eleven Muslim attack on Americans thing, No, no, no,
this was Yeah, they made a really bad movie in
Egypt about Islam, and that upset them.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
You know, you shouldn't make bad movies about Islam.
Speaker 6 (04:42):
You know this is Charlie Hebdo you get what you
deserve you when you challenge ISLAMI you should never challenge Islam.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Wait a minute, well what are we doing here? You
remember all that?
Speaker 6 (04:54):
Well, now today we get footage of the guy being
taken off the plane who apparently planned Benghazi, and yet
here we are again twenty twenty six, yet another thing
the Clintons have their fingerprints on yet another You will
(05:14):
remember the name of Chris Paranto. We had a conversation
with Chris Paranto after all of this. It's it's important
that we not let moments like that pass because you
don't find out what actually happened in a case like
that for a long time. People with the ability to
(05:39):
keep things under wrap have to die at raps have
to die off, lose power. New people have to come in,
Investigations have to begin. Sometimes it takes this long fourteen
years later, thirteen and a half years later. So yeah,
we're going to talk about that today. I think it's important.
I think we owe it to the people who die
(06:00):
that day. I think we owe it to understanding how
really awful Hillary Clinton is. That's going to be a
big part of our show today. But first to get
a start as well as Doe Curtsy, the greatest executive
producer all Land, Chattaconi Knakanishi, your Week in Review, I'm
gonna say this until November. Hey, it's the most important
(06:22):
thing that we have to remember. We have a House majority,
we have a Republican majority, we have a president in
the White House, and we have a majority of justices
on the Supreme Court. We have a six to three majority,
but we only get five to four votes because our
side always flips to their side.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Their side never does the reverse.
Speaker 6 (06:37):
But let me say this, if we don't get election
integrity in place this year, we won't have another chance
to fix it. This was the last go round, because
if the Democrats end up back in power, I'm going
to just go ahead and tell you right now, if
you think they were bad before, If you think January
sixth was ugly, if you think the cheating in the
twenty twenty election was ugly, you think the fraud in
Mogadishu in Minnesota was ugly, You think the fraud in
California is ugly, the cheating in Arizona. Let me tell
(07:00):
you you ain't seen nothing yet. They were still keeping
it somewhat under wraps. Oh you think what they did
to Trump, three dozen cases on his record, raiding Millennia's
panty drawers, Fat Fanny in Atlanta, Jack Smith running the
effort in DC, the number three at the Department of Justice,
going up to New York to help fat Alvin Bragg
bring that case. Tax cases sexual harassment cases from decades past.
(07:22):
You think they were bad before. That's what a lot
of Republicans. Hey, let's not do what we need to do.
Let's not do to them what they did to us,
because if we do to them what they did us,
then they'll do even worse things. Oh so just let
them do what they did. Yeah, yeah, and that way
maybe they won't do more. But what didn't we do
to cause them to do what they did in the
first place? Do you ever think about that? That never
(07:42):
cross your mind. It's crazy, it's nuts, it's nutther bututers
dinosaur Chuck Schumer, who's in real danger of losing control AOC,
intends to take his job and take his power. His
grip on the Democrat Party is slipping daily. He wants
you to believe that the Save Act, which we must
while we have the House and the Senate and the
White House on the Supreme Court, if we don't this,
(08:03):
we won't have a chance again, that the Save Act
voter ID requirements are Jim Crow two point zero.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Now he doesn't believe this. This is just what they say.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
There's a new p Research poll that ninety five percent
of Republicans but also seventy one percent of Democrats like
this idea, So why.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Do you not?
Speaker 3 (08:19):
It's Jim Crow to two point zero And I called
to Jim Crow two point zho and the right wing
went nuts all over the internet. That's because they know
it's true. What they're trying to do here is the
same thing that was done in the South for decades
to prevent people of color from voting. For instance, if
you can't if you change you're a woman who got
married and changed your last name, you won't be able
to show ID and you'll be discriminated against.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
If you can't find a.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Birth certificate or the proper ID, you'll be discriminated against.
This is vicious and nasty. And I said to our
Republican colleagues, it will not pass the Senate. You will
not get a single Democratic vote in the Senate. We're
not reviving Jim Crow all over the country. And when
the American people hear what is exactly it is doing
and what its intent is doing, they're going to be
against it as well.
Speaker 6 (08:56):
It's a really cynical thing the Democrats do. But the
fact that it's cynical and base doesn't mean that it's
not effective. A lot of blacks in America have been
convinced that whites, especially white Republicans, are out to get them.
A lot of blacks have been convinced that whatever your
failure in your life. You had a baby at fifteen,
You did your best to raise that child, but the
(09:18):
baby daddy was never around.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
You struggled financially.
Speaker 6 (09:22):
The school your kid went to because the apartment you
lived in was in a bad neighborhood's all you get afford.
School your kid went to was not any good because
there was no parental involvement. The teachers didn't care, and
you struggled. And you've always had crappy jobs, and your
bosses haven't always been as respectful as I should have been,
and some of them were white, and so you've got
a certain bitterness that life handed you a bad pill.
(09:43):
You also made some bad decisions, but people don't like
to think about that. You like to think you did
the best you could at the time, and you did,
by and large. You did a few key decisions here
and there might have changed the direction of your life,
but you didn't make that decision here. We are certainly
a whole lot worse people than you, But your life's
been a strugg When your back hurts, your knee hurts,
you feed hurt, you're overweight in pasture prime, Probably never
(10:04):
going to find a man, Probably never gonna have a
functional relationship in that way. Kids have grown up, your
son's been in and out of jail. You go to church,
you dress up, that's a highlight of your week. You
sit in front of a pastor who preaches racism all
day long, all someday law he's the only one you like,
maybe a little attracted to him while you're read it.
And so your life is a struggle. You're never gonna
have nice things.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
You're mad.
Speaker 6 (10:25):
You see white people who've done better in life financially,
they have families, they don't seem to have to worry
about getting mugged, they don't seem to have to worry about.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Drive buys on their street.
Speaker 6 (10:33):
So, yeah, you're angry and resentful, and everyone around you
is kind of going through what you're going through. Chuck
Schumer has people in his ear who do studies on
people like this. He knows what she needs to hear.
So she ain't trying to hear anything about voter integrity.
As far as she knows everything's a lie and a cheat.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Anyway. She feels like she's been cheated in everything that's
ever done.
Speaker 6 (10:51):
She never got to fair shake, she never got a
good shift at work because she wasn't the manager. She
never made much money. She had to pay it all
the taxes. And then she sees other people who seem too,
seem to have more and have an easier life, and
it frustrates her. So when Chuck Schumer says, yeah, that's
all a scam, as Jim Crow, she's only too ready
to believe it. And it makes you wonder references to
(11:12):
Jim Crow. Can you imagine some poor fellow from another
country move in to America who knows nothing about our
history and his name happens to.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Be Jim Crow.
Speaker 7 (11:18):
A British Man has recently moved to America and says
he doesn't understand why every interaction in his life immediately
becomes uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Jerry O.
Speaker 7 (11:26):
Jim Crow, Nice to meet you, Jim says, people often freeze, stare,
or slowly back away.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
At first, I thought there was some wild animal behind me,
like a bem or a pank of wolds.
Speaker 7 (11:35):
At restaurants, host refused to say his name out loud. Yeah,
they just deal body of two and will thank HI.
Contact at Starbucks they simply right, sir. One time the
Barisa whispered, wait, don't do that here, like I had
said it, Long Live the Queen or something. Job interviews
have also been challenging. The manager said we're going in
another direction before all even sat down.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Didn't even ask about my respect. Even grow biscuits is again.
Speaker 7 (11:57):
Jim has begun to suspect the country may just overall
dislike him personally.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
I have to come point with villain.
Speaker 7 (12:02):
Apparently every day I see people on TV morning that
voter ID is bad because of Jim Crow.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
What do I have to do with it?
Speaker 7 (12:08):
Family members have suggested Jim google this day. I'm not
really a technology guy.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
I pressed.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
I am.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Jim considered a move back to England. Look, I don't
know understand.
Speaker 7 (12:15):
Why American takes me, but maybe it's time I moved
back home.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Experts agree that's probably for the best.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
Dan denneral Pam Bondi has announced that a key figure
I've heard Planner, I've heard Masterminder.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
I don't know yet. We'll find out. A key figure
is the term they use it.
Speaker 6 (12:40):
Behind the twenty twelve Bengazi attack has been arrested and
is now in US custody. It felt like the right
time to revisit our conversation from a few years ago
with former Army ranger and CIA security contractor Chris Paranto
known as Tom, who, along with his team, heroically saved
(13:05):
twenty lives during that attack. What happened in Benghazi on
September eleventh, twenty twelve. Well, I know I don't trust
the US government's account, so we are fortunate to have
with us a gentleman named Chris Paranto, known apparently by
(13:26):
his nickname of Tonto. It's a former ranger, second Battalion,
seventy fifth Regiment, security and military consultant and if you
read the account thirteen hours, a real American badass and
hero Tanto.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Thanks for being our guest, Bud.
Speaker 8 (13:46):
Hey, Michael, thanks. I think some of my children make
you different. Say I was a badass thing like that, brother,
But thanks for the introduction.
Speaker 6 (13:57):
They might say you're a bad dad because you took
away all the lot of stuff as I.
Speaker 8 (14:01):
Take away there, but I grounded them from the from
the PlayStation. Yeah that's about right. Well, thanks for having
me on the show man.
Speaker 6 (14:09):
I appreciate it, So tell me if you would a
little bit about take a minute or two sure before
September eleventh.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Who are you and why were you there?
Speaker 8 (14:19):
Well, we're working with the Global Response Staff, that is
the UH. It's a security element of the Central Intelligence
Agency and and our bread and butter job is basically
provide protection to case officers assets. So sort of things
is a very low profile, not like the earpieces. You know,
(14:39):
you're not showing weapon systems. You're trying to meld and
blend in with the community, which which is UH. It
becomes a very very common thing to do for us,
and it's actually quite fun. I enjoyed it. You really
get to know the community, You get to know the
ins and outs, the atmospherics of the cities you're in
and and really that was we're doing. Now. As far
(15:01):
as there's some classified stuff my lay and because of
my non disclosure, I can't talk about it too much.
I think more of that's going to be coming out
with with tray COUTI of course with his committee, and
he can talk about that. But the biggest thing that
we're doing there was was collecting intelligence to to capturing
kill terrorists that were in the vicinity there and also
(15:23):
in Egypt. And you remember at that time, that's when
the Syrian Uh, we were we were backing and I
say we the US is backing moderate Syrian rebels to
the overthrow the government, and uh that that kind of backfired.
So so we were uh, but you know, we we
(15:44):
were there. Generally just it's it's to it's too uh,
it's down a CARIV them operations and that's the that's
the gistic right there.
Speaker 6 (15:52):
Tonto, tell us what was happening prior to September eleventh,
in the days leading up to that, because one of
the things that Trey Gowdy's trying to get to in
the emails is the belief that Christopher Stevens and others,
perhaps you and other security consultants were suggesting that there
was a real threat and that the compound should have
(16:14):
been vacated.
Speaker 8 (16:16):
Oh yeah, bean Gazi was an extremely dangerous place. And
you know your listeners they can take this so with
any with any with any validity from me. I've spent
ten years overseas before being God. I worked in Kandahar,
I worked in Baghdad, I worked in the Solder City area.
(16:36):
You know, I worked in Mossoul, uh Combo, all these
places and then got erated right up there. The only
difference with being God is that we didn't have the
military assets like we did in the other countries to
facilitate a good response to something happened. So the State
Department folks Alex Henderson, Scott Wickland, Dave hub and the
(16:59):
Gentleman were the State Department security officers along with Eric Northstrom.
They had been requesting additional security, additional weapon systems in
being Ghazi will Proxy six months prior, and we were
partaking in that because we were the ones that were
advising them that they needed out their security or if
they were I remember putting a point point blank to
(17:19):
uh Scott Wippen when I asked him, is this all
you have here at this facility? Because you got are
really undermand I said to him, if you can don't
kick off people here, you're gonna die. And I said, just.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Jiff like that, to let me interrupt you, Tonto it would.
I'm gonna play Devil's advocate.
Speaker 6 (17:36):
I'm guessing that the people that you're making these requests
to are getting requests from every location for more firepower
everybody wants more of what they want more of, and
maybe their job is just to manage that.
Speaker 8 (17:52):
You know, that would seem that would seem like a
good answer, But also, you know, Michael, there's the thing
is those places that would be requesting more if they
would because again I worked in Yemen as well, and
I worked with the State Department protecting Ambassador Khalil's Autombaschler
James Jefferies. Before the CIA, they did have the essential
(18:14):
weapon systems, They did have a marine security force there,
They did have security contracting companies there, Blackwater ages, but
gaz they had none of that.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
What were you requesting? What were what was the request
for specifically, well.
Speaker 8 (18:27):
More personnel, more security officers, a third party contracting firm
in agents, and then also weapon systems, machine guns not
just low rifles, and then just more personnel from the
State Department, not us CIA. We were fine. We had
our facility, we had our guys, We knew how to
(18:48):
protect our keep and we proved it that night. But
the State Department was requesting more and that was through
through their officers there, Scott Wick, Glenn Alec Anderson, and
Dave Hoveman. The personnel and weapon systems, which is really
what that's what the security officer is going to request.
And I don't believe in any case that the other
(19:08):
facilities would have been requesting and would have been in
need of those sort of increased in security more than
Big God. And that's just from my experience working working
in other areas, Middle Eastern countries, in cuntries in North
Africa for the CIA and State Department.
Speaker 6 (19:26):
Tonto I got Tonto, I got about a minut and
a half In this segment, we'll talk some more on
this subject. But when you look back, and hindsight's always
twenty twenty, did they have whoever that was, and we'll
talk about who it was that attack the compound, whether
it was Libyans or not. Did they have more firepower
than you assumed they had at that moment?
Speaker 8 (19:49):
Yes, I And you know what, that goes back to
intel failures, which which of course you know we play
a part in that as well. When they brought the
mortars to bear, that was when we knew they that's
what we weren't ready for. And I don't think the
military or the State Department of the eight he was
ready for it because we had requested air support that
(20:11):
night when we were getting attacked to offset anything that
we didn't know they had, and we didn't get it.
So the mortars really shocked us, and the dead the
dead hit the mortars right on target. That shocked us,
and that killed Tyrod and Glynn, you know right off that.
So yes, sir, that's a I have to say yes.
(20:31):
And then we maintained responsibility for that as well, along
with the other entities that were involved.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Tonto, I'm going to hold you rut there.
Speaker 6 (20:39):
Coming up, we'll talk about what exactly happened for twenty
five minutes when he was told to stand down. In
the book thirteen hours, he said, I regret not disobeying orders.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
That's a strong statement. We'll ask him. Why come the
next all the chairs rolling around?
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Damn it.
Speaker 6 (21:00):
There is Baranzo nickname Tonto, former Rangers, second Battalion, seventy
fifth Regiment, years of experience in situations like this. He
was there on September eleventh, twenty twelve. Tanto, if we could,
let's get to the day it happened.
Speaker 8 (21:17):
Start us off, Well, it's normal day and for us
and anyway, basically nobody was attacking us. It was very quiet,
throughout the day we had normal operations and then getting
through that evening, you know, I'll skip ahead and when
I do speak, I go in a little bit more detail.
(21:37):
But for lack of time, we got a call that
there was a that we needed to muster in the
team room from our leadership there or our staff SEEI
staff leadership fround nine thirty one, if I remember correctly.
I remember looking at my watch and walked out the
front door and you could see the attack going on.
(21:58):
It was it was pretty incredible. I don't think you
really lived. You see treasures and bullets and explosions shooting
in the distance. You know, we're only three quarters a
mile away, and you can see those pretty clear clear,
especially at nighttime. It looks like a fireworks show. And
we had word that the constant was under attack, and
we mustered all our gear, myself, Tyrone Woods and Jack
(22:18):
Silva and the rest of the guys, and we're ready
to go with in five minutes, and we were told
to wait to buy our buyer leadership or are chief
of base and our staff team leader. And you keep
in mind, during this timeframe, we're getting calls from the
State Department, from Alex Scotton Dave, who we'd become very
good friends with, that they needed our assistance because they
(22:39):
were under attack, and it was obvious because we could
see and hear it. And it's pretty tough to sit
there and wait and watch and hear your friends being
under attack and being under some serious life threatening situations
and you're just kind of sitting on your thumbs when
you're waiting to go over there and assist. And that's
what your job is, and that's what you get paid for,
and that's what you're trained to do. So we waited,
(23:00):
and then we waited ten more minutes. So it's fifteen
minutes now, and that's when the that's when the actual
words stand down, we're told to us fire chief a
base I remember, Take got out of his vehicle. John
kick Tigan got out of his vehicle and said we
need to go now. We're living the initiative, and Bob
ran up to him and and vehemently says, you guys
need to stand down, and yeah, again, we're we're waiting, waiting, waiting,
(23:24):
wait another ten minutes.
Speaker 6 (23:25):
Time to let me interrupt you because in thirteen hours
there's a reference to Bob from the CIA.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Is that who gave the order?
Speaker 6 (23:32):
Yeah, who is Bob or do you think we'll ever
know who Bob is?
Speaker 8 (23:37):
Well, now, Bob is the chief of base. He's the
chief of base there at the SCIA. He's a staff
he was a staff officer that has since been retired,
got a retirement. He was awarded the Star for bravery,
which I don't really know why, and he was also
he was also given a contracting job there at the farm.
(23:58):
So he's doing quite well for himself.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
But do you think that that order came from him
or do you think that came from above him and
he was just a message.
Speaker 8 (24:09):
No, I think I think he had some saying that,
probably relaying information of how serious the attack was. So
I think he has some involvement with it. But it
did come from hire to Yeah, it came from the
chief of station, which is in TRIPLEI who since would
have come from our lineup chance command, from the cich
in command. Can I say that that particular standdown came
(24:29):
from the State Department of d D Department Offense, which
would be the military. No, I don't know about that,
but within our own twenty five minute time frame from
the CIA, all the way after the top. Yes, it
would have. It would have filtered gone down.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Why do you believe you were given the order to
stand down?
Speaker 4 (24:46):
You know?
Speaker 8 (24:47):
I think someone would have to do with with them
not realizing how serious the situation was because you have
civilians in charge during a military operation. I also think
that some of it might have been that they didn't
want to show their hand that the CIA was actually
there in the country that was part of it. So
(25:08):
and then essentially it's just bad judgment to come down
to it. And that's that's that is me being optimistic.
That's the best case scenario. I don't want to jump
out on them and say, hey, we wanted they wanted them,
being the people up in DC wanted all of us
to die. That's for Trey Golly, that's for him to
decide and figure out. Can I rule that out? No,
(25:30):
I can't. I can't say for sure now that didn't happen.
And that hurts when you sworn to protect the United
States and the United States in their government and you
don't know, maybe they just left you there to die.
Because when it came right down to it, when it
finally ended thirteen hours later, we had to comment deer
all in aircraft to get out of there, gothic. We
had to comment deer live in aircraft to actually get
(25:51):
out of there with our dead and our wounded. So yeah,
but that's that's that's at the end of the.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Story, Tanto, As I understand it.
Speaker 6 (26:00):
Twenty five minutes go by and then you and your
guys ignore the standdown order.
Speaker 8 (26:06):
Yes, we do. We Uh, And it was I remember
Clear's day. I remember Ty looking at me and I'm
looking at him and he can Ty pass away that
night and that's Woods, right, Tyrone Wood just this and
he gave me a thumbs up, and I gave him
a thumbs up, and we all had to run our
vehicles and we rolled out the gate, and I remember saying,
(26:27):
you know, hotel and our team leader getting the getting
the FS and car her. We're going. We're not waiting
any longer. And uh, what people miss out of this,
what the media doesn't capture they you know, a lot
of the media is captured now that yes, it did
take him twenty five minutes to leave. There was a delay.
They don't realize that we did lose the initiative and
we had to fight our way on foot to get
(26:48):
to the compound, which costs us another twenty five minutes
because that they had actually solidified and blocked all the
roads that we could have drove down, So we had
to disembark our vehicles and actually start jumping backyard walls
and fighting our way into the compound. And so by
the time we actually got onto the compound it was
completely on fire. It has been about almost an hour,
(27:10):
and we had to throw a lot of forty millimeters
in ages to get the fighting positions out of the
way so we could actually get into the compound and
start to clear it. And that compound of eight acres large,
there's two football field site large, so it was it
wasn't an easy path.
Speaker 6 (27:25):
And so as I understand it, Tonto, you discovered Sean
Smith's body, but you notice the ambassador was missing.
Speaker 8 (27:36):
We spent an hour and a half trying to find
and get into the burning building where they were. Jack
Silva and Dave who beIN found Sean Smith's body. He
had already died of smoke in elation. I do remember
seeing Jack trying to resuscitate him. I think that was
more for the psyche of Dave in the State department guys,
but you could tell he was dead by the time
(27:57):
we got there. You can whatever movies you see, don't believe,
and when somebody's dead, you can tell their day. And
the ambassador, though we actually stayed on the compound for
about an hour and a half, fought off a counter
attack to try to find him in that burning building,
and it was it was like a pizza of and
it was incredibly hot smoke with intense diesel films, and
(28:18):
it was more of just running in as far as
you could, feeling around and running back out, tagging hands
and running back in again, and the other person taking
your security position to lay fire down to people trying
to anstraw. Sharia and al Qaida were trying to actually
overtake the compound once week. I took it from them an.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Hour before Tonto. Let me ask you, who do you
think you were fighting?
Speaker 8 (28:39):
Antra Sharia and al Kaite in the Magharev. Those are
the two. Those are the two entities, And that's pretty
pretty solid. That's that's that's verified that anti Sharia was there.
Alt kaied in the Magarev. And also seventeenth February Martyr Brigade,
who was the contracting company that the state department had
a attracted the local force to protect the conflict. They
(29:02):
were also part of that as well.
Speaker 6 (29:04):
And how did you how could you tell that were
they wearing identifying Uh?
Speaker 8 (29:10):
After the fact, they took responsibility for it. That was
what it was. Via via social media and then through
our contact within the agency. Some of us still maintained
friendly relationships with a lot of the counterterars and people
in the agency and they would tell us through assets
that we still have in certain countries who attacked us.
So it was a lot of it buying closed doors.
(29:32):
But eventually, you know, it came out on social media
and it came out as verified through even our media
sources because it was leaked. Somebody leaked it within the
agency and it came out on CNN or Fox. Huer
I think all of them actually be honest with you.
And then and then seventeenth February, Marty Brigade, the company
that was supposed to be protecting the conflict. The next
(29:54):
day they came out and sort their allegiance stands for
Auschia
It's that time time, time time, luck, Lord, it's the.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Michael Berry Show is on the air. It's Charlie from
BlackBerry Smoking. I can feel a good one coming on.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
It's the Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Ah, yes it is, Yes, it is. You're here, We're here,
We're all here. I'm glad we're here. Shinner, Yeah, it's
a Friday drive home.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
You tell you, ladder look as track cent a fifth
of patrol sun Eddy blue coolers. Take a guess at
all the dodder, and I can feel a good one
coming on, throwing a W Hubbard single lound red deck other.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Any blues I had before God.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Another working week is older, no chance staying sober. I
can feel a good woman coming off.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Ye were gonna get to feed ride.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
We gonna keep this higher. I can feel the brig
of Dolly.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
I can feel a good.
Speaker 5 (01:31):
Woman in com reremoms in a wrecked I Mustang followed
us down to the leaking.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Didn't have to think about.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
That tune long.
Speaker 6 (01:55):
Well, let's start with Timmy Watts, the governor of Minnesota.
He's feeling it now that ice is gradually pulling out
of Minnesota. Never mind that Tom Holman cleaned up Timmy's mess. Well,
Timmy took to his podcast to talk about ice and
the Old Ball Coach has.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Some Super Bowl predictions as well.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Hello, Mannfoda, bring it rum early because the ice is
melting and they're going away slaying with me. We're staying alive,
staying alive. I still gone and staying alive, staying alive,
(02:41):
staying alive.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
That's right, it's time to celebrate case.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Old Timmy put that through ice and they're melting faster
than this chocolate on my hot little scone. Now, I
am glad about all that, But what the Old ball
Coach is really excited about is this big game on Sunday.
I'm as skiddy as a three dollar bill, or however
that saying goes. Let me change into my coachy shorts
and grab my whistle here. Whoa, that's laugh. They don't
(03:14):
call me whistle bridges for nothing. All right, Now, I'm
calling my shot for Sunday. It's the Seahawks over the
Red Sox by three goals.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Mark it down.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Also, my prop bets full back throws to a tight
end for a touchdown. I'll just scream if that happens. Well,
enjoy the big game. Everybody, boom, My chocolate chip cookies
are ready for the tailgate.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Until next time, sprinkle.
Speaker 6 (03:47):
The year was twenty twelve. It was September eleventh. It
was just before early voting would begin in the presidential
election that would Pitt Barack Obama and unfortunately for US
met Romney. A well spring of bitterness and anger can
(04:09):
be summoned by me when I think about Benghazi, when
I think about our men who were betrayed, when.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
I think about the lies that were told.
Speaker 6 (04:18):
Remember Susan Rice was sent around to the Sunday morning
talk shows to say, oh, no, no, this wasn't a nine
to eleven Muslim attack on Americans thing, No, no, no,
this was Yeah, they made a really bad movie in
Egypt about Islam, and that upset them.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
You know, you shouldn't make bad movies about Islam.
Speaker 6 (04:42):
You know this is Charlie Hebdo you get what you
deserve you when you challenge ISLAMI you should never challenge Islam.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Wait a minute, well what are we doing here? You
remember all that?
Speaker 6 (04:54):
Well, now today we get footage of the guy being
taken off the plane who apparently planned Benghazi, and yet
here we are again twenty twenty six, yet another thing
the Clintons have their fingerprints on yet another You will
(05:14):
remember the name of Chris Paranto. We had a conversation
with Chris Paranto after all of this. It's it's important
that we not let moments like that pass because you
don't find out what actually happened in a case like
that for a long time. People with the ability to
(05:39):
keep things under wrap have to die at raps have
to die off, lose power. New people have to come in,
Investigations have to begin. Sometimes it takes this long fourteen
years later, thirteen and a half years later. So yeah,
we're going to talk about that today. I think it's important.
I think we owe it to the people who die
(06:00):
that day. I think we owe it to understanding how
really awful Hillary Clinton is. That's going to be a
big part of our show today. But first to get
a start as well as Doe Curtsy, the greatest executive
producer all Land, Chattaconi Knakanishi, your Week in Review, I'm
gonna say this until November. Hey, it's the most important
(06:22):
thing that we have to remember. We have a House majority,
we have a Republican majority, we have a president in
the White House, and we have a majority of justices
on the Supreme Court. We have a six to three majority,
but we only get five to four votes because our
side always flips to their side.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Their side never does the reverse.
Speaker 6 (06:37):
But let me say this, if we don't get election
integrity in place this year, we won't have another chance
to fix it. This was the last go round, because
if the Democrats end up back in power, I'm going
to just go ahead and tell you right now, if
you think they were bad before, If you think January
sixth was ugly, if you think the cheating in the
twenty twenty election was ugly, you think the fraud in
Mogadishu in Minnesota was ugly, You think the fraud in
California is ugly, the cheating in Arizona. Let me tell
(07:00):
you you ain't seen nothing yet. They were still keeping
it somewhat under wraps. Oh you think what they did
to Trump, three dozen cases on his record, raiding Millennia's
panty drawers, Fat Fanny in Atlanta, Jack Smith running the
effort in DC, the number three at the Department of Justice,
going up to New York to help fat Alvin Bragg
bring that case. Tax cases sexual harassment cases from decades past.
(07:22):
You think they were bad before. That's what a lot
of Republicans. Hey, let's not do what we need to do.
Let's not do to them what they did to us,
because if we do to them what they did us,
then they'll do even worse things. Oh so just let
them do what they did. Yeah, yeah, and that way
maybe they won't do more. But what didn't we do
to cause them to do what they did in the
first place? Do you ever think about that? That never
(07:42):
cross your mind. It's crazy, it's nuts, it's nutther bututers
dinosaur Chuck Schumer, who's in real danger of losing control AOC,
intends to take his job and take his power. His
grip on the Democrat Party is slipping daily. He wants
you to believe that the Save Act, which we must
while we have the House and the Senate and the
White House on the Supreme Court, if we don't this,
(08:03):
we won't have a chance again, that the Save Act
voter ID requirements are Jim Crow two point zero.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Now he doesn't believe this. This is just what they say.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
There's a new p Research poll that ninety five percent
of Republicans but also seventy one percent of Democrats like
this idea, So why.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Do you not?
Speaker 3 (08:19):
It's Jim Crow to two point zero And I called
to Jim Crow two point zho and the right wing
went nuts all over the internet. That's because they know
it's true. What they're trying to do here is the
same thing that was done in the South for decades
to prevent people of color from voting. For instance, if
you can't if you change you're a woman who got
married and changed your last name, you won't be able
to show ID and you'll be discriminated against.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
If you can't find a.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Birth certificate or the proper ID, you'll be discriminated against.
This is vicious and nasty. And I said to our
Republican colleagues, it will not pass the Senate. You will
not get a single Democratic vote in the Senate. We're
not reviving Jim Crow all over the country. And when
the American people hear what is exactly it is doing
and what its intent is doing, they're going to be
against it as well.
Speaker 6 (08:56):
It's a really cynical thing the Democrats do. But the
fact that it's cynical and base doesn't mean that it's
not effective. A lot of blacks in America have been
convinced that whites, especially white Republicans, are out to get them.
A lot of blacks have been convinced that whatever your
failure in your life. You had a baby at fifteen,
You did your best to raise that child, but the
(09:18):
baby daddy was never around.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
You struggled financially.
Speaker 6 (09:22):
The school your kid went to because the apartment you
lived in was in a bad neighborhood's all you get afford.
School your kid went to was not any good because
there was no parental involvement. The teachers didn't care, and
you struggled. And you've always had crappy jobs, and your
bosses haven't always been as respectful as I should have been,
and some of them were white, and so you've got
a certain bitterness that life handed you a bad pill.
(09:43):
You also made some bad decisions, but people don't like
to think about that. You like to think you did
the best you could at the time, and you did,
by and large. You did a few key decisions here
and there might have changed the direction of your life,
but you didn't make that decision here. We are certainly
a whole lot worse people than you, But your life's
been a strugg When your back hurts, your knee hurts,
you feed hurt, you're overweight in pasture prime, Probably never
(10:04):
going to find a man, Probably never gonna have a
functional relationship in that way. Kids have grown up, your
son's been in and out of jail. You go to church,
you dress up, that's a highlight of your week. You
sit in front of a pastor who preaches racism all
day long, all someday law he's the only one you like,
maybe a little attracted to him while you're read it.
And so your life is a struggle. You're never gonna
have nice things.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
You're mad.
Speaker 6 (10:25):
You see white people who've done better in life financially,
they have families, they don't seem to have to worry
about getting mugged, they don't seem to have to worry about.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Drive buys on their street.
Speaker 6 (10:33):
So, yeah, you're angry and resentful, and everyone around you
is kind of going through what you're going through. Chuck
Schumer has people in his ear who do studies on
people like this. He knows what she needs to hear.
So she ain't trying to hear anything about voter integrity.
As far as she knows everything's a lie and a cheat.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Anyway. She feels like she's been cheated in everything that's
ever done.
Speaker 6 (10:51):
She never got to fair shake, she never got a
good shift at work because she wasn't the manager. She
never made much money. She had to pay it all
the taxes. And then she sees other people who seem too,
seem to have more and have an easier life, and
it frustrates her. So when Chuck Schumer says, yeah, that's
all a scam, as Jim Crow, she's only too ready
to believe it. And it makes you wonder references to
(11:12):
Jim Crow. Can you imagine some poor fellow from another
country move in to America who knows nothing about our
history and his name happens to.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Be Jim Crow.
Speaker 7 (11:18):
A British Man has recently moved to America and says
he doesn't understand why every interaction in his life immediately
becomes uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Jerry O.
Speaker 7 (11:26):
Jim Crow, Nice to meet you, Jim says, people often freeze, stare,
or slowly back away.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
At first, I thought there was some wild animal behind me,
like a bem or a pank of wolds.
Speaker 7 (11:35):
At restaurants, host refused to say his name out loud. Yeah,
they just deal body of two and will thank HI.
Contact at Starbucks they simply right, sir. One time the
Barisa whispered, wait, don't do that here, like I had
said it, Long Live the Queen or something. Job interviews
have also been challenging. The manager said we're going in
another direction before all even sat down.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Didn't even ask about my respect. Even grow biscuits is again.
Speaker 7 (11:57):
Jim has begun to suspect the country may just overall
dislike him personally.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
I have to come point with villain.
Speaker 7 (12:02):
Apparently every day I see people on TV morning that
voter ID is bad because of Jim Crow.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
What do I have to do with it?
Speaker 7 (12:08):
Family members have suggested Jim google this day. I'm not
really a technology guy.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
I pressed.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
I am.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Jim considered a move back to England. Look, I don't
know understand.
Speaker 7 (12:15):
Why American takes me, but maybe it's time I moved
back home.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Experts agree that's probably for the best.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
Dan denneral Pam Bondi has announced that a key figure
I've heard Planner, I've heard Masterminder.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
I don't know yet. We'll find out. A key figure
is the term they use it.
Speaker 6 (12:40):
Behind the twenty twelve Bengazi attack has been arrested and
is now in US custody. It felt like the right
time to revisit our conversation from a few years ago
with former Army ranger and CIA security contractor Chris Paranto
known as Tom, who, along with his team, heroically saved
(13:05):
twenty lives during that attack. What happened in Benghazi on
September eleventh, twenty twelve. Well, I know I don't trust
the US government's account, so we are fortunate to have
with us a gentleman named Chris Paranto, known apparently by
(13:26):
his nickname of Tonto. It's a former ranger, second Battalion,
seventy fifth Regiment, security and military consultant and if you
read the account thirteen hours, a real American badass and
hero Tanto.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Thanks for being our guest, Bud.
Speaker 8 (13:46):
Hey, Michael, thanks. I think some of my children make
you different. Say I was a badass thing like that, brother,
But thanks for the introduction.
Speaker 6 (13:57):
They might say you're a bad dad because you took
away all the lot of stuff as I.
Speaker 8 (14:01):
Take away there, but I grounded them from the from
the PlayStation. Yeah that's about right. Well, thanks for having
me on the show man.
Speaker 6 (14:09):
I appreciate it, So tell me if you would a
little bit about take a minute or two sure before
September eleventh.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Who are you and why were you there?
Speaker 8 (14:19):
Well, we're working with the Global Response Staff, that is
the UH. It's a security element of the Central Intelligence
Agency and and our bread and butter job is basically
provide protection to case officers assets. So sort of things
is a very low profile, not like the earpieces. You know,
(14:39):
you're not showing weapon systems. You're trying to meld and
blend in with the community, which which is UH. It
becomes a very very common thing to do for us,
and it's actually quite fun. I enjoyed it. You really
get to know the community, You get to know the
ins and outs, the atmospherics of the cities you're in
and and really that was we're doing. Now. As far
(15:01):
as there's some classified stuff my lay and because of
my non disclosure, I can't talk about it too much.
I think more of that's going to be coming out
with with tray COUTI of course with his committee, and
he can talk about that. But the biggest thing that
we're doing there was was collecting intelligence to to capturing
kill terrorists that were in the vicinity there and also
(15:23):
in Egypt. And you remember at that time, that's when
the Syrian Uh, we were we were backing and I
say we the US is backing moderate Syrian rebels to
the overthrow the government, and uh that that kind of backfired.
So so we were uh, but you know, we we
(15:44):
were there. Generally just it's it's to it's too uh,
it's down a CARIV them operations and that's the that's
the gistic right there.
Speaker 6 (15:52):
Tonto, tell us what was happening prior to September eleventh,
in the days leading up to that, because one of
the things that Trey Gowdy's trying to get to in
the emails is the belief that Christopher Stevens and others,
perhaps you and other security consultants were suggesting that there
was a real threat and that the compound should have
(16:14):
been vacated.
Speaker 8 (16:16):
Oh yeah, bean Gazi was an extremely dangerous place. And
you know your listeners they can take this so with
any with any with any validity from me. I've spent
ten years overseas before being God. I worked in Kandahar,
I worked in Baghdad, I worked in the Solder City area.
(16:36):
You know, I worked in Mossoul, uh Combo, all these
places and then got erated right up there. The only
difference with being God is that we didn't have the
military assets like we did in the other countries to
facilitate a good response to something happened. So the State
Department folks Alex Henderson, Scott Wickland, Dave hub and the
(16:59):
Gentleman were the State Department security officers along with Eric Northstrom.
They had been requesting additional security, additional weapon systems in
being Ghazi will Proxy six months prior, and we were
partaking in that because we were the ones that were
advising them that they needed out their security or if
they were I remember putting a point point blank to
(17:19):
uh Scott Wippen when I asked him, is this all
you have here at this facility? Because you got are
really undermand I said to him, if you can don't
kick off people here, you're gonna die. And I said, just.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Jiff like that, to let me interrupt you, Tonto it would.
I'm gonna play Devil's advocate.
Speaker 6 (17:36):
I'm guessing that the people that you're making these requests
to are getting requests from every location for more firepower
everybody wants more of what they want more of, and
maybe their job is just to manage that.
Speaker 8 (17:52):
You know, that would seem that would seem like a
good answer, But also, you know, Michael, there's the thing
is those places that would be requesting more if they
would because again I worked in Yemen as well, and
I worked with the State Department protecting Ambassador Khalil's Autombaschler
James Jefferies. Before the CIA, they did have the essential
(18:14):
weapon systems, They did have a marine security force there,
They did have security contracting companies there, Blackwater ages, but
gaz they had none of that.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
What were you requesting? What were what was the request
for specifically, well.
Speaker 8 (18:27):
More personnel, more security officers, a third party contracting firm
in agents, and then also weapon systems, machine guns not
just low rifles, and then just more personnel from the
State Department, not us CIA. We were fine. We had
our facility, we had our guys, We knew how to
(18:48):
protect our keep and we proved it that night. But
the State Department was requesting more and that was through
through their officers there, Scott Wick, Glenn Alec Anderson, and
Dave Hoveman. The personnel and weapon systems, which is really
what that's what the security officer is going to request.
And I don't believe in any case that the other
(19:08):
facilities would have been requesting and would have been in
need of those sort of increased in security more than
Big God. And that's just from my experience working working
in other areas, Middle Eastern countries, in cuntries in North
Africa for the CIA and State Department.
Speaker 6 (19:26):
Tonto I got Tonto, I got about a minut and
a half In this segment, we'll talk some more on
this subject. But when you look back, and hindsight's always
twenty twenty, did they have whoever that was, and we'll
talk about who it was that attack the compound, whether
it was Libyans or not. Did they have more firepower
than you assumed they had at that moment?
Speaker 8 (19:49):
Yes, I And you know what, that goes back to
intel failures, which which of course you know we play
a part in that as well. When they brought the
mortars to bear, that was when we knew they that's
what we weren't ready for. And I don't think the
military or the State Department of the eight he was
ready for it because we had requested air support that
(20:11):
night when we were getting attacked to offset anything that
we didn't know they had, and we didn't get it.
So the mortars really shocked us, and the dead the
dead hit the mortars right on target. That shocked us,
and that killed Tyrod and Glynn, you know right off that.
So yes, sir, that's a I have to say yes.
(20:31):
And then we maintained responsibility for that as well, along
with the other entities that were involved.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Tonto, I'm going to hold you rut there.
Speaker 6 (20:39):
Coming up, we'll talk about what exactly happened for twenty
five minutes when he was told to stand down. In
the book thirteen hours, he said, I regret not disobeying orders.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
That's a strong statement. We'll ask him. Why come the
next all the chairs rolling around?
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Damn it.
Speaker 6 (21:00):
There is Baranzo nickname Tonto, former Rangers, second Battalion, seventy
fifth Regiment, years of experience in situations like this. He
was there on September eleventh, twenty twelve. Tanto, if we could,
let's get to the day it happened.
Speaker 8 (21:17):
Start us off, Well, it's normal day and for us
and anyway, basically nobody was attacking us. It was very quiet,
throughout the day we had normal operations and then getting
through that evening, you know, I'll skip ahead and when
I do speak, I go in a little bit more detail.
(21:37):
But for lack of time, we got a call that
there was a that we needed to muster in the
team room from our leadership there or our staff SEEI
staff leadership fround nine thirty one, if I remember correctly.
I remember looking at my watch and walked out the
front door and you could see the attack going on.
(21:58):
It was it was pretty incredible. I don't think you
really lived. You see treasures and bullets and explosions shooting
in the distance. You know, we're only three quarters a
mile away, and you can see those pretty clear clear,
especially at nighttime. It looks like a fireworks show. And
we had word that the constant was under attack, and
we mustered all our gear, myself, Tyrone Woods and Jack
(22:18):
Silva and the rest of the guys, and we're ready
to go with in five minutes, and we were told
to wait to buy our buyer leadership or are chief
of base and our staff team leader. And you keep
in mind, during this timeframe, we're getting calls from the
State Department, from Alex Scotton Dave, who we'd become very
good friends with, that they needed our assistance because they
(22:39):
were under attack, and it was obvious because we could
see and hear it. And it's pretty tough to sit
there and wait and watch and hear your friends being
under attack and being under some serious life threatening situations
and you're just kind of sitting on your thumbs when
you're waiting to go over there and assist. And that's
what your job is, and that's what you get paid for,
and that's what you're trained to do. So we waited,
(23:00):
and then we waited ten more minutes. So it's fifteen
minutes now, and that's when the that's when the actual
words stand down, we're told to us fire chief a
base I remember, Take got out of his vehicle. John
kick Tigan got out of his vehicle and said we
need to go now. We're living the initiative, and Bob
ran up to him and and vehemently says, you guys
need to stand down, and yeah, again, we're we're waiting, waiting, waiting,
(23:24):
wait another ten minutes.
Speaker 6 (23:25):
Time to let me interrupt you because in thirteen hours
there's a reference to Bob from the CIA.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Is that who gave the order?
Speaker 6 (23:32):
Yeah, who is Bob or do you think we'll ever
know who Bob is?
Speaker 8 (23:37):
Well, now, Bob is the chief of base. He's the
chief of base there at the SCIA. He's a staff
he was a staff officer that has since been retired,
got a retirement. He was awarded the Star for bravery,
which I don't really know why, and he was also
he was also given a contracting job there at the farm.
(23:58):
So he's doing quite well for himself.
Speaker 6 (24:01):
But do you think that that order came from him
or do you think that came from above him and
he was just a message.
Speaker 8 (24:09):
No, I think I think he had some saying that,
probably relaying information of how serious the attack was. So
I think he has some involvement with it. But it
did come from hire to Yeah, it came from the
chief of station, which is in TRIPLEI who since would
have come from our lineup chance command, from the cich
in command. Can I say that that particular standdown came
(24:29):
from the State Department of d D Department Offense, which
would be the military. No, I don't know about that,
but within our own twenty five minute time frame from
the CIA, all the way after the top. Yes, it
would have. It would have filtered gone down.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Why do you believe you were given the order to
stand down?
Speaker 4 (24:46):
You know?
Speaker 8 (24:47):
I think someone would have to do with with them
not realizing how serious the situation was because you have
civilians in charge during a military operation. I also think
that some of it might have been that they didn't
want to show their hand that the CIA was actually
there in the country that was part of it. So
(25:08):
and then essentially it's just bad judgment to come down
to it. And that's that's that is me being optimistic.
That's the best case scenario. I don't want to jump
out on them and say, hey, we wanted they wanted them,
being the people up in DC wanted all of us
to die. That's for Trey Golly, that's for him to
decide and figure out. Can I rule that out? No,
(25:30):
I can't. I can't say for sure now that didn't happen.
And that hurts when you sworn to protect the United
States and the United States in their government and you
don't know, maybe they just left you there to die.
Because when it came right down to it, when it
finally ended thirteen hours later, we had to comment deer
all in aircraft to get out of there, gothic. We
had to comment deer live in aircraft to actually get
(25:51):
out of there with our dead and our wounded. So yeah,
but that's that's that's at the end of the.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Story, Tanto, As I understand it.
Speaker 6 (26:00):
Twenty five minutes go by and then you and your
guys ignore the standdown order.
Speaker 8 (26:06):
Yes, we do. We Uh, And it was I remember
Clear's day. I remember Ty looking at me and I'm
looking at him and he can Ty pass away that
night and that's Woods, right, Tyrone Wood just this and
he gave me a thumbs up, and I gave him
a thumbs up, and we all had to run our
vehicles and we rolled out the gate, and I remember saying,
(26:27):
you know, hotel and our team leader getting the getting
the FS and car her. We're going. We're not waiting
any longer. And uh, what people miss out of this,
what the media doesn't capture they you know, a lot
of the media is captured now that yes, it did
take him twenty five minutes to leave. There was a delay.
They don't realize that we did lose the initiative and
we had to fight our way on foot to get
(26:48):
to the compound, which costs us another twenty five minutes
because that they had actually solidified and blocked all the
roads that we could have drove down, So we had
to disembark our vehicles and actually start jumping backyard walls
and fighting our way into the compound. And so by
the time we actually got onto the compound it was
completely on fire. It has been about almost an hour,
(27:10):
and we had to throw a lot of forty millimeters
in ages to get the fighting positions out of the
way so we could actually get into the compound and
start to clear it. And that compound of eight acres large,
there's two football field site large, so it was it
wasn't an easy path.
Speaker 6 (27:25):
And so as I understand it, Tonto, you discovered Sean
Smith's body, but you notice the ambassador was missing.
Speaker 8 (27:36):
We spent an hour and a half trying to find
and get into the burning building where they were. Jack
Silva and Dave who beIN found Sean Smith's body. He
had already died of smoke in elation. I do remember
seeing Jack trying to resuscitate him. I think that was
more for the psyche of Dave in the State department guys,
but you could tell he was dead by the time
(27:57):
we got there. You can whatever movies you see, don't believe,
and when somebody's dead, you can tell their day. And
the ambassador, though we actually stayed on the compound for
about an hour and a half, fought off a counter
attack to try to find him in that burning building,
and it was it was like a pizza of and
it was incredibly hot smoke with intense diesel films, and
(28:18):
it was more of just running in as far as
you could, feeling around and running back out, tagging hands
and running back in again, and the other person taking
your security position to lay fire down to people trying
to anstraw. Sharia and al Qaida were trying to actually
overtake the compound once week. I took it from them an.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Hour before Tonto. Let me ask you, who do you
think you were fighting?
Speaker 8 (28:39):
Antra Sharia and al Kaite in the Magharev. Those are
the two. Those are the two entities, And that's pretty
pretty solid. That's that's that's verified that anti Sharia was there.
Alt kaied in the Magarev. And also seventeenth February Martyr Brigade,
who was the contracting company that the state department had
a attracted the local force to protect the conflict. They
(29:02):
were also part of that as well.
Speaker 6 (29:04):
And how did you how could you tell that were
they wearing identifying Uh?
Speaker 8 (29:10):
After the fact, they took responsibility for it. That was
what it was. Via via social media and then through
our contact within the agency. Some of us still maintained
friendly relationships with a lot of the counterterars and people
in the agency and they would tell us through assets
that we still have in certain countries who attacked us.
So it was a lot of it buying closed doors.
(29:32):
But eventually, you know, it came out on social media
and it came out as verified through even our media
sources because it was leaked. Somebody leaked it within the
agency and it came out on CNN or Fox. Huer
I think all of them actually be honest with you.
And then and then seventeenth February, Marty Brigade, the company
that was supposed to be protecting the conflict. The next
(29:54):
day they came out and sort their allegiance stands for
Auschia
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