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A retired Air Force Captain has broken her silence about the Obama administration's tying her hands when she tried to come to the aid of 17 SEAL Team 6 members and 11 other military personnel when their Chinook helicopter was fired upon by insurgents in the Tangi Valley in Afghanistan in August 2011. The Chinook had gone in to assist the Army's 75th Ranger Battalion who were under fire by the Taliban. Captain Joni Marquez was the fire control officer in a C-130 Spectre "Spooky" gunship. The Rangers were drawing heavy fire and called in air support and two helicopters and the C-130 responded. Of eight insurgents, two remained and when Capt. Marquez requested permission to fire, she was denied. They then raced to a nearby town and recruited a dozen or more insurgents.
Meantime, the helicopters- designated Extortion 17- arrived and by this time the resupplied insurgents were ready. An RPG launched by the Taliban fighters took out one of the Chinooks killing 38 people, including 17 members of the Team... the very people that Obama used for political gain for their raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound. If Capt. Marquez had been allowed to take out the remaining insurgents, it would have been avoided. This is what happens when you let liberal politicians run a war... it happened in Vietnam, where the rules of engagement became politicized. The liberal mindset seems to be if you stop firing at the enemy they will like you and become friends.
In Vietnam, the rules of engagement were largely overlooked- they had to be. When the enemy is disguised as civilians, it's difficult to tell who you're fighting against... In other words the enemy in Vietnam was as dishonest and disingenuous as the people back home protesting. The same thing is true in Afghanistan, the Taliban dress like civilians and use them as shields. If you don't want civilian casualties, don't go to war.
"Marquez stated – 'Ridiculous rules of engagement that basically state that you can’t shoot until being shot upon. A weapon has to be pointed, and essentially fired at you, in order for you to shoot and you have the proper clearance so that you don’t, you know, go to jail, that you’re charged with a war crime.'" You can't realistically fight a war under these conditions.
Senior legal advocate for U.S. Special Forces Jeffery Addicott considers the rules of engagement pushed by the Obama administration "a death sentence for American military personnel...
No night or surprise searches
Villagers warned prior to searches
U.S. units on searches
U.S. soldiers may not fire at the enemy unless the enemy is preparing to fire first
Afghan National Army or Afghan National Police must accompany
U.S. forces cannot engage the enemy if civilians are present
Troops can fire at an insurgent if they catch them placing an IED, but not if they’re walking away from placing an IED.
Only engage an enemy fighter if you see a weapon, and they’ve fired first.
These are beyond absurd! These aren't rules of engagement... these are rules of disengagement. The only thing these rules accomplishes is to put a bullseye on the back of every American soldier. The Taliban has no rules of engagement... In his zeal to protect his Muslim brothers, Obama signed the death warrants of untold Americans... then the cover-up began. Just like in Benghazi the lies began as soon as the smoke cleared. The families of the fallen SEALs have been trying to get the truth, but have been stonewalled every step of the way. They hired Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch who filed FOIA requests but one document from the DOD out of 50 has been produced. This isn't about national security, it's about lying treason and murder.
