How the Molehill became Mt. Everest

In the very outdated, but extremely entertaining movie "Creator", Peter O'Toole frequently tells the other cast members they need to see "the big picture".  Usually good advice, which most people ignore.  Perspective allows us to see beyond the minor issues and worry about what is really important.  At least, as we mature, this is what should happen.  Remember your reaction to that first pimple?  Or how devastated you were when that first crush decided they liked someone else?  Do you still consider these to be major disasters?

At one time, we didn't have "the media", all we had was "the news".  The news could be found on all three stations, all at the same time and all telling the same thing.  At that time, everyone agreed on what was news and it was reported with minimal bias.  About the only difference between the newscasts were the feel-good human interest stories, that ended each broadcast.  One network might run a story about a successful pet rescue, another a piece on a service minded youth and the third something of the history of some town no one had heard of.  Just a few minutes to leave the viewers with a positive outlook, with the feeling that there is something to smile about.

Fast Forward to the media dark ages.  The world is in turmoil and a plague is sweeping the land.  Each media source reports different "news".  Some sources report major catastrophes that are only minor issues with the other media outlets.  Rumor, supposition and propaganda are everywhere and many people are actually panicking.  But over what?

Remember the Clinton/Lewinsky affair?  I've met many people in my life, and many have been utterly faithful to their partner.  Just as many, haven't quite achieved perfection in that area.  My personal opinion is, given the perfect opportunity, with the ideal partner and zero chance of getting caught, 9 out of 10 would jump that fence.  Don't worry, I'm certain that you personally, would never be tempted.  (wink, wink)  Looking back, did the actions of one horny president cause anything major?  Anything to justify the media coverage and the congressional uproar?  The sky did not fall.

Today we're looking at a similar situation.  Similar in that a minor issue has been exaggerated into a major issue that threatens the future of our country.  How did this happen?

Several times in the past, Libya, under the dictatorship of Colonel Gaddafi, has been chastised by the United States.  Recently, with the help of the United States and the United Nations, the people of Libya managed to overthrow the ruthless Gaddafi regime.  The new regime is still too young to decide whether it will also be ruthless or whether it will be friendly to the United States.  Time for the big picture.

Libya is not a world power.  At this point their major import is aid from the United States.  If they become our most fervent ally, it matters very little to our defense.  In area, it is slightly larger than Alaska and has 3/4 of the population of New York City.  If not for their oil reserves, the country would rarely be mentioned.  Yet, the most important issue for congress is an investigation into an attack on our embassy there.  The attack resulted in four deaths, including Ambassador Stevens.

Perspective:  The United States maintains hundreds of embassies and consulates around the world, plus many military bases.  As Commander-in-Chief, the President ultimately is responsible for every U.S. service member.  However, it is ridiculous to assume that at every moment he is cognizant of the location and operational availability of every U.S. military resource.  Should he also be called to account if your children aren't getting enough exercise, or if you're not getting enough fiber in your diet?

Embassies and Consulates are different from military bases.  A military base on foreign soil tends to exhibit a somewhat threatening image.  Troops are constantly training and prepared for attack, especially in areas that tend to be hostile to us.  Embassies and Consulates must show a more welcoming atmosphere.  They do not have they manpower to provoke anger and resentment and tend to be low-profile.  Any sufficiently armed attack on a U.S. Embassy or Consulate will almost certainly result in American deaths.  This is the nature of foreign service.

Were mistakes made during and after the attack in Benghazi?  Undoubtedly.  New situations are very seldom responded to perfectly.  This is why every incident, every accident, every emergency and every attack is critiqued by the people involved.  What happened?  Why did it happen?  What did we do?  What mistakes did we make?  What can we do better?  Could we have prevented this?  How will we prepare against this in the future?  Since September 11. 2012 every segment of the government involved has been asking these same questions, and hopefully coming up with answers.  But those answers are not for you and I.  Telling an enemy what you're prepared for, and how you're prepared, defeats the purpose of preparation.

During my time in the Navy, I went through quite a few of these incident reviews, although only one that had resulted in death.  The issues ranged from a destroyed emergency generator to a flooded reactor compartment.  From a $100,000 welding mistake to a $2,000,000 liquid nitrogen mistake.  Our purpose wasn't to fix blame, but to find cause and find ways to make sure the same mistakes were not repeated. 

Wasting millions to point fingers will not bring those people back to life, and will serve no purpose other than to prove to the people responsible that such attacks are a major blow to the United States.  Making this molehill into a mountain only increases the likelihood of more such attacks.  If you want to protect Americans, quit increasing their risks by not seeing "The Big Picture".