“I call it the seventh man on our team”

A survivor of the attack on the US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, has put forward a new theory as to why the September 11, 2012 attack was called off when it was.

Four Americans were killed in the attack: Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens; State Department official Sean Smith; and CIA contractors and former Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods

In an interview published Sunday, Mark Geist, a CIA security officer who helped defend the compound as part of a six-man team, recalled the deadly climax of the hour-long battle Fox News.

The terrorists attack them connection launched mortars, one of which killed Doherty and Woods.

Geist said the attack injured his left arm but he has no plans to give up.

“I’ll do what I can and fight to the last breath,” he said.

But the next round of attacks never came, he said.

“There are no more shots, there are no more mortars,” he said.

“If they kept firing mortars, they would have killed me,” Geist said.

Geist said he believes so based on a review of drone footage local militia which a team led by Doherty had transported to Benghazi, had intervened to help the Americans.

“I look back on it and call it ‘the seventh man on our team,'” he said.

Geist said other help could have arrived to turn the tide.

“We heard over time after Benghazi that there was nowhere help that could have gotten there in time,” Geist said. “You get a lot of seats in 13 hours. It was kind of heartbreaking for us to say that because we knew better.”

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton put on weight Twitter to remind Americans that some believed Help could have reached Benghazi in time if then-President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had tried.

They had military assets ready to go there #Benghazi to save lives. But Clinton/Obama did NOTHING! https://t.co/tqvrQb6vZU

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) September 11, 2022

A lesson from Benghazi was never learned, Geist said.

“People make decisions and don’t listen to the guys and gals on the ground,” he said. “And they should do that. You can’t fight a war from Washington, DC.”

In a comment posted Thursday by The Washington Times, wrote former CIA officer Daniel Hoffman: “We learned many lessons from Benghazi on how to protect our teams and take the fight to the enemy. But today let us remember those who fell and appreciate those who still serve, who continue the mission that honors their memory.”

Geist also said that the Benghazi dead should be remembered and not forgotten in the greater emotion of 9/11 as Americans remember those killed in 2001.

“Glen, Tyrone, Ambassador Stevens and Sean Smith have raised their hands in the air and vowed to uphold the Constitution,” he said. “You have chosen to risk yourself. We have many Americans around the world doing this and we need to remember them too.”

This article originally appeared on The West Journal.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

comment below