Accuracy in Media Conference

Citizens Commission on Benghazi

September 16, 2013 Allison Auditorium The Heritage Foundation 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE Washington, DC

Benghazi: One Year Later

ne year ago last week, the victims of the Benghazi, Libya terrorist attacksAmbassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, and Tyrone Woodslost their lives at the Special Mission Compound and CIA Annex in Benghazi. Others were seriously injured. Since then, no one has been held accountable for the inadequate security at the Mission, or for the failure to fully anticipate the attacks given Libyas deteriorating security environment. This in spite of numerous requests for increased security, which were ignored by top officials in Washington, D.C. When the attacks were underway, a decision was made to not send American military assets to attempt to rescue those in danger. This occurred exactly 11 years to the day after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. There wasnt enough time, we were told. The intelligence was too murky to risk sending in troops or planes to attempt a rescue operation. To people who live by a military code of conduct, those were the wrong answers. The Benghazi attack was followed by a shabby, transparent attempt to claim it was a spontaneous protest in response to an anti-Islam video. When that story fell apart weeks later, the Obama administration told us that they had said all along it was an act of terrorism. The media went along for the ride, failing to ask the tough questions; they didnt want to hurt President Obamas re-election bid. After several congressional hearings, and an internal investigation by the State Departments own Accountability Review Board, many questions remain unanswered, and no one has been held accountable, including the perpetrators of this terrorist act. We at Accuracy in Media (AIM) decided to see if we could play a role in bringing the facts to light, and to possibly holding people accountable We reached out to several retired military officersgenerals and admiralsand thankfully, they unhesitatingly said Yes. The Citizens Commission on Benghazi was

formed this summer with that purpose in mind. It didnt take long for the Commission to expand to include former intelligence agency officials, as well as other military men, and today, with this conference, we launch our pursuit of the truth. We have no time limit. And no one can vote us out. We plan to file Freedom of Information Act requests, and work with other organizations that share our goals, and our sense of purpose. We want to offer a place for people who have been silenced in this process, to come forward. AIM was founded in 1969 by Reed Irvine, a former Marine intelligence officer in World War II, who often worked with military and national security experts to defend their honor, and at the same time, the honor of this country. Whether it was setting the record straight on Americas role in various wars and other historical events, or battling to bring home our POWs Missing in Action, AIM has always stood on the front lines. It is with this spirit that we embark on this mission. We thank all those who are participating in and helping to make this commission possible. Follow us at aim.org/Benghazi.

Roger Aronoff

Editor Accuracy in Media

Citizens Commission on Benghazi Conference Program

10:00 a.m. Opening Remarks Roger Aronoff, Editor, Accuracy in Media, Conference Moderator 10:05 10:20 a.m. Remarks by Commission Members Col. Dick Brauer, USAF (Ret.) Clare Lopez, Former CIA Officer Lt. Col. Allen West, USA (Ret.) 10:30 11:30 a.m. Featured Guests Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) Christopher Farrell, Judicial Watch 11:30 11:45 a.m. Remarks by Commission Members Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, USAF, (Ret.) Adm. James Ace Lyons, USN (Ret.) Lt. Col. Ken Benway, USA, (Ret.) 11:45 12:45 p.m. Featured Guests Kenneth R. Timmerman, Author, Investigative Reporter Howie Lind, Retired Naval Officer 12:45 1:00 p.m. Remarks by Commission Members Maj. Gen. Paul E. Vallely, USA (Ret.) Capt. Larry Bailey, SEAL, USN, (Ret.) Lt. Col. Dennis Haney, USAF (Ret.)

1:00 2:00 p.m. Featured Guests Charles Woods, father of Tyrone Woods Larry Ward, Political Director, Special Operations Speaks 2:00 to 2:10 p.m. Remarks by Commission Members Clare Lopez Wayne Simmons Roger Aronoff 2:10 2:40 p.m. Featured Guest Kevin Shipp 2:45 p.m. Closing Comments Roger Aronoff

Biographies
Roger Aronoff, is the Editor of Accuracy in Media. He has worked as a journalist, TV producer, director, writer and distributor. He also hosts AIMs Take AIM show on BlogTalkRadio. Roger joined AIM in May of 1997 and has written, produced and directed award-winning documentaries includingConfronting Iraq: Conflict and Hope,The Clinton Legacyand TWA 800: The Search for the Truth. He wrote for the Jewish Herald Voice for more than 20 years. In 2008, Aronoff produced, directed and co-wrote an award-winning documentary that aired on many PBS stations called Fighting Words: A Tale of How Liberals Created Neoconservatism. In 2009 he produced a weekly public affairs show on PBS called Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg.

Capt. Larry Bailey, (SEAL), USN (Ret) Captain Larry Bailey spent nearly 27 years as a U.S. Navy SEAL. Obtaining his commission from Navy Officer Candidate School in 1962, he was first assigned to the destroyer USS LEARY before receiving orders to Underwater Demolition Team training in Little Creek, Virginia. After a year in UDT-22, he was assigned to SEAL Team TWO, where he spent almost five years during which he deployed to Vietnam, where he led the first East Coast SEAL platoon into combat. Since retirement in 1990 from the U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida, Capt. Bailey has been involved in national policy issues and has chaired Gathering of Eagles since 2007. He is also co-chairman of Special Operations Speaks, a group that speaks out on defense-related issues, particularly those involving special operations forces.

Lt. Col. Ken Benway, USA (Ret) Lt. Col. Ken Benway enlisted in the U.S. Army as a parachute infantryman in 1966. He underwent Army Special Forces training and deployed to Vietnam, serving from 196768, as a Special Forces medic with a Chinese Nung Company of the I Corps Mobile Strike Force, 5th Special Forces Group. In 1970, he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant of Infantry, serving in leadership assignments in both Germany and Italy with the 509th Parachute Infantry. Over the course of 27 years in uniform, he served with the 3d, 5th and 10 Special Forces Groups, with the Special Operations Command (Europe), as an exchange program officer with the Susa Alpine Infantry Battalion (Italian Army) in northwest Italy, and with the U.S. Army JFK Special Warfare Center and School. Since retirement in 1993, he has served as a senior special operations analyst and in a variety of contracted support arrangements with the U.S. Army Special Operations community. Col. Richard (Dick) Brauer Jr., USAF (Ret) Col. Richard F. (Dick) Brauer Jr. amassed 5,200 hours of worldwide flying, attaining the aeronautical rating of Master Navigator. His tours of flying duty and deployments included Southeast Asia/Vietnam (1967-68), Europe, Central and South America (19681971) and Australia (1971-1973), where he represented the USAF and the United States as an Exchange Officer, flying as an instructor in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Following his Pentagon tour, he was selected as the 12th Commandant of the Air Force Special Operations School (Hurlburt Field, FL) and served the joint SOF, conventional and interagency communities in that education leadership position from 1986 until his retirement in 1991. In 2010 Col. Brauer was inducted into the Air Commando Hall of Fame.

John Clarke, Civil Rights and FOIA Attorney John Clarke has spent 20 years litigating cases in state and federal courts in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland, concentrating on Civil Rights and FOIA cases from 1996 to the present. In addition to nearly ten years prosecuting civil rights and FOIA cases involving the federal executive branch, his litigation experience encompasses a wide variety of civil disputes. Included are contract, personal injury, domestic relations, intentional torts, federal appellate, grand jury, and criminal defense cases. Clarke frequently appears as a guest speaker on civil rights cases and the Independent Counsel Statute, and has appeared hundreds of times on radio and TV talk shows on the topics of the Whitewater grand jury probe, the Ethics in Government Act, and civil rights and FOIA cases regarding the TWA Flight 800 tragedy.

Christopher Farrell, Director of Investigations and Research, Judicial Watch Chris Farrell served as a Military Intelligence Officer, specializing in Counter-Intelligence and Human Intelligence. His advanced training included the U.S. Army Advanced Counterintelligence Training Course, and the Combined Arms Services Staff School of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, in addition to graduate work in National Security Studies, specializing in unconventional warfare and terrorism. In civilian life, Farrell has served as a contractor for the defense and intelligence communities, and also as a Senior Staff Associate for Columbia Universitys National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Mailman School of Public Health (2005 2008). Farrell joined Judicial Watch in 1999 as the organizations Director of Investigations & Research, and serves as their main representative to United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Lt. Col. Dennis B. Haney, USAF (Ret) Lt. Col. Dennis B. Haney, USAF (Ret) was a program manager, a U.S. Air Force jet fighter aircraft operations director, flight test director, and combat-experienced Electronic Warfare Officer with 22 years of experience as an Electronic Combat technical expert. He served three years on the 52nd Tactical Fighter Wing Staff in Spangdahlem AB, Germany, and has served in a number of positions at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He assisted the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) Program Manager in managing 185 technical personnelin positions including Assistant Program Manager for the CEC Program. After retiring, he joined Special Operations Speaks (SOS) asthe Operations Coordinator.

Howie Lind, Retired Naval Officer Howie Lind served our country in the United States Navy for two decades as a naval surface warfare officer. He retired as a Commander and was appointed by the Bush administration to the Department of Defense in 2003 to work on reconstruction issues in Iraq and also serve the reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. He formerly served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at International Stability Operations Association (ISOA). An active participant in Virginia politics for over 15 years, Lind is currently running for the seat of Sen. Mark Warner in 2014.

Clare Lopez, former CIA officer Clare M. Lopez is a strategic policy and intelligence expert with a focus on national defense, Islam, Iran, and counterterrorism issues. Currently a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy, the Clarion Project, and the Canadian Meighen Institute and vice president of the Intelligence Summit, she formerly was a career operations officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, a professor at the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies, Executive Director of the Iran Policy Committee from 2005-2006, and has served as a consultant, intelligence analyst, and researcher for a variety of defense firms. She was named a Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute in 2011.

Adm. James Ace Lyons, USN (Ret)

Adm. James Ace Lyons, USN (Ret.) was U.S. Navy Officer for 36 years, serving most recently as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the largest single military command in the world, where his initiatives directly contributed to the economic stability and humanitarian understanding in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, and brought the U.S. Navy Fleet back to China. As the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations from 1983-1985 he was the principal advisor on all Joint Chiefs of Staff matters, and was the father of the Navy Red Cell, an anti-terrorism group composed of Navy SEALs he established in response to the Marine Barracks bombing in Beirut. Admiral Lyons was also Commander of the U.S. Second Fleet and Commander of the Striking Fleet, which were the principal fleets for implementing the Maritime Strategy. He is President and CEO of LION Associates, which provides strategic consulting in the areas of foreign policy and security affairs.

Gen. Thomas McInerney, USAF (Ret) Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney served as a fighter pilot, commander and strategic planner in the Air Force for 35 years He is a command pilot with more than 4,100 flying hours, including 407 combat missions during the Vietnam War. He also took part in the Berlin and Cuban crises in 1962, flying escort missions in the Berlin Corridor and escort reconnaissance missions over Cuba. In April 1963 he was one of the first forward air controllers assigned to South Vietnam with a Vietnamese army division. In addition to his Vietnam service, Gen. McInerney served overseas in NATO; Pacific Air Forces, and as commander of 11th Air Force in Alaska. A respected military analyst, he appears regularly on Fox News, is a nationally syndicated lecturer, and has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The Washington Post and USA Today. Kevin Shipp, Former CIA Officer
Kevin Shipp, a decorated CIA agent, revealed in his critically acclaimed book, From the Company of Shadows, how he and his family filed a personal injury lawsuit after a series of threats to his career and family, including severe toxic exposure while living in government assigned housing. The CIA signed a court ordered, mediated settlement, which they not only refused to honor, but ultimately they used the State Secrets privilege to shut the case down in a secret court and place a seal on it so that no one could have access to the evidence. The majority of the chapter that discussed the cover-up was blacked out by the CIA, but Shipp built a code into the manuscript, revealing the cover-up. He recently decided to release the code, and is taking a severe personal risk by doing so. Shipp believes that the same system of secrecy and cover-up is being used to silence witnesses of the Benghazi attack, and prevent the families of Amb. Stevens and the other three Americans from finding out the truth about their loved ones.

Wayne Simmons, Former CIA Officer Wayne Simmons acquired extensive government experience which was gathered during 27 years in the intelligence business with the CIA. Recruited by the CIA in 1973 while in the U.S. Navy, Simmons became part of an outside paramilitary special operations group where, in addition to working against narcoterrorists, he ran special operations against arms smugglers, counterfeiters, cyber-terrorists and industrial and economic espionage. Simmons sits on the Advisory Council for the Intelligence Summit, is a contributor to the conservative publication Human Events and has been a terrorism analyst for the Fox News Channel since 2002.

Kenneth R. Timmerman, Author, Investigative Journalist Ken Timmerman, an investigative journalist and best-selling author, has spent more than three decades interviewing dissidents behind the Iron Curtain, covering numerous Middle East wars, interviewing suicide bombers, and debriefing defectors from Iranian intelligence organizations. During the latter half of the 1980s, he covered the Iran-Iraq war, gaining first-hand knowledge of Iraqs deadly weapons buildup. In 1995, he helped establish the Foundation for Democracy in Iran (FDI), which has become a rallying point for Iranian democrats seeking an end to brutal, clerical rule in Iran. His most recent work of non-fiction, Shadow Warriors: Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of Surrender, exposes a secret intelligence war, fought not against our enemies abroad, but by partisan bureaucrats and their allies in Congress and the media against a sitting United States president.

Maj. Gen. Paul E. Vallely, USA (Ret.) During Maj. Gen. Paul Vallelys distinguished 32-year Army career, he served in many overseas theaters included Europe and the Pacific Rim countries, as well as his two tours in Vietnam. His combat service in Vietnam included positions as infantry company commander, intelligence officer, operations officer, military advisor and aide-de-camp. He has over 15 years experience in Special Operations, Psychological and Civil-Military Operations. He retired in 1993 as Deputy Commanding General, Pacific Command. In 2004, he co-authored the book Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror, together with retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney He is the chairman of Stand Up America and the Nemo Arms Company. His new book, Betrayed, Exposing the High Cost of the War on Terror: The Shocking Sacrifice of Americas Special Ops Forces, co-authored with Billy Vaughan, is available on his website, standupamericaus.org/. Larry Ward, Political Director, Special Operations Speaks Larry Ward, the political director of Special Operations Speaks, which represents over 1,000 Special Operations veterans, recently claimed that the reason House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is not creating a committee to investigate the September 11, 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi is because he is protecting those who know what really happened. Appearing on The Wilkow Majority on Sirius XM Patriot channel 125 with Breitbart News Executive Chairman and guest host Stephen K. Bannon, Larry Ward, the political director, said that the current standing committees on Benghazi cant get to the bottom of what happened because they do not have power to subpoena information about the CIA and possible gun-running programs in Benghazi. He suggested that House Speaker Boehner may have ulterior motives for not creating a Select Committee to investigate the matter further.

Lt. Col. Allen West, USA (Ret) Lt. Col. Allen West served 22 years in the U.S. Army before being elected to the House of Representatives by the constituents of Floridas 22nd district. Before taking office, he was an adviser to the Afghan National Army. Throughout his time in Congress, West consistently stood for policies that would make the United States prosperous, strong and free, even when speaking up was not easy. Col. West was also a member of the Tea Party Caucus and has been referred to as one of the champions of the Tea Party movement. He earned his undergraduate degree at e earneHe earned deg the University of Tennessee, and a Masters degree from Kansas State University, both in political science. He also holds a Master of Military Arts and Sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer College in political theory and military operations. Lt. Col. West is a current contributor for Fox News and P.J. Media.Top of FormBottom of Form Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) Congressman Frank Wolf, who has represented the Northern Virginia suburbs since 1981, has not only become the dean of Virginias congressional delegation, but is also the only Republican who currently represents the Washington D.C. area. While his support for global human rights and transportation funding has earned a high degree of constituent loyalty, Congressman Wolf has also been an outspoken proponent of legislation to create a Select Committee to investigate the Benghazi attack, and demand accountability from those responsible for intelligence failures. His commitment to pursue this issue inspired him to write Accuracy in Medias Chairman Don Irvine a personal letter to congratulate him and AIM for establishing the Citizens Commission on Benghazi.

Charles Woods, Father of Tyrone Woods Charles Woods is the father of Tyrone Snowden Woods, Senior Chief Petty Officer, US Navy SEAL (Ret.), who died on September 12, 2012, while defending the U.S. Diplomatic Post and the CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya. A retired attorney, Charles Woods has been trying to get answers to questions about his sons death from the Obama administration for over a year. His most important question is: Who made the decision not to save Ty Woods and the other Americans who died under siege? Woods question becomes even more compelling since denials of help came from official sources that knew, in real time, that the attacks were terrorist attacks, and still the military and CIA were ordered to stand down. The news that his son Tyrone disobeyed orders does not surprise his father, who said: My son was an American hero . . . and he had the moral strength to do what was right . . . even if it would potentially cost him his life.

What They Say About AIM

I am grateful for the always vigilant and watchful eye of Accuracy in Media. - Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. I commend you for your hard work, determination and commitment to excellence in exposing stories that are misreported or ignored in the mainstream media. - Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla. AIM has been a consistent and important force in delivering our message -- and ensuring it is delivered better by the media powers-that-be. - Brent Bozell, III Media Research Center Thank you for your insight into the issues of the day, and for giving us always reliable information. - Phyllis Schlafly President, Eagle Forum

Accuracy in Media
4350 East West Highway Suite 555 Bethesda, MD 20814 Phone: (202) 364-4401 Fax: (202) 364-4098 Web: www.aim.org Email: info@aim.org