New Book Claims Top CIA Officer In Benghazi Told Commandos To 'Stand Down' During Attack

A new book titled "13 Hours" set for release on Sep. 9 cites five commandos who were guarding the CIA Annex in Benghazi, Libya with an explosive claim that the CIA Station Chief told them to "stand down" from any rescue attempt, The New York Times reports.

The book, written by Boston University journalism professor Mitchell Zuckoff, details the events of the Sep. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, which resulted in the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens, and CIA contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

Here's the relevant portion from the Times:

In a new book scheduled for release next week and obtained by The New York Times, the commandos say they protested repeatedly as the station chief ordered them to wait in their vehicles, fully armed, for 20 minutes while the attack on the diplomatic mission was unfolding less than a mile away.

"If you guys do not get here, we are going to die!" a diplomatic security agent then shouted to them over the radio, the commandos say in the book, and they left the base in defiance of the chief's continuing order to "stand down."

The report comes with a big caveat: Times reporter David Kirkpatrick writes, that the commandos' account "suggests that the station chief issued the 'stand down' orders on his own authority."

Read the full report at The Times >

This story is still developing and will be updated.