WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - During an interview with a Denver-area reporter, Obama was asked, "Were they denied requests for help during the attack?" Obama did not answer the question, comment instead that he "issued directives." 
This is the first mention anyone has made of Obama directives and represents a further admission of ownership and responsibility for what happened that night. Unfortunately, whatever directives the president ordered, they appear to have had little or no effect, since the terrorist attack against the US consulate and a secret CIA installation were major successes for al-Qaeda that night. 

For that reason, House Armed Services Committee Chairman, Howard McKeon (R-CA) has asked Obama in a letter, "Although this response did not specifically answer the reporter's question, your first directive would appear to involve potential actions by the U.S. military. Since you personally provided this directive, I have a series of additional questions that I am confident you can answer in advance of the conclusion of any formal investigation."

Obama told reporters, "Well, we are finding out exactly what happened. I can tell you, as I've said over the last couple of months since this happened, the minute I found out what was happening, I gave three very clear directives." He clarified, "Number one, make sure that we are securing our personnel and doing whatever we need to. Number two, we're going to investigate exactly what happened so that it doesn't happen again," he said. "Number three, find out who did this so we can bring them to justice. And I guarantee you that everyone in the State Department, our military, the CIA, you name it, had number one priority making sure that [our] people were safe."

Unfortunately, these directives are very broad and vague, and if they from the sum of his "directives" then they hint at a president who had little grasp of what was actually happening and unable to give specific orders to protect American interests. 

However, if Obama did give very specific directives, then knowing what those are, and if they bore any result, would reveal if he were truly ineffective, or simply continues to appear ineffective. 

McKeon is not satisfied with Obama's vagueness on this matter, saying that he and his fellow Committee members are concerned that such a disaster never happens again. 

Obama has not indicated if he intends to reply to McKeon's questions. 

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