Max Boot wonders why we abandoned the Benghazi consulate site and thus contributed to the jihadi impression that they defeated us on September 11, 2012:
The larger question that is raised here is why the U.S. has abandoned this diplomatic outpost, so that anyone–whether reporters or civilians, friends or foes of the United States–can rummage through its rubble. The jihadists who attacked our consulate were surely hoping to drive us out of Benghazi, and they have now accomplished this purpose. I am at a loss to know why marines were not sent to secure the site of the compound and why efforts have not been made to rebuild. This is yet another failure that gives the people of the Middle East an impression of American retreat.
As a rule, the victor of a battle holds the battlefield after the battle. We needlessly gave the jihadis a victory in Benghazi, so who would you expect to hold the battlefield?
