I don't want to come off as an *** to those of you chastising Gates but the fact is you don't know what you are talking about. I have worked along side some of those guys doing the intel prep that Gates talks about.
Everyone of those dudes is a badass partly because of the skill and training they have but mostly because they only know one speed. They will always stand up and say 'SEND ME'. That doesn't mean that it is always a good idea.
You don't launch improv rescue missions with virtually no intel. Our guys are as good as they are precisely because they have intel and a plan. fly in, land, commandeer a vehicle, navigate through bengazi (not knowing how big the threat is), not knowing where the embassy folks are, secure the embassy folks and get out or find a secure location to hold out. That ain't easy stuff. Low probability of success, very high risks. Most commanders would wait and hope a better opportunity presents itself.
The very assertion that buzzing them with a jet would have had any lasting effect should clue you in to Hicks tactical credibility. Not too mention the very risky nature of such a tactic. He's a state department guy. He may be a great american but you should certainly take his assessment of the tactical situation with a spoon of salt.
Certainly the administration needs to answer for sanitizing the reports to redact 'terrorist' and even more so for covering up the spin effort but to assert that anyone in the chain willingly sacrificed those people is just wrong.
And certainly the fact that the GOP is continuing to attack this has as much to do with undermining Clinton as it does with any 'shock' about the coverup. So who's hypocrisy is worse? Both groups are made up of self-important, power hungry slugs.