According to Panetta's testimony, the president was aware of what was going on. Just before he left for Las Vegas he told Panetta to do whatever it takes to save lives. This greatly diminished the chances of those Americans' survival.
There are things a president can do in a situation that his subordinates are just not in a position to authorize and President Obama knows this. So despite giving Panetta a supposed carte blanche, before leaving for Vegas, He knew Panetta was NOT in a position to do whatever he deemed necessary to save lives.
But after the fact the do-whatever-it-takes sounds like the president left the situation in good hands. In reality though, those hands were tied. And he knew it.
There are things a president can do in a situation that his subordinates are just not in a position to authorize and President Obama knows this. So despite giving Panetta a supposed carte blanche, before leaving for Vegas, He knew Panetta was NOT in a position to do whatever he deemed necessary to save lives.
But after the fact the do-whatever-it-takes sounds like the president left the situation in good hands. In reality though, those hands were tied. And he knew it.