• Message was taken down by Facebook  TWICE
• SEALS claim it was attempt to ‘quietly  squelch’ opposition to President Obama’s alleged failures

By Rachel Rickard Straus

PUBLISHED:06:26 EST, 31  October 2012| UPDATED:12:42 EST, 31 October 2012

A message posted on Facebook by Navy SEALS  claiming that President Obama denied them backup as forces overran Benghazi was  taken down twice by the social networking site.

The move has stoked accusations that Facebook  was censoring the SEALs’ message to ‘quietly squelch opposition’ to President  Obama’s alleged failures.

The message contained in a meme suggesting  that Obama relied on the SEALS when he wanted to get Osama bin Laden, but then  turned round and denied them back up when they called for it in Benghazi.

Censored? The SOS post was taken down by Facebook  twice… but not before it had been shared online by thousands

US ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and  three other American embassy staff were killed in the attack by Islamist  militants in Benghazi, Libya on September 11.

The tragedy has become a controversial issue  in next month’s presidential election due to ongoing confusion over how much the  administration knew about the circumstances of the attack.

Sources present during the deadly six-hour  assault have said that a desperate last request for military assistance once the  CIA themselves came under attack was denied, even though elite counter-terrorism  units were only two hours away.

The Facebook message about the attack was  posted by Special Operations Speaks PAC (SOS), an organisation founded by  Special Operations veterans dedicated to protecting forces at home and  abroad.

Attack: The US Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames  during fierce clashes in which US Ambassador Chris Stevens died

The image was shared on Facebook between  30,000 users within 24 hours of it being posted online.

However it was taken down at the weekend for  what SOS claims was an ‘unspecified violation of Facebook’s terms of Rights and  Responsibilities.’

Retired SEAL Captain Larry Bailey said:  ‘It looks like Obama’s liberal followers in Facebook HQ are terrified of how  damaging the Benghazi scandal is for the President.

‘We understand that Facebook can run their  site however they’d like, but when they’re trying to quietly squelch opposition  to what is a clear leadership failure that resulted in the tragic deaths of some  of our nation’s heroes, they deserve the to be called out on it.’

Tragedy: Walls at the main entrance of the US consulate  in Benghazi, apparently stained with blood

Colonel Dick Brauer Jr, retired from the US  Air Force, added: ‘Americans across the country deserve the truth about what  happened in Libya, and they certainly deserve to know when people who hold the  keys to a lot of their online communications are trying to keep that from  them.’

After the post was removed twice and SOS’s  Facebook account suspended for 24 hours, the post was reinstated and SOS  received an email from Facebook apologising.

It said: ‘A member of our team  accidentally  removed something you posted on Facebook. This was mistake, and we sincerely  apologize for this error. We’ve since restored the  content, and you should now  be able to see it.’

SOS responded to the apology: ‘We accept  their apology but do not accept  that it was an innocent mistake. It was clearly  a means to protect Obama on Libya.’

A spokesperson from Facebook said: ‘This was  an error and we apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused. They can  feel free to repost the image.’

Anger: Protestors during a rally to condemn the killers  of the US Ambassador to Libya and the attack on the US consulate last  month

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