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Author of Benghazi book stands by pivotal 'stand-down' scene
Film Review-13 Hours Heal
In this photo provided by Paramount Pictures shows John Krasinski as Jack Silva in the film, "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" from Paramount Pictures and 3 Arts Entertainment/Bay Films.

"Stand down," says the actor playing the CIA station chief in Michael Bay's new film, "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi." He's speaking to the security team that wants to go help Americans under siege less than a mile away in a U.S. diplomatic compound under fierce attack. His order keeps the team from leaving for a crucial 20 minutes, before they decide to ignore him and go anyway.

It's the pivotal - and most controversial - scene in the new film, a movie that Bay insists steers clear of politics, but which is bound to spark much political discussion nonetheless. On Friday - the movie's opening day - the Washington Post quoted the now-retired CIA station chief, identified only as Bob, as strongly denying he ever issued such an order or anything like it.

"There never was a stand-down order," the base chief was quoted by the Post as saying. "At no time did I ever second-guess that the team would depart."

The author of the book upon which the film is based, Mitchell Zuckoff, stood by his depiction of the scene on Friday, saying in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that he'd based it on several firsthand accounts. Zuckoff collaborated on his book, "13 Hours," with some of the surviving security contractors.

"It's not credible what he's claiming," Zuckoff said of the station chief, whom he said he had tried to interview when writing the book, but his request was denied.

Four Americans died in the attacks, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

In November 2014, a two-year investigation by the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee found that the CIA and military acted properly in responding to the 2012 attack on the compound. Among other findings, it determined that there was no delay in sending a CIA rescue team, and no missed opportunity for a military rescue.

In Washington, CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani referred to those findings and others as making it clear that the scene in the film is inaccurate. "If one is looking for facts on Benghazi, those reviews contain them," he said.

"No one will mistake this movie for a documentary," Trapani added. "It's a distortion of the events and people who served in Benghazi that night. It's shameful that, in order to highlight the heroism of some, those responsible for the movie felt the need to denigrate the courage of other Americans who served in harm's way."

Trapani called what happened in Benghazi "an amazing tale of heroism, courage under fire, leadership and camaraderie by the CIA security team, other CIA officers, State Department personnel, and those who came on the evacuation mission from Tripoli."

In the Post report, the station chief, Bob, also challenged the movie's depiction of him as treating the security contractors -members of the so-called Global Response Staff - dismissively and derisively as "hired help," in the words of the film script.

"These guys were heroes," he was quoted as saying by the Post.

Zuckoff, who teaches journalism at Boston University, said he wasn't surprised that the movie has sparked political discussion.

"It would be naive to think that some won't view it through a political lens," he said. "But it's not what we set out to do in the book or movie."

Bay, the director, has stressed that he sees the movie as non-political, because it focuses on what he calls "a great human story, that got buried. And that's the story I'm telling: the guys who were on the ground. The men and women that were stuck in the CIA annex, and how they fought for 13 hours to get out of there alive."

Speaking in an interview last week in Miami promoting the movie, Bay also said that the filmmakers took great pains to present the facts accurately.

"We worked very hard to get the facts right from the research of the book that Mitch did to the amazing access I have from working 20 years with the military, from the boots on the ground, the people who were in country to the CIA, at a high-level meeting to get just the facts right, the recently released emails. We just had to get it right."

 

 

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Visit Statesboro launches ‘Sip & Soar’ to highlight downtown open cups zone
Features specially designed, optional cups for participating places that pour
Sip & Soar
Special to-go cups, featuring artwork by Visit Statesboro's visitor center Manager Murphy McRae, depict the exterior of "Sip & Soar" participating establishments in the downtown Statesboro open container exemption zone. These cups are optional, but the requirement for paper or plastic cups of 20 ounces or less is part of the city law.

Without promoting drinking on the streets in general, Visit Statesboro has launched a “Sip & Soar” campaign to highlight the fact that alcoholic beverages in paper or plastic cups can legally be taken outside of eating and drinking establishments in a limited, ordinance-defined area of downtown Statesboro, as long as rules are followed.

Nearly five years have passed since City Council approved the ordinance that makes this possible, and it took effect immediately, in July 2020. Visit Statesboro, the destination marketing organization long known as the Statesboro Convention and Visitors Bureau, issued a media release May 2, 2025, announcing the Sip & Soar initiative and including a map of the designated “open container area.” A bird in flight is part of Visit Statesboro’s logo, and the organization already used references to “soaring” in its marketing efforts.

“We just wanted to make it clear to everyone, and that’s one reason why we included the map,” Visit Statesboro President and CEO Becky Sanders told the Statesboro Herald. “We just want everyone to enjoy the benefits but also follow the rules.”


Its own webpage

In addition to issuing the map and media release and giving the initiative its own webpage, https://sipandsoar.com, Visit Statesboro is partnering with eating and drinking establishments in the open container area to provide them with “exclusive, custom-designed to-go cups.” The cups feature original artwork by Murphy McRae, Visit Statesboro’s visitor center manager, whom Sanders called “an amazing graphic artist,” with tiny sketches of the participating establishments’ exteriors, plus a QR code to sipandsoar.com.

These cups are optional and “purely for fun,” but are also meant to “help ensure that everyone, from locals to visitors, knows exactly how to enjoy the open container area safely and responsibly,” the release stated.

 

Key rules of the zone

 ● No Glass or Aluminum Beverage Containers: Only paper or plastic cups are allowed.

Container Size: The cup must be 20 ounces or less.

Age Requirement: Of course, people must be 21 years or older to drink or be served alcoholic beverages.

No-Go Area: The Bulloch County Courthouse and its grounds, being county property, are not part of the city’s open-container area, and drinking alcoholic beverages is prohibited on the courthouse grounds.

That last point may be important for people to bear in mind during special events such as the city-sponsored Downtown Live concerts, when eating and drinking establishments in the area may be serving adult beverages, but there’s more of a family atmosphere near the courthouse.

Also, as was pointed out five years ago when the city “open container exemption zone” ordinance amendment was adopted, the Georgia law prohibiting possession of an open alcoholic beverage container in the passenger area of a motor vehicle remains in effect in the city’s zone, as does, of course, the law against driving under the influence. Being a pedestrian under the influence is also a state law violation if a person’s behavior threatens the safety of others or occurs in a roadway.

The city ordinance section, 6-17(k), also restricts establishments in the zone from selling more than one alcoholic beverage in a to-go cup per person age 21 and up.

Visit Statesboro  has included the text of the ordinance section on the sipandsoar.com site.

Sip & Soar
This map shows Statesboro's downtown open container zone, defined since July 2020 as bounded on the north by Courtland Street, Simmons Way and Proctor Street; on the east by Mulberry Street; on the west by Martin Luther King Jr. Drive; and on the south by Bulloch Street between MLK Drive and College Street. But then after turning north along College Street, the remainder of the southern boundary is on Cherry Street between College and Mulberry.

That site also gives these landmarks for the open container zone’s boundaries:

  • To the South you should turn back before you pass the Methodist Church.
  • To the West don’t wander too far past the Post Office.
  • Walking to the North you should stop just beyond the Bulloch County Courthouse.
  • To the East you can walk to Eagle Creek Brewery and the Boro Art Park, but not beyond.

Sanders noted that another organization, the Downtown Statesboro Development Authority, led in advocating for the ordinance amendment’s passage.

“Their leadership has helped ensure the open-container area enriches downtown’s welcoming atmosphere while preserving a safe, family-friendly environment,” she said.

The release also quoted Justin Samples, Visit Statesboro’s vice president of marketing.

 “We are thrilled to highlight this unique city ordinance and invite everyone to experience downtown Statesboro in a unique and exciting new way,” he said. “The Sip & Soar campaign not only educates our community about the open container area but also supports our local businesses, encouraging a lively, safe, and enjoyable downtown atmosphere.”

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