Fox’s Andrea Tantaros: Obama Administration Gave US Sailors “Stand Down Order” Against Iran

Whenever Fox News is in need for someone to toss out a batshit crazy right-wing conspiracy, they can always rely on Andrea Tantaros to step up to the plate.

During Thursday’s broadcast of the panel show Outnumbered, Tantaros went full Benghazi regarding the conservative anger surrounding Iran’s treatment of United States sailors last month. While the ten sailors were released within a day after being captured in Iranian waters, the country has used images of the Americans as propaganda. This week, Iran released video and images of one of the sailors crying while in custody.

Speaking about Iran’s douchebaggery, Tantaros decided to go down the rabbit hole and suggest that the Obama Administration sent an order to the Navy to have the sailors “stand down,” referencing one of the longstanding beliefs among the far-right that Hillary Clinton and Obama ordered troops and contractors to do the same during the Benghazi attacks.

In Tantaros’ mind, the ten sailors outgunned the Iranians who encountered them in territorial waters and should have started firing on their would-be captors immediately, sparking an international crisis and full-fledged war. However, because Obummer hates his country, he told them to surrender, all so Iran could humiliate the United States.

Below is from the show’s transcript, courtesy of Media Matters:

ANDREA TANTAROS: I think the most important question that needs to be asked is that — we were not outgunned. The Iranians were woefully outgunned in that moment. U.S. Navy are directed to never abandon their weapons, never to stand down. So look at this situation. We were not outgunned. They left their weapons, and they surrendered on their knees. Somebody had to give a stand-down order. This is the question everyone in the media should be asking, and no one’s asking it. Who gave the order, the stand-down order to abandon their weapons? I talked to many folks in the military, and they say it had to be someone with authority to do something like this. Or, Harris, we talk about these side deals. In Islamic culture, so many times you see them trying to flex their muscles and be strong and use this as propaganda. As you wisely mentioned, was there a side deal done that we allowed the Iranians to do this to humiliate us for a reason that we would put up with this?

[…]

TANTAROS: No. This is unprecedented that U.S. Navy sailors would be so, so — I mean, in a position of power with their weapons and leave them on their hands and knees and surrender, and then cry. I’m sorry, someone gave a stand-down order for them to do this.

There you go. The birth of a new Fox talking point, just in time for the Presidential election.

Below is video of the segment, also courtesy of Media Matters: