Clinton defends handling of Benghazi attack
Source: Agencies |
January 24, 2013, Thursday
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US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton insisted yesterday that the department is moving swiftly and aggressively to strengthen security at US missions worldwide after the deadly September 11 raid on the consulate in Libya.
In probably her last appearance in Congress as America's top diplomat, Clinton once again took full responsibility for the department's missteps leading up to the assault at the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Clinton's testimony was focusing on the Libya attack after more than three months of Republican charges that the Obama administration ignored signs of a deteriorating security situation there and cast an act of terrorism as mere protests over an anti-Muslim video in the heat of a presidential election. Washington officials suspect militants linked to al-Qaida carried out the attack.
"It's been a cover-up from the beginning," said Senator John McCain, a leading Republican and the newest member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Clinton is the subject of constant speculation she might be a presidential candidate in 2016
As she began her testimony, her voice cracked at times as she said her work is sometimes highly personal.
"I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews. I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters," she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a jam-packed hearing.
Her voice rising at another point, she defended UN Ambassador Susan Rice, who was vilified for widely debunked claims five days after the attack that protests precipitated the raid rather than terrorism. She challenged the Republican focus on Rice's comments, which were based on intelligence talking points.
"What difference does it make?" a clearly exasperated Clinton told Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican, after he pressed her. She insisted that "people were trying in real time to get to the best information," and that her focus was on looking ahead on how to improve security rather than revisiting the talking points and Rice's television appearance.
Clinton said the department is implementing the 29 recommendations of an independent review board that harshly criticized the department as well as going above and beyond the proposals, with a special focus on high-threat posts.
"Nobody is more committed to getting this right," she said. "I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger, and more secure."
In probably her last appearance in Congress as America's top diplomat, Clinton once again took full responsibility for the department's missteps leading up to the assault at the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Clinton's testimony was focusing on the Libya attack after more than three months of Republican charges that the Obama administration ignored signs of a deteriorating security situation there and cast an act of terrorism as mere protests over an anti-Muslim video in the heat of a presidential election. Washington officials suspect militants linked to al-Qaida carried out the attack.
"It's been a cover-up from the beginning," said Senator John McCain, a leading Republican and the newest member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Clinton is the subject of constant speculation she might be a presidential candidate in 2016
As she began her testimony, her voice cracked at times as she said her work is sometimes highly personal.
"I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews. I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters," she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a jam-packed hearing.
Her voice rising at another point, she defended UN Ambassador Susan Rice, who was vilified for widely debunked claims five days after the attack that protests precipitated the raid rather than terrorism. She challenged the Republican focus on Rice's comments, which were based on intelligence talking points.
"What difference does it make?" a clearly exasperated Clinton told Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican, after he pressed her. She insisted that "people were trying in real time to get to the best information," and that her focus was on looking ahead on how to improve security rather than revisiting the talking points and Rice's television appearance.
Clinton said the department is implementing the 29 recommendations of an independent review board that harshly criticized the department as well as going above and beyond the proposals, with a special focus on high-threat posts.
"Nobody is more committed to getting this right," she said. "I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger, and more secure."
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