US State Department concedes security weaknesses in Libya raid
Source: Agencies |
December 21, 2012, Friday
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THE State Department yesterday acknowledged weaknesses in security related to the deadly September 11 assault on the US diplomatic mission in Libya following a scathing independent report faulting management failures at the department.
Testifying at the first of two congressional hearings, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had accepted 29 recommendations from the independent review. Fallout from the investigation forced four State Department officials to step down on Wednesday.
Clinton had been scheduled to testify before the committees but canceled after fainting and sustaining a concussion while recovering from a stomach virus last week. Doctors ordered her to rest. Lawmakers still want her testimony.
"We learned some very hard and painful lessons in Benghazi," Burns told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"We are already acting on them. We have to do better."
US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the attack.
At the hearing, Republicans tangled with the officials over whether warning signs of a deteriorating security situation were ignored and why the department didn't ask Congress for money to boost security at the diplomatic mission in Benghazi.
Many Republicans have used the Libya attack to criticize the Obama administration and its response. Their opposition to UN Ambassador Susan Rice as a possible candidate to succeed Clinton, after Rice blamed the attack not on terrorism but on protests against an anti-Muslim film, led to Rice taking herself out of the running, even after Rice explained that she had relied on talking points drawn up by intelligence agencies.
"We made the mistaken assumption that we wouldn't become a major target," Burns told the panel.
Senator Jim Inhofe, a Republican, ticked off a long list of incidents involving Westerners, including attacks with rocket propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices. Just two days before the assault, Stevens had requested additional security.
Burns pointed out that report found no "specific tactical threat," but conceded Inhofe was correct to identify a troubling pattern.
"We did not do a good enough job in trying to connect the dots," Burns said.
The hearing provided an odd scene as the panel's chairman, Senator John Kerry, a Democrat, is a top candidate to replace Clinton as secretary of state. Kerry presided at the hearing, but asked no questions of officials who could be his future employees.
In an opening statement, Kerry said the department had "clear warning signs" of a deteriorating security situation in Libya prior to the attack. He also faulted Congress for failing to provide sufficient funds to protect facilities worldwide.
Kerry said the lack of funds forced the State Department to scramble to cover the costs of securing diplomatic installations.
Testifying at the first of two congressional hearings, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had accepted 29 recommendations from the independent review. Fallout from the investigation forced four State Department officials to step down on Wednesday.
Clinton had been scheduled to testify before the committees but canceled after fainting and sustaining a concussion while recovering from a stomach virus last week. Doctors ordered her to rest. Lawmakers still want her testimony.
"We learned some very hard and painful lessons in Benghazi," Burns told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"We are already acting on them. We have to do better."
US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the attack.
At the hearing, Republicans tangled with the officials over whether warning signs of a deteriorating security situation were ignored and why the department didn't ask Congress for money to boost security at the diplomatic mission in Benghazi.
Many Republicans have used the Libya attack to criticize the Obama administration and its response. Their opposition to UN Ambassador Susan Rice as a possible candidate to succeed Clinton, after Rice blamed the attack not on terrorism but on protests against an anti-Muslim film, led to Rice taking herself out of the running, even after Rice explained that she had relied on talking points drawn up by intelligence agencies.
"We made the mistaken assumption that we wouldn't become a major target," Burns told the panel.
Senator Jim Inhofe, a Republican, ticked off a long list of incidents involving Westerners, including attacks with rocket propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices. Just two days before the assault, Stevens had requested additional security.
Burns pointed out that report found no "specific tactical threat," but conceded Inhofe was correct to identify a troubling pattern.
"We did not do a good enough job in trying to connect the dots," Burns said.
The hearing provided an odd scene as the panel's chairman, Senator John Kerry, a Democrat, is a top candidate to replace Clinton as secretary of state. Kerry presided at the hearing, but asked no questions of officials who could be his future employees.
In an opening statement, Kerry said the department had "clear warning signs" of a deteriorating security situation in Libya prior to the attack. He also faulted Congress for failing to provide sufficient funds to protect facilities worldwide.
Kerry said the lack of funds forced the State Department to scramble to cover the costs of securing diplomatic installations.
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