Foreign Affairs Benghazi Hearing December 20, 2012

Описание: During today's House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing titled "Benghazi Attack, Part II: The Report of the Accountability Review Board," Representative Mike Kelly (PA-03) challenged the suggestion that security failures leading up to the September 11 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi were a result of limited department resources.

Specifically, Rep. Kelly addressed the State Department's decision to remove the Security Support Team (SST) from the U.S. mission in Libya despite requests from personnel on the ground to have their term extended. "Everyone says this was a very unstable and highly volatile area," said Rep. Kelly. "Then why, for God's sake, would we take out the best trained people we have?"

When Rep. Kelly asked Thomas R. Nides, Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources at the U.S. Department of State, if the SST was pulled out of Libya because of money, Mr. Nides responded, "No."

This and other security failures leading up to the September 11 attack were highlighted in the Accountability Review Board's report released this week. The report noted that the "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaus of the State Department resulted in a Special Mission security posture that was inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place."

In the year preceding the September 11 attack, there had been 230 acts of violence throughout the country, including 48 attacks in Benghazi, two of which took place at the U.S. consulate. Despite the fact that Libya had become a hotbed of violence in the months leading up to the attack, the Obama Administration denied repeated requests for additional security and resources from U.S. personnel serving in Libya.