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December 20, 2012

4 Officials Out at State Dept. After Critical Report on Benghazi Attack 
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The State Department's head of security has resigned and three other
officials have been dismissed in the wake of an inquiry's findings on
the September 11th attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, that
killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. An
independent panel probing the incident found "systemic failures and
leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels" within two
State Department bureaus, resulting in security that was "inadequate for
Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took
place." Panel vice-chair Admiral Mike Mullen unveiled the report's
conclusions on Wednesday.

Adm. Mike Mullen: "The board found that the attacks in Benghazi were
security-related, and responsibility for the loss of life, the injuries
and damage to U.S. facilities rests completely and solely with the
terrorists who conducted the attacks. That does not mean there are not
lessons to be learned. The board found that the security posture at the
special mission compound was inadequate for the threat environment in
Benghazi and in fact grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that
took place that night."

Among the issues cited in the report is the high turnover rate of U.S.
security staff, faulty security equipment and the use of unreliable
local militias. The report found certain senior State Department
officials "demonstrated a lack of proactive leadership and management
ability," but did not recommend disciplinary action against any
individuals. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accepted all 29 of
the panel's recommendations.

 

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