| Clinton: Accountability Review Board Investigating Security Issues In Benghazi |
| Oct-03-2012 |
| Keywords: clinton, security, benghazi |
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to mounting questions regarding security measures taken at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi Libya, saying, "nobody will hold this department more accountable than we hold ourselves."
Clinton was responding to a letter sent by Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, claiming the department turned down requests for more security amid a string of attacks and threats in the lead-up to the Sept. 11 strike.
"No one wants to determine what happened that night in Benghazi more than the president and I do. No one is more committed to ensuring it doesn't happen again, and nobody will hold this department more accountable than we hold ourselves because we serve with and we knew the four men we lost," Clinton said Wednesday.
Clinton however did not take on accusations that her department denied numerous requests by staff in Benghazi to beef up security. She instead said the truth will be uncovered by a newly formed "Accountability Review Board."
A U.S. official did confirm to Fox News that the administration is tracking suspects, though the official could not speculate on what action -- such as drone strikes -- the U.S. could take inside Libya's borders.
The official claimed some of the militants involved were killed during the Sept. 11 firefight at the U.S. compound in Benghazi.
Despite the movement, there is still no confirmation that FBI agents dispatched to Libya have arrived in Benghazi.
And Chaffetz expressed concern that the State Department's findings would be pushed off until "after the election."
"There are clear signs that (there were) security concerns in Libya and other embassies around the world, and what they were doing is diminishing security in the name of normalizing relations," Chaffetz told Fox News.
Issa and Chaffetz detailed several attacks in Benghazi in the lead-up to the strike that they suggested should have been warning signs.
Further, they claimed sources told them that diplomats made "repeated requests" for additional security but were denied.
New signs also were emerging this week that officials were receiving guidance that the attack was coordinated in the immediate aftermath of the strike despite public comments to the contrary.
Still, top administration officials in the week after the attack insisted it was a "spontaneous" reaction to protests over an anti-Islam film. That film was driving demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa, but lawmakers and others were saying from the start that Libya was a different situation despite the initial claims of the Obama administration.
Letters obtained exclusively by Fox News also appear to show the State Department refused to get involved when the company tasked with protecting the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, raised security concerns. |
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Posted by Lou Dobbs Staff at 5:00 PM Email to a friend |
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