The Benghazi Report

The Republican’s in the House of Representatives have conducted a two year investigation on what transpired on September 11, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya, where Ambassador Chris Stevens, U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith and two Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) security team members, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, working for the CIA Global Response (GRS) staff were killed (Collinson). The 800 page report attacks President Barack Obama’s administration’s handling of the terrorist attack, but does not specifically focus on Hillary Clinton (Bade). Perhaps of additional interest is the timing of the report’s conclusions, coming just five months prior to the November Presidential elections ("House Benghazi Probe”). A time when Clinton’s numbers are ahead, pursuant to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, released on June 26, 2016, and indications are that the presumptive Democratic candidate for President has a 12 percentage point advantage over Donald Trump (“"General Election”). The House Select Committee on Benghazi report ends one of the most extensive, expensive and partisan congressional investigations yet to take place (“"House Benghazi Report”). The investigation was longer than the investigation into Watergate ("House Benghazi Probe”). Yet not quite as long and expensive as the Republican Starr investigation into the Monica Lewinsky affair and the four other Clinton investigations conducted, which amounted in total to $79.3 million ("Independent Probes of Clinton”).

The New York Times reports, that the investigation “find[s] no new evidence of culpability or wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton in the 2012 attacks in Libya that left four Americans dead” ("Independent Probes of Clinton”). The report did offer harsh criticism for the Pentagon, the CIA and the State Department, including their officials, who failed to comprehend the enormity of the danger in Benghazi and for allowing unprotected outposts to exist at all. The Democrats on the House Select Committee on Benghazi report that they were excluded from participating in the report’s conclusions (Herszenhorn). Lending particular credence to the Clinton campaign’s belief that the investigation was “partisan conspiracy theory,” (Bade) and simply bad politics were statements made earlier by: 

House majority leader, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, who boasted on Fox News in September that the committee’s work had put a dent in Mrs. Clinton’s poll numbers (O’Connor).

“Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right?” Mr. McCarthy said. “But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened, had we not fought” (Raju, Walsh and Kopan).

It would appear that the true intention of those who initiated the investigation are crystal clear. In fact McCarthy, originally the front runner to replace outgoing speaker John Boehner, inspired the ire of Republicans who did not want to give the impression that their mission was to conduct a political witch hunt (Raju). McCarthy, the leading candidate to take Boehner’s place, was quick to rephrase his position through softer statements made by his office. Representative Paul Ryan subsequently replaced Boehner as Speaker of the House after his retirement. 

Background on Benghazi

On February 15, 2011, Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi staged a crack down on anti-government demonstrators in Benghazi ("2011 Libya Civil War Fast Facts"). The demonstrations continued and even spread to other towns in the following days. The protests in Benghazi increase in size as numerous civilians are killed by Gaddafi’s security forces. The demonstrations continue to spread, including into the capital of Libya, Tripoli, home of many Gaddafi loyalists. Many in official positions loyal to Gaddafi resign, including Libya’s Arab League representative; Chief of State of Protocol, who had been Gaddafi’s aid for over 40 years; the Libyan Ambassador to the U. S., and Libyan diplomats serving at the United Nations voiced their support for the people. Two fighter pilots who had been ordered to bomb civilians, landed in Malta and sought asylum in defection. During this period Gaddafi states that he would rather die than leave power. President Obama signed an Executive Order freezing Gaddafi’s assets in the United States. Later, NATO launched missiles on a house in Tripoli killing Gaddafi’s youngest son and three of his grandchildren. Allied forces establish a fund to help support the Libyan rebels. About five months later, on October 20, 2011, Muammar Gaddafi was captured in his hometown of Sirte, ending the civil war. His son was captured a few day later ("2011 Libya Civil War Fast Facts").

In the midst of the revolution, Chris Steven braved the Libyan political upheavals and made his way to Benghazi by way of a Greek cargo ship (“I: Terrorist Attacks on U.S.”). His role was United States’ Special Representative to the Transitional National Council. He remained in Benghazi until November 2011, when he returned to the United States. On May 14, 2012, J. Christopher Stevens became the United States Ambassador to Libya, and returned to the Benghazi Mission Compound which had remained during his time in the U. S. During this period, Diplomatic Security Agents protected the Mission Compound. The Mission was staffed by a Principal Officer who served to provide regular updates regarding the daily events related to the political progress the country was making since the revolution. The then Principal Officer’s assignment was at an end and the new Principle Officer was scheduled to arrive on September 15, 2012. During the two week gap, another Principle Officer worked for one week, and Ambassador Stevens took over the responsibilities for the second week (“I: Terrorist Attacks on U.S.”). Steven’s goal was to take the political temperature in Benghazi and determine if it was safe to turn the Mission into a permanent consulate. Prospective funding for a permanent consulate required that Stevens make that determination immediately, so that Pat Kennedy, the Under Secretary for Management, could decide by the September 30th deadline. Steven’s trip in August 2012 had to be cancelled due to security concerns, but the Ambassador was adamant about going to Benghazi in September. Security discussions prior to his departure from Tripoli indicated that there was ongoing fighting, but that it was locals versus locals, and primarily not aimed at Americans. The Diplomatic Security Agent testifying to the discussions that transpired in the security meeting, did indicate that he had expressed his concerns about the few American related incidents that occurred. The Ambassador’s response was that they were just anomalies, and that they could not be accounted for, others seemed to agree with his position. Essentially, the Ambassador was determined to make the trip. He was motivated by the funding issue and the upcoming trip by the Secretary. In fact, because Stevens was the most trusted person by those establishing the new government, and had the most contacts in Benghazi, it was determined that he would be the best person to assess both the political and security circumstances that existed (“I: Terrorist Attacks on U.S.”).

Security shortcomings abounded in September 2012 (“I: Terrorist Attacks on U.S.”). In addition to it being the end of the Principle Officer’s assignment, the end of August was also the end of the Diplomatic Security Agent in charge’s assignment. This meant that there were only two agents left to secure the Compound. Another agent was being rerouted from Tripoli to serve temporarily. Yet the three agents had never had high security threat assignments previously. Then, two days before the Ambassador was set to arrive, the Compound’s contracted militia, from the February 17th Martyrs Brigade, who secured the inside of the compound, advised the agents that they could no longer secure the off-compound areas. This change in policy was apparently due to an inter-militia power struggle. Making matters even worse, the lead militia forces advised the Principle Officer the next day that they could no longer provide security for the compound. Essentially, there were three militia sub-groups, each with different beliefs and ultimate intentions regarding the new government, and the confusion, in essence, reflected the problems inherent in the new Libyan government, and also reflected the instability of the security forces protecting the Mission Compound (“I: Terrorist Attacks on U.S.”).

Ambassador Stevens arrived in Benghazi from Tripoli on September 10, 2012 (“I: Terrorist Attacks on U.S.”). Two Diplomatic Security Agents from the Tripoli Embassy accompanied Stevens. Upon his arrival, he had a security briefing at the CIA Annex on the ever changing threat environment, leading the agents to request backup support from the Annex for the Ambassador’s movements off-compound. During the meeting Stevens asked pointed questions about the extremists groups who had infiltrated Libya after its fall (“I: Terrorist Attacks on U.S.”). The CIA security response was AQIM; Al Qaeda; Islamic Brethren; AQAP; Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula; AQ Pakistan; EIJ, Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Ansar al-Sharia Derna. After the security briefing, Stevens attended the Benghazi Local Council meeting off-compound, with his two security agents and the CIA GRS security. The press was there - it was unexpected. They were sent away from the meeting, but at that point, it was too late. Ambassador Stevens presence in Benghazi was now public knowledge relative to the extent it had been kept under wraps (“I: Terrorist Attacks on U.S.”).

Works Cited

"I: Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi."  U.S. House of Representatives - The Select Committee on Benghazi. 28 June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://benghazi.house.gov/sites/republicans.benghazi.house.gov/files/2%20Part%20I%20Redacted%20DR_0.pdf>.

"2011 Libya Civil War Fast Facts." CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 4 April 2016. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/20/world/libya-civil-war-fast-facts/>.

Alvarez, Priscilla. "What Happened the Night of the Benghazi Attack." The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group. n. d. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/house-republicans-benghazi-report-hillary-clinton/489125/>.

Bade, Rachael. "Final Benghazi report details administration failures." Politico. Politico, LLC. 28 June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/benghazi-report-obama-clinton-224854>.

Collinson, Stephen. "Benghazi panel caps 2-year probe: No bombshell, faults administration." CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 28 June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/28/politics/benghazi-report-hillary-clinton/>.

"General Election: Trump vs. Clinton." Real Clear Politics. RealClearPolitics.com. n. d. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_clinton-5491.html>.

Greenberg, Jon. "Laura Ingraham: U.S. ambassador 'was dragged through the street' in Benghazi." PolitiFact. Tampa Bay Times. 5 May 2014. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/may/05/laura-ingraham/ingraham-recycles-incorrect-benghazi-claim/>.

Herszenhorn, David, M. "House Benghazi Report Finds No New Evidence of Wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton." The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 28 June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/us/politics/hillary-clinton-benghazi.html?_r=0>.

"House Benghazi Probe Longer than Watergate." ABC News. ABC News Internet Ventures. Yahoo! - ABC News Network. 3 October 2015. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-benghazi-probe-longer-watergate/story?id=34105976>.

"House Benghazi Report Finds No New Evidence of Wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton." The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 28 June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/us/politics/hillary-clinton-benghazi.html?_r=0>.

Independent probes of Clinton Administration cost nearly $80 million." CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 1 April 1999. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/04/01/counsel.probe.costs/>.

Jeffrey, Terence, P. "Testimony: Stevens Went to Benghazi Mission on 9/11/12 So Clinton Could Announce on Upcoming Libyan Visit It Had Become Permanent U.S. Post." CBS News. CBS Interactive, Inc. 9 May 2013. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/testimony-stevens-went-benghazi-mission-91112-so-clinton-could-announce-upcoming-libyan>.

Kaphle, Anup. "Timeline: How the Benghazi attacks played out." The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. 17 June 2014. Web. 28 June 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/timeline-how-the-benghazi-attack-played-out/2014/06/17/a5c34e90-f62c-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html>.

Mungin, Lateef. "Benghazi siege: The ambassador's last minutes." CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 19 December 2012. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/19/us/benghazi-what-happened/>.

O'Connor, Brendan. "Republicans Fail to Pin Benghazi Attack on Hillary Clinton." Gawker. 28 June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://gawker.com/republicans-fail-to-pin-benghazi-attack-on-hillary-clin-1782731461>.

Raju, Manu, Walsh, Deirdre  and Kopan, Tal. "House Republicans repudiate McCarthy comments on Benghazi probe." CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 1 October 2013. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/30/politics/kevin-mccarthy-benghazi-committee-speaker/>.

"Select Committee on Benghazi Releases Proposed Report." U.S. House of Representatives - The Select Committee on Benghazi. 28 June 2016. Web. 28 June 2016. <http://benghazi.house.gov/NewInfo>.