Report blames poor security, inadequate response in Benghazi attack
By Jill Dougherty, CNN
updated 2:41 PM EST, Mon December 31, 2012
Attackers set the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, on fire on September 11, 2012. The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other U.S. nationals were killed during the attack. The Obama administration initially thought the attack was carried out by an angry mob responding to a video, made in the United States, that mocked Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. But the storming of the mission was later determined to have been a terrorist attack.
Obama and Clinton stand at Andrews Air Force Base as the bodies of the four Americans killed are returned on September 14.
A desk sits inside the burnt U.S. mission on September 13, two days after the attack.
Damage is seen inside the U.S. mission on September 13.
A lounge chair and umbrella float in the swimming pool of the U.S. mission on September 13.
Demonstrators gather in Libya on September 12 to condemn the killers and voice support for the victims.
U.S. President Barack Obama, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on September 12, makes a statement at the White House about Stevens' death.
A burnt vehicle is seen at the U.S. mission in Benghazi on September 12.
People inspect the damage on September 12.
A small American flag is seen in the rubble on September 12.
A man stands in part of a burned-out building of the U.S. mission on September 12.
Smoke and fire damage is evident inside a building on September 12.
Half-burnt debris and ash cover the floor of one of the U.S. mission buildings on September 12.
The U.S. mission is seen in flames on September 11, the day of the attack.
A protester reacts as the U.S. mission burns on September 11.
A vehicle and the surrounding area are engulfed in flames on September 11.
Flames erupt outside of a building on September 11.
A vehicle burns during the attack on the U.S. mission on September 11.
Onlookers record the damage from the attack on September 11.
Onlookers walk past a burning truck and building on September 11.
A vehicle sits smoldering in flames on September 11.
People duck flames outside a building on September 11.
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Senate committee finds that terrorists "walked right into the Benghazi compound unimpeded"
- Intelligence community, Defense Department, Congress, Obama administration also blamed
- "Flashing Red: A Special Report on the Terrorist Attack at Benghazi" released Monday
- The September 11 attack killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans
(CNN) -- Terrorists in Benghazi, Libya, "essentially walked right into the Benghazi compound unimpeded and set it ablaze," a special Senate report on the September 11 attack that killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans says.
The bipartisan report, "Flashing Red: A Special Report on the Terrorist Attack at Benghazi," released Monday by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, cites "extremely poor security in a threat environment that was 'flashing red.' "
The State Department comes in for the major portion of blame for failing to respond to, even ignoring, repeated requests from U.S. staff in Benghazi for more security resources, especially more personnel.
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The department, the report says, left it to Libyan security personnel to protect U.S. diplomats, even though those guards were unreliable and had "conflicting loyalties," a problem that it says was "deeply troubling, especially since this problem was recognized long before the attack."
Read the report (pdf)
In her preface to the Senate report, Sen. Susan Collins, ranking member of the committee, says the committee also found fault with the intelligence community, the Defense Department, the Obama administration and Congress.
"While the Defense Department attempted to mobilize its resources quickly, it had neither the personnel nor other assets close enough to reach Benghazi in a timely fashion," Collins says.
The report also underscores the need for the intelligence community to "enhance its focus on violent Islamist extremist groups in the region to improve the likelihood of obtaining such intelligence."
Read more: Benghazi report threatens to tarnish Clinton's legacy
Lack of adequate funding for security also played a role, the committee found. "We have seen finger pointing about the lack of resources for embassy security," Collins writes, "but the budget is a shared responsibility. The inadequate security in Benghazi was a product of both budgets approved by Congress and of the desire of the Administration for a light footprint."
Critics say the administration gave conflicting and misleading statements on what sparked the attack, and the report agrees, concluding that the intelligence community recognized it as terrorism "from the beginning."
"Nonetheless, Administration officials were inconsistent in stating publicly that the deaths in Benghazi were the result of a terrorist attack," the report says.
"If the fact that Benghazi was indeed a terrorist attack had been made clear from the outset by the Administration, there would have been much less confusion about what happened in Benghazi that terrible night. The attack clearly was not a peaceful protest in response to a hateful anti-Muslim video that evolved into a violent incident. It was a terrorist attack by an opportunistic enemy."
Read more: At Benghazi hearing, State Department officials promise quick change