The terror attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, was "likely preventable" based on known security shortfalls and prior warnings that the security situation there was deteriorating, the Senate Intelligence Committee concluded in a report released on Wednesday, as reported by The Associated Press.
Separately, "the findings also noted what the FBI had told the panel - that 15 people cooperating with its investigation had been killed in Benghazi, undercutting the investigation. It was not clear if the killings were related to the probe. Moreover, it said that people linked with various al Qaeda-related groups in North Africa and elsewhere participated in the September 11, 2012, attack, but investigators haven't been able to determine whether any one group was in command," reported The AP.
The report placed some degree of blame for the outcome on the State Departmentl it should have "increased its security posture more significantly" in Libya's second-largest city because general warnings by U.S. personnel were ignored.
The findings also criticized the intelligence community for inaccurately reporting - without "sufficient intelligence to corroborate it" - that a protest might have led to the attack. The report said the intelligence community took too long to correct the erroneous reports, "which caused confusion and influenced the public statements of policymakersm" The AP also reported.
The Obama administration initially believed the armed assault was triggered by outrage over a U.S.-produced anti-Muslim film. It has since classified it as an organized terror attack.Investigators haven't found evidence of pre-planning and suggest at least part of the attack was "opportunistic."
We have repeatedly said there was no specific threat" pointing to an attack. Obviously, we've talked at length about the fact that we knew there were extremists and terrorists operating in Libya and in Benghazi. But, again, we had no specific information indicating a threat an attack was coming," said Marie Harf, the State Department spokesman,
The Intelligence Committee report follows the release on Monday of previously classified information by the House Armed Services Committee.
Several Intelligence Committee Republicans issued a separate set of conclusions.
Committee Vice Chairman Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, and Dan Coats of Indiana said failures that led to the attack could be partly related to Obama's absence and failure to lead.
