Benghazi updateClinton says she was responsible for consulate security
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday night that she bore the ultimate responsibility for the security of U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world, and as such was responsible for any security failures that were exposed by the 11 September 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi; Clinton said, however, that the administration’s evolving story about what exactly happened at the consulate was attributable to “the confusion you get in any type of combat situation”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday night that she bore the ultimate responsibility for the security of U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world, and as such was responsible for any security failures that were exposed by the 11 September 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
Clinton said, however, that the administration’s evolving story about what exactly happened at the consulate was attributable to “the confusion you get in any type of combat situation.”
“Remember, this was an attack that went on for hours,” Clinton said in an interview with Fox News during a trip to Peru. “There had to be a lot of sorting out. … Everyone said, here’s what we know, subject to change.”
Clinton also supported the claim made by Vice President Joseph Biden during the vice presidential debate that decisions about diplomatic security are made by her department.
“I’m responsible for the State Department, for the more than 60,000 people around the world,” she said. “The decisions about security are made by security professionals. But we’re going to review everything to be sure we’re doing what needs to be done in an increasingly risky environment.”
Clinton also talked about the question of a June explosion at the consulate in Benghazi that some have argued should have raised a red flag about security. “I can’t speak to who knew what,” she said. “We knew there were security breaches and problems throughout Libya. That’s something that came about as the aftermath of the revolution to topple Qaddafi, with so many militias formed, so many weapons loose. … It was taken into account by security professionals as they made their assessments.”
Fox News reports that three Republican senators said Clinton’s claim was “a laudable gesture,” but they put the responsibility for the Benghazi attack and what they called “an escalating pattern of attacks this year in Benghazi” squarely on President Barack Obama and his national security team.
“If the president was truly not aware of this rising threat level in Benghazi, then we have lost confidence in his national security team, whose responsibility it is to keep the president informed. But if the President was aware of these earlier attacks in Benghazi prior to the events of September 11, 2012, then he bears full responsibility for any security failures that occurred,” Senators John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire said in a statement released late Monday.
