Senate report faults State Dept for not thwarting Benghazi attack

A bipartisan US Senate panel takes the State Department and US intelligence community to task for tailing to thwart the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks on US outposts in Benghazi, saying that the attacks were “preventable.”

Four Americans were killed in the raid, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. The Senate Intelligence Committee reported that security should have been – and was not – upgraded, despite extensive intelligence reporting on terrorist activity in Libya threatening Western targets, and given the known security shortfalls at the UN mission. The panel’s findings mirror the report made by an independent review board in Dec. 2012. Nevertheless, the Obama administration to this day declines to discuss details of the episode. It occurred when Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State.