On Benghazi, Senate Panel, Dem Majority, Concludes: Al Queda Did It, Could Have Been Prevented, Still Unanswered Questions

Politics kept the truth from the American people before 2012 election!

The Senate Intelligence Committee, chaired by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) produced a remarkable report on the Benghazi attack. The report (PDF) described in detail the Obama Administration failures that led to the attack and described how inaccurate information (lies) was given to the American people in the aftermath. The summary of key findings document how "significant" warnings prior to the attack were ignored, the State Department failed to provide increased security, the military had no assets available for protection and the inaccuracy of talking points used by the Obama Administration to explain the attack. Finally, the report points out that despite Obama's promises, none of the perpetrators have been brought to justice.

Here's the summary:

"The Attacks were Preventable"

• Significant Strategic Warning Provided by the Intelligence Community—In the months before the attacks on September 11, 2012, the IC provided strategic warning through numerous intelligence reports that the security situation in eastern Libya was deteriorating and that U.S. facilities and personnel were at risk in Benghazi.

• State Department Failed to Increase Security Enough to Address the Threat—The State Department should have increased its security posture more significantly in Benghazi based on the deteriorating security situation on the ground and IC threat reporting on the prior attacks against Westerners in Benghazi—including two previous incidents at the Temporary Mission Facility on April 6, and June 6, 2012.

• “Tripwires” Were Crossed, But Other Nations Kept Their Facilities Open Along with the U.S.—There were “tripwires” designed to prompt a reduction in personnel or a suspension of operations at the Mission facility in Benghazi and although there is evidence that some of them had been crossed, operations continued with minimal change. Some nations closed their diplomatic facilities in Benghazi as the security conditions deteriorated during the summer of 2012, but other nations stayed along with the United States, contrary to some public reports and statements that the U.S. was the last country represented in Benghazi.

• U.S. Military Assets Were Not Positioned to Respond in Time to Save the Four Americans Killed—There were no U.S. military resources in position to intervene in short order in Benghazi to help defend the Temporary Mission Facility and its Annex. Unarmed U.S. military surveillance assets were not delayed when responding to the attack, and they provided important situational awareness for those under siege during the attacks.

• The Intelligence Picture After the Attacks Contributed to the Controversial CIA Talking Points—In intelligence reports after September 11, 2012, intelligence analysts inaccurately referred to the presence of a protest at the U.S. mission facility before the attack based on open source information and limited intelligence, but without sufficient intelligence or eyewitness statements to corroborate that assertion. The IC took too long to correct these erroneous reports, which caused confusion and influenced the public statements of policymakers.

• Failure to Bring the Attackers to Justice—More than a year after the Benghazi attacks, the terrorists who perpetrated the attack have still not been brought to justice. The IC has identified several individuals responsible for the attacks. Some of the individuals have been identified with a strong level of confidence. However, insight into the current whereabouts and links between these individuals in some cases is limited due in part to the nascent intelligence capabilities in the region.

Also:

“Individuals affiliated with terrorist groups, including AQIM, Ansar al-Sharia, AQAP, and the Mohammad Jamal Network, participated in the September 11, 2012, attacks.” The idea that Al Queda was not involved is FALSE along with Obama's claim that "Al Queda is on the run."

Some supporters of Obama may continue to insist that Benghazi is a "phony scandal," nothing to see here, time to move on. Their media supporters may prefer to spend ten times more time on the Chris Christie bridge scandal than the deaths of our Ambassador in Libya and three other Americans. But it's nice to see that  Democrat adults are still in charge when it comes to the Senate Intelligence Committee!