WASHINGTON � A two-year investigation by the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee has found that the CIA and the military acted properly in responding to the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, and asserted no wrongdoing by Obama administration appointees.
Debunking a series of persistent Reublican allegations conspiracies, the investigation of the politically charged incident determined that there was no intelligence failure, no delay in sending a CIA rescue team, no missed opportunity for a military rescue, and no evidence the CIA was covertly shipping arms from Libya to Syria.
The House Intelligence Committee report was released with little fanfare on the Friday before Thanksgiving week. Many of its findings echo those of [u]six previous investigations by various congressional committees and a State Department panel.[/u] The eighth Benghazi investigation is being carried out by a House Select Committee appointed in May.
In the aftermath of the attacks, Republicans criticized the Obama administration and its then-secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is expected to run for president in 2016. People in and out of government have alleged that a CIA response team was ordered to "stand down" after the State Department compound came under attack, that a military rescue was nixed, that officials intentionally downplayed the role of al-Qaida figures in the attack, and that Stevens and the CIA were involved in a secret operation to spirit weapons out of Libya and into the hands of Syrian rebels. None of that is true, according to the House Intelligence Committee report.
The report did find, however, that the State Department facility where Stevens and Smith were killed was not well-protected, and that State Department security agents knew they could not defend it from a well-armed attack. Previous reports have found that requests for security improvements were not acted upon in Washington by Congress.
"We spent thousands of hours asking questions, poring over documents, reviewing intelligence assessments, reading cables and emails, and held a total of 20 committee events and hearings," said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the committee's chairman, and Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the ranking Democrat, in a joint statement.
"We conducted detailed interviews with senior intelligence officials from Benghazi and Tripoli as well as eight security personnel on the ground in Benghazi that night. Based on the testimony and the documents we reviewed, we concluded that all the CIA officers in Benghazi were heroes. Their actions saved lives," they said.
Rep. Adam Schiff, who serves on the intelligence panel and the Benghazi select committee, said, "It's my hope that this report will put to rest many of the questions that have been asked and answered yet again and instead focus its attention on the State Department's progress in securing our facilities around the world and standing up our fast response capabilities." ========================================
So this was all a Republican election campaign ploy. One has to wonder when the report of a Republican lead committee is issued right after the mid-term elections and they used Benghazi as a club against all Democratic candidates.
If nothing happened then why is Troy Gowdy still looking into it? The establishment republicans are in it up to their ears. kwg
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
I'm sure Trey Gowdy feels like he just got stabbed in the back.
Can't the GOP coordinate anything? Stupid phooks.
They didn't have release their finding right now. Not that I agree, but Hussein and Holder are smart enough to keep investigations open when the results would hurt their agenda.
Rep. Trey Gowdy is not looking into Benghazi itself but the broader issue the report raised regarding embassy building security:
In a joint statement accompanying the release of the report, Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (Md.), said its probe was extensive:
"It's my hope that this report will put to rest many of the questions that have been asked and answered yet again, and that the Benghazi Select Committee will accept these findings and instead [i]focus its attention on the State Department's progress in securing our facilities around the world and standing up our fast response capabilities,"[/i].
The House Armed Services Committee, the Senate Armed Services Committee and the State Department's independent review board have all come to similar conclusions, even before the House launched its Benghazi panel.
So far the Benghazi Select Committee, led by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), has held one hearing focusing on the issue of securing diplomatic facilities.
Rep. Trey Gowdy is not looking into Benghazi itself but the broader issue the report raised regarding embassy building security:
That's not the impression I got when Gowdy was selected to chair the committee and I've never heard Gowdy say anything about the investigation being limited in scope.
A leading Republican wants to expand the House investigation into the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack by adding a Senate probe, as a new House Intelligence Committee report Friday concluded that the initial CIA assessment found no demonstrations prior to the assault and a primary purpose of the CIA operation in eastern Libya was to track the movement of weapons to Syria.
The report described the attack as "complex" with the attackers affiliated with Al Qaeda. It also said the initial CIA assessment concluded there were no demonstrations outside the State Department Consulate in Eastern Libya.
Referring to the House Select committee Chairman, and the Democratic ranking member, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, said the current House investigation should be expanded.
"(Republican) Trey Gowdy and (Democrat) Elijah Cummings have done a good job,� he said. �I can't imagine the U.S. Senate not wanting to be a part of a joint select committee. We'll bootstrap to what you've done, but we want to be part of discussion," Graham told Fox News. "What I would suggest to (incoming Senate majority leader) Mitch McConnell is to call up Speaker Boehner and say 'Listen, we want to be part of this�."
Graham, along with his two Republican colleagues, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, have been outspoken advocates of a special investigation, because they say then-acting director of the CIA Mike Morell misled them about his role in crafting the so-called media talking points that blamed an opportunistic protest gone awry for the assault.
"Number one, Mike Morrell misled three senators," Graham said of their November 2012 meeting on Capitol Hill, where Morell accompanied then UN Ambassador Susan Rice to explain her flawed explanation on national television five days after the attack.
"I think it's important that for future CIA personnel to understand, that if you come to Congress and you�re asked a question and you give a deceptive answer, you tell half the story, not the entire story, you play word games, it will follow you and will be unacceptable," Graham said.
On Friday, with little fanfare, the House Intelligence Committee released the findings of its two year, bi-partisan investigation into the terrorist attack. The 37 page report found that the first, internal CIA assessment was accurate -- that no protests were involved -- but then-CIA Director David Petraeus, Morell and the administration latched onto information that supported the flawed demonstration scenario.
Fox News was first to report on September 17, 2012, one day after Rice's controversial Sunday talk show appearances, that there were no protests when the attack unfolded.
"One day after the assault, on 9/12/12, the first CIA assessment about the attacks, a September 12th Executive update, said �the presence of armed assailants from the incident�s outset suggests this was an intentional assault and not the escalation of a peaceful protest,� investigators found. And while intelligence gaps remain, "No witness has reported believing at any point that the attacks were anything but terrorist acts,� the report added.
On Saturday September 14, 2012, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes wrote in an email titled "PREP CALL with Susan," that one of the goals for the administration's public statements should be "To underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy." The House report says these conclusions were "incorrect."
Judicial Watch, not Congress, obtained the Rhodes email as the result of a federal lawsuit.
The Obama White House did not move away from the protest explanation for the attack that killed four Americans - Ambassador Chris Stevens, State Department Foreign Service officer Sean Smith, and former Navy Seals and CIA contractors Ty Woods and Glenn Doherty - until September 20, when then White House Spokesman Jay Carney told reporters 'It is, I think, self-evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack,� and the State Department did the same much later.
The report found the CIA's Office of Public Affairs made three �substantive� changes to the talking points that included the removal of references to Al Qaeda and swapping the word "attacks" with "demonstrations." It is not clear from the publicly available, and heavily redacted emails exactly who made the changes and who directed them, since the CIA public affairs office would be unlikely to make these changes unilaterally.
When Morell retired from the CIA last year, he told The Wall Street Journal he hoped to advise a presidential campaign, with anonymous sources telling the paper Morell was close to Hillary Clinton. Morell now works as a counselor at Beacon Global Strategies, a Washington D.C. firm closely aligned with the former secretary of State. He is also a national security analyst for CBS News. The President of CBS News is David Rhodes, the brother of Obama's Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes.
An appendix filed by Democrats did not find evidence of �political motivations,� and Morell is praised for testifying �freely and openly� about the process. Four Republicans, including chairman Mike Rogers, concluded �Mr. Morell operated beyond his role as CIA Deputy Director and inserted himself into a policy making and public affairs role�.It is simply unfathomable that the White House�s policy preferences, or the concerns of the State Department senior officials, did not factor into his calculation about what was fair. For these reasons, we believe that Mr. Morell�s testimony was at time inconsistent and incomplete.�
The House report leaves no doubt that the attack drew heavily on �those affiliated with al-Qai�da,� including AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb), AAS (Ansar al-sharia), AQAP (Al Qaeda in Yemen), AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq) as well as the Egypt based Jamal Network. As Fox News was first to report, and the committee investigation affirms, at least two long time Al Qaeda operatives, Faraj al-Chalabi, and former Guantanamo detainee Sufian bin Qumu, were significant players in the assault.
House investigators concluded that "CIA accurately assessed on September 12, and 13, 2012 that members of AAS (Ansar al-Sharia) and of various al-Qai'da affiliates perpetrated the attacks." And that as more was known about the attacks the "CIA gained corroborating reporting to support their previous assessments."
The House report adds more weight to the conclusion that the attack was pre-meditated because it pulled together more than 80 operatives -- some from outside of Libya --for the assault and it drew on a skilled mortar team. "The Tripoli security chief recalled that the mortar fire was far more accurate than anything he had seen during his tour in Afghanistan," it said.
The report also shed new light on the CIA operation in Benghazi. Morell said the CIA annex was in eastern Libya �collecting intelligence about foreign entities that were themselves collecting weapons in Libya and facilitating their passage to Syria. The Benghazi Annex was not itself collecting weapons.�
Newly declassified testimony before the House Intelligence Committee attached to the House report from the Director of National intelligence, James Clapper, as well as Morell, confirmed to lawmakers that the weapons shipments were known at the highest levels of the U.S. government.
Rep. Devin Nunes: Are we aware of any arms that are leaving that area and going into Syria?
Mr. Morell: Yes, sir.
General Clapper: Yes
Nunes: And who was coordinating that?
Mr. Morell: I believe the (redacted) are coordinating that.
Nunes: And were the CIA folks that were there, were they helping to coordinate that, or were they watching it, were they gathering information about it?
Mr. Morell: Sir, the focus of my officers in Benghazi was (redacted) to try to penetrate terrorist groups that were there so we could learn their plans, intentions and capabilities (redacted.)
The discussion is cut short by Rogers, who says not all members present have sufficient security clearances to hear further details. Fox News was first to question in October 2012 the significance of weapons shipments from Libya to Syria via Turkey, and who in the administration was read in on the program.
In a joint statement, the committee's Republican chairman Mike Rogers of Michigan, and ranking member, Dutch Ruppersburger, D-Md., said "...there was no intelligence failure prior to the attacks but the early intelligence assessments and the Administrations� public narrative on the causes and motivations for the attack were not fully accurate. A mixed group of individuals, including those affiliated with al-Qa�ida, participated in the attacks. Finally, the Committee found no evidence that CIA conducted any unauthorized activities in Benghazi and CIA did not intimidate any officer or otherwise dissuade them from telling their stories to Congress"
Here's an old article from al jazeera about the demonstration time lines. Looking through their eyes the ragheads were pretty pissed about the video....then again they're pretty pissed about anything. All hell broke out for quite a while even after benghazi. Seems like no one talks about the two marines we lost 3 days later in another attack. I guess if you can't milk politics out of losing military personel the news media and politicians aren't interested....what a crock that is.
I said from the very beginning, there are only two possible scenarios that fit all the facts regarding Benghazi, only two explanations that match up with all the known facts.
#1 The decision to deny extra security, and to deny military help during the attack was purely political, and made with out regard for the lives of Americans, but only considering the Presidents re-election effort. The aftermath is a massive cover-up, a huge effort to lie to and mis-lead the American people until after the election.
The only other explanation that fits all the facts is;
#2 Massive incompetence. On the part of the President and his closest advisers. Stupidity of people so far out of their depth they have no idea how to do their jobs.
So, if we have ruled out option #1, I guess that leaves incompetence and stupidity.
I'm sure Trey Gowdy feels like he just got stabbed in the back.
Can't the GOP coordinate anything? Stupid phooks.
They didn't have release their finding right now. Not that I agree, but Hussein and Holder are smart enough to keep investigations open when the results would hurt their agenda.
Trey has a TEA party streak a mile wide. The old time traditional republicans are not going to support him and my bet is they will leave him out to dry when the time is right for them. kwg
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
I said from the very beginning, there are only two possible scenarios that fit all the facts regarding Benghazi, only two explanations that match up with all the known facts.
#1 The decision to deny extra security, and to deny military help during the attack was purely political, and made with out regard for the lives of Americans, but only considering the Presidents re-election effort. The aftermath is a massive cover-up, a huge effort to lie to and mis-lead the American people until after the election.
The only other explanation that fits all the facts is;
#2 Massive incompetence. On the part of the President and his closest advisers. Stupidity of people so far out of their depth they have no idea how to do their jobs.
So, if we have ruled out option #1, I guess that leaves incompetence and stupidity.
I'm still saying that Valerie Jarret took the call and made the decisions before she called Obama who was in Nevada at a fund raiser. I think due to the logistics and nature of the mission, She is up to her neck in this incident. JMHO kwg
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham on Sunday criticized a recently released House Republican report that concludes no intelligence lapses in connection with the fatal Benghazi attacks, saying congressional investigators did a �lousy job.�
�I think the report is full of crap,� Graham, a Republican, said on CNN�s �State of the Union.�
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence report released late Friday concluded the CIA and the military acted properly in responding to the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya.
The report also found no wrongdoing by Obama administration officials, no delay in sending a CIA rescue team, no missed opportunity for a military rescue and no evidence the CIA was covertly shipping arms from Libya to Syria.
�This report puts all the blame on the State Department and absolves the intelligence community,� Graham said.
Graham, among the most outspoken Capitol Hill lawmakers about the administration�s handling of Benghazi, also told CNN the report does not exonerate the administration.
He said the House committee is �doing a lousy job policing their own.�
Graham suggested the findings are flawed because the information was supplied by former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell and other members of the intelligence community who have already misled Congress.
The report found contradictory intelligence reports in the immediate aftermath of the attack on who carried out the strike and why.
That led Susan Rice, then-U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to inaccurately assert that the attack had evolved from a protest.
The report did not conclude that Rice or any other government official intentionally misled the American people.
Graham called those conclusions �a bunch of garbage.�
The criticism of Rice by Graham and other GOP senators for her handling of the Benghazi aftermath led Rice to withdraw from consideration for the secretary of state post.
Many of the new report's findings were similar to those in six previous investigations by congressional committees and a State Department panel. The eighth Benghazi investigation is being carried out by a House Select Committee appointed in May.
The attacks killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, foreign service officer Sean Smith, and two CIA contractors, Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty. A Libyan extremist, Ahmed Abu Khatalla, is facing trial on murder charges after he was captured in Libya and taken to the U.S.
In the aftermath of the attacks, Republicans criticized the Obama administration and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is expected to run for president in 2016.
People in and out of government have alleged that a CIA response team was ordered to "stand down" after the State Department compound came under attack, that a military rescue was nixed, that officials intentionally downplayed the role of Al Qaeda figures in the attack, and that Stevens and the CIA were involved in a secret operation to spirit weapons out of Libya and into the hands of Syrian rebels.
However, the report did find that the State Department facility where Stevens and Smith were killed was not well protected and that State Department security agents knew they could not defend it from a well-armed attack.
Previous reports have found that requests for security improvements were not acted upon in Washington.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
Just finished "13 Hours in Benghazi" and it is a worthy read. The folks that were there got to tell their side of things and it is damning of about every aspect of the situation from the failure to add security beforehand to delays caused by the operations chief waiting for locals for back-up to failures to get them the help they needed when they needed it.
Finding no fault in that clusterphuque says something.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
Stupid phooks. 
