Maybe Benghazi Report Will Put an End to "Hillary Clinton: 2016" Speculation
Commission finds fault in leadership at State Department
Noted this morning at Reason 24/7, the independent Accountability Review Board investigating the terrorist attack on The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others has released its findings. Perhaps unsurprisingly by this point, they find plenty of blame in the leadership of the State Department.
From the full report (pdf):
Systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaus of the State Department (the "Department") resulted in a Special Mission security posture that was inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place.
Security in Benghazi was not recognized and implemented as a "shared responsibility" by the bureaus in Washington charged with supporting the post, resulting in stove-piped discussions and decisions on policy and security. That said, Embassy Tripoli did not demonstrate strong and sustained advocacy with Washington for increased security for Special Mission Benghazi.
The short-term, transitory nature of Special Mission Benghazi's staffing, with talented and committed, but relatively inexperienced, American personnel often on temporary assignments of 40 days or less, resulted in diminished institutional knowledge, continuity, and mission capacity.
Overall, the number of Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) security staff in Benghazi on the day of the attack and in the months and weeks leading up to it was inadequate, despite repeated requests from Special Mission Benghazi and Embassy Tripoli for additional staffing. Board members found a pervasive realization among personnel who served in Benghazi that the Special Mission was not a high priority for Washington when it came to security-related requests, especially those relating to staffing.
Further in the report:
Communication, cooperation, and coordination among Washington, Tripoli, and Benghazi functioned collegially at the working-level but were constrained by a lack of transparency, responsiveness, and leadership at the senior levels. Among various Department bureaus and personnel in the field, there appeared to be very real confusion over who, ultimately, was responsible and empowered to make decisions based on both policy and security considerations.
The report also makes it clear there was no protest against the Innocence of Muslims YouTube video prior to the attack.
Maybe now when outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she's not interested in running for president in 2016, people will listen. The Associated Press reports that the State Department's security chief and two others resigned today in the wake of the report.
