Hillary Clinton addresses Benghazi controversy
Amidst Republican challenges, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified to Congress about the September Benghazi attack for six hours on Wednesday. Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, suggested Clinton should have been fired over her role in the incident.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the deadly September attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
WASHINGTON
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton听on Wednesday forcefully defended her handling of the Sept. 11 attack on the听U.S. mission听in the Libyan city of听Benghazi听and denied any effort to mislead the American people.
The attack by armed militants that killed U.S. Ambassador听Christopher Stevens听and three other Americans threatens to stain Clinton's legacy as secretary of state and could cast a longer shadow should she decide to make a听White House听run in 2016.
By turns emotional and fierce, Clinton听choked up at one point in six hours of congressional testimony as she spoke of comforting the听Benghazi听victims' families and grew angry when a Republican accused the听Obama administration听of misleading the country over whether the attack stemmed from a protest.
"With all due respect, the fact is that we had four dead Americans," Clinton听said angrily as she testified before the听Senate Foreign Relations Committee, an appearance delayed more than a month because of her ill health.
"Was it because of a protest, or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they'd go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make?" she said, making chopping motions with her hands for emphasis.
"It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again."
During the morning听Senate听hearing and a later session in the听U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans and Democrats pointed fingers at each other, with Republicans accusing Clinton's State Department of mismanagement and Democrats defending her.
But little new information about the听Benghazi听incident and the administration's response to it emerged from the lengthy hearings. Clinton听did say that there were at least 20 other U.S. diplomatic posts under serious security threat, but declined to name them at the public session.
Clinton cast the听Benghazi听incident as part of a long history of such violence as well as the result of instability since the Arab Spring of popular revolutions began in 2011, toppling authoritarian rulers in听Tunisia,听Egypt,听Libya听and听Yemen.
"Benghazi听did not happen in a vacuum," Clinton听said. "The Arab revolutions have scrambled power dynamics and shattered security forces across the region."
'I take responsibility'
On the same day as the听Benghazi听assault, a mob angered by a U.S.-made video depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a fool and philanderer attacked the听U.S. embassy in Cairo. There were later attacks on U.S. embassies in听Tunisia,听Yemen听and听Sudan.
Republicans harshly criticized Clinton, and President Barack Obama's administration more generally, with Senator听Bob Corker听saying the听Benghazi听attack and the U.S. response displayed "woeful unpreparedness" for the events sweeping the region. Senator听Rand Paul听said Clinton听should have been fired.
Clinton, echoing comments she first made on Oct. 15, said: "I take responsibility." She stressed that she had accepted all the recommendations of an independent panel that investigated the incident and that held lower-level officials responsible.
"Nobody is more committed to getting this right. I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger and more secure," Clinton听said.
Militants attacked and overwhelmed the U.S. diplomatic facility in听Benghazi,听Libya, on Sept. 11 in a sustained assault.
The official U.S. inquiry released on Dec. 18 concluded that "leadership and management failures" in two State Department bureaus led to a security posture "inadequate for听Benghazi听and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place."
The unclassified version of the "Accountability Review Board" report also faulted poor coordination and unclear lines of authority in Washington. Four lower-level officials were placed on administrative leave following the release of the inquiry, which did not find Clinton听personally at fault.
Clinton is expected to step down in the coming days once her designated successor, Senator听John Kerry, is confirmed by the U.S.听Senate.
Originally due to testify on Dec. 20, Clinton听had to postpone after she suffered a concussion when she fainted due to dehydration. Doctors later found she had a blood clot in her head and hospitalized her for several days.
Several senators, noting the vehemence of Clinton's defense, said she appeared to have fully recovered.
While many senators warmly praised her four-year tenure as secretary of state, and several hinted at the possibility of her running for president in 2016, some Republicans were scathing.
They pressed Clinton听about what they described as an Aug. 16, 2012 cable from Stevens saying that the听Benghazi mission听could not withstand a coordinated attack.
"That cable did not come to my attention," Clinton听replied, saying that the State Department receives 1.43 million cables a year.
"Had I been president at the time and I found that you did not read the cables ... from Ambassador Stevens, I would have relieved you of your post. I think it's inexcusable," Paul, a听Kentucky听Republican, told Clinton.
'As combative as ever'
Senator听John McCain, an听Arizona听Republican, told Clinton听it was "wonderful to see you in good health and as combative as ever," before going on to say that he categorically rejected one of her answers and found others unsatisfactory.
While clouding Clinton's tenure at the State Department, the controversy over the听Benghazi听attack also cost听Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the听United Nations, her chance to succeed Clinton听as secretary of state.
Republicans in听Congress听blasted Rice for her comments five days after the attack in which she said it appeared to be the result of a spontaneous protest rather than a planned assault.
Rice, who has said her comments were based on talking points from the听U.S. intelligence听community, eventually withdrew her name from consideration for the top U.S. diplomatic job.
"We were misled that there were supposedly protests and then something sprang out of that, an assault sprang out of that," Senator听Ron Johnson, a听Wisconsin听Republican, told Clinton, referring to Rice's appearance on Sunday television talk shows.
Clinton rejected the charge.
"People have accused Ambassador Rice and the administration of, you know, misleading Americans," she said. "Nothing could be further from the truth."
Earlier in her testimony, Clinton听appeared to try subtly to distance herself from Rice's comments.
"The very next morning, I told the American people that heavily armed militants assaulted our compound, and I vowed to bring them to justice. And I stood with President Obama in the (White House)听Rose Garden听as he spoke of an act of terror," she said.
Clinton's voice cracked as she spoke of comforting families who lost relatives in the incident, the first since 1988 in which a U.S. ambassador was killed.
"For me, this is not just a matter of policy - it's personal," Clinton听told the听Senate听panel.
"I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews," she added, her voice breaking as she described the ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base in听Maryland听when the men's remains were brought home.
"I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters and the wives left alone to raise their children," she said.
(Additional reporting by Andrew Quinn and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Will Dunham and David Brunnstrom)