Story highlights
- Declassified version of House Intelligence Committee is released
- It concludes there was no intelligence failure prior to the attack
- Report describes a "flawed" process used to create talking points for Susan Rice
An investigative report prepared by the House Intelligence Committee finds little to support questions raised about CIA actions on the ground in Benghazi, Libya, the night of a deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound.
The final report, from Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Michigan, and ranking member Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Maryland, concludes there was no intelligence failure prior to the attack, no stand-down order to CIA operatives trying to go assist at the besieged consular building and found conflicting intelligence in the wake of the attack about the motive and cause, which were reflected in early public comments by the administration.
But the investigation also found the security at the diplomatic outpost was weak and it described a "flawed" process used to create talking points for House Intelligence Committee members and then-U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, whose public statements after the attack incensed critics who said the administration was avoiding calling the attack terrorism.
Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Attackers set the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, on fire on September 11, 2012. The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other U.S. nationals were killed during the attack. The Obama administration initially thought the attack was carried out by an angry mob responding to a video, made in the United States, that mocked Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. But the storming of the mission was later determined to have been a terrorist attack.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Obama and Clinton stand at Andrews Air Force Base as the bodies of the four Americans killed are returned on September 14.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A desk sits inside the burnt U.S. mission on September 13, two days after the attack.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Damage is seen inside the U.S. mission on September 13.
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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A lounge chair and umbrella float in the swimming pool of the U.S. mission on September 13.
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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Demonstrators gather in Libya on September 12 to condemn the killers and voice support for the victims.
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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – U.S. President Barack Obama, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on September 12, makes a statement at the White House about Stevens' death.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A burnt vehicle is seen at the U.S. mission in Benghazi on September 12.
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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – People inspect the damage on September 12.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A small American flag is seen in the rubble on September 12.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A man stands in part of a burned-out building of the U.S. mission on September 12.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Smoke and fire damage is evident inside a building on September 12.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Half-burnt debris and ash cover the floor of one of the U.S. mission buildings on September 12.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – The U.S. mission is seen in flames on September 11, the day of the attack.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A protester reacts as the U.S. mission burns on September 11.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A vehicle and the surrounding area are engulfed in flames on September 11.
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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Flames erupt outside of a building on September 11.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A vehicle burns during the attack on the U.S. mission on September 11.
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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Onlookers record the damage from the attack on September 11.
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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Onlookers walk past a burning truck and building on September 11.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A vehicle sits smoldering in flames on September 11.
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Photos: Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi
Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – People duck flames outside a building on September 11.
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The declassified version of the report attempts to knock down other accusations about the Benghazi incident and aftermath, finding no evidence of CIA employees being intimidated from testifying and also no indication the CIA presence in Benghazi was partially to secretly ship arms from Libya to Syria.
The September 11, 2012, attack left U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods dead, and immediately sparked controversy, with Republicans accusing the Obama administration of mishandling the attack and manipulating the talking points used to discuss it for political reasons.
The intelligence panel, along with several other House committees, spent the past two years interviewing witnesses and examining evidence about the Obama administration's response to the attacks and the related controversy that has been a flashpoint between Republicans and President Barack Obama over his conduct of foreign policy.
Another House committee, the Select Committee on Benghazi, is conducting its own investigation.
"The Select Committee on Benghazi received the Intelligence committee's report on the Benghazi terrorist attack (in August), and has reviewed it along with other committee reports and materials as the investigation proceeds," spokesman Jamal D. Ware said in a statement. "It will aid the Select Committee's comprehensive investigation to determine the full facts of what happened in Benghazi, Libya before, during and after the attack and contribute toward our final, definitive accounting of the attack on behalf of Congress."
