The statement in the 85-page report by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Benghazi indicating the September 11, 2012 attack on our compound in Benghazi was preventable was of particular interest to me. While most coverage, if any, concentrated on why no forces came to the ambassador’s aid that evening, I continued to question how the administration ignored five months of security warnings.
In April of that year an IED was tossed over the compound fence, and a bomb was thrown at a UN convoy. In May, terrorists boasted of its attack on the Benghazi Red Cross office. In June, an explosive device was detonated at the gate of the compound, and although there were no injuries, leaflets promised more attacks on U. S. interests there. On June 10, two Brits were injured following a rocket attack on their convoy 300 yards from their consulate, resulting in the withdrawal of the UK consulate staff from Benghazi.
If those warnings weren’t enough, three days prior to the attack on our compound, U.S. diplomats were warned about the growing terrorist presence. As early as June, Ambassador Stevens began warning of security concerns, and just hours before the attack he cabled then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton describing the unsettling situation in Benghazi and warned that the security provided by locals was weakening.
