Secretary of State faces Congress over Benghazi attack
By: Nikki Henderson
Updated: January 23, 2013
Wednesday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee she took responsibility for not adequately protecting U.S. personnel in the Sept. 11 attack on a diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya.
Defending the administration's immediate handling of the attack, Clinton clashed at times with Republicans over the account the administration gave in the initial days after the deadly assault.
Clinton told Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, "we did not have a clear picture" of all that was going on in Benghazi although she did acknowledge that senators had "legitimate questions" about the administration's account.
Clinton was also heavily criticized by Sen. John McCain. Sen. McCain said "There are many questions that are unanswered and the answers you've given this morning are frankly not satisfactory to me." He added, "the American people and the families of these four brave Americans still haven't gotten the answers they deserve."
Last month a report issued by the Accountability Review Board blamed State Department officials for "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies" that led to protection for the Benghazi facility that was "grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place."
Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi.
Courtesy: MSNBC
