Benghazi probe faults 'systemic failures' at State Department

Benghazi probe faults 'systemic failures' at State Department
By Julian Pecquet - 12/18/12

An independent review of the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi faulted “systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels” of the State Department.


The Accountability Review Board report said the local mission's reliance on Libyan guards and militia members was “misplaced” and that the Libyan government's response was “profoundly lacking.” However it “did not find reasonable cause to determine that any individual U.S. government employee breached his or her duty.”
“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,” the report said.

The report also confirmed that there was no peaceful protest ahead of the attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, as the Obama administration initially said in the days after the attack.

“The Board concluded that there was no protest prior to the attacks, which were unanticipated in their scale and intensity.”

Declassified portions of the report were released late Tuesday ahead of closed-door briefings and public hearings Wednesday and Thursday on Capitol Hill. The report make 29 recommendations for tightening security at U.S. diplomatic posts around the worlds and Secretary of State told Congress she accepted them all.

Only five of the report's recommendations are unclassified.