U.S. May Have Put Mistaken Faith in Libya Sites Security
By ERIC SCHMITT, DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and SULIMAN ALI ZWAY
Published: September 30, 2012
WASHINGTON An effective response by newly trained Libyan security guards to a small bombing outside the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi in June may have led United States officials to underestimate the security threat to personnel there, according to counterterrorism and State Department officials, even as threat warnings grew in the weeks before the recent attack that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
The guards aggressive action in June came after the missions defenses and training were strengthened at the recommendation of a small team of Special Forces soldiers who augmented the missions security force for several weeks in April while assessing the compounds vulnerabilities, American officials said.
That the local security did so well back in June probably gave us a false sense of security, said one American official who has served in Libya, and who spoke on condition of anonymity because the F.B.I. is investigating the attack. We may have fooled ourselves.
The presence of the Special Forces team and the conclusions reached about the role of the Libyan guards offer new insight into the kind of security concerns that American officials had before the attack on Sept. 11.
Security at the mission has become a major issue as the Obama administration struggles to explain what happened during the attack, who was responsible and how the ambassador ended up alone.
Republicans and Democrats in recent days have demanded more detailed explanations from the White House and State Department on possible security lapses. There were warnings, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said on CNNs State of the Union program on Sunday.
Just how much American and Libyan officials misread the threat has become even more evident as they analyze the skill with which the mortar attack at an annex a half mile away was carried out by the attackers. That assault, nearly three hours after the initial attack on the main diplomatic mission, killed two former Navy SEALs who were defending the compound.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/w...-envoy-to-libya-died.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
By ERIC SCHMITT, DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and SULIMAN ALI ZWAY
Published: September 30, 2012
WASHINGTON An effective response by newly trained Libyan security guards to a small bombing outside the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi in June may have led United States officials to underestimate the security threat to personnel there, according to counterterrorism and State Department officials, even as threat warnings grew in the weeks before the recent attack that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
The guards aggressive action in June came after the missions defenses and training were strengthened at the recommendation of a small team of Special Forces soldiers who augmented the missions security force for several weeks in April while assessing the compounds vulnerabilities, American officials said.
That the local security did so well back in June probably gave us a false sense of security, said one American official who has served in Libya, and who spoke on condition of anonymity because the F.B.I. is investigating the attack. We may have fooled ourselves.
The presence of the Special Forces team and the conclusions reached about the role of the Libyan guards offer new insight into the kind of security concerns that American officials had before the attack on Sept. 11.
Security at the mission has become a major issue as the Obama administration struggles to explain what happened during the attack, who was responsible and how the ambassador ended up alone.
Republicans and Democrats in recent days have demanded more detailed explanations from the White House and State Department on possible security lapses. There were warnings, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said on CNNs State of the Union program on Sunday.
Just how much American and Libyan officials misread the threat has become even more evident as they analyze the skill with which the mortar attack at an annex a half mile away was carried out by the attackers. That assault, nearly three hours after the initial attack on the main diplomatic mission, killed two former Navy SEALs who were defending the compound.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/w...-envoy-to-libya-died.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
