It is the responsibility of the State Dept. to provide American Embassy security. So, if anyone is going to take the blame, it rightfully belongs in the dept. of state. However, I have been saying there are very likley many reasons security was not as strong as in hindsight it might have been. This is one of many reasons:
Security of US diplomats complicated by a host of issues]
WASHINGTON — Lost amid the election-year wrangling over the militants’ attack on the US consulate in Benghazi,
Libya, is a complex back story involving growing regional resentment against heavily armed US private security contractors, increased demands on State Department resources, and mounting frustration among diplomats over escalating protections that they say make it more difficult to do their jobs.
The Benghazi attacks, which left the US ambassador and three other Americans dead, came at the end of a 10-year period in which
the State Department — sending its employees into a lengthening list of war zones and volatile regions — had regularly ratcheted up security for its diplomats. The aggressive measures used by private contractors eventually led to shootings in Afghanistan and Iraq that provoked protests, including an episode involving guards from Blackwater, a US security company, that left at least 17 Iraqis dead in Baghdad’s Nisour Square.
This is what I was saying a few weeks ago playing devil's advocate that a heavily armed US presence would make it seem more like a military mission than a diplomatic one.
These are some addition problems the State Dept. faces: (It is higly likely therefore, that if the State Dept. is unaware of some things, so would be the Executive branch). Its easy to say they knew (speculation) but it's very possible they didn't "know".
U.S. Agencies Do Not Always Inform State Dept. Officies about New Hires
According to State regulations, the regional security officer for each
post is responsible for investigating foreign nationals hired by US. agencies
in the host country, including the U.S. Information Agency, US.
Agency for International Development, and the Peace Corps. Occasionally,
the other agencies- with their own programs and separate budgets
and facilities frequently located outside the embassy compound-hire
foreign nationals for short periods of time without notifying the post
personnel officer, who would in turn notify the security officer at post
so that a background investigation could be conducted. However, since
these procedures have not always been followed, some background b
investigations have not been conducted. Failure to inform the post
security officer could pose a security risk to US. personnel and
facilities.
Regional security officers in Argentina, Chile, Egypt, and Uruguay indicated
that in several cases other agencies had hired contract personnel
but had not informed the personnel officer or security officer. Two
examples in Argentina highlight this concern. In one case, the regional
security officer learned inadvertently that the U.S. Information Service
had hired seven foreign nationals to work at the embassy and the
library and binational center located near the embassy. These centers
have been targeted by terrorists worldwide. In a second case, the US.
LINK
And, the information goes on to say that it is often difficult to determine where one department's repsonsiblity begins and the other's ends.
It simply isn't as simple as people want to make it out to be in order to try to make Obama look bad.
