Panetta, Dempsey Say Clinton & Obama Never Checked in During Entirety of Benghazi Terrorist Attack

Dempsey Surprised Clinton Wasn’t Alerted of Libya Risks (Bloomberg)

The top U.S. military officer said he’s surprised former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wasn’t alerted to a cable he knew about warning of threats to the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, before the deadly attack on it.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee today that the U.S. Africa Command had informed him of a cable from Ambassador Christopher Stevens citing security risks at the Benghazi mission where Stevens and three other Americans were killed in an attack on Sept. 11.

“I would call myself surprised that she didn’t” know of the cable, Dempsey said of Clinton, who left office last week. Dempsey said the military didn’t provide more security for the Benghazi consulate before the attack because the State Department never asked for it.

While Clinton has said she took responsibility for security failings in Benghazi, she told Congress last month she hadn’t seen any diplomatic cables before the attack requesting heightened protection.

“These requests don’t ordinarily come to the secretary of state,” Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

An independent review board appointed by Clinton found the State Department showed “a lack of proactive leadership and management ability,” though it said no government employees violated their duties.

Lawmakers and Obama administration officials have debated for months whether security in Benghazi was adequate, given threat assessments in the region at the time, and whether requests for additional security at the Benghazi mission had been denied. The handling of the Benghazi assault became a flashpoint in last year’s presidential election, and the issue hasn’t abated, as was evident in today’s hearing.