[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H231-H232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BENGHAZI
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford) for 5 minutes.
Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. Speaker, over the past months since September 11,
2012, we have learned a great deal about what happened in Benghazi that
fateful night when Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, and Tyrone
Woods were murdered in our facility. Their work to make the world safer
and to build peaceful relationships was met with aggression and
brutality.
While we have some answers, I grow weary of asking questions over and
over again in hearings, letters, and on this floor to get some very
basic answers for the families and the American people. Let me run some
of those questions past us again.
It was known within the State Department at the highest levels that
neither facility in Libya, the one in Tripoli or the one in Benghazi,
met the minimum physical security standards set after our Embassy was
attacked in Kenya in 1998. Who made the decision to put so many
American diplomats in facilities that did not meet that standard? That
same question was asked yesterday by a Senate committee intelligence
report asking the same question. Who made the decision to put people in
facilities we knew did not meet the minimum security standards?
The Embassy had access to additional military personnel for security
and training. They had been there for a long time. The regional
security officer and the Ambassador requested to keep the additional
security on the ground. That request was denied in August 2012, and in
September 2012 there was an attack on our facility, and we did not have
the manpower to repel them. What was the reason for the decision to
remove the existing security force from Libya and leave only a small
security team there?
In fact, the security force was so small that when the Ambassador
traveled in Tripoli, it took the entire security team just to travel
with him. So for long stretches during the day, the other American
diplomats were completely exposed; so exposed, the diplomats asked the
security forces to train them how to use a gun so they could defend
themselves in the moments when they were left with no defense.
In a country that has just gone through a brutal, long civil war and
there was no strong central government or national police force, why
were diplomats left to defend themselves in Tripoli?
Multiple intelligence reports from the CIA, the Ambassador, and the
regional security officer all noted increasing violence in Benghazi and
terrorist training camps nearby. There were more than 20 security
incidents in that area in the previous month. Every other international
facility in Benghazi closed in the previous year because of security
risks. Their facility or personnel was attacked, and they made the
determination, one of two things, either increase security or pull out.
They chose to pull out. We had the same option; but, instead, we chose
to stay and decrease our security. Who made that decision, and what
information did they use to make that decision?
We have a joint operation called the Foreign Emergency Support Team
to assist during and after State Department crises. They never
mobilized that night because no one ever sent them. Apparently, they
were too far away. They were stationed in the United States. Can
someone tell me why we have a Foreign Emergency Support Team if they
are not for events like this? What level of attack is required to
mobilize that team? If they are too far away to make a difference, why
are they stationed in America? We are not worried about our embassies
in America being attacked. We spend millions of dollars training and
equipping this team to apparently stand down during an emergency. Why?
On September 11, our American Embassy in Egypt was stormed about 6
local time. The mob climbed the walls and put up the al Qaeda flag. I
would assume it is an event that would warrant some sort of status
change in our military preparedness, but no one from the State
Department requested a status change or increased preparedness.
[[Page H232]]
So when the country next-door was attacked 4 hours later, the military
still was not prepared.
There are millions of questions about what happened that night. Were
we overwhelmed by a highly organized military force? Was it a street
protest that went violent like the administration first claimed? The
administration claims the attack was so overwhelming that additional
American security forces would not have made a difference.
I know how we can resolve this issue: release the video of that
attack that night. For some reason, the administration cannot identify
the killers that night because none of them have been brought to
justice a year and a half later. I have an idea: if the administration
cannot identify them, show the world the video of the attack and let
the world help identify who that is.
If there is a bank robbery, the next day the video footage is on
television so that everyone can figure out who that person is and they
can be brought to justice. That is standard practice for the FBI here.
Why is the video of the attack in Benghazi being withheld? If you
cannot figure out who attacked the compound, ask CNN or FOX News or The
New York Times. They have all interviewed the people who attacked the
compound, but the administration can't seem to find them. Many
Americans have not even heard there is high quality, multiple angle
video footage of that night, both on the ground and from the air in
drones.
There is only one reason why the administration will not release the
video: they do not want the American people to see what really happened
that night and to see that two additional security personnel would have
made a huge difference. We need to release the video, allow the
American people to see what really happened. Let's get these questions
answered.
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