II: INTERNAL AND PUBLIC GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT THE TERRORIST ATTACKS IN BENGHAZI
“Two of our officers were killed in Benghazi by an Al Queda-like [sic] group”
The Secretary of State to her daughter, September 11, 2012
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“We know that the attack in Libya had nothing to do with the film. It was a planned attack—not a protest”
Summary of a statement by the Secretary of State to the Egyp-tian Prime Minister, September 12, 2012
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“To underscore that these protests are rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy”
Benjamin J. Rhodes, defining one of the goals of Ambassador Susan E. Rice’s appearances on the Sunday news programs fol-lowing the Benghazi attacks, September 14, 2012
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"I gave Hillary a hug and shook her hand, and she said we are going to have the filmmaker arrested who was responsible for the death of my son."
Diary entry of Charles Woods, father of Tyrone Woods, Sep-tember 14, 2012
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1
Email from Hillary R. Clinton (“H”), Sec’y of State, U.S. Dep’t of State, to Chelsea Clinton (“Diane Reynolds”) (Sept. 11, 2012, 11:12 PM) (on file with the Committee, C05795467).
2
Email from U.S. Dep’t of State, to S_CallNotes, (Sept. 12, 2012, 7:11 PM) (on file with the Committee, C05561911).
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Email from Benjamin J. Rhodes, Deputy Nat’l Security Advisor for Strategic Commu-nications, Nat’l Security Council, to Dagoberto Vega, Special Ass’t to the President and Dir. of Broadcast Media, White House, et al. (Sept. 14, 2012, 8:09 PM) [hereinafter Rhodes Memo] (on file with the Committee, C05415285).
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THE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT
The attacks in Benghazi did not occur in a vacuum. They took place amidst a severely deteriorating security situation in eastern Libya—a permissive environment where extremist organizations were infiltrating the region, setting up camps, and carrying out attacks against Western targets.
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In June 2012, State Department security officials were discuss-ing “an active terrorist cell in Benghazi” that was “planning and imple-menting attack operations against western interests including the U.S. Mission in Benghazi[.]”
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That same month another security official in Libya reported to Washington about the “increase in extremist activity” and described his “fear that we have passed a threshold where we will see more targeting, attacks, and incidents involving western targets.”
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The official cited a series of recent attacks and noted that a source had warned of a “group attack” on an American facility.
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He specifically mentioned “[t]argeting [and] attacks by extremist groups particularly in the eastern portion of Libya”, where Benghazi is located.
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In the months leading up to September 11, 2012, several major security incidents had taken place in Benghazi against Western targets, including:
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April 2, 2012: Attack on a United Kingdom [UK] ar-mored vehicle;
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April 6, 2012: Improvised Explosive Device [IED] at-tack on the State Department facility in Benghazi;
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April 10, 2012: IED attack on the motorcade of the United Nations Envoy;
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April 27, 2012: IED attack on a courthouse in Benghazi;
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Fox News Insider,
Father of Benghazi Victim Reveals Journal Entry Documenting Meeting With Hillary
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UBE
(Jan. 13, 2016), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMx0huMabos.
5
This deteriorating security environment is discussed in detail in Section III of the report.
6
Memorandum from James Bacigalupo, Regional Dir. of the Near East Asia Bureau of Diplomatic Security, U.S. Dep’t of State, to Charlene Lamb, Deputy Ass’t Sec’y for Dip-lomatic Security, U.S. Dep’t of State (June 15, 2012) (on file with the Committee, C05578316).
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Email from Diplomatic Security Agent 24, U.S. Dep’t of State, to Diplomatic Security Agent 25, U.S. Dep’t of State (June 14, 2012) (on file with the Committee,C05388987).
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Id.
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Id.
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May 22, 2012: Rocket Propelled Grenade [RPG] attack on the International Committee for the Red Cross [ICRC] facility in Benghazi;
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June 6, 2012: IED attack on the State Department facili-ty in Benghazi;
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June 11, 2012: RPG attack on the UK Ambassador’s motorcade;
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June 12, 2012: RPG attack on the ICRC;
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July 29, 2012: IED found at Tibesti Hotel; and
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August 5, 2012: Attack on the ICRC facility. The threat environment in Benghazi was so severe that on September 11, 2012, on the anniversary of September 11, one Diplomatic Security agent in Benghazi feared an attack that night and was not planning on going to sleep. He testified: You know, I wasn’t going to go to sleep that night. I was proba- bly going to stay up throughout the night just because, one, it’s September 11, you know, and what was happening in Egypt. So if anything was to happen, it would happen late at night, early morning. So I wasn’t going to go to bed. I believe [Agent 2] was along the same mindset, but we hadn’t ratified whether, yes, this is what we are doing. It was just people are going to stay up. I had taken my weapon and ammunition and put it in my room. [Agent 2] had done the same thing. And I believe they had— [Agent 5] had his weapon with him as well in his room.
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Sean P. Smith, the Information Management Officer at the Benghazi Mission compound, also feared an attack, telling a community of online gamers shortly before the attack: “[A]ssuming we don't die tonight. We saw one of our 'police' that guard the compound taking pictures.”
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10
Testimony of [Agent 1], Diplomatic Security Agent, U.S. Dep’t of State, Tr. at 49-50 (Mar. 6, 2015) [hereinafter [Agent 1] Testimony] (on file with the Committee).
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Matt Smith,
Ex-SEALs, Online Gaming Maven among Benghazi Dead
, CNN (Sept. 13, 2012, 8:53 PM), http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/13/us/benghazi-victims/.