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May 8th, 2013 
Peter Nolan
Elijah Cummings, the senior Democrat, accused Republicans of making “unfounded
accusations” and trying to “smear public officials”.
“I am not questioning the motives of our witnesses,” Mr Cummings
added. “I am questioning the motives of those who want to use them for
political purposes.”
Mrs Clinton has been under sustained attack from Republicans and the
conservative media pundits for her handling of the Benghazi assault, and her
failure to order more security for the compound despite requests being sent
from officers in the field.
“I did not see these requests,” she said. “They did not come to
me. I did not approve them. I did not deny them.” An official inquiry
concluded that the State Department was completely unprepared to deal with
the attack, citing “leadership and management” deficiencies, poor
coordination and unclear lines of authority in Washington, however did not
find Mrs Clinton personally at fault to the fury of many Republicans.
(AP)
In January, before leaving office, Mrs Clinton gave an impassioned defence of
her handling of the crisis to a US Senate hearing where she faced fierce
criticism from Republican senators.
Rand Paul from Kentucky, blamed Mrs Clinton directly for the deaths, arguing
that it was “inexcusable” that she had not seen diplomatic cables
requesting more security for Benghazi, adding that if he had been President
Obama, “I would have relieved you of your post”.
Mrs Clinton has also faced criticism from the family members of those killed
in Benghazi. Patty Smith, the mother of State Department officer Sean Smith
who died in the attack, gave television interviews blaming Mrs Clinton for
what happened.
“Why couldn’t she do something about it? I blame her. That’s her
department. She’s supposed to be on top of it, and yet she claims that she
knows nothing,” Mrs Smith told CNN, “It wasn’t told to her,”
she added of Mrs Clinton’s contention she didn’t see the requests for
additional security, “Who’s running the place?”
The Benghazi issue also continues to linger since nearly six months after the
attack, Libyan and American authorities have still not located those
responsible.
(EPA)
Earlier this month, the FBI released photographs from a surveillance camera at
the diplomatic compound showing three unidentified men, all apparently
carrying rifles. “These individuals may be able to provide information
to help in the investigation,” the FBI said.
The Obama administration has been accused of being slow to act on the night of
the Benghazi attacks, particularly over the deployment of special forces
teams. It remains a matter of dispute whether forces could have reached the
compound in time to make a difference.
However Mark Thompson, a senior official for counter-terrorism at the State
Department, told the Committee that he urged his superiors to consider
deploying the Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST), a rapid-response
tactical unit that is designed to be mobilised at short notice.
“I notified the White House of my idea, they indicated that meetings had
already taken place that evening that had taken FEST out of the menu of
options,” he said.
When he raised the issue with authorities at the State Department to argue
that the team should be scrambled as a matter of urgency, he said he was
told it was “not the right time”.
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