Clinton slammed for inadequate action over Benghazi attack

A Republican committee in the US House of Representatives has faulted presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and other government officials for security lapses that gave way in the 2012 attack on the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi.

The Republican panel released its long-awaited report on Tuesday, blasting President Barack Obama’s administration for its actions before, during and after the Benghazi attack that killed four American diplomats, including then Ambassador Chris Stevens, on September 11, 2012.

The 800-page, which took two years to complete, blames Clinton, the US secretary of state at the time, and other officials for releasing a YouTube video that triggered the chain of events leading to the attack.

“This in itself is a disqualifying act of deception,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said.

The panel also criticized Clinton and her colleagues for failure to adequately address the risks involved after the American-led ouster of Muammar al-Gaddafi.

In March 2011, a coalition of US-backed Western countries, including the UK and France, launched missile and air strikes on Libya, helping the ouster of former leader Muammar al-Gaddafi following a national uprising.

But the ensuing power vacuum allowed various militant groups, including a Daesh affiliate, to gain power in the country and exploit its natural resources.

In its report, the committee stated that there was enough intelligence available for Clinton and her top aide Patrick Kennedy to realize the threats posed to the American mission.

"It is not clear what additional intelligence would have satisfied either Kennedy or the Secretary in understanding the Benghazi mission compound was at risk -- short of an attack," Representative Trey Gowdy who chaired the panel wrote in the report.

This goes against Clinton’s claim in last year’s 11-hour testimony before the committee that "there was no actionable intelligence" indicating a planned attack.

“The intelligence on which Kennedy and the secretary were briefed daily was clear and pointed — al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda like groups, and other regional extremists took refuge in the security vacuum created by the Libya government and its inability to take command of the security situation,” Gowdy added.

The US military was also partially blamed in the report for its inaction, with the report stressing that American troops remained motionless for hours after then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta ordered them to defend the US mission.

Reactions by Trump, Clinton

The former first lady dismissed the report’s findings during a campaign event at a tech training facility in Denver, saying it included “nothing” new.

“I’ll leave it to others to characterize this report, but I think it’s pretty clear it’s time to move on,” she said.

Her campaign also reacted to the report by slamming it as offering nothing but “discredited conspiracy theories.”

Clinton’s possible general election rival Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican, seized the opportunity to batter the former secretary of state.

“Hillary Clinton’s Presidency would be catastrophic for the future of our country. She is ill-fit with bad judgment,” he tweeted.

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