Publisher's Synopsis
While our country spent September 11, 2012, remembering the terrorist attacks that took place 11 years earlier, brave Americans posted at U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, were fighting for their lives against a terrorist assault. When the fight ended, U.S. Ambassador to Libya John C. (Chris) Stevens and three other Americans were dead and U.S. facilities in Benghazi were left in ruin. We must remember the sacrifice that these selfless public servants made to support the struggle for freedom in Libya and to improve our own national security. While we mourn their deaths, it is also crucial that we learn from how they died. By examining the circumstances of the attack in Benghazi on September 11th, we hope to gain a better understanding of what went wrong and what we must do now to ensure better protection for American diplomatic personnel who must sometimes operate in dangerous places abroad. We are cognizant that the Congressionally-mandated Accountability Review Board (ARB) of the Department of State has now issued its important and constructive report and that other Congressional committees are investigating the Benghazi attack as well. Each makes significant contributions to our collective understanding of what transpired and what we must do going forward. The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC), pursuant to its authority under Rule XXV(k) of the Standing Rules of the Senate, Section 101 of S. Res 445 (108th Congress) and Section 12(e) of S. Res 81 (112th Congress), has a unique mandate to investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of governmental agencies, especially when matters that span multiple government agencies are involved. Over the years, HSGAC has spent much time and dedicated considerable resources to understanding the challenges inherent in national security interagency relationships, and it is through this lens that we have examined and drawn lessons from the attack in Benghazi.
