Representative Scott DesJarlais, M.D. (TN-04) sent a letter to President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanding answers to questions regarding the events leading up to and following the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi. The letter, which was signed by 53 members of the House, asks the following:
- Why did administration officials deny repeated requests for stronger security measures from U.S. personnel on the ground in Libya, especially in light of the escalating violence leading up to the September 11 attack?
- Why did the administration withdraw elite Special Forces units from the Benghazi compound and seek to replace them with poorly paid local Libyan contractors, even after the compound had been bombed twice?
- Why did the administration pursue what U.S. personnel on the ground described as a “cookie cutter” approach to security in Libya and impose an “artificial time table” towards “normalization” that ignored the dangerous facts on the ground?
“The Obama administration’s justification for the inadequate level of security leading up to the terrorist attack on our consulate has been extremely unclear,” said Representative DesJarlais. “ I think that we can all agree that the American people deserve reassurance that the government did everything in its power to protect our people working in Libya.”
