Benghazi Committee Probes Progress to Improve Diplomatic Security
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iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — A little more than two years since four Americans were killed in Benghazi, Libya, the Benghazi Select Committee held its first public hearing Wednesday, examining the steps the Department of State has taken to improve diplomatic security around the world in the wake of the deadly attack.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, the chairman of the committee, pointed out that the Benghazi attack “was not the first time one of our facilities or our people have been attacked,” citing Beirut, Kenya and Tanzania as three instances when Americans were targeted overseas.
He said it is incumbent on Congress to ensure steps are taken to prevent similar failures in the future.
“We do not suffer from a lack of recommendations. We do suffer from a lack of implementing and enacting those recommendations, and that has to end,” Gowdy, R-S.C., said. “To those who believe it is time to move on, to those who believe that there is nothing left to discover, that all the questions have been asked and answered and that we’ve learned all the lessons that there are to be learned, we have heard all of that before, and it was wrong then.”
While Democrats have complained that Republicans are keen on repeating the work of several other investigations into the attacks, Gowdy said he “would rather run the risk of answering a question twice than run the risk of not answering it once.”
“I intend to find all of the facts and I intend to do it in a way that is worthy to our fellow citizens,” Gowdy added. “They expect the government tell the truth in the aftermath of a tragedy. Always.”
While Democrats have consistently complained that Republicans have launched a “witch hunt” as they continue to probe the attack, the subject of Wednesday’s hearing was proposed by a Democrat on the panel.
“This is our watch,” Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the committee, responded. “This is bigger than us. The things that we do today and over the next few months will have lasting effects even when we’re gone on to heaven, and that’s how we have to look at this.”
Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Greg Starr told the panel that the State Department has made “tremendous progress” implementing the recommendations made by the Benghazi Advisory Review Board. Starr said that 22 steps have been fully implemented while seven others “are in progress or are nearing completion.”
“We want to keep our people safe,” he said. “Today, we’re better prepared, better protected and informed to manage the risk.”
After the hearing, Cummings stressed that it is inadequate for the State Department to say it is working to implement the ARB’s recommendations, nearly two years after the panel submitted its proposals.
“We will definitely hold the State Department’s feet to the fire,” Cummings, D-Md., said. “It is not enough to say what you’re going to do. It is not enough to say that you have accepted and are working on seven recommendations with the others complete. We want to make sure that all of them are complete.”
While there is intense speculation that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could be asked to appear at the committee in the coming months, Gowdy would not reveal whether he intends to invite her to testify.
“I want the person who can answer the questions. I’m not interested in titles,” Gowdy said. “I want whoever can answer the questions, but I expect we’ll talk to all witnesses.”
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