2012 Benghazi attack
The 2012 Benghazi attack occurred on September 11, resulting in the deaths of four Americans, including J. Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya. Armed gunmen affiliated with the militant group Ansar al-Sharia breached the U.S. consulate, where security tensions remained high due to ongoing unrest in Libya following the fall of Muammar al-Qaddafi. The incident drew significant national attention, particularly regarding the U.S. government's initial explanations, which included references to a controversial video linked to anti-Muslim sentiments and later evolved to be classified as an act of terror.
The aftermath saw numerous investigations by Congress, with criticisms aimed at the Obama administration concerning security measures prior to the attack and the response to the unfolding crisis. The event remained a contentious political issue, especially during the 2016 presidential campaign, affecting perceptions of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Subsequent to the attack, U.S. forces apprehended individuals believed to be responsible, including Ahmed Abu Khatallah, who faced charges in federal court. The Benghazi attack continues to evoke discussions about U.S. foreign policy, security protocols, and political accountability, reflecting the complex interplay of international relations and domestic politics.
2012 Benghazi attack
On September 11, 2012, the American Embassy in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked and four Americans were killed: J. Christopher Stevens, US ambassador to Libya; Information Officer Sean Smith; and ex–Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods. The majority of the staff had been evacuated to safety, but Ambassador Stevens chose to remain at the embassy. Libyan security forces defended the Americans at the embassy as armed gunmen breached the compound’s perimeter. A pro–al Qaeda militant group, Ansar al-Sharia, claimed responsibility for the attack. That the attack occurred on the eleventh anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is one factor raised as a possible reason for the attack. Another is that the US government was conducting a covert mission in the Middle East and was therefore reluctant to insert troops in Benghazi.
Background and Response
American consulates have been attacked numerous times, most notably in Tehran, Iran, in 1979; Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, in 1998.
In Libya, militias and rebel groups continued to exist after the fall of the nation’s ruler, Muammar al-Qaddafi, in September 2011. Tension from tribal politics and human rights violations led to unrest, as did conflict between Tripoli, the traditional government seat, and Benghazi, where the push for civil rights and a decentralized government was prevalent.
The administration of US president Barack Obama first announced that the attack was due to a video that Muslims perceived as derogatory toward the prophet Muhammad, and later categorized it as an act of terror. Many Republicans viewed President Obama’s conflicting statements to the United Nations as inflammatory. The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held both classified and open hearings to review information received from military personnel at the time of the attack. Findings include the Obama administration’s disregard of security warnings and the intention to reduce security forces in Libya and the Middle East. Other findings about the "stand down" order given to military in Tripoli was subsequently determined as miscommunication between security forces in the area.
Retired General Carter Ham, head of command of the United States Africa Command, AFRICOM, swore that there was no order to "stand down." Then–Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testified to the Joint Special Operations Task Force State Department’s Accountability Review Board that no US Marines were stationed in Benghazi on the night of the attack. Then–Deputy Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Michael J. Morrell relayed information from the CIA station chief in Libya that the attack was not due to increased protests. Maj. Gen. Darryl Roberson, vice chief of operations of the Pentagon Joint Staff that evening, testified that earlier security analysis was unreliable.
Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State at the time of the attack, testified to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January 2013 that Susan Rice, former US ambassador to the United Nations, had "intentionally misled" the American people regarding the attack. Clinton’s statement "what difference does it make at this point" incited further controversy. According to the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the attacks were preventable had known security shortfalls at the US Embassy in Benghazi been corrected.
Subsequent Developments
The Benghazi attack continued to be a controversial topic of discussion long after the incident itself and the immediate aftermath. In particular, it became a key element of Republican attacks on the Obama administration, and eventually on Clinton in particular. Congressmen Adam Smith of Washington, top Democrat of the House Armed Services Committee, and Elijah Cummings of Maryland, top Democrat of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, asserted that the Republican Party was conducting a "partisan witch hunt."
Families of the deceased continued to seek answers as to responsibility of the attack and an apology from the US government. Tommy Vietor, former Obama administration communications director and national security spokesman, admitted that he prepped Rice in the talking points for her United Nations appearance after the attack. Democrats have accused Senator Lindsey Graham, R-SC, of "trumping up" the attack for political gain with his investigation of the whereabouts of Obama on the night of the attack. Former Deputy CIA Director Michael Morell refuted the assertion of a cover-up. Retired Brigadier General Robert Lovell testified in May 2014 that intelligence knew the incident was a terrorist attack and not in response to a video. Lovell stated that US personnel "should have tried" to rescue Ambassador Stevens and embassy personnel that night, but the State Department did not give the go-ahead.
In the summer of 2014, US Special Forces conducted a covert operation in Libya that resulted in the capture of the man suspected as the leader of the attack, Ahmed Abu Khatallah. Khatallah had been indicted in a federal court by the Department of Justice in 2013. When he was brought before a judge in a Washington, DC, federal court shortly after being brought to the United States, Khatallah pleaded not guilty. By August 2015, his defense lawyers were demanding that the case be dismissed based upon the argument that Khatallah had been captured and removed from Libya unconstitutionally.
Around the same time, political disputes erupted over the State Department's release of several of Clinton's e-mails related to the attack—which reportedly included warnings from her aides of the threatened state of security in Benghazi. Clinton eventually agreed to testify in late 2015 before a special House committee in charge of investigating the American lives lost during the attack, though many Democrats continued to characterize the various investigations as unnecessary, wasteful, and politically motivated. Altogether, by June 2016 Republicans had conducted eight separate investigations into the Benghazi attack, with none finding any evidence of improper action by Clinton or other high-level Obama officials. However, the continual references to Benghazi and Clinton's emails proved effective attacks for Republicans during Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, causing widespread public mistrust of the former secretary of state. Indeed, many analysts credited this erosion of Clinton's perceived untrustworthiness as a contributing factor to her upset loss to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
Other issues related to the Benghazi attacks also continued to emerge, though none received as much media attention as the Clinton controversy. In October 2017 US special forces captured Mustafa al-Imam, a Syrian citizen linked to Khatallah, in Libya and extracted him to the United States. Al-Imam was charged with supporting terrorists and killing in the course of attacking a federal facility. In June 2018, Khatallah himself was sentenced to twenty-two years in prison on charges including terrorism.
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